Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Whole 30: 10 days down, 20 to go...

Wow. I can't believe we're a third of the way through our first Whole 30! At this point I feel like I've settled into it.

Overall, I feel great -- I'm sleeping well and not feeling an afternoon slump. I haven't had any major cravings. I haven't consumed anything non-compliant... not even close.

A colleague is also doing a Whole30 and we've been checking in most mornings. We had a good laugh when we realized that we both recently had dreams about accidentally eating something non-compliant. Hers was bread and other baked goods. Mine was oatmeal. I think she wins, right? Who dreams about eating oatmeal?! I don't even eat oatmeal all that regularly.

As far as food prep, we do about the same as we did before. Here is a snapshot of what our Whole30 meals look like...

Breakfast: I typically eat a couple hard boiled eggs and fruit for breakfast, so this was probably the easiest food transition. While I could continue with my typical breakfast, I thought this was a great opportunity to try something new. On Sunday, I made the Leek and Prosciutto Frittata recipe from the America's Test Kitchen cookbook, Paleo Perfected. Many of the recipes are not Whole30 compliant (honey, paleo "baked goods," etc.), this was is fine as is. Super fast to make and tastes just as good leftover. Throw in a side of fresh berries and I've been good to go until lunch.

Leek & Prosciutto Frittata + Bluberries & Strawberries

Lunch:
 This has generally been leftovers from Meal 3 the prior day. My favorite taco salad recipe is compliant, once you omit the tortilla chips and cheese. I barely missed them.

Taco Salad

Dinner: Our third meals of the day have varied. One from last week was beef burgers with avocado mayo and caramelized onions, and sautéed cremini and maitake mushrooms, accompanied by a giant, veggie-filled salad.

Burger w/ avocado mayo & onions, mushrooms, & salad.

And yes, leftovers from this Meal 3 were Meal 2 the following day.

We've definitely enjoyed some quite delicious meals during our Whole30. 

Monday, August 22, 2016

Whole30: 1 day down, 29 to go...

I'm back. 

After a lengthy blog hiatus. 

Blogiatus? 

So, why now?

I'm back to share about my decision to do a Whole30 and bring my honey along for the ride.



We've had friends do it. I follow a bunch of people on Instagram who have done it. I was intrigued. A nutrition reset of sorts sounded good. 
So I looked into it. I read the books. 

Not familiar with Whole30*? Here are the basic guidelines, from the website: "Eat meat, seafood, eggs, tons of vegetables, some fruit, and plenty of good fats from fruits, oils, nuts and seeds."

The focus is real food. It is straightforward and there is no wiggle room. I like structure and rules, so it works well with my style. 

Now day one is almost in the books. Here's what we ate today:

Meal 1: Bacon, potatoes, bell pepper, and onion hash. (I found compliant bacon at our local Safeway!)
Meal 2: Chicken salad (avocado mayo, lemon juice, green onion, celery), cucumber, bell pepper, and grapes.
Meal 3: Pulled pork carnitas (Whole30 recipe), roasted sweet potatoes, cabbage slaw, and avocado.

How I'm feeling right now... Just fine. I was super tired today late morning. However, I'm not sure I can attribute that to Whole30. Because 1) I got up at 5 am to run 4 miles before my 9-hour work day and 2) I was sitting in a meeting with a lot of talking. Could be those things. Probably.

29 days to go...

*Want to read more about Whole30? Go here