Blog

If I were to say that on Day 25 I realize the necessity of prepping food for the week, your response would be, “Duh.” I know it’s so obvious but it is so hard to make yourself do it. You need a solid 2-3 hours to get a good head start on the week. And you know how much prep I did for this week? Zero. Nada. Not a darn thing. Now it’s biting me in the butt. Or in the belly, I guess, because I’m so hungry and I have to make everything at every meal, everyday. It is no good. Do not be like me. Prep on the weekend. Or on a weekday. Or something. Nike was right, just do it.

As I was meal planning for the week I came across this recipe: Massaged Kale Salad with Pistachios, Cherries, and Grilled Flank Steak. Just read the name of that recipe one more time. Have you ever wanted to be kale so much in your life?

There are some days when making a salad like this sounds great. Ooolala, so fancy and I also have 5 zillion extra hours, let’s make this salad! I would love to eat this salad. The picture of it is mouth-watering. But this is the absolute last thing I want to make in my last week of the Whole30. For this salad you have to de-pit the cherries, shell the pistachios, make the dressing (Am I the only one that hates making dressings? Weird, I know.), then massage (literally) the dressing into the kale, then prep the grill, then prep the meat, then grill the meat, then slice the meat, then slice an avocado, then assemble it just so. Too much. This would have been a good recipe for Week 1. By Week 4 your just eating cold hotdogs and taking bites out of a whole zucchini.

Hopefully this week you’ll see some good and EASY recipes from me that don’t drive me back into the arms of donuts because I just don’t want to cook anymore.

Breakfast: (The usual)

• 2 Fried Eggs
• 1/2 an Apple
• Spinach
• Avocado
• 2 Slices of Deli Turkey

Lunch:

• Leftover Stuffed Peppers Stuffing
• Spinach
• 1/2 an Avocado
• 1/2 an Apple with Almond Butter
• Trader Joe’s Salsa Verde

Dinner:

• Crockpot Mexican Chicken – OMG, this is the first time I’ve put chicken in the crockpot. Where has this been all my life? It’s so fast. I forgot that I had a slow cooker recipe today until after lunch and I still had time to throw it together. I thought this recipe was ok. But my three year old loved it and asked that I make it for her birthday dinner.
• Broccoli Slaw – This was ok, too. But it was super fast to throw together. I think I just got a prepackaged broccoli slaw mix that wasn’t the best. I kept ending up with really fibrous bits while chewing. I think next time I’ll wait to make this with the mix from Trader Joe’s that people rave about so much.
• Spinach
• 1/2 an Avocado
• Trader Joe’s Salsa Verde – This actually doesn’t have much flavor at all, but our salsa options are pretty limited.

How We Felt:

We’re feeling pretty good. We might have hit TIGER BLOOD for us. I’ve been feeling really great during workouts and have been recovering great. I’m not achy. I don’t really sleep much but when I do sleep, I fall asleep super fast which isn’t how I used to be. My energy is great. I have all 5 kiddos home with me (because, you know, summer) and I’m amazed at how I don’t faceplant fall asleep in my bed with the clothes that I wore all day. Hmm, maybe there’s something to this Whole30.

 

My biggest fear of starting Whole30 was diet = hunger. There have definitely been some days that I’ve felt hungry. 20 minutes after lunch today, visions of ham and cheese sandwiches or bowls of cereal danced around me before I shook them out of my head.

Today I think I finally figured out why I’ve been hungry sometimes. According to the Whole30 rules you should eat a pre- and post-workout mini-meal. Your pre-workout meal should be a protein and a fat (I usually do a hard-boiled egg and 1/2 and avocado) 15-75 minutes before working out. Post-workout you should be eating a protein and a starch (I’ve made a couple of recipes that are egg and potato casseroles) 15-30 minutes after you finish your work out.

I’m always running late when I leave for the Y. I don’t get a chance to plan/make/eat these pre and post workout meals. I’m lucky if I remember to grab my gym card. But on the off-chance that I did have a chance to eat these mini-meals, I don’t get hungry. At all. All day. It really does make a big difference. When I don’t eat these mini-meals I can guarantee that I’ll be hungry half an hour after I eat my next meal. I really just need to make workout mini-meals a priority to prep each week.

