Whole 30 Day 26

Today was the day of my daughters 3rd birthday party.  I was fairly busy throughout most of the day trying to get the house and food ready for the afternoon party and my eating was pretty minimal because I just didn't have time to stop and make something to eat.  I did keep to my word and I didn't have a single piece of her adorable birthday cake.  I was however, even more pleased with myself because I kept the menu pretty paleo (with the exception of a couple of things) aside from the food that guests brought.  The best part is the "anti paleo" folks gobbled up the paleo food without even realizing what they were doing.  If people only took down the wall and realized that this is just another way of eating a healthy way of eating and it isn't so bad. 

Breakfast:
Left over sausage from previous nights "pizza"
1 scrambled egg


Lunch:
Didn't eat but snacked on the veggies while I was prepping them


Dinner:
Lettuce wrapped hamburger
No side


Dessert:
As I mentioned above I did not eat cake.  When I began to feel this overwhelming urge to eat a piece I grabbed my blender a can of coconut milk and the strawberries and bananas that had cut and frozen for an occasion like this and make a coconut milk shake.  Delicious and it curbed that sweet craving that I was having.

Party Menu:
Costco hotdogs which are surprisingly gluten free, preservative free, and no high fructose corn syrup added
Spice rubbed hamburgers with lettuce tomato and onions
Veggie platter w/carrots, sliced cucumbers, sliced red and yellow bell peppers
Roasted red pepper and cilantro dip
Salsa from the Everyday Paleo book
Gluten free tortilla chips (I ate none of these)
I did provide buns for the hotdogs and hamburgers
Birthday cake
.

Whole 30 Day 25

Wow, 5 days left.  I've been considering about doing another 30 days; we'll see.


Breakfast
2 small paleo pancakes
2 scrambled eggs


Lunch
Fish "sticks" which were really salmon cakes that I shaped into a "stick" shape.  My kids love them!


Dinner
Paleo Pizza crust from the Everyday Paleo book.  Added gluten free marinara sauce, sausage, crooked necked squash and green onions to the top.  It was beyond good!

Whole 30 Day 24

Breakfast
3 Eggs scrambled
2 pieces bacon
coffee black

Lunch
Leftover meatloaf
Avocado

Snack
Handful almonds

Dinner
Crockpot salsa chicken
green salad with creamy roasted red pepper dressing

Whole 30 Day 23

This week will be the true test.  My daughter's birthday is on Friday and let me just put this out there I love cake.  There I said it but this year I will not partake in the cake eating.  I've been feeling so good lately that I just don't want to ruin it and being in the homestretch of the Whole 30 it would make the last 20+ days seem like such a waste.  My plan for her party on Saturday is this:  I bought a cake that should just be big enough to serve the guests and if there are any leftover they will either go home with someone else or right to the trash can-outside.  I will make a Whole 30 Paleo dessert for me.  Maybe some coconut milk and frozen fruit blended into a type of smoothie. 

As far as today's eats here we go:

Breakfast:
Leftover meatloaf

Lunch:
Chicken salad with mayo dressing.  I remade the dressing that I made earlier this week.

Dinner:
BBQ chicken.  Garlic and onion powders.  Smoked paprika, ground coriander with a little olive oil drizzled over the top. 
Green salad with chopped strawberries and radishes same dressing as lunch.

Whole 30 Day 22

Breakfast
Leftover meatloaf


Lunch
Steak salad from Logans Roadhouse
Used sliced lemons for dressing and had them leave the cheese off.  It was a pretty basic salad with grilled steak and I'm quite certain was probably cooked in peanut oil, tomatoes, bacon and hardboiled egg.  I decided that the high probablity of the meat being cooked in peanut oil far out weight the other options that were available on the menu. 


Dinner
Rotersserie chicken salad with 2 sliced strawberries and chopped red onion
Use the dressing from yesterday's salmon cakes.

Whole 30 Day 21

Breakfast
2 pieces of bacon
12 oz coffee black
I just did not have an appetite this morning.  I awoke in the middle of the night not feeling well and it seem to carry over into the morning.  Thankfully by lunch time I was feeling better because I made a yummy lunch for the kids and I.

Lunch:
Salmon cakes ( I told the kids they were homemade fish sticks)
2 can of wild Alaskan salmon
2 eggs
2 tbsp red onion minced
1 clove garlic minced
1 tbsp sundried tomato minced
1 tbsp cilantro minced
juice of 1 lemon
pinch of sea salt
Mix the ingredients well and form into small patties.  Cook over medium heat in coconut oil for 4-5 minutes per side. 

