whole30

Watch out y’all, I’m about to get all deep and theological for a sec 😉

Kraft prays Night Prayer (Office of Compline) with our kiddos every night. (It’s adorable to be hear our little three year old chant.) But tonight he is driving back from Wichita Falls with our middle two so I did Night Prayer with Olivia at bedtime. These lines from Psalm 4 struck me:

“What can bring us happiness?” many say.
Let the light of your face shine on us, O Lord.
You have put in my heart a greater joy
than they have from abundance of corn and new wine.

I have felt moments of great joy in my life. And while I can remember several moments of joy that have included food, the joy came from the experience around the food more than the food itself. I can still perfectly remember the most amazing bowl of Frosted Flakes with whole milk I’ve ever had. It was at a hotel on Times Square but it was after the most comically futile trip across the city to try and get SNL tickets. Or I can remember eating this delicious pumpkin tempura at Uchi but it was during our first date out after our first kid was born and it was our first anniversary. Or I can remember this really good seafood meal in New Orleans but it was in one of John Besh’s restaurants and we actually got to meet him and tell him our three year old loves watching him on PBS.

When I think about why I sometimes eat my emotions, it’s because I’m looking for a fast fix. I’m not really wanting to find a solution to my kids acting crazy right when I should be cooking dinner. I’m not really wanting to dig a little deeper to figure out why Kraft and I keep having the same argument. I’m not really wanting to learn how to control my anger better. I know I don’t feel joy at the moment and want a Dr. Pepper and some chocolate to trick myself into feeling better.

But food is not “the” joy that fulfills our deepest longings. The joy great food brings me will never come close to the joy I’ve felt after having a baby, or getting married, or working through a difficult issue with someone, really acing a project at work, or coming out of the confessional.

While I will always LOVE food, I need to remember, I was made for an even greater joy.

Breakfast:

• Fried Eggs
• Pederson Farms (sugar-free) bacon
• Green Monster Smoothie – I know that we’re not really supposed to be having smoothies but I’ve decided we’ll have one a week. And I just couldn’t chew more salad. Instead I blended it.

Lunch: [not pictured]

• Rudy’s Brisket and Turkey – I have no idea what kind of rub they put on their barbecue and they do not list ingredients on their website. If you know, shoot me a comment 🙂
• Lots of fruit – I was at my parents’ neighborhood block party so this is all I could really eat

Dinner:

• Tuna Salad with jalapeños and avocado instead of mayo
• Handful of Almonds

We did it! Week 1 done! Phew. [A roundup of all the meals we ate this week is at the bottom of this post]

Today both Kraft and I had to venture out into the real world for a non-breakfast meal for the first time since starting the Whole30.

Kraft ate at Whataburger. He didn’t have a lot of choices. Brussel sprouts and green beans aren’t really snack-packable. He found out that Whataburger’s grilled chicken contains corn syrup. Isn’t that weird? But their burgers are just meat and spices so he had a burger patty and the lettuce and stuff.

I ate at Kerbey Lane. It was Olivia’s last day of school so I went out with her for a special lunch.

Olivia has a lot of food allergies so I’m used to being “that” person asking the waiter tons of questions and requesting specially cooked food. When I have to do it for her, I don’t mind. I’m a parent advocating for my child and I’m not embarrassed nor do I feel bad taking the time of a busy waiter/waitress. But for me doing the Whole30, I did feel a little silly.

As I searched the menu, I thought about ordering a salad but I didn’t want just oil and vinegar for the dressing and I had forgotten to bring some of my own. I could not bring myself to order the Bacon Cheeseburger without bacon…or cheese. It felt dumb. So I ordered the Jalapeño Bison Burger, bunless, minus bleu cheese (which I would have done anyway because I hate it), and with fruit instead of fries. Man, did I want some of those sweet potato fries.

I will have to say, those Kerbey Lane cooks did a fantastic job not making my meal look like a sad little hunk of meat on a huge empty plate. They folded up the bison patty in lots of lettuce and tomatoes and onions covered in hot sauce (I’m pretty sure it was Frank’s Hot Sauce which is compliant) and a decent pile of pickles on the side. And a little bowl of fruit. It was so pretty. I wish I had remembered to take a picture of it. Thanks Kerbey Lane Cooks!