Breakfast:

• 2 Fried Eggs
• Spinach
• 1/2 an Avocado
• Handful of Pecans
• 1/2 and Apple with Almond Butter

Lunch:

• Turkey Roll-Ups
• 1/2 an Apple with Almond Butter
• Applegate Hot Dog with Mustard
• 1/2 an Avocado

Dinner:

• Turkey and Riced Cauliflower Stuffed Peppers – This was not super delicious. But the best thing I learned from this recipe is how to rice (verb) cauliflower and how to roast it. This is the best way so far that we’ve had cauliflower rice. The roasting keeps it from tasting, well, like cauliflower.
• Bacon and Veggies – This dish is brilliant and perfect. So easy. A friend brought it to us after we had the twins. You throw whatever veggies you have on hand (I used brussel sprouts, green beans, onion, carrots, potato, zucchini). Dice ’em or slice ’em. Toss in olive oil and salt and pepper. Put in a casserole dish. Lay a whole package of bacon over the top of veggies (don’t overlap the bacon or it won’t get all crispy). Cook in oven. I’m still not sure what temp and how long, but I usually just throw it in with whatever is in the oven already. So today I cooked it at 350° for about 45 minutes.

How We Felt:

We’re feeling great. But I am getting really tired of cooking. Throwing together a sandwich is just so quick and easy and doesn’t require more dirty pots or pans. I wish there was an equivalent in Whole30-land.

I used to work with a really wonderful woman who, for lunch everyday, would heat up a frozen Amy’s burrito. Don’t get me wrong, I love me some Amy’s Indian Mattar Paneer, but she would seriously eat one burrito. Every. Day. I made some joke about it once when we were eating together and she told me, “I eat to live, I don’t live to eat.”

I think about line all the time. It just really struck me. Part of me thought she was calling me a fatty for caring about having some variety in my lunch menu. But I don’t think that was it. Maybe she meant that she wasn’t a slave to food. Whatever the meaning, it was a curious thing to say.

Today I took a meal to my friend who just had a beautiful baby boy. I made them the Chicken Cacciatore we had last week. I added spaghetti and Rice Krispies to round out the meal. She texted me later that it turned out really delicious (it is a really good recipe, bookmark it!) and that her three year old had 3 servings of everything.

For whatever reason, I thought about this “eat to live” line. I think that God has designed our body to love good food. Sure, we need to love food in moderation just like we should have moderation in all parts of our life, but there is not much that can rival a really good meal with really good friends. Or a good meal to lift a person’s spirits when things are really shitty or stressful. Or cooking for someone and watching them savor every bite because it’s so delicious. Or eating a meal where all the flavors are so perfectly balanced that you have to close your eyes or do the this-is-so-good-I-have-to-do-a-little-shimmy dance.

I don’t think the sole purpose of food is to give our body energy. There is something deeper to food than this.

I think in order to have a healthy relationship with food we have to accept that we love good food. We do. Now what we consider good food can change. And doing this Whole30 I have found recipes for some really amazing food. But I think the goal of Whole30 – to help you achieve food freedom – doesn’t mean that we should only eat for the energy it gives us. We have to accept that food is a way to connect with people, a way to show love and receive love. Food is a way that we can relate to the world. We just have to figure out the best way to do it for our health.

Breakfast:

• Sweet Potato Hash Browns – I almost set our house on fire cooking the sweet potato in the microwave like the recipe says. I also made the hash brown patties too big and I tried to cook them on the griddle so they didn’t crisp up as they would have had I fried them. The whole thing was soggy. Not the best. But it might be my fault not following the recipe closely enough. Except for the sweet potato in the microwave. I can’t see how that would ever work.
• Trader Joe’s Garlic Herb Chicken Sausage
• 2 Fried Eggs
• Fruit

Lunch:

• Spinach with Cherry Tomatoes and Balsamic Vinegrette
• Hard-boiled Egg
• 1/2 an Apple with Almond Butter

Dinner: (All the leftovers)

• Applegate Hot Dog
• 1/2 a Hamburger Patty
• Grapes
• 1/2 an Avocado
• Spinach
• Hard-Boiled Egg
• Leftover Potato and Green Bean Salad

How We Felt:

Sometimes you just get tired of cooking. Thank God for leftovers.

