I've reached Day 16! I feel great, but I don't know that I'd say my energy is through the roof. I'd love to leave work and snuggle back up in bed! I've definitely noticed huge physical changes (I forgot to measure inches before I started - but they have flown off) and I know I'm down pounds. These changes happened pretty quickly and are continuing to happen, I think I might be able to start drying my pants in the dryer again! haha! I also am not in as much physical pain as I had been before. My feet are hurting less, as well as less hip and knee pain.
Meal planning is hard. What is even harder is when you're planning for you and your family and things change. Constantly! Prime example: D went to a friend's house yesterday and wasn't home for dinner. So now, I have a huge amount of leftover pork (which really was amazing). I now need to mix up my burgers and freeze them for next week. Not so awful, but I was really looking forward to them for lunch this week, but pork it is. We will also be having salad every night this week because I bought the five pack of romaine expecting to have a hamburger salad everyday.
Later tonight, I will hopefully be posting a Week 2 and Week 3 menu with the awesome recipes that have been getting me (and the boys) through this!
Tuesday, January 17, 2017
Thursday, January 12, 2017
One Week Menu
Here is the menu I used for last week.
Most of the meals I found online, however, you will see a few exceptions. These exceptions I whipped together and don't have a formal recipe for yet. When I make them again (because I will!), I will write down amounts and directions and post a recipe update! Any online recipes were hyperlinked into the menu. I found that I was pretty hungry adjusting this week and some days I needed two snacks - that's why you see two. As the week went on I went down to one snack a day, some days are easier than others to cut it out.
Enjoy!
Most of the meals I found online, however, you will see a few exceptions. These exceptions I whipped together and don't have a formal recipe for yet. When I make them again (because I will!), I will write down amounts and directions and post a recipe update! Any online recipes were hyperlinked into the menu. I found that I was pretty hungry adjusting this week and some days I needed two snacks - that's why you see two. As the week went on I went down to one snack a day, some days are easier than others to cut it out.
Enjoy!
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Tuesday, January 10, 2017
Day 9 and Taco Tuesday
Day 9 brought us to a Tuesday. Every other Tuesday just happens to be Taco Tuesday in our house. That means rice. I love rice. I love my Vigo yellow rice. I love my black beans and rice. I love rice pudding. I. LOVE. RICE.
Whole30 means no rice. Rice is generally my go to starch side so making Spanish styled rice for the first time since starting this challenge was super hard. It was sooooo hard to not just scoop rice right out of the pot and shovel it in when dinner was over. Since it ended up being just D and I for dinner there was so much left. I some how got though it and managed to put all that rice in a Ziplock and into the freezer for another nights side. I didn't even lick my fingers. It may not seem like much to you, but that was a huge inner battle for me.
To go with the super evil rice, I made Skinnytaste's Cuban Picadillo. My plan was to make her Instant Pot version, but I had Venison Stew going on in the Instant Pot (hiding mushrooms again). So instead, I just made it on the stove. It got D's approval so it is absolutely our new Taco Tuesday Recipe! Yay! I ate mine wrapped in lettuce instead of tortillas, and used leftover "thousand island" dressing instead of sour cream, compliant salsa, sliced avocado and added my homemade pickled jalapeños.
Starting next week, I will be putting together meal plans that are Whole30 compliant and family/picky eater friendly to share. I find that one of my biggest struggles is taking food we are used to eating, and recipes that we love and making them compliant for me. I want the core of the meal to be compliant and then I have no problem adding a side for them that isn't compliant. So as recipes get approval from the boys, I will add them to a weekly plan and hope to have it up by Friday of that week. I usually get my shopping done by Saturday and prep for the week on Sundays so that's my rationale for having it to you for Friday. Most recipe's are from other bloggers, but I have adapted some of their recipes and where I have done that, I will note any changes I made.
I'm still so excited that I took on this Challenge and hope others will join me on this journey!
Whole30 means no rice. Rice is generally my go to starch side so making Spanish styled rice for the first time since starting this challenge was super hard. It was sooooo hard to not just scoop rice right out of the pot and shovel it in when dinner was over. Since it ended up being just D and I for dinner there was so much left. I some how got though it and managed to put all that rice in a Ziplock and into the freezer for another nights side. I didn't even lick my fingers. It may not seem like much to you, but that was a huge inner battle for me.
