Whole30: DAY 15!!!!

HALF WAY THERE!!!! (Except I'm going to try to stay eating like this after, there really isn't much I miss...but more on that after my Whole30 is over)

The hubs had Sunday off so we loaded up the family and went to breakfast before church. We went to the Original Pancake House and I reluctantly got two eggs, bacon, and fruit for breakfast....and was pained when I smelled the giant apple dutch baby pancake that was plopped down at the table next to us. And then I remember, I would be miserable after eating that because I have no self-control...that whole "only eat until your craving is satisfied" concept doesn't work for me. I'm more of the "eat until you're miserable and can't really breath" mind set!

For lunch we reheated some meatballs from the night before and had some raw veggies and dip.

Dinner last night was ginger pineapple pork roast, it was simple. I put a 4 lb pork roast in the crock pot, covered liberally with sea salt, grated a piece of ginger on top, drained a can of crushed pineapple (in juice, not syrup), dumped that on top and gave a couple shakes of coconut aminos over the whole thing. It cooked for about 10 hours and voila dinner is almost served! I boiled some peas and sauteed some quartered mushrooms in a ton of butter. So really dinner was on the table 15 min after I started. I love those kind of meals!

Whole30: Day 13 & 14

Yesterday for breakfast I had leftover mexi-cauli rice stuff and no eggs (I had run out of my boiled stash in the fridge thanks to two kiddos who love them for snacks). I ate an avocado and apple with it. Today I hd some scrambled eggs on the way to yoga and I was starting by 1030.

Lunch yesterday was left over scallop chowder and today was a salad with the final bits of kalua pork on top.

Today we had an afternoon movie date with the kids (after we got all dressed up and went to a birthday party that in fact is tomorrow, not today...oops). For my snack I sliced a banana and fried it in coconut oil with a sprinkle of cinnamon on top. One of my friends who is also doing a Whole30 mentioned making that and for being so simple and easy they were really delicious. My banana was fairly green, but it was still very sweet.

Last night was my work holiday party and the hubs and I went to dinner before we went to get our groove on. We went to this amazing restaurant in our town that is also a butcher so they are legit when it comes to sourcing quality meat (all their beef is grass fed and flax finished). I always get the ribeye and it is melt in your mouth good. I got a side of flash fried brussel sprouts. These might be my favorite vegetables ever. They fry them in bacon grease, then put lemon, toasted almond slices, and bacon on top. They're incredible. I won't lie, I did partake in some spirits...but it again is all high quality stuff there with no added sugars. So should I consider myself a failure on whole30...probably so, but this time it really is about a more permanent change so I think this was a real representation of how to do it in real life. I didn't eat any of the pub pretzels that the hubs got as an appetizer, nor did I eat any of the pub food that was at the holiday party. Seems reasonable, at least in my head...

Dinner tonight was from the Everyday Paleo website and is one of our standby summer dishes, but I actually made it the way the recipe says and made meatballs instead of burger size portions. These are such a perfect blend of salty, savory, and sweet. We paired it with some roasted broccoli and cauliflower. This is one I always double and may need to start tripling at the rate the kids are eating lately!!

A ginger pineapple pork roast is already in the crockpot ready to start for dinner tomorrow night.

Whole30: Day 12

Today was much of the same for the morning, and for the first time ever I believe that I was tired of the same kalua pork (it wasn't until I had it for lunch too that I got cranky about it....right after the hubs sent me a text telling me he was going to one of our favorite pizza places for lunch...brat!)

Lunch was more pig...with a salad and some broccoli with that amazing roasted red pepper dip I talked about yesterday, thankfully I got the site and it's linked above. 

Thursday nights are hell around here. We get home from school at 3:30, have to eat dinner and leave by 4:45 to get the girl to gymnastics. I drop her off and Jason meets us to get the boy and while I grocery shop he takes him to soccer, I go back to get the girl at 7:30 and the boy is done with soccer at 8...then we all need a snack before heading to bed almost an hour after their normal bedtime. The only nice thing is that both kids have an activity on one night instead of late nights more often! 