Breakfast:

• Leftover Breakfast Salad – I decided that I will not make this again, mostly because I think I would enjoy each ingredient that goes into this salad more if I just ate them all separately instead of all mixed up like this.
• 1/2 an Apple with Almond Butter
• Handful of Cruciferous Salad Mix

Lunch: [not pictured]

• Kerbey Lane Bison Burger Patty with lettuce, tomatoes, and onions
• Side of Fruit

Dinner:

• Leftover Campfire Salmon and Veggies
• Carrot Sticks
• Last of the bag of Cruciferous Salad Mix
• Cauliflower Fried Rice – This is another recipe from Nom Nom Paleo and it was really, really good. 👍👍

How We Felt:

I’m still really dragging around 4pm. I’m not sure if it’s the Whole30 thing or just a life thing.

Guess what, guys??? We got through everything in that right crisper drawer (except one bag of Riced Cauliflower that we gave to a neighbor)! And even better, we didn’t turn in to kale. Surprise!

Week 1 Meal Roundup:

Day 1:

• Breakfast: BLT Salad and Cherry Limeade Smoothie
• Lunch: Tuna Salad and Mashed Sweet Potato and Applesauce
• Dinner: Steak and Roasted Broccoli and Cherry Tomatoes

Day 2:

• Breakfast: Kerbey Lane – Harvest Omelette without cheese, home fries, and fruit
• Lunch: Zucchini Noodle Bowl
• Dinner: Sheet Pan Fajitas, Mexican Cauliflower Rice, 1/2 an avocado

Day 3:

• Breakfast: Skillet Eggs and 1/2 an Apple with Almond Butter
• Lunch: Leftover Tuna Salad, Carrot Sticks, Blueberries, Spinach, Hard-boiled Egg, and Sweet Potato and Applesauce Mash
• Dinner: Zoodles with Creamy Avocado Sauce, Whole Roasted Chicken, and Roasted Sweet Potato with coconut oil and cinnamon

Day 4:

• Breakfast: BLT Breakfast Salad
• Lunch: Leftover Sheet Pan Fajitas, Leftover Mexican Cauliflower Rice, and 1/2 an Apple
• Dinner: Asian Meatballs and Power Greens Salad with Almonds and Blueberries

Day 5:

• Breakfast: Zucchini Noodle Bowl
• Lunch: Skillet Eggs, 1/2 an Apple with Almond Butter, 2-3 slices of turkey, handful of Almonds, Small Banana
• Dinner: Apple Cider Pulled Pork, Carrot Sticks, Sautéed Cruciferous Mix with Garlic, 1/2 an Avocado, Grapes

Day 6:

• Breakfast: Breakfast Salad, Handful of Power to the Greens mix, and 1/2 a Grapefruit
• Lunch: Leftover Shredded Pork, Leftover Meatballs, Zoodles, Handful of Blueberries, and 1/2 an Apple with Almond Butter
• Dinner: Campfire Salmon and Watermelon Agua Fresca

Day 7:

• Breakfast: Leftover Breakfast Salad, 1/2 an Apple with Almond Butter, Handful of Cruciferous Salad Mix
• Lunch: Kerbey Lane Bison Burger Patty with lettuce, tomatoes, and onions, and Side of Fruit
• Dinner: Leftover Campfire Salmon and Veggies, Carrot Sticks, Last of the bag of Cruciferous Salad Mix, Cauliflower Fried Rice

 

Kraft’s ongoing joke is that the Whole30 is the anti-KonMari diet. Marie Kondo, from The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, is the author that teaches people to only keep things in their home that bring them joy. The Whole30 is the anti-KonMari method because if a certain food brings us joy, then we can’t eat it. Ha.

