Whole30 Week Two Recap

Another week of my Whole30 journey behind me and I am feeling really good today.  There were definitely a couple days last week where things got edgy.  Old cravings and a little boredom got in the way, but we powered through and I am so glad we did.  I am currently on the second day of week three and I feel like it's definitely getting easier.  I am also doing a better job at meal planning.  I can't believe Matt and I have only ate take out twice since we started!  And we have only went out to eat once, and that was in the very beginning for a birthday!  We eat out way too much so this has been a major change and I am really proud of us!

So on to the post!  What did we eat during the second week of the Whole30?  I continue to batch cook and eat similar or the same things for days in a row.  It's just easier that way.  We are definitely spending more at the grocery, but it's also balanced out as we aren't going out to eat or buying a lot of expensive craft beer every weekend. 

Just like previous posts if you want the recipe, click on the hyperlink!

Day Eight:

Breakfast:  Hard Boiled Eggs and Avocado with Roasted Asparagus (same as day seven).

Lunch:  Coconut Red Curry Shrimp Soup (same as day seven).

Dinner: Leftover Cilantro-Lime Chicken Bowls (from day five). 

Day Nine:

Breakfast: Pan Fried Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta and Two Fried Eggs

Lunch: Coconut Red Curry Shrimp Soup (same as day seven and eight).

Dinner: Shrimp and Sausage Paleo Skillet

Day Ten:

Breakfast: Homemade Breakfast Sausage, Roasted Brussel Sprouts, and Two Hard Boiled Eggs

Lunch: Leftover Shrimp and Sausage Paleo Skillet (from day nine).

Dinner: Slow Cooker Italian Beef and Garlic Roasted Radishes

(Slow Cooker Italian Roast Beef was made with this Italian Seasoning Mix minus the sugar).

Day Eleven:

Breakfast:  Homemade Breakfast Sausage, Roasted Brussel Sprouts, and Two Hard Boiled Eggs (same as day ten).

Lunch: Left over Slow Cooker Italian Beef with Garlic Roasted Radishes (from day ten).

Dinner:  Sweet Potato Chips with Basil Mayo Dip and Salt and Vinegar Wings

Day Twelve:

Breakfast:  Smothered Breakfast Sweet Potatoes

Lunch:  Dump Ranch Chicken Salad on Zucchini Rounds (I just threw together some chicken, homemade mayo, ranch seasoning, and a red bell pepper, a yellow bell pepper, and three celery stalks for this one). 

Dinner:  Grilled Coconut Curry Chicken with Grilled Peppers, Onions, and Pineapple. (From the Whole30 Book.)

Day Thirteen:

Breakfast:  Smothered Breakfast Sweet Potatoes (same as day twelve).

Lunch: Chipotle Carry-Out:  Carnita's Salad (double meat), with Tomato and Green Salsas, and Guacamole.
Dinner:  Blacked Mahi-Mahi and Garlic Butter Roasted Carrots.

Day Fourteen:

Breakfast:  Homemade Breakfast Sausage, Roasted Brussel Sprouts, and Two Hard Boiled Eggs (same as day ten and eleven).

Lunch:  Dump Ranch Chicken Salad on Zucchini Rounds (same as day twelve).

Dinner:  Aidell's Chicken Apple Sausage with Sauerkraut, Broccoli Slaw with Tessmae's Ginger Lemon Dressing, Matt's Mashed Potates made with Ghee and Almond Milk.

Another great week of food was had at our house.  The Italian Beef was good, but it was also screaming for some toasted bread and provolone cheese.  I wouldn't do the roasted radishes again.  They took on a weird watery texture that I didn't expect, and I normally love (raw) radishes. 

The dishes that really stood out this week include the Shrimp and Sausage Paleo Skillet (so easy and fast too), the Sweet Potato Chips with Basil Mayo Dip and Salt and Vinegar Wings (I basically want basil mayo on everything now), and the Grilled Coconut Curry Chicken.  MAKE THOSE!

Whole30 Week One Recap

Today is day nine of my first Whole30 experience and I have to say it's going really well!  I have had minimal sugar "detox" side effects and though my energy levels have been a little lower, Matt and I have just been going to bed earlier.  Problem solved. 

When people find out I am doing the Whole30 they always ask about it.  Questions like, is it a diet?  What can you eat?  Can you drink alcohol?  So I thought I would give a little run down of prepping and what I ate for the first week.  Click on the text of the food and it will take you to the original recipe.

Because of my vacation, my first day was a Tuesday.  So I did all my food prep on Monday.  The day before I started I prepped breakfast for day's one, two, three, and four, I prepped lunch for day's one, two, three, and four, and I prepped dinner for day's one and two. 

Day One:

Breakfast: Yam, Celery Root, and Bacon Hash, with Two Hard Boiled Eggs

Lunch: Chipotle BBQ Chicken Stuffed Sweet Potato and a Small Side Salad with Easy Balsamic Vinaigrette

Dinner: Aidell's Chicken Apple Sausage with Sauerkraut, Hearts of Palm with Tessmae's Garlic Lemon Dressing, and Sautéed Brussels Sprouts with Prosciutto

Day Two:

(Day two was exactly the same as day one.  If you wanna cut down with your prep-time, you have to be willing to eat the same thing for several days.  I'm totally cool with that and it makes things easier and less to think about too!)

