Whole 30: Days 8 -10

Whole 30:  Day 8
Breakfast:  Shredded chicken and sauteed spinach w/Sunshine sauce
Lunch:  Mixed green salad w/chicken burger
Dinner:  Mixed green salad w/Aidell's chicken-apple sausage link
Snacks:  Apple, walnut butter

Whole 30:  Day 9

Breakfast:  Egg, spinach, chicken-apple sausage, fruit
Lunch:  Mixed green salad w/shredded chicken
Dinner:  Grilled chicken thighs (marinated in coconut aminos, minced garlic, and Red Boat sauce), roasted beets and carrots, salad
Snacks: Coconut butter


Whole 30:  Day 10
Breakfast:  eggs, cantaloupe, Sunbutter
Lunch:  Salad w/apples and beets, chicken thigh
Dinner:  Salad w/3 chicken wings
Snacks: Mixed nuts (no peanuts)

Life got kind of busy this week and since blogging is definitely a hobby (not a source of income), my posts have fallen to the wayside.  That said, I still want to share my experience and what I'm eating on this journey.  Though I plan to be a little less strict on my sugar intake and indulge in the occasional glass of wine post-Whole 30, there are a lot of aspects of the program I plan to adopt long-term.

I found it very helpful to read about other people's journeys so I would know what to expect.  I especially like the blog post about the Whole 30 timeline.  Having read it, I wasn't as surprised by my overwhelming desire to nap during the first few days or my huge burst of energy over the past couple of days.

Below are a few of my favorite meals from the past couple of days:

Salad w/shredded chicken

Shredded chicken and sauteed spinach w/Sunshine sauce (not pictured)

Grilled chicken thighs, roasted beets and carrots, salad

Salad w/beets and apples, chicken thigh w/Sunshine sauce

Looking back on the past few days, I think I've eaten more than my share of chicken.  I will challenge myself to add a bit of variety in my protein sources for the next couple of days.

Whole 30: Day 7

Whole 30:  Day 7

Breakfast:  eggs, strawberries, coconut butter

Lunch:  salad w/Mexican shredded chicken

Dinner:  cranberry balsamic pork tendorloin, carrots, green beans, broccoli

Snacks:  pistachios, walnut butter (1 tbsp pre-workout)

First of all, I am amazed that I didn’t eat my body weight in food today after this morning’s WOD.  Sheer madness!  But I made it through.  My stomach was growling before I left the gym so when I got home I showered, dressed and cooked two eggs and sliced some strawberries.  I added a small scoop of coconut butter because I needed a little extra sumthin sumthin.

The morning was busy but not hectic.  I grabbed a handful of pistachios about halfway through because I felt a little hungry but not ravenous.  Around 2, I was able to break away from my laptop long enough to eat a salad with leftover Mexican shredded chicken on top along with a sprinkle of oil and vinegar.

I started to order in for dinner because I worked so late but didn't want to deal with unknown ingredients in my food so I threw a pork tenderloin in the crockpot (balsamic-cranberry pork tenderloin = YUM), roasted some carrots, and sautéed some broccoli and green beans.  It turned out to be an excellent meal!

My kids are huge fans of the roasted carrots!

Even though I have been doing a great job with my eating, I haven't done so well with my sleeping.  I didn't get to bed until 11pm and my alarm was set for 5am.  I plan to do better tomorrow (fingers crossed).

Whole 30: Day 6

Whole 30:  Day 6

Breakfast:  eggs, salmon, sweet potato wedges, strawberries

Lunch:  nothing

Dinner:  steak, fish, salad, sautéed spinach, tomatoes

Snack:  pistachios

Today was a great day!  It was great because I was actually able to experience the difference in the way my body processes food when I eat really clean.  My normal grazing (which included yogurt, granola bars and other “healthy” snacks) required me to eat every 3 – 4 hours or I would risk a migraine.  I would never do as I did today and go almost 8 hours between meals!  I was even amazed at how good I felt.

I should explain that it was never my intention to go that long without food.  But I must have realized subconsciously that it would be a busy day because I ate a huge breakfast. My plan was to mix leftover salmon in with my scrambled eggs but the salmon created quite a bit of oil when I flaked and heated it so I drained the excess oil (yeah, I know it’s good fat but it was a bit too fishy for me at breakfast time) and ate the salmon as a side dish.

Then my husband and I went to his new office to take care of some business for his upcoming opening.  We kept thinking we were reaching a stopping point but we were being super productive.  Before we realized it, it was 5pm!    Ravenous, we decided to go directly to a restaurant for a really good meal and to celebrate our progress.

We order caprese salad as an appetizer which translated into tomatoes and basil for me since I skipped the mozzarella.  The meal came with a salad but I asked them to hold the dressing and bring oil and vinegar.

He ordered wahoo and I ordered steak.  We shared our entrees so we could have a sort of surf and turf.

The food was phenomenal even though I cannot remember having a great steak without an accompanying glass of equally great red wine.  I almost gave in but then gave myself the “man up!” talk and settled on a cool glass of agua.  I also asked for a side of sauteed spinach which was cooked with olive oil, salt, and lemon juice - can you say awesome!

Day 6 done!