I do get a lot of joy out of food which is not the best for my health. It’s amazing to me how much eating is my coping mechanism. I eat my emotions. When the witching hour comes around (you know, that hour before you need to have dinner ready and every child in the house decides to act possessed at the exact same time) all I want to do is eat a whole chocolate cake…alone…hiding in the laundry room. Or at the end of a rough day when everyone, by the grace of God, is still alive, I feel the need to reward myself with something indulgent. Wine, candy, chocolate, ice cream. I’m not picky.

Today was the first day on the program that really tested me. It was long and hard and the kids weren’t the best. I’ve been trying not to give in and eat fruit to satiate my sugar cravings which, according to Whole30, does nothing to slay your “sugar dragon“. But I did give in and make a Watermelon Agua Fresca for dinner (no added sugar). And as much as I was hoping it would give me that pick me up I needed to get me through bedtime routines, it didn’t. Lesson learned.

Breakfast:

• Breakfast Salad – It was really hard to find compliant breakfast sausage but I did find a turkey sausage in the frozen breakfast section.I didn’t use as much lemon as the recipe calls for, I just squeezed a little so the avocado wouldn’t brown.
• Handful of Power to the Greens mix
• 1/2 a Grapefruit

Lunch: [not pictured]

• Leftover Shredded Pork
• Leftover Meatballs
• Zoodles
• Handful of Blueberries
• 1/2 an Apple with Almond Butter

Dinner:

• Campfire Salmon – This is from a cookbook called Simply in Season and is super easy. In a foil packet put salmon sprinkled with salt and pepper, then load up with sliced veggies: green peppers, onions, broccoli, zucchini, cherry tomatoes, whatevs. Pour some dressing (we used a balsamic vinaigrette but recipe calls for Italian dressing) over it, then seal and bake at 450° for 20 minutes.
• Agua Fresca de Sandia – We had a gallon sized bag full of sliced watermelon that was about to go bad so I blended it up with a cup of water, handful of fresh mint, and a squeeze of lime. Very refreshing. Even better, make it ahead of time and refrigerate it.

How we felt:

I had a hard time making it to the end of the day. By about 4:30pm I could have fallen asleep for the night. I was really dragging. Today was also the first day I was really craving sugar.

😴 Goodnight.

[FYI, this post does contain affiliate links.]

This Whole30 deal makes you do some strange things:

• Kraft stood over the peanut butter jar smelling it for like 10 seconds this morning
• I have this overwhelming urge to have a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios
• As I was serving the kids rice, I got a few grains on my finger and immediately put them in my mouth, then ran to the trash to spit them out. Two grains of rice, folks. #totallyunnecessary

We’re officially Whole30 crazy.

Breakfast: [not pictured]

• Zucchini Noodle Bowl

Lunch:

• Skillet Eggs
• 1/2 an Apple with Almond Butter
• 2-3 slices of turkey (Our grocery store makes in-house real slices of turkey off of a turkey breast. So good and the turkey (not the ham, boo) is Whole30 compliant #awesomesauce)
• Handful of Almonds
• Small Banana

Dinner:

• Apple Cider Pulled Pork (Which really should be called shredded pork because pulled pork implies saucy deliciousness and this has no sauce. Trust me, I’m a Texan.) – This was really good.  I’d say if I had thrown in chipotle peppers while it was cooking it would taste just like The Pioneer Woman’s recipe that uses Dr. Pepper and brown sugar.
• Carrot Sticks
• Sautéed Cruciferous Mix with Garlic – not my favorite, but Kraft liked it
• 1/2 an Avocado
• Grapes

How we felt today:

Just yesterday I uttered the famous last words, “This isn’t so bad. We haven’t really had the symptoms that the Whole30 timeline said. Maybe we were eating better than we thought.”

Ha.

I’ve been hungry all day. Kraft was fine. But the funniest part is that right in the afternoon I totally hit a wall. I could have curled up in the speech therapist’s office I was waiting in and fallen asleep. When I got home, I started putting away laundry but ended up face down on the carpet in my kids’ room dozing off. Lina ran into the room to do something and jumped and screamed because Mama was on the floor fully stretched out.