Also, the author of the blog – Pretend It’s a Donut – wins at life. I haven’t read her stuff, I just wish I had come up with a blog name like that.

The weekends are the hardest part of doing a Whole30. Our schedule is usually different, we’re hanging out with friends, I’m spent at the end of the week and just don’t feel like cooking much. It’s not hard to eat Whole30 compliant food, what’s hard is to not graze. Since our meals are pretty much eating leftovers or snack-y things, I want to pick at food all day. It is hard to make myself put a whole meal together and sit down and eat it.

I realize how deeply ingrained snacking is related to relaxing in my head. I just want to kick back and munch. I’m so used to the weekend being my splurge days. My normal routine was to eat well during the week and on the weekends treat myself.

I have not yet been able to keep myself from snacking on the weekends. Especially right now in the summer when all the fruit is so cheap and delicious. I just swing by the fridge for a handful of grapes or blueberries throughout the day. At least the food is still compliant. Even though I might be good at not snacking during the week, as next weekend is our last Whole30 weekend, I’m going to try really hard to not snack.

Breakfast:

• Breakfast Pizza Quiche
• Handful of the Trader Joe’s Cruciferous Mix
• 1/2 and Avocado
• 1/2 an Apple

Lunch:

• Leftover Tuna Salad
• Bacon
• Celery Sticks with Ranch Dressing
• 1/2 an Apple with Almond Butter
• 2 Hard-Boiled Eggs

Dinner:

• Hamburger Patty
• Potato and Green Bean Salad – This is the 2nd time I’ve made this, it definitely tastes better if you dice the potato smaller. The dressing soaks in better.
• All-Day Breakfast Salad
• Grapes, Strawberries, and Pineapple

How We Felt:

Nothing much to report today. Just feeling snacky.

If you’re a guy and talking about lady business makes you uncomfortable, just skim on down to the food part.

After my cycles started again after the twins, I could tell right away that I had a few really strong symptoms associated with PMS. Like my carb cravings were out of control. I would almost blackout and find a third piece of toast slathered with butter shoved in my mouth. Or as soon as the girls were in bed, out came the step-stool to dig through the depths of our pantry hoping that some birthday party candy got shoved up there. It was almost this uncontrollable thing. But outside of the pre-menstrual window, I had no problem not eating sweets and limiting my bread intake. I also was seriously moody. Ok, ok, that’s me most of the time. But I really only feel that off-the-charts rage also during this pre-menstrual window.

I was so convinced that something had to be off hormonally that I went to see my doctor about it and just got a blood test done last week at P+7 to see what was going on.

This time that I just started my cycle, I forgot that I was starting. I mean I knew on my chart I was getting close, but all these usual signals, like chronic candy-eating, or rage fits were not there. I haven’t been craving sugar and carbs at all. I think I might even be eating a little less fruit than usual and I haven’t had almond butter in a few days. Weird.

I did some looking around online. Whole30 seriously has thought of almost anything. You can type Whole30 and whatever and the official site will have written about it. Except women’s cycles. I’m sure it’s because every person is different so they don’t want to say that cramps and bloating and PMS symptoms can be lessened when really it’s just anecdotal. But considering that it would be really interesting to find out what has happened to other women on the Whole30, they should devote some webspace to it.

Breakfast: [late wakeup, means we were rushing to get breakfast served so no picture]

• Breakfast Pizza Quiche – Again, baked eggs aren’t my favorite but, so far, this is def my favorite breakfast casserole. It is IMPOSSIBLE to find Whole30 compliant pepperoni. Seriously, I’ve looked everywhere. Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, HEB. They all have dextrose. So I started looking at other cured meats. I found a Boar’s Head Beef Salami that contains no added sugar but they didn’t list any ingredients so it might have had sulfites or whatever. But I tried my best and really wanted to make this dish.
• 1/2 an Avocado
• 1/2 an Apple
• Handful of Trader Joe’s Cruciferous Mix

Lunch:

• Tuna Salad with Whole30 Mayo and Avocado
• Handful of Grapes

Dinner:

• Chili Dog Bowl – Leftover Chili, Applegate Hot Dogs (are Whole30 compliant), Mustard and 1/2 an Avocado
• Trader Joe’s Roasted Plantain Chips

How We Felt:

I was able to make it to every one of the exercise classes I like to attend during the week and I feel great. Not that sore even though I’ve really been pushing myself during class. And my joints feel great. Usually at the end of the week my knees are really achy but they are fine right now. I’m impressed. I was skeptical that my joint pain was ever going to change.