For dinner I had set out some grass fed ground beef to thaw and had cut up some cauliflower last night thinking I was going to roast it for dinner. A quick search for paleo recipes containing ground beef and cauliflower resulted in this beefy mexi-cauli-rice recipe. I didn't want to get the food processor out so I just pulsed the cauliflower florets in my ninja until it was rice consistency. I didn't measure the chili powder and added dried onions and cumin. I had a fully two pounds of meat, a medium cauliflower, and used a regular size fire roasted tomatoes (not drained). I dumped it all together and cooked until the liquid was cooked off. I did use the avocado and it was actually very tasty. I wasn't expecting much with the ingredients that were listed and the kids kept saying "that smells good, but it looks nasty." They ended up really liking it though and it made enough leftovers so I don't have to eat more pork tomorrow for breakfast!!! Woo Hoo!!

Then I went to the store and saw this little gem and it somehow made it in my cart...stupid Whole Foods and their marketing department. For now it's in hiding!

Whole30: Day 11

Breakfast was still very uneventful. Eggs, leftover meat, an avocado and a Clementine. Tomorrow is grocery store day so it'll be more leftovers again in the morning. I tried to find a simple chia seed recipe but most contained honey so I'm going to do some experimenting tomorrow to see what I can come up with.

For lunch I had pork, a big salad and tried to have a grapefruit but it was disgusting...My hunger and intake are starting to even out so I think the increased fat and veggies are helping.

For my afternoon snack I had broccoli with this delicious red pepper and walnut hummus my boss made me. It's so good! I can't remember which recipe she used but I'm going to find out because I'm going to need to make some more of that!! The kids loved it too, but they pretty much eat anything!

When I got home I knew we only had a short time before we had to leave for our Wednesday night activities and not a ton of time when we got home before bed times so I started fixing dinner which was a scallop chowder. This is an amazing winter soup that uses parsnips to thicken it, making it feel more like a cream based chowder than just a simple soup. I cooked the bacon (I didn't put the cooked bacon on top of mine...), then cooked the scallops and veggie mix before it was time to go. When I got home I added the liquid, parsnips (I cut those up before) and thyme. My parsnips were done in 25 minutes so it cut down the coming time significantly. A few quick passes with the immersion blender and it's good to go. My kids eat this up. I'm pretty sure the biggest ate three servings tonight! I won't lie, some cheddar biscuits would have be delightful with this but it's rich and savory all by itself too. Enjoy!

Whole30: Day 10

Another long day getting home later than normal. Thankfully I had prepped everything last night so dinner was very easy tonight.

Breakfast was eggs, leftover kalua pig from last night and an apple. By 10 am I was starving and knew I had meetings from 11-12:30 so I decided to just eat my Justin's almond butter packet for a mid morning snack.

For lunch I had more kalua pig, green beans, and peas. I had brought a salad for my afternoon snack but never got around to eating it...more back to back meetings :(

Now to dinner, last night I mixed up the marinade and cubed all the chicken breast. This morning I dumped it together and out the door I went. We had 5 Ingredient Coconut Curry Chicken , which happens to be another of our favs. I never have added the nut butter, so I guess mine's technically 4 ingredients and I don't make kabobs with them like the recipe says, I just cook it all together in a big pan and then thicken it with some arrowroot powder if needed. We serve these with 3 Ingredient Paleo Naan. Now I'm going to go out on a limb here and say they're not "officially" Whole30 based on the fact that they're a "substitute" for something. But I also believe that can be interpreted many ways, and my way is that quality ingredients and only eating it once (as opposed to the Paleo muffins that I eat for days and days and days when I'm not on Whole30) makes it a little okay...maybe :-)

Whole30...Day 8 and 9

Sleep deprivation and hunger do not mix well in our household. It doesn't matter who I am speaking of, it's a general known fact that if any of us is tired it's going to be a long long long day. Well, this was three of the four of us yesterday (hence no blog post). I had worked late the night before so that was my excuse. After church and lunch the kids and I met some friends at a park since the polar vortex had left the area and they literally ran for 2 1/2 hours straight! Then I thought we would be "okay" if we ran by the grocery store to grab some snacks before heading to watch a gymnastics meet. I let the kids pick what they wanted and both picked "normal' food. I did ask both of them to eat some tuna to hopefully prolong the dinner time hunger pangs since I knew we wouldn't be leaving the meet until dinner time, but my plan backfired horribly. They kids were exhausted from all the fresh air and they were starving...so we left. The evening ended with horrible parenting and apologies...but that's just how it happens sometimes.