I made a paleo mayo and was inspired to get a little creative with my normal mayo thanks to Everyday Paleo.  I added a small amount of roasted red peppers, a clove of garlic and some fresh cilantro.  The added ingredients were made into a paste like consistency in the food processor prior to mixing with the mayo.

Seriously, all 3 kids LOVED these and the evidence was the completely clean lunch plates and that my friends hardly every happens in my house at lunch.  It seems that someone is always unhappy with something on their plate.  In fact my 7 year old ate 3 patties and asked if I could make these again tomorrow.  I told him I had to work so he asked if I could write it down and leave it for Daddy.  Too funny!

Dinner
Meatloaf
Green salad w/tomatoes and radishes used the left over dressing from the salmon cakes at lunch.

Whole 30 Day 20

Happy Fathers Day!!!


Breakfast:
1 paleo pancake
2 pieces of bacon


Lunch:
Left over chicken, and pork chop with left over broccoli slaw


Dinner:
Hamburgers w/lettuce wraps
sweet potato fries

Whole 30 Day 19

Wow, I can't believe that only 11 days remain.  It seems like the first 10 days felt like and eternity but now almost 10 days later I'm asking myself where did the time go?  Had a great day today, good food, good workout and fairly well behaved kids.  Couldn't ask for anything better.  Today my husband and I met at the local high school again for an afternoon workout and we brought the kids along.  These afternoon workouts are nice especially when he is on duty because it gets him out of the office a little early and it also engages the kids in fun exercise.  Todays workout was:


1 mile warmup run
100m bear crawl
20 dumbbell dead lift 50#
30 dumbbell push press 25# each arm
40 dumbbell swings 25#
50 air squats
1/4 mile run


repeat x3

Let me tell you getting those kids out there doing some of the workout is great and seeing a 3 year old doing a bear crawl is priceless.  On the 2nd round my 3 year old decided that she was going to "walk" the "horse" and that was some great motivation to keep going without stopping (not that she was going to let me).


Breakfast
3 pieces bacon
Coffee w/2 tbsp coconut milk
1 paleo pancake made w/bananas, almond butter, eggs, cinnamon, nutmeg and a splash of coconut milk.  Fortunately there was only 1 left after my kids ate a crazy amount of them.


Lunch:
Chicken salad using previous night dinner added some apples, blueberries and used homemade mayo


Dinner:
Grilled pork chops marinated in apple cider vinegar, olive oil, paprika, chilli powder, ground coriander, fresh garlic, onion power, oregano and salt
Broccoli slaw with blueberries, apples and homemade mayo

Whole 30 Day 18

Breakfast
3 pieces of bacon
iced coffee w/coconut milk

Lunch:
3 hardboiled eggs
avocado w/balsamic vinegar and olive oil

Dinner:
Oven roasted salsa chicken in lettuce wraps
Roasted green beans with bacon and almonds

Snack
Orange

Whole 30 Day 17

Breakfast
2 eggs
1/2 avocado

Snack:
3/4 cup blueberries

Lunch:
Wild Alaskan salmon and broccoli slaw
1/2 avocado

Dinner:
Oven roasted chicken thigh
Tomato and onion salad

Whole 30 Days 14-16

Eek....I got a little behind on the food journals.  I have managed to stay clean eating however and made some pretty tasty food over the last several days.  Today's Day 16's goal was to hit up the local farmers market.  I had my 3 year old daughter and pretty much let her choose the fruits and veggies to buy.  We left with quite a bit for less than $20.  I think our greatest find was some beets and I wish I could remember what kind they were other than orange.  But at the recommendation of the farmer I cubed them lightly coated them with olive oil and roasted them.  I also added an onion that I chopped into large pieces.  Delicious!!  And the kids loved it. Definitely something that I will make again.

Today Day 16 eats:

Breakfast
3 eggs
1/2 avocado  I think I ate about half.  I just haven't been very hungry lately in the mornings so I think that I only ate about 1/2.

Lunch:
Left over Puerto Rican Beef from Sundays lunch.  I also added a small amount of sweet potato and some hot sauce.

