Whole30 Day 8-10 and The Book!

Okay, So, I grabbed the Whole30 book just before Thanksgiving. I actually sat down prior to the big Thanksgiving weekend and read the book. I was actually pleasantly surprised at a lot of the recipes it had. It really was a good investment and I did learn a lot more about why certain items are omitted. If you also want to know the scientific breakdown, that would be in the other book. I snagged my copy at Target! (BTW, if you are pregnant, they have a Whole30 designed for you as well called Healthy Mama, Happy Baby) *If you would like to read Why I started, go here. For Day 1, go here. For Days 2-4, go here. For Days 5-7, go here.

Day 8 Mondays! Ugh! I dread them. Worst part is getting acclimated back into the work schedule after having time off is tough. Our rainy Monday was a good opportunity to keep the steam in this engine going. But, after so many days, you need to get a sort of "boost" on trying new recipes. So, I ran over to the Whole30 Instagram to find some inspiration. And, it didn't disappoint. I also found they have a Whole30 Recipe Instagram as well which a great resource for recipes as well!

Meal 22-Breakfast. Right out the gate on a Monday morning I knew I had to make something filling and easy for on-the-go. I really liked how this is easy to pre-make the night before to take in a container to-go. I had 2 hardboiled eggs, 1 slice of turkey breast, about a tablespoon of Whole30 Guacamole (from their book) and 1/2 an apple with a cup of hot organic green tea. I was content and full up until lunch.

Meal 23- Lunch. Since it was a back to work Monday, lunch was a bit quick to make. I did lettuce wraps using romaine hearts and i had turkey slices I lightly rubbed with a chipotle seasoning when I purchased it. I used the other half of my apple from my breakfast and a handful of my mixed nuts from my past weekend trip. It was a pretty satisfying lunch for a quick 5-minute make.

Meal 24-Dinner. I had done some basic meal planning the last time we had gone grocery shopping for my first week of Whole30. I knew one night was perfect for Kebabs. They are easy to make, Whole30 compliant and are a quick meal. Since we have to go grocery shopping again, it was the perfect opportunity to make this meal. The grocery store had pre-cut kebab veggie (purple onion, green peppers, red peppers, green zucchini, and yellow squash) on sale so that made this for an easy meal and we had a container of whole mushrooms so we skewered them and placed them in our Le Creuset Grill Pan, sprayed Avocado Oil spray and let them cook. Meanwhile, we prepped our sirloin from the butcher with salt, pepper, paprika and fresh herbs. Once the kebabs were done, we cooked the steak to medium-rare and we were good to go. The steak was so big, we split it to portion control. The purple onion was by far the best of the grilled veggies and the steak was perfect. I loved grilling food! Paired with a La Croix. While this was fulling, I still got hungry afterward- and wanted to snack. I resist the urge to do so but maybe I should have an evening snack post-dinner?

Day 9 Getting back into the swing again with work and I still did not do any grocery shopping the night before. It was time to see what I had in the fridge to make. I am happy to announce the massive amount of veggies left in my fridge will hold me off from grocery shopping for those at least a few days. However, I still need protein (other than the extra dozen of eggs I have).

Meal 25- Breakfast. I was in a rush again to get going this morning and with zero motivation to get out of bed due to the rain we have had the past two days, it was a "hurry it up" kind of morning. I made one of my favorite Whole30 staples - sweet potato hash and egg - but this time I added turkey in my over-medium egg for a boost of protein. With a cup of tea I am ready to conquer the day. I will have to open my Pomegranate soon for a boost of sweetness in my La Croix or coffee. Overall, much more filling meal, especially with the larger portions. I wonder if this will help me curve my snacking.