Week 3 Meal Roundup:

Day 15

• Breakfast: Green Monster Smoothie, Egg and Sausage Casserole, Buffalo Chicken and Potato Casserole, Bacon
• Lunch: Raw Veggies and Fruit
• Dinner: Buffalo Ranch and Garlic Basil Chicken Wings, Ranch, Carrot Sticks, Celery Sticks, Rainbow Slaw

Day 16

• Breakfast: Kerbey Lane Harvest Omelette, Home Fries, Fruit
• Lunch: Leftover Buffalo Chicken and Potato Casserole, Hard-boiled egg
• Dinner: Hamburger patty, Rainbow Slaw, Potato and Green Bean Salad, Watermelon, Banana Chia Pudding

Day 17

• Breakfast: Fried Eggs, Power to the Greens Mix, 1/2 an Avocado, Banana Chia Pudding
• Lunch: Turkey Waldorf Salad and 1/2 a Sweet Potato with Cinnamon
• Dinner: Pot Roast, 1/2 an Avocado, Roasted onions and red peppers, Rainbow Slaw

Day 18

• Breakfast: Last of the Pot Roast, Spinach, Handful of Pecans, 2 Fried Eggs, Banana and Almond Butter
• Lunch: Last of the Waldorf Salad, Carrot Sticks, 1/2 an Avocado, Handful of Pecans
• Dinner: Fish Taco Bowls , Spinach, Cabbage Slaw Mix, Trader Joe’s Salsa Verde, 1/2 an Avocado

Day 19

• Breakfast: 2 Fried Eggs, Spinach, 1/2 an Apple and Almond Butter, Handful of Pecans
• Lunch: Carrot Sticks, Spinach, Deli Turkey, 1/2 a Sweet Potato with Cinnamon, Pecan Pie Larabar
• Dinner: 30-Minute Chicken Cacciatore , Spinach, Watermelon

Day 20

• Breakfast: 2 fried eggs, 1/2 an Avocado, Strawberries, Spinach
• Lunch: Leftover Chicken Cacciatore, Spinach, Grapes
• Dinner: No-Bean Turkey Chili, 1/2 an Avocado, Trader Joe’s Roasted Plantain Chips

Day 21:

• Breakfast: Breakfast Pizza Quiche, 1/2 an Avocado, 1/2 an Apple, Handful of Trader Joe’s Cruciferous Mix
• Lunch: Tuna Salad with Whole30 Mayo and Avocado, Handful of Grapes
• Dinner: Chili Dog Bowl and Plantain Chips

I remember reading a random article about Jennifer Aniston’s diet some months ago. The point was that she works super hard for her figure and has to be crazy disciplined. Like if she wants to splurge, she adds slivered almonds or almond butter to her breakfast. The author went on to say that this would take all the fun out of life. You couldn’t have a greasy burger or a great milkshake or french fries or donuts. Ugh, the donuts. Don’t take away the donuts.

At the time, I agreed with the author. There is so much life to be lived through delicious food. But as I’ve moved through this Whole30 I’ve come to realize that yes, food can be exciting and amazing and worth the caloric intake, but that doesn’t mean that we have to live our life through the food we eat at every meal. We’ve been eating some really delicious meals without all those things I thought made life worth living, i.e. sugar and bread. Food can be good and fun without all the stuff that makes our bodies do weird things.

I’m far from having the discipline of Jennifer Aniston, nor do I really want it, but food doesn’t make life great. We make our life great. I’m not saying that never again will I indulge in the trifecta of the perfection that is a Phil’s burger, Amy’s ice cream, and sweet potato french fries but I don’t need that to make my life good. And my life is better when I don’t eat like that. So I’ll have to exercise better judgment of when to indulge.