To go with the super evil rice, I made Skinnytaste's Cuban Picadillo. My plan was to make her Instant Pot version, but I had Venison Stew going on in the Instant Pot (hiding mushrooms again). So instead, I just made it on the stove. It got D's approval so it is absolutely our new Taco Tuesday Recipe! Yay! I ate mine wrapped in lettuce instead of tortillas, and used leftover "thousand island" dressing instead of sour cream, compliant salsa, sliced avocado and added my homemade pickled jalapeños.
Starting next week, I will be putting together meal plans that are Whole30 compliant and family/picky eater friendly to share. I find that one of my biggest struggles is taking food we are used to eating, and recipes that we love and making them compliant for me. I want the core of the meal to be compliant and then I have no problem adding a side for them that isn't compliant. So as recipes get approval from the boys, I will add them to a weekly plan and hope to have it up by Friday of that week. I usually get my shopping done by Saturday and prep for the week on Sundays so that's my rationale for having it to you for Friday. Most recipe's are from other bloggers, but I have adapted some of their recipes and where I have done that, I will note any changes I made.
I'm still so excited that I took on this Challenge and hope others will join me on this journey!
Monday, January 9, 2017
Day 8: No Motivation
So, despite having forgotten every night to write a new post, I've got the blahs. I have no motivation to do anything at home. I honestly just want to sit and watch the Crown on Netflix. I think I am developing an obsession, and I think it's helping to cause the zero motivation. Not to mention that I just don't think I am super excited about my lunch (or lack of lunches) for the week.
I wish there was more time in a day, more time in the weekend. I feel I am so rushed after school (today especially because we have a faculty meeting (gag) to get everything done. I would love to go to Costco and Trader Joes after school. That depends on the traffic and how long it takes me to get home. I can't go if it takes too long because I have to get home and get dinner going because we have hockey tonight. Maybe I can get away with just hitting up Trader Joes.
I do have a big confession to make. One of the rules of Whole30 is that you do not weigh yourself while on the challenge. Well last week, I felt so light. I was psyching myself out though because it was less than a week, how could I have actually lost a noticeable amount of weight to feel it? So I jumped on the scale on Saturday. 8 lbs down. That is crazy. Just eliminating those food groups for a few days had brought out 8 lbs of bloating/inflammation and I'm assuming water retention? Absurd. But also, rewarding and definitely a motivator to keep going. Because I wanted to quit this weekend. I made cookies for Rob to bring to work for the storm and I left extra at home for them. They spoke to me. Those cookies waved and smiled at me from their container. Especially after I had to shovel the driveway by myself yesterday. Those cookies were laughing. So I went and sat on the couch and they went away. I didn't cave because of those 8 lbs.
My job for this week will be to plan out MY lunches ahead of theirs. Then make dinner choices. I can't be scrambling like I was last night to figure out what I am going to eat during the week!
I wish there was more time in a day, more time in the weekend. I feel I am so rushed after school (today especially because we have a faculty meeting (gag) to get everything done. I would love to go to Costco and Trader Joes after school. That depends on the traffic and how long it takes me to get home. I can't go if it takes too long because I have to get home and get dinner going because we have hockey tonight. Maybe I can get away with just hitting up Trader Joes.
I do have a big confession to make. One of the rules of Whole30 is that you do not weigh yourself while on the challenge. Well last week, I felt so light. I was psyching myself out though because it was less than a week, how could I have actually lost a noticeable amount of weight to feel it? So I jumped on the scale on Saturday. 8 lbs down. That is crazy. Just eliminating those food groups for a few days had brought out 8 lbs of bloating/inflammation and I'm assuming water retention? Absurd. But also, rewarding and definitely a motivator to keep going. Because I wanted to quit this weekend. I made cookies for Rob to bring to work for the storm and I left extra at home for them. They spoke to me. Those cookies waved and smiled at me from their container. Especially after I had to shovel the driveway by myself yesterday. Those cookies were laughing. So I went and sat on the couch and they went away. I didn't cave because of those 8 lbs.
My job for this week will be to plan out MY lunches ahead of theirs. Then make dinner choices. I can't be scrambling like I was last night to figure out what I am going to eat during the week!