Breakfast: Yam, Celery Root, and Bacon Hash, with Two Hard Boiled Eggs

Lunch: Chipotle BBQ Chicken Stuffed Sweet Potato and a Small Side Salad with Easy Balsamic Vinaigrette

Dinner: Aidell's Chicken Apple Sausage with Sauerkraut, Hearts of Palm with Tessmae's Ginger Lemon Dressing, and Sautéed Brussels Sprouts with Prosciutto

Day Three:

(Same as day one and two with the breakfast and lunch, but for dinner we went out to eat for my mother-in-law's birthday.)

Breakfast: Yam, Celery Root, and Bacon Hash, with Two Hard Boiled Eggs

Lunch: Chipotle BBQ Chicken Stuffed Sweet Potato and a Small Side Salad with Easy Balsamic Vinaigrette

Dinner: Grilled 5 oz filet, Steamed 5 oz Lobster Tail, Steamed Broccoli, and Shredded Lettuce Salad with Olive Oil, Lemon Juice, and Salt Dressing

On day three I boiled more eggs and prepped day four's dinner.

Day Four:

(Again, ate the same breakfast and lunch.  I will say the hash stayed delicious, but I was pretty tired of the BBQ chicken stuffed sweet potatoes by Friday.)

Breakfast: Yam, Celery Root, and Bacon Hash, with Two Hard Boiled Eggs

Lunch: Chipotle BBQ Chicken Stuffed Sweet Potato and a Small Side Salad with Easy Balsamic Vinaigrette

Dinner: Shepherd's Pie

Day Five:

Breakfast: Paleo Breakfast Burritos

Lunch: Curry Chicken Salad Lettuce Wraps

Dinner: Cilantro-Lime Chicken Bowls

Day Six:

(Same breakfast and lunch as day five, but we picked up Chipotle for dinner.  YAY!  Chipotle can be Whole30 compliant!)

Breakfast: Paleo Breakfast Burritos

Lunch: Curry Chicken Salad Lettuce Wraps

Dinner: Chipotle Carry-Out:  Carnita's Salad (double meat), with Tomato and Green Salsas, and Guacamole.

On day six I prepped day's seven, eight, and nine's breakfast, and day's seven, eight, and nine's lunch.

Day Seven:

Breakfast: Hard Boiled Eggs and Avocado with Roasted Asparagus

Lunch: Coconut Red Curry Shrimp Soup

Dinner: Leftover Shepherd's Pie

Everything was super yummy and the whole family was satisfied with the first week of food.  I would make any of these recipes again.  The ones that stand out were the shepherd's pie, the chicken bowls, and the curried soup.  If you are going to make anything on this menu - MAKE THOSE!

Onward to week two.  I made a trip to the store and already prepped some things today for the rest of the week!

Shepherd's Pie

It is standard that my family go out to eat on Friday and Saturday nights.  Since the Whole30 makes going out to eat a little tricky, I knew I had to make Friday night dinner at home something special.  Seeing as though I worked this past Friday, a nice dinner would involve some prep! 

*Cue the Shepherd's Pie!*

So on Thursday, I prepped a Shepherd's Pie.  I used to make a vegetarian version of this, so making a Whole30 version would be super easy!  Since I have doing a lot of research on the Whole30, I have stumbled across the blog The Whole Smiths.  I found this particular recipe and decided to try it.  I did make a few changes, nothing too dramatic, and it was more out of necessity of things I had on hand.

Onto the cooking!

While baby bella mushrooms sautéed in ghee, I chopped carrots, onions, and asparagus.

Once the mushrooms were done, I removed them from the pan and added the asparagus and some dried thyme to sauté until they were crisp-tender.

While this is going on I am also making mashed potatoes.  I boil the potatoes, drain, and mash.  I then add salt, pepper, and some ghee.  This Trader Joe's ghee is quickly becoming a delicious staple to my Whole30 lifestyle.

In my Dutch Oven, I begin to cook the carrots and onions until the onions become translucent.  I then add three garlic cloves minced and cook for another 2 minutes.  The veggies are all moved to one side of the pot and I add the ground beef.  The ground beef is cooked until browned.

Once the ground beef is cooked, I mix everything in the Dutch oven.  I then added arrow root powder and horseradish.  After that is well mixed, I then add vegetable broth and tomato paste.  I salt and pepper to taste and let it cook until thickened for about 15 minutes. 

After everything has thickened I add the asparagus into the meat mixture.

The meat mixture is then transferred into a baking dish and topped with the baby bella mushrooms (you forgot about those didn't you!)

Finally I spread the mashed potatoes over the mushrooms and viola!  We have a shepherd's pie ready for the oven!  At this point I covered the pie with wrap and put it in the fridge for the next day.  We cooked ours for 35 min in a 375 degree oven. 