So onto food. Breakfast was much of the same. Fried eggs, avocado, and some fried cabbage. Lunch was a giant salad with some chicken I quickly cooked in coconut oil and salt/pepper. I threw in some kalamata olives and red onions, used my favorite Persian lime vinaigrette and called it good. At the store I bought a tuna pouch, apple, and Justin's almond butter packet.

While we were eating lunch I prepped dinner which was a buffalo chicken and cauliflower bake. The only modifications I made were to sub coconut oil for the olive oil (heating olive oil is bad) and to chop the bacon and cook it on top of the cauliflower. I cook mine for closer to an hour because I like for the cauliflower to be really roasted. After this was done I dumped it all in a bowl so when I got home I put it back in the pan and dumped my pre-chopped chicken on top and baked for 15 more minutes. I use my homemade ranch on top and it's delish.

After throwing my temper tantrum last night I started dinner for tonight....crockpot kalua pig from nomnom paleo. Two things about this recipe, anytime (and I mean anytime) it starts with slices of bacon being placed under a giant chunk of pork it's gonna be good and secondly, anything from nomnom paleo is legit...buy her new book, I got it from my boss for Christmas, it's amazing.

Okay, today...breakfast...the same, I'm sure it's boring to everyone else but I could eat it every day...

Lunch was left over buffalo chicken bake from last night and it's even better the second day, so good. I added a side salad with olives, artichoke hearts, and grape tomatoes to up my veggie intake.

The meat for dinner cooked in the crock pot for 18 hours..so when I got home I quickly steamed some green beans then flash fried them in bacon grease (so maybe saying I rarely eat bacon on whole30 was a little fib...) tossed some sliced almonds in there and squeezed half a lemon on top. I also quickly boiled some peas so dinner was on the table 25 minutes after I got home. The pork melted in our mouths, it was perfect. I'm excited to eat it for breakfast...and lunch tomorrow.

Almost 1/3 of the way done...

Whole30: Day 7

One week is over, that means only three weeks left! I know it's not the home stretch, but after a week is when I personally start to feel the changes. I am still experiencing some afternoon sleepiness which I'm hoping will go away next week and am having skin issues worse than when I was a teenager, but that too will go away. It just further confirms my belief that our bodies are full of toxins from the crappy foods we eat. Today I got to spend the morning working out with one of my besties. I don't like to eat before working out in the morning but knew that from there I would be going to watch the last half of the littlest's gymnastics so I wanted to be prepared. I packed a chopped up sweet potato, some cold pork tenderloin from the crockpot the other night, and two hard boiled eggs and threw it in the car. On the way I drank my daily bulletproof coffee. After class I stopped by my favorite coffee shop only to be saddened at remembering that I couldn't get my normal almond milk latte (they use sweetened almond milk and a brown sugar simple syrup. They still have amazing coffee so I just enjoyed that instead. I ate my breakfast in the car so I wouldn't be that "weird" mom at gymnastics. For lunch I had leftover damn fine chicken, roasted veggies, and a banana. I was working extra this evening and we made last minute plans to be gone all afternoon so I just quickly chopped a chicken breast and sauteed it in coconut oil and Sunny Paris seasoning and threw a giant bowl of mixed greens and some of my favorite dressing in my lunch box. I got pretty hungry as I was heading to work so I stopped by a store and grabbed some pistachios. My activity level has increased over the last few weeks and I seem to be needing more food. I am going to try to increase my fat and veggies at each meal over the next week to see if that keeps me satisfied longer.