Tuesday, January 3, 2017
Day 2: The Hangover and the Best Stew EVER
So the whole hangover feeling of Day 2...not a joke. My head has been pounding ALL day. It was way easy to blame it on the kids than on eating healthy though! 😉
My enthusiasm is pretty high still. After I got home from work, I pulled out the Beef Stew I pre-cooked in the Instant Pot. Rob helped and chopped the potatoes and carrots and we threw it back into the Instant Pot. It took 10-15 minutes to build pressure (it was cold) and 5 minutes of cooking at high pressure and it was done!
*The smell when you open that pot is intoxicating!*
The more I stirred the more the potatoes just melted and thickened the stew right up. No flour, no cornstarch! It's a keeper meal. Rob mentioned it was delicious at least 3 times and said he would join the Whole30 if he could have that for lunch everyday! ha! No one seemed to know about the secret ingredients either!
After dinner we ran out to Whole Foods for some spices, coconut milk and coconut cream (I really need coffee tomorrow morning, the tea just did not cut it) . I am absolutely craving Tikka Masala. I found a Slow Cooker Tikka Masala recipe last night which looks pretty good. I just prepped the sauce for it and poured it into a ziplock with some chicken thighs I had so it's ready to plop into the slow cooker in the morning. Totally will become a freezer meal if it is a winner tomorrow night! I would love to have that waiting for me in the freezer!
Can't wait to start day 3!
Monday, January 2, 2017
Day 1: Kitchen Hijacking
As I had no coconut cream this am this was my coffee. Black. Yuck.
Then the shit hit the fan. They made ravioli. In our kitchen. On Day 1. RAVIOLI. Two kinds. Two sauces. There was fresh bread. And cheese. And Fresh bread. I did not give in. I did not let it beat me. I want to swim in a pool of Alfredo sauce and sausage ravioli, but I did not give in. Honestly, it started with good intentions. We have a friend who is having some struggles and Rob was trying to occupy them and do something fun. He has such a good heart. Bless him.
I started the morning making broth and then started IP Beef Stew before the kitchen was hijacked. Let me tell you this. When I opened that pot of stew so that I could pick out all of the mushroom evidence I was obsessed with the smell. And I could eat this. This meal is Whole30 compliant! I cannot wait to finish it tomorrow for dinner. I literally cannot wait. While their ravioli was drying I finished raw veggie chopping and made mayo. It worked! I thought it was hit or miss a couple times but it worked! High five! Chicken salads are made and I am ready for the rest of the week!
Seeing as I was not making a pork tenderloin for dinner anymore, I threw some chicken sausage into the pan I used to sauté mushrooms for the chicken salad. I deglazed the pan with sauce from the stew and a bit of broth and tossed in some shredded brussels sprouts. Finished it by adding the mushrooms from the stew and sliced up the sausage and added it back to the pan. Delish!
Cannot wait to see what obstacles Day 2 throws at me!
Then the shit hit the fan. They made ravioli. In our kitchen. On Day 1. RAVIOLI. Two kinds. Two sauces. There was fresh bread. And cheese. And Fresh bread. I did not give in. I did not let it beat me. I want to swim in a pool of Alfredo sauce and sausage ravioli, but I did not give in. Honestly, it started with good intentions. We have a friend who is having some struggles and Rob was trying to occupy them and do something fun. He has such a good heart. Bless him.
I started the morning making broth and then started IP Beef Stew before the kitchen was hijacked. Let me tell you this. When I opened that pot of stew so that I could pick out all of the mushroom evidence I was obsessed with the smell. And I could eat this. This meal is Whole30 compliant! I cannot wait to finish it tomorrow for dinner. I literally cannot wait. While their ravioli was drying I finished raw veggie chopping and made mayo. It worked! I thought it was hit or miss a couple times but it worked! High five! Chicken salads are made and I am ready for the rest of the week!
Seeing as I was not making a pork tenderloin for dinner anymore, I threw some chicken sausage into the pan I used to sauté mushrooms for the chicken salad. I deglazed the pan with sauce from the stew and a bit of broth and tossed in some shredded brussels sprouts. Finished it by adding the mushrooms from the stew and sliced up the sausage and added it back to the pan. Delish!
Cannot wait to see what obstacles Day 2 throws at me!
Sunday, January 1, 2017
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year!! 2016 was definitely a whirlwind year and I am excited for what awaits us in 2017!