Meal 26- Lunch. Since my family gave me so much sweet potato I have been wracking my brain to come up with new recipes to try. I still could not find many without sweeteners, so I figured I would wrangle with what I had to come up with something. Since I had my sweet potatoes already cubed, i baked them in the oven for about 20 minutes until soft. After I removed them from the oven, I added 1 tablespoon of EVOO, 1 teaspoon of roasted garlic powder and 1 tablespoon of coconut milk and mashed it all together until it was the consistency of thick mashed potatoes. Once they were done, I set them aside and used the small remaining duck breast and seared it in the cast iron until all sides were crisp - this did not take long since it had already been previously cooked and it was a rather small piece. With it all, i added a mixed green salad with my own homemade dijon dressing (with dijon mustard, EVOO, dried shallots, and roasted garlic powder - i dont measure since i judge based on taste). And, lunch was complete. Since I am at home for lunch today, the potatoes worked well, but i recommend making these for dinner since they do take a bit of time. La Croix grapefruit to drink.

Meal 27-Dinner. Since we had friends coming over that night, it was one of those nights where we had to make a quick meal and clean before they showed up. Luckily, I had some amazing copper river salmon I had grabbed from the store the other night on the way home. So, i mixed lemon juice, EVOO and dill to the top of the fish and sprinkled a bit of northwoods seasoning and began cooking it in my small skillet. While it was cooking, i chopped up the rest of a white onion from the fridge and grabbed the romaine for an easy bed of lettuce. Once the salmon was done, i set it aside to rest and started grilling the onion, adding turmeric for a boost of color and flavor (if you do not use this spice, you need to start as it has a ton of health benefits). Once they were done, I plated the salmon on top of my bed of romaine and placed the sauteed onion on the side. With the remaining dressing for the fish, i added Dijon mustard for an easy vinaigrette and dinner was completed with a La Croix.

Having guests over made the night even more difficult. As the temptation to snack increases, I find it difficult to have restraint when I see friends having dishes I am unable to have at this point. It is a true test to all of this but I am still dedicated to this program.

Day 10 Today marks a high stress day. I see why so many people want to quit by day 10. While I am not feeling withdrawal symptoms any longer (headaches, irritability, etc.), I do find social situation to be tough. And, I can see why so many people get tired of having eggs or sweet potatoes. I need to make my next few grocery shopping trips more unique - as in trying produce I have not had before and attempting to find newer ways to experiment with things I can have. It has been a struggle when I have people say "oh well you can't have this or that" instead of "let's see what you can have". I find the negative outlook brings me down and makes me upset. I am trying to do something positive with my relationship with food, and I have negative comments all over. It can be stressful.

Meal 28- Breakfast. Since today is a bit of "leftover" day, I decided to take the mashed sweet potato mix from yesterday's meal and make a type of "fritter" for breakfast. It worked somewhat successfully, however, since I did not use almond flour they did have a tough time staying together. I may need to add a few ingredients to them. Since I had some leftover ham in the freezer from thanksgiving, I pulled that out and pan seared it like a mock bacon. It was not too bad. And, I cooked another egg and had it with a cup of hot green tea. This is super filling, however, I really do not like eating so much protein and so few veggies in the morning as it feels too heavy on my stomach. I may need to refine this particular plate.

Meal 29- Lunch. Since I was so busy with work, lunch was super speedy. I made turkey, guacamole and lettuce rollups for lunch. I had a side of carrots with Whole30 ranch and a La Croix to drink. Adding the homemade guacamole made these have a big punch of flavor and made the wraps alone super filling. It also kept the meat from falling out of these, which makes them easier to eat and move. I like using these romaine hearts in place of taco shells so these are always a light lunch favorite of mine. Added a La Croix to drink and my lunch was complete.

Meal 30- Dinner! I have made it 1/3 of the way through the 90 meal marks and 1/3 through the 30 days! Yahoo! It is time to go grocery shopping for some essentials. So, while we were out getting groceries, we got hungry. The only close to acceptable under Whole30 nearby was Chipotle. So, I did my Whole30 research and found there is only 1 real combination you can have: Salad, Carnitas, Salsa, Tomatillo (Red or Green) - i got green on the side and Guacamole. So, that is exactly what I got.  With a cup of water with lemon and it was actually super filling - and I did not have any snack cravings all evening. Perfect and Whole30 complaint.

Groceries are looking on the up and I am excited to be using all we purchased for the next few days. Our trip took us to Kroger, Aldi and Trader Joes. More to come on groceries and planning.