Breakfast: [not picture, too hungry]

• 2 fried eggs
• 1/2 an Avocado
• Starwberries
• Spinach

Lunch: [again, not pictured. again, too hungry]

• Leftover Chicken Cacciatore – Still as tasty as yesterday. It was great as a leftover. The chicken didn’t dry out at all.
• Spinach
• Grapes

Dinner:

• No-Bean Turkey Chili – The written recipe is not the best. She doesn’t really specify how much of anything to throw in so in case you want specifics, for veggies I threw in: 2 zucchini, 2 carrots, 2 celery stalks, 1 medium sweet potato, and 1 red bell pepper chopped into a pretty small dice. Also, she means an 8oz can of tomato sauce. After simmering it for 1 hour, it didn’t taste quite right so I added about 2 tsp of cumin and 1 tsp of oregano. Total I simmered it for about 2 and a half hours. I’d say just plan of cooking this for a while until it tastes right. It ended up pretty darn good. And the best part of leftover chili is chili dogs tomorrow!
• 1/2 an Avocado
• Trader Joe’s Roasted Plantain Chips

I have kept the promise I made on Day 11. I have not looked at the scale. But I definitely know that I’ve lost weight. You know how?

(If you’re a guy reading this, sorry. Skip to the food part.)

Today I was shopping for a bra to go with the bridesmaid dress I will be wearing to a wedding in a few weeks. You know what? I have gone down a whole cup size. Seriously? I have 5 babies worth of weight hanging around my belly and my thighs but where I lose it is up top. Perhaps next time I’ll be more specific when I say I want to lose weight. Ha.

Breakfast:

• 2 Fried Eggs
• Spinach
• 1/2 an Apple and Almond Butter
• Handful of Pecans

Lunch: [not pictured]

• Carrot Sticks
• Spinach
• Deli Turkey
• 1/2 a Sweet Potato with Cinnamon
• Pecan Pie Larabar

Dinner:

• 30-Minute Chicken Cacciatore – I was concerned about this dish as I was cooking it. I was sure that it was far too much tomato and that it was going to be bland. Boy was I wrong. This dish was really delicious. Be sure you buy cutlets and not breasts or it will take too long to cook. I threw in the grape tomatoes with the rest of the veggies to cook; I didn’t wait to throw them in at the end. I also added mushrooms. I wasn’t particularly careful with the amount of spices, just every time I threw something in I generously sprinkled salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, and garlic powder. Also, I didn’t bother trying to drain some liquid out of the diced tomatoes, I just simmered everything a little longer. Make a little more than you’ll eat at dinner because it will make a really fantastic reheated lunch for a few days.
• Spinach
• Watermelon

How We Felt:

I checked out how we’re supposed to be feeling today and today we’re apparently supposed to be feeling like TIGER BLOOD. Oh. Hmm. Well, I don’t feel like a snow cone flavor. And now I’m thinking about snow cones. Mmmm.

 

As I look back over the last 18 days of food we’ve eaten, it’s so pretty. And I seriously just run over to some non-cluttered flat surface – which is hard to find around here – and snap a picture so I can rush back to the table and eat. Obviously I’m not going to win any food photography contests, but eating Whole30 food makes food look so good and colorful.

Here are some ways that I’ve found to quickly make lunch (which is the toughest meal for me) that not only looks good, but is also satiating and delicious.

1. I plan one main entree for each day’s lunch, usually whatever is going to be the protein. And if I can, I make enough to eat for a couple days.
2. I prep/have on hand several different snack-y things for the week that will fill up the rest of the plate:
   1.  Carrot sticks
   2. Celery Sticks
   3. Avocados
   4. Apples/Bananas
   5. Blueberries (they are so cheap right now)
   6. Almond Butter
   7. Bagged Spinach
   8. Bagged Other-Kinds-of Lettuce
   9. Plantain Chips
   10. Various Nuts
   11. Olives
   12. Roasted Sweet Potatoes
   13. Zoodles
   14. Turkey Deli Meat
   15. Hard-Boiled Eggs
3. And really when you look at this list, only a handful of them take chopping/cooking prep. Most just need to be bought during the weekly grocery trip.
4. Then when I plate the entree I see what colors are missing and what I feel like eating and just grab from this list and fill up my plate.
5. I do almost always have some lettuce/green on the plate. Usually dry. I haven’t found a delicious dressing that I love so I don’t feel like making one usually.