The general progression of feelings on this program is “Hangover” –> “Kill All the Things” –> “Just Want to Nap”. I skipped the hangover part. I tend towards being grumpy most days so “Kill All the Things” didn’t really phase me. I was thrown headlong into NAP. Now. Nap now. Do it. Don’t think. Do it. Nap. NOW.

Here’s hoping tomorrow brings some more energy and satiety.

 

No, chitchat today. You need to go to Nom Nom Paleo and make her Asian Meatballs. By all means, stop reading now so you can go straight to the store and buy the ingredients. No judgment here. I did only find the Red Boat Fish Sauce (affiliate link) at Whole Foods and not at HEB. I see that you can order on Amazon but then you have to wait two whole days to make this. Seriously, they are the most delicious thing ever. This was the conversation at dinner tonight:

Our oldest kiddo: “Mom, I think these are so good that God would like them.”

Kraft: “Do you think God would say, ‘Oh my Me, those are good!'”

It was really nice to find such a good recipe. Not that the food we’ve been eating has been bad, it’s just nice to find a solid comfort food that is Whole30 compliant.

Breakfast: [no picture]

• BLT Breakfast Salad which I decided I’m never going to make for breakfast again. It would make a better lunch. No one has time to chew that much and that long in the morning.

Lunch:

• Leftover Sheet Pan Fajitas
• Leftover Mexican Cauliflower Rice
• 1/2 an Apple

Dinner:

• Asian Meatballs – Do yourself a favor and make a double batch so you can freeze them for another time or just have leftovers for the rest of the week.
• Power Greens Salad with Almonds and Blueberries
• I was going to make Nom Nom Paleo’s Asian Cauliflower Fried Rice but the meatballs definitely take some time to put together so I just threw together the simple salad above.

How We Felt:

Kraft has been dragging. We’re not sure if it’s because of the “hangover” effect of the Whole30 or just the fact that we suck at going to sleep at a decent time. I’m feeling fine. This is the first day that I’m feeling hungry now right before bed but I’m just drinking a La Croix and hoping that satisfies me.

Today I finally came to terms with the fact that I insanely overbought greens from Trader Joe’s. I’d never shopped there before as they are relatively new to this area but I read post after post of Whole30 peeps raving about how easy their prepackaged salad mixes are. I was sold. Not sure what possessed me but this is what I have currently in our fridge plus we just finished 2 heads of romaine lettuce and a box of spinach. The drawer on the right has everything with a sell by date of 5/26. It’s not looking promising that we’ll be able to eat it all. I’ll have to give some to neighbors or maybe freeze? Hmm.

I will say my biggest fear starting the Whole30 was running out of food that is compliant. With 5 kiddos, it’s not easy to pop over to the grocery store so if we’re out of Whole30 food, hello water and lime. That being the driving force in my mind, when I was at Trader Joe’s I just started compulsively throwing multiple bags of anything that resembled a green in my cart with my 3 year old asking with each throw, “What IS that, Mama???”

I got their Cruciferous (there I go with that word again) mix, Power to the Greens mix, Broccoli Slaw mix, Cabbage mix, and Riced Cauliflower. If I stop posting it’s because we somehow managed to eat all of this before it expired and turned into kale.

Breakfast:

• Skillet Eggs – This took 10 minutes to make and was delicious. Oh, and don’t worry overmuch about the pea tendril and leek thing. I just used plain ol’ white onions and plain spinach and it was still great.
• 1/2 an Apple with Almond Butter

Lunch: (Meal prep earlier in week was clutch, all this was already made)

• Leftover Tuna Salad
• Carrot Sticks
• Blueberries
• Spinach
• Hard-boiled Egg
• Sweet Potato and Applesauce Mash

Dinner:

• Zoodles with Creamy Avocado Sauce (made sauce without the garlic because apparently Kraft’s a vampire and has something against raw garlic)
• Whole Roasted Chicken – shredded
• Roasted Sweet Potato with coconut oil and cinnamon

How We Felt:

Fine. Other than the hand wringing about the underground greens selling ring we’re going to have to start.