This meal was delicious!  Even Ronnie ate it (minus the asparagus, he picked all of those out).  Matt was very happy with the meal too.  We also had plenty of leftovers for work lunch this upcoming week! 

This is a great meal for everyone, and I highly recommend it!

Today is my fifth day on the Whole30.  It's been going great!  The second day was rough, but I think that also had to do with the fact that Cincinnati's poor sinus weather was in full effect and I had the worst headache.  There was a couple of points yesterday that I was tempted by cookies and chocolate covered pretzels that someone brought into work.  But I resisted and went along the day just fine.  I would have LOVED to have a few drinks after work yesterday.  But honestly, I was so tired after working close to 14 hours, by the time I came home, I didn't even care anymore.

Since it's the weekend, I'll be doing more prepping for the week ahead.  I also plan to post a run-down of my first week including recipes.  Stay tuned!

My First Whole30

It's been almost six years since I have posted last.  SIX YEARS!  Is anyone still out there?  A LOT has changed during all that time including saying goodbye to my vegetarian lifestyle, marriage, becoming a nurse, becoming a mom for the second time, getting ready to earn my second degree....  And really the end of another school chapter is what has prompted me to start blogging again (I'll have so much free time I won't know what to do).  That and the fact that I am starting the Whole30 tomorrow!  What's that you say?  You have never heard about the Whole30!?!?!  Well several, (really a metric ton) of pounds gained in six years with many attempts at weight loss had me looking for a better lifestyle.  The vegetarian thing worked for me last time, but I wanted to try something a little different and maybe even healthier.  That's how I came across the Whole30. 

The Whole30 program is basically based on a paleo diet.  There are certain food groups you cannot eat at all, not whatsoever, never, never, ever, during the 30 day stretch.  These foods include sugar of any kind, alcohol, even with cooking, grains, legumes, dairy, MSG, sulfites, and any "paleo-approved" food that looks/tastes like a baked good.  In the book "It Starts With Food" by Dallas and Melissa Hartwig (get it here), the authors explain in great detail why these foods are bad for you psychologically and physiologically.  It's an easy and interesting read.  Some of their theories, like leaky gut syndrome, aren't recognized in the greater medical field, but they're advice seemed reasonable and not totally crazy.

 
So me being me, I have done a ton of research on how to accomplish the Whole30 successfully.  The Whole30 website has a lot of great info.  I have also joined a Whole30 facebook support group, found many Whole30 Instagram accounts, blogs, and Pinterest have been a plethora of information. What's the one thing everyone has said in order to succeed?  PREP!  So that's what I have been doing for the past two days.  Prepping and getting ready for tomorrow and the week ahead!

I started by making a menu and to-do list.  (I'm all about the lists!  Ask my hubby.) 

Then I made a grocery list and did some more research.  See, it can be difficult and expensive to find "compliant" food as almost everything has added sugar in it (it's kind of crazy).  I ended up going to four different grocery stores (Aldis, Krogers, Trader Joes, and Whole Foods).  THANKFULLY it won't be like this every week as there were just some basics I had to get.

Next came the cooking!  I had a number of things to accomplish in the kitchen to get ready for the days at work ahead.  I spent a total of two hours in the kitchen (which I don't think is bad considering all the breakfasts and lunches are made for the next four days along with the next two nights of dinner). 

There's a thing about prep days though....  So much chopping!  (And this was just a fraction of my chopping for the day....)

Breakfast for the next four days is consisting of a yam, rutabaga, and bacon hash (from Rubies & Radishes) and hard boiled eggs.  The original recipe called for celery root, which, after going to four groceries stores, I could not find in the city of Cincinnati.  Therefore I substituted the rutabaga.  And it totally worked! 

I'm super excited to be eating this all week for breakfast.  It has smoked paprika.  This spice has become one of my favorite lately!  I'll take a scoop of this every morning, microwave it, and grab a hardboiled egg for the car ride into work.  Totally do-able!

I also prepped lunch which includes slowcooking chicken, making a bbq sauce, and baking sweet potatoes.  I also chopped some toppings for the stuffed potatoes (onions and cilantro).  I'll post about this recipe later this week.

Along with the stuffed potatoes I'll be having a side salad at lunch.  So I prepped those for work too along with making a homemade mustard vinaigrette.

What's the best part of this entire experience so far?  My husband, Matt, yesterday told me he wants to support me in this journey and participate as well!  Now because he is who he is, he'll probably drink a little here and there and eat some junk food at work.  This is also why I added goat cheese to his salad.  We had some left and it needs to be used before it goes bad.  I am just super excited he is (mostly) along for the ride.

Finally I made some Brussels sprouts with pancetta and coconut oil for dinner tomorrow and Wednesday.  Matt will grill the chicken and apple sausages and dinner will be served!

Know that there will be more posts coming from me for sure!  I will continue to document my meals and food prep including sharing recipes or linking to the recipe source. 

Has anyone tried the Whole30?  What worked?  What did you like?  What was difficult.  Let me know in the comments.  I look forward to sharing my journey with you!