Breakfast is tough because I never wake up early enough to make any of the really delicious looking recipes I’ve found, but I’m pretty happy with fried eggs, avocado, spinach, and some kind of fruit. I’m honestly not even close to burning out on this. Dinner, even when not Whole30, is the most time-intensive meal so I don’t get frustrated with how much time and prep dinner takes. But lunch. Lunch. I don’t want to spend forever on it. I just made breakfast and finished up morning errands. And I need to start making dinner in like 3-4 hours. I don’t waaaaant to make lunch. (Channeling my inner threenager :)) So I either look for things I can make quickly the night before or that will not take me longer that 30 minutes to throw together. And, if something in our schedule really goes awry, I have that list of foods at the ready and we all just get to eat a snack plate for lunch. Or dinner, really, if necessary.

Was that helpful? Maybe that was just a stream of consciousness. Well, that’s how I do it 🙂

Breakfast:

• Last of the Pot Roast
• Spinach
• Handful of Pecans
• 2 Fried Eggs
• Banana and Almond Butter

Lunch:

• Last of the Waldorf Salad
• Carrot Sticks
• 1/2 an Avocado
• Handful of Pecans (I had the box sitting on my kitchen counter which is why I think I was craving them all day)

Dinner:

• Fish Taco Bowls – I had some Cabbage Slaw Mix leftover so Fish Tacos seemed the best fit. I used Halibut. This was an pretty good recipe. Except that their serving size for the dressing is way off. I made the whole recipe for the dressing and it was barely enough for me and Kraft. Make double of it.
• Spinach
• Cabbage Slaw Mix
• Trader Joe’s Salsa Verde
• 1/2 an Avocado

How We Felt:

Kraft finally likes black coffee. Yay! A few days ago I wrote how my joints were still feeling achy and that’s one of the reasons I wanted to try this crazy Whole30 thing. Well, apparently the patron saint of Whole30 heard, because the next day the joint pain was gone. Hmm.

I’ve always had a love affair with sweets. I imagine many people learn to express some amount of moderation as they grow up. Not me. If I eat one little sweet, I have to eat ALL THE SWEETS. There is no middle ground. I can’t eat 3 Thin Mints, I have to eat the whole roll. I can’t eat one bite of ice cream, I have to eat the pint.

I can remember being about 6 years old at Christmas time when me and my cousin went to town on a big tin of popcorn. You know, the ones the size of your torso. She ate the entire cheddar section and I ate the entire caramel section. I was throwing up all night long. I still remember vividly being curled up on the fuzzy bathroom mat next to the toilet all night. And, as if that was not enough to teach us, a few years later my uncle brought a couple dozen big sopaipillas. Me and this very same cousin each ate at least 6 of them if not a few more. Omigoodness. I felt awful for a couple days after that. Just awful.

But here I am, 17 days in and I haven’t seriously craved any dessert one single time. Sure, I’ve seen a few treats and thought they’d might be nice to have but there has been no grinding and gnashing of teeth for just one Oreo. Like I said, there is no middle ground. When I have zero sweets, I’m fine and can easily turn down any temptation. But when I have just one bite, well, let’s just say when my kids’ sweets go missing, they immediately question whether I ate it.

I can remember watching one of those weight loss shows when a woman lost 100 pounds or whatever and then she ran a marathon. To celebrate crossing the finish line, she ate 1 Reese’s Peanutbutter Cup. What? Is she crazy?? Just 1. If I had to run a marathon, you can be sure a Sam’s size bag of Reese’s would be waiting for me.

I’m not sure what to do with this information, but it’s good to understand my body’s reaction to sweet a little better.