Dinner:
BBQ chicken with homemade sauce
Roasted beets and grilled squash

Whole 30 Day 13

Breakfast
3 eggs scrambled
1/2 avocado
2 pieces bacon

Lunch
Purteo Rican Beef found in Everyday Paleo cookbook
Mashed sweet potato

Dinner:
Taco Salad and guacamole

Work out 10 minute bleacher run...alternating singles, double and hops.  As many rounds in 20 min single arm snatches 10 L 10 R.  20 dumbbell swings.  10 Burpees, 200m sprint.  It was hot out and I was BEAT afterwards!

Whole 30 Day 12

Breakfast:
2 eggs scrambled
sweet potato hashbrowns

Lunch
Left over pork chops from previous night
Handful of grapes

Dinner:
3 fried eggs
Left over tomato and olive salad from previous night
1/2 avocado

Whole 30 Day 11

Another day down and feeling good!  Aside from being hungry all day things are going great.  I didn't have my usual avocado this morning with my breakfast so I'm wondering if that contributed to this feeling of being hungry.  By the time lunch rolls around I'm just famished and not a very nice person to be around until I get a little food in me and this is really out of the ordinary.  At least the famished part is  ;) 

Breakfast:
3 eggs scrambled

Lunch:
1 can wild Alaskan Salmon mixed with paleo mayo, kalamata olives and red onions

Snack:
Organic red grapes

Dinner:
Cinnamon rubbed pork chops with sauteed apples
avocado
tomato salad with onions kalamata olives and balsamic vinegar/olive oil dressing

Whole 30 Day 10

I decided to put a whole chicken that I had defrosted into the crockpot just before I went to bed.  I awoke at O dark 30 to an amazing smell throughout my house.  I think I actually heard my stomach growl in the middle of the night.  All I added was a jar of Herdez Verde Salsa (which I swear by) smoked paprika, 2-3 tbsp and 1-2 tbsp ground cumin.  Set on low for 8 hours and woke up to an amazing tasting chicken.

Breakfast
3 scrambled eggs
2 pieces bacon
1/2 avocado
12 oz coffee black

Lunch
Left over chicken from last nights dinner

Dinner:
Crockpot chicken.  My kids were LOVING this chicken.  In fact my boys ate 3 helping of this "mom, it tastes like our tacos but with chicken!".  I made some sweet potato hashbrowns to go with this as mixed up a bunch of hot sauce and it was delicious!  I will have to remember the whole cooking the chicken during the night trick because that was one thing that made life just a little easier today!

Whole 30 Day 9

As following the Whole 30 plan I have not stepped on a scale since Day 1.  In fact I told my husband that I'm so curious to know if I've lost even a pound or two but then on the other hand I would be so discouraged and disappointed it the scale hadn't budged. I know that I should be looking at this in terms of getting my eating and health back on track but I would be lying if I told you that the weight wasn't important also.  This morning I was quite surprise and pleased with myself.  First of all, I woke up feeling great again as I have been for the last several mornings.  Its nice to start your day feeling refreshed not like you have been hit by a truck.  But really the best part of the day was when I put my jeans on fresh out of the drier and I didn't have to suck it in to button them.  Girls and guys you know exactly what I'm talking about.  The "suck in" to get the button done and hope that the waistband will stretch soon.  My pants were feeling good today!  This morning reaffirmed to me that what I'm doing is working.  I feel good, have more energy and my pants are fitting better!

Breakfast:
Leftover fritatta (last 2 pieces)
Coffee 12 oz 1 tbsp coconut milk

Lunch:
1 whole avocado with balsamic/olive oil dressing
1 piece bacon
1/2 apple

So my lunch sucked and in all honesty I was starving.  I ate the avocado while I was hard boiling some eggs.  I got sidetracked working in the yard planting some flowers and before I knew it it was 3:00 and all I had to show for it was a hungry belly, pretty flowers in the yard and a sunburn.  No bueno (except for the flowers).

Snack:
2 hard boiled eggs this held me over until dinner.

Dinner:
Paleo "breaded" baked chicken.  I thought it was pretty darn tasty dipped in "ranch" dressing as my kids call it which is really homemade mayo with a little extra spices and vinegar.
Sweet potato french fries

Whole 30 Day 8

Today's goal was to get my children out and have some fun for the afternoon.  Today was the first day in quite sometime that it was sunny and warm.  It seems that all of May and the first part of June were so rainy.  After a busy morning and completing some projects around the house I took my 2 older boys to the local high school for a workout (OK, my workout their play).  We ran the bleachers for a 10 minute warm up followed by 100m sprints for a total of 1/2 mile.  After each 100m we alternated push ups and squats.  I added in some ball slams, mountain climbers and one more bleacher run before we called it done.  My kids didn't do all that I did but they did complete the track run/sprints with my and I was very proud of them.  They told me when we were leaving that they can't wait to go do it again.