Day 1 of 2017 and I have committed to the Whole30 Challenge. This is not a resolution. I don't keep those. I have gone strong all day, mostly because I don't think anyone truly believes I can do it. It's going to be a lot of work, but I want to do it. I have to do it. So I shall! (BTW I just found out it starts tomorrow...ugh I could've had tacos and margaritas today!) I thought my biggest obstacle in this challenge would be no alcohol, I was so wrong. There is literally sugar (or some form of it) in EVERYTHING. Eye opening and honestly pretty appalling.
This morning Rob was nice enough to make me an egg using only ghee and without cheese or non-compliant sausage because I did not get to prep anything yesterday. Tonight, I tossed brussels sprouts and TJ's diced sweet potatoes with coconut oil, Adobo and some Herbs de Provence and roasted on a sheet pan. While those were cooking, I halved and sliced Aidell's Chicken and Apple Sausage and sautéed in some coconut oil. I divided the veggies into 5 containers, added some sausage on the top and now my breakfast bowls are ready for the week. All I need to do is add an over easy egg on top each morning and I will be ready to go!
Tomorrow (thank you God for one more day off) will be a marathon prep day for the rest of the week. Nom Nom Paleo's Bone broth, Nom Nom Paleo Instant Pot Beef Stew, sautéing chicken for two kinds of chicken salad and for Skinnytaste Enchiladas (mine will be made separately so it is compliant and more like a salad).
I have two mushrooms haters in the house. I on the other hand LOVE mushrooms. I'm a sneak and I will try to get away with what I can. This week it's Beef Stew. I am pre-cooking the stew and I am putting mushrooms in it. When it's done cooking, I will pull out every mushroom so I don't hear the whining. What to do with those mushrooms though? Chicken salad. I found a curious recipe for Chicken and Mushroom Wedding Salad which I am going to try out for my lunch this week. Plain old chicken salad for Rob. Which reminds me, I need to make Whole30 Mayo tomorrow too. This freaks me out just a tad.
Since I think my mother is literally my only reader (and only when I tell her I wrote something), this is going to be my Whole30 journal. I am hoping I can document what worked and what didn't for me as often as possible so that I can keep this journey going! Wish me luck!
Day 1 of 2017 and I have committed to the Whole30 Challenge. This is not a resolution. I don't keep those. I have gone strong all day, mostly because I don't think anyone truly believes I can do it. It's going to be a lot of work, but I want to do it. I have to do it. So I shall! (BTW I just found out it starts tomorrow...ugh I could've had tacos and margaritas today!) I thought my biggest obstacle in this challenge would be no alcohol, I was so wrong. There is literally sugar (or some form of it) in EVERYTHING. Eye opening and honestly pretty appalling.
This morning Rob was nice enough to make me an egg using only ghee and without cheese or non-compliant sausage because I did not get to prep anything yesterday. Tonight, I tossed brussels sprouts and TJ's diced sweet potatoes with coconut oil, Adobo and some Herbs de Provence and roasted on a sheet pan. While those were cooking, I halved and sliced Aidell's Chicken and Apple Sausage and sautéed in some coconut oil. I divided the veggies into 5 containers, added some sausage on the top and now my breakfast bowls are ready for the week. All I need to do is add an over easy egg on top each morning and I will be ready to go!
Tomorrow (thank you God for one more day off) will be a marathon prep day for the rest of the week. Nom Nom Paleo's Bone broth, Nom Nom Paleo Instant Pot Beef Stew, sautéing chicken for two kinds of chicken salad and for Skinnytaste Enchiladas (mine will be made separately so it is compliant and more like a salad).
I have two mushrooms haters in the house. I on the other hand LOVE mushrooms. I'm a sneak and I will try to get away with what I can. This week it's Beef Stew. I am pre-cooking the stew and I am putting mushrooms in it. When it's done cooking, I will pull out every mushroom so I don't hear the whining. What to do with those mushrooms though? Chicken salad. I found a curious recipe for Chicken and Mushroom Wedding Salad which I am going to try out for my lunch this week. Plain old chicken salad for Rob. Which reminds me, I need to make Whole30 Mayo tomorrow too. This freaks me out just a tad.
Since I think my mother is literally my only reader (and only when I tell her I wrote something), this is going to be my Whole30 journal. I am hoping I can document what worked and what didn't for me as often as possible so that I can keep this journey going! Wish me luck!
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