Breakfast:

• Fried Eggs
• Power to the Greens Mix
• 1/2 an Avocado
• Banana Chia Pudding – Again, all the ingredients in this are technically Whole30 compliment but I know we aren’t supposed to eat it because it’s SWYPO. But I made it, so we’re eating it until it’s finished. Which now it is.

Lunch:

• Turkey Waldorf Salad – We ran out of the Primal Kitchen Mayo we’ve been using so I had to make mayo. I had to throw away the first batch which was super frustrating. It didn’t emulsify. My advice, make sure to use Extra Light Olive Oil. Regular EVOO is too strong of a flavor. Also, I tried to use a stick blender the first time and it didn’t work. Worked like a charm in the food processor, though. Also, the recipe for this I adapted from Allergy Mama. Basically 2 chopped apples, 2 chopped celery stalks, 1 pound of halved grapes, 1/2-1 cup of raisins. I threw in the leftover turkey from the Turkey drumsticks I made on Day 12. If you are going to add a protein, which is a good idea because there is so much fruit, you need about 2 cups of some cubed or shredded meat. Then mix in lemony mayo to taste.
• 1/2 a Sweet Potato with Cinnamon

Dinner: (Leftovers!)

• Pot Roast – I just throw in a bunch of veggies (big chunks of carrots, celery, onion, and potato) on the bottom of a crockpot, 1 cup of water or broth, then put the sirloin tip (lean cut) or chuck roast (lots of fat but very good) on top and cook on high for like 8 hours or something. Key to deliciousness is salting the meat enough.
• 1/2 an Avocado
• Roasted onions and red peppers
• Rainbow Slaw – This is delicious, but it made a huge amount. We still have one more serving left. Hopefully we’ll polish it off in the next couple days.

How We Felt:

Kraft has a huge headache all day. This is rare. He usually only gets headaches when he needs coffee. For me, my dreams are crazy vivid. Which is weird because I don’t ever really sleep long enough to dream.

One completely unforeseen result of doing the Whole30 is how much us doing it encourages other people to think about it. Of course, not because of us, but more because you can only hear about something so many times before it seems like a good idea.

I, for example, heard about it a year ago when a mommy blogger I used to read did it. I thought it was crazy. So hard to do with kids. What was she thinking? As if she didn’t already have her hands full. Then I put it out of my mind. Then starting about a 2 months ago, all media shifted toward detox cleanses that are going to get you “summer bod ready”. I always laughed. There is no way that I could make it days and days of only drinking juice or smoothies or whatever. But I kept hearing about them. On TV, on blogs, on the radio. After hearing about all these juice only or smoothie only cleanses over and over, the Whole30 didn’t seem so crazy. Cut out a few things, eat more greens. And, let’s face it, we can still eat bacon. Any diet that allows you to still eat bacon has to have something going for it.

I don’t think we’re inspirational by any stretch of the imagination but I think if we can do it, that proves that really, really anyone can if they want. 🙂

Breakfast:

• Kerbey Lane Harvest Omelette – no cheese, added spinach
• Home Fries – I forgot to bring my own ketchup. Boo me.
• Fruit

Lunch:

• Leftover Buffalo Chicken and Potato Casserole – This has lasted forever. We’ve eaten it at least 10 times this week and we still have about 2 servings left. But I’m still not sick of it. It’s a really solid dish.
• Hard-boiled egg

Dinner: [Had dinners with friends]

• Hamburger patty
• Rainbow Slaw
• Potato and Green Bean Salad
• Watermelon – a lot of it
• Banana Chia Pudding – This is not in the “spirit” of Whole30. All ingredients are technically compliant but they lump this in with paleo pancakes or whatever. In Whole30 lingo, it is SWYPO. I made it as dessert for our kiddos but they hated it so we weren’t going to waste it. They’re right, it wasn’t delicious, but it was fine.

Prep:

• I chopped about a million peppers. I didn’t get around to making those stuffed peppers and they were going bad so we have pounds of frozen chopped red bell pepper now.

How We Felt:

Part of the reason I decided to do Whole30 is that I feel really crummy at times. Like my joints can get really achy and I just feel really run down. I’m not going to lie, this hasn’t really gone away. I still feel like this and we’re halfway through the program. I’m not discourage, I just really wonder what the source is.