Breakfast:
Left over fritatta
Coffee 12 oz with 1 tbsp coconut milk

Lunch:
Left over butter chicken and cauliflower

Dinner:
Taco meat with salsa and avocado

Snack
Small handful of almonds

Whole 30 Day 7

Day 7

Yes, I'm considering this day 7.  Saturday was a small blip on the radar and I'm back on path.  Today will be a day of planning out meals for the week and getting them in order to make life a little easier. 

Breakfast:

Left over fritatta
coffee 12 oz with 1 tbsp of coconut milk

Lunch:

Egg salad (3 eggs)
1/2 avocado with balsamic vinegar and olive oil

Dinner
Better Butter Chicken (as requested by my children)
1/2 spaghetti squash roasted with coconut oil and cinnamon

Whole 30 take 2

Day 1 (or 6)

Yesterday is behind me and today is another day. 

Breakfast:

I made a frittata out of last nights left over veggies.  So simple warm the veggies in a large skillet with a little coconut oil.  Add 10 beaten eggs, cook on low for 5-7 minutes.  Place in 400° oven for 15 or until firm in the middle.  This turned out to be a very tasty and filling breakfast and the best part is plenty of leftovers to get me through a good portion of the week!

Coffee 12 oz with 1/2 tbsp coconut milk

Lunch

Can of Wild Alaskan Salmon over cabbage with dressing.  Threw in a diced Roma tomato and kalamata olives.

Dinner

Mahi Mahi marinated in lemon juice, fish sauce, garlic and wheat free tamari.
Roasted Curried Cauliflower courtesy of Everyday Paleo.  These were delicious and my kids loved them

Whole 30 Day 5

Another day of rain in Nor Cal.  Ugh!  I'm really ready for some 100deg heat that's for sure.  Today my eating felt completely out of wack.  I kept pretty busy getting some detailed cleaning done around the house as we are getting ready to put it up for sale so my "normal" times of eating were WAY off. 

And in the promise of full disclosure, I slipped tonight.  I let my kids have a movie night and I allowed them a small treat while they watched, they picked M&M's which they shared.  This mom with apparently ZERO will power caved for the candy.  Of course I waited until they went to bed then I got them from the hiding place that I had convinced myself I would forget about them there.  As I sat in the chair eating them, I had a "Come to Jesus" talk with myself. 

Self:"What the hell are you doing?!?!?" 

Rationlization Self:  "It's just one slip tomorrow I will be back on track no harm no foul nobody will ever know" 

Self:  "You cannot do this!  YOU CANNOT DO THIS!"

I promptly got up from the chair and dumped the remaining candy into the garbage disposal.  Tomorrow is another day and thankfully there isn't any candy left in my house.  A continuous work in progress.

Todays eats (aside from above)

Breakfast:
2 eggs
2 left over meatballs from last nights dinner

Lunch:
1 avocado with balsamic and olive oil
4 meatballs with remaining dressing from the avocado

Dinner:
Baked chicken with tomato
Roasted veggies (zucchini and eggplant)

Whole 30 Day 4

Day 4
I'm feeling good and definitely less sluggish than I was a day or two ago. I'd like to think that this gets easier each time you do it. My will power seems to be holding up. Today was my sons last day of kindergarten and as I usually do on Fridays I helped out in the class. Today, his teacher supplied root beer floats for all the children and a small cookie. I hope my cringing was something that I kept on the inside but all I could do was shake my head in wonder. Don't get me wrong I love root beer floats and I believe that her intention was good however at 11am 35 minutes before they are dismissed for lunch than home I just don't think that it is the best idea. My sons class has several children with very big behavioral issues and one could only think that giving them junk food can only contribute to this bad behavior. I definitely see a big difference in my own children's behavior based upon the food they eat. I know that when they come back from grandmas house that it will be a miserable few days with tantrums and what not. So anyway, enough of my little rant on to what I ate for day 4.

Breakfast
3 eggs 1/2 avocado. My breakfast doesn't usually vary much. I'm often on the run in the mornings and usually find myself eating in the car-terrible habit but I just can't bring myself to wake us any earlier. This morning I maybe only finished half if what I made as I wasn't very hungry. Late snack of protein and fat caused no morning hunger??  Coffee 12 oz w/2 oz of coconut milk.


Lunch
2 salmon cakes over cabbage slaw same as yesterday however today I added a 1/2 of Roma tomato.


Dinner
Curried Meatballs
Sweet potato fries with tossed in coconut oil, cayenne pepper, smoked paprika and a dash of cinnamon
Green salad with kalamata olives and olive oil balsamic vinegar dressing.

Snack:
Kale Chips

Whole 30 Day 3

Day 3
Thankfully today was just a busy but relatively uneventful day.  I focused on having a little variety in my foods.  I did have a bit of a "cheat" with the Whole 30 plan but all in all I consider it to be pretty minor-butter.  Grassfed butter at that.  So here is Day 3's meals.

Breakfast:  3 eggs scrambled 1/2 avocado  8 oz coffee black

Lunch:  2 salmon cakes over cabbage slaw with homemade creamy olive oil dressing which was really just a spicy mayo with extra apple cider vinegar to thin it out to a dressing consistency.

Dinner:  Better Butter Chicken courtesy of Everyday Paleo.  I had to make a few modifications in the spices but it was delicious.  I served it with zucchini sauteed in coconut oil, herbs de province and onions.

Snack:  At 9:00 I found myself starving so I actually had some leftovers from tonight's dinner.

Whole 30 Day 2

Yippee for me I survived day 2!!  Today was a challenging day and I made it even though I wanted chocolate something fierce (exactly why I can't keep it in the house).  Between my 5 1/2 year old that changed overnight into a 3 year old and an almost 3 year old well acting like a 3 year old, HVAC people at my house ALL day for a project that was only supposed to take 1 day is now going into 3 days oh and a 7 year old that thought it was great to torment the other kids.  Let me just say I was glad when the day was over.

I kept my meals pretty basic just for the sheer fact that I was tired yesterday (sugar detox?)

Breakfast:  2 eggs, 3 meat balls broken apart and heated and served with the eggs topped with 1/2 an avocado.  8 oz coffee black.

Lunch:  Leftover meatballs cooked the same way as breakfast.

Snack:  Shared an apple with my son and a 1 tbsp of almond butter.

Dinner:  Umm...leftover meatballs and a huge dinner salad with kalamata olives, sundried tomatoes and a very small handful of toasted almonds.  Balsamic vinegar and olive oil dressing.  I pretty much just ate the salad as I wasn't all that hungry. 

I will make day 3 a priority to have a little variety in my meals. 

Day 1 of the Whole 30

I have been eating clean/paleo for a year and a half now.  I will freely admit that the last several months have been nothing but a struggle for me to maintain the eating lifestyle that I know is the healthiest way for me to live.  My goal is to maintain paleo 80-90% with the occasional splurge.  Unfortunately my splurges have turned into binges.  I will eat clean then completely derail and eat crap and then deal with the physical consequences afterwards.  In fact, while I'm eating this food that manufacturers should just label "crap" I know exactly what it will do to me over the next 24 hours.  Do I like being bloated?  Do I like being gassy? (TMI sorry but full disclosure here).  Do I like feeling sluggish and dehydrated?  I can continue but I think the point is there.  I have determined that I really need to focus on a good healthy relationship with food and finally accept that there is just food that I should never eat again.  Is there a 12 step program out there for unhealthy eaters????  Seriously, I'm not trying to make light of those with addictions because I really feel like sugar and processed food is addictive.  This is where the whole 30 is coming into play.  If you have never been to the Whole 9 's website, check it out and try not to be overwhelmed with the information that they have available. 

My goal for the next 30 days is this:

1.  Say good bye to 10 pounds.  I will not miss you, please don't come back for visits you are no longer welcome.

2.  Work on establishing the self control that I have been lacking which has created a very unhealthy relationship with food.  Food will not make tears and sadness go away.  Food will not ease the daily stresses that is called life.

3.  Ease the aches and pains that have snuck back into my body and aren't being fixed with rest.

4.  Have a plan of how I can reincorporate the occasional splurges back into my life without becoming derailed again.

I'm not going to lie.  This next 30 days may be challenging to me.  I can and have survived well without grains, dairy, legumes and gluten.  I am saying good bye again to sugar in all forms except what is natural in fruit and veggies.  This will also included artificial sweeteners.  No alcohol, sadly I will admit that I will miss the occasional glass of wine over the next 30 days. 

Day 1 is over and tomorrow is a new day.