Whole 30: Day 5

Whole 30: Day 5 Meals

Breakfast: ½ cup Well Fed chili

Lunch:  Grilled wild salmon and big salad

Dinner 1: Seared tuna, sliced cucumbers

Dinner 2:  ½ redpepper stuffed w/Mexican shredded chicken

I must admit that I was a little worried going into this weekend.  I usually have a glass of wine or two over the weekend and often end up in social situations where I cannot control the food choices (though I am starting to realize that I have more control than I thought).    

Since it's Saturday, there was only one Crossfit class at my box.  I typically eat very little before Crossfit however that's because I usually go at 5:30 am.  The Saturday class is at 9:30 and usually very intense so I needed to eat a little more than normal.  I figured a protein focused breakfast would sustain me through the WOD so I had a small portion of leftover chili about an hour before class.  Thank goodness I did because it was a tough one (rowing, wallballs, box jumps, weighted sit-ups, wall climbs, and tire flipping all in one WOD!)

My gym is also starting a Paleo challenge so I decided to participate and was weighed and measured after the WOD.  I feel sorry for the coach who had the pleasure of measuring all of those sweaty bodies. I have been eating paleo for about 8 weeks now so I don't expect huge results since I've already lost 9lbs. but it will be fun to participate and it also coincides with my Whole 30.  Immediately after leaving the gym (as in, while driving home) I had a snack of apple slices, walnut butter, a boiled egg and lots of water.  

The snack kept me satisfied long enough to shower and then it was time for lunch.  I reheated some salmon from last night's dinner and made a big salad.  Then I made a quick grocery store run for some Greenwise chicken breasts to throw in the crockpot for later.

I don't know if it was my super busy week or that crazy WOD from this morning but my body was crying for a nap and I gladly obliged.  My kids woke me to remind me that I had promised to take them to the Melting Pot for a late lunch.  Time to test the resolve!  So off to the Melting Pot we went only to arrive and find out we were just in time for happy hour!  The good news was that the cheese fondue my kids wanted would be 1/2 price, the bad news was that I had to pretend the Love martini didn't exist.  However, I am happy to say that I succeeded and just order the seared tuna from the small plates menu and nibbled a few veggies from the kids fondue dippers.

We walked around the shopping center for about an hour and returned home to a house fragrant with the scent of Mexican shredded chicken which I promptly stuffed into peppers (minus the cheese) and baked.  I ate 1/2 a stuffed pepper and 1/4 avocado for my second dinner.

Another day of good eating under my belt and it's time for bed!

Whole 30: Day 4

Whole 30: Day 4 Meals
Breakfast: Veggie Omelet
Lunch:  Salad w/shrimp
Dinner:  Grilled wild salmon, broccoli, sweet potato wedges
Snacks:  Apple, sweet potato wedges w/coconut butter

Breakfast today was an omelet made with two eggs, chopped mini peppers, and baby kale.  I also ate half of a ruby red grapefruit since I bought a whole bag of them and no one else in the house seems to be eating them.  I was working from home today so I was able to prepare all of my food.  I am truly getting spoiled because when it is time for me to resume business travel I don't know what I am going to eat!

I didn't want to make a grocery store run for lunch so I rummaged through the freezer and found some Greenwise frozen shrimp.  I defrosted them, tossed with some Greek seasoning, and grilled them to add protein to my meal.  I made salad dressing using lemon juice, olive oil and a bit of sea salt.  It made for a really tasty lunch but I knew it would not keep me full until dinner because I had a pretty intense session on the spinning bike earlier this morning.  Sure enough, my stomach started rumbling mid-afternoon so I ate a few sweet potato wedges with a spoonful of coconut butter (where has this stuff been all my life?!)

I had a mid-afternoon appointment away from home so I grabbed an apple to eat while I was out. I thought I would be ravenous for dinner but strangely enough I was so engrossed in my work that I didn't even think about eating until 8:30!  I really try not to eat so late but I truly lost track of time - I used to think people who "forgot" to eat were crazy but now I understand (kind of).

Dinner consisted of grilled salmon (threw it on the grill when I returned home from my appointment), broccoli, and more sweet potato wedges.  I didn't have a huge portion but could barely finish it.  All and all I would say I ate pretty clean today.  Onward!

Whole 30 Day 3

Breakfast:  scrambled eggs and sweet potato hash browns, green tea
Lunch:  Well Fed's chocolate chili over spaghetti squash with chopped avocado
Dinner:  Chocolate chili over cauliflower rice, green salad
Snacks:  apple, banana, 1T coconut butter

Today was challenging for me.  I felt hungry for most of the day but was determined not to get off track.  I also felt the strong need for a nap mid-afternoon but that was just a "day"dream because I had way too much work to do.

I started off the day with my usual 5:30 workout.  I thought I could catch a quick nap once I returned home and showered since it was only 6:45am and the rest of the family was still fast asleep.  However, my husband woke me up to tell me that my growling stomach was waking him up.  Oh well....

Breakfast included eggs scrambled in ghee and leftover sweet potato hash browns from last night's dinner.  I still felt hungry after breakfast so I had an apple and a tablespoon of organic almond butter mid-morning.

I ate lunch so quickly that I didn't take a picture however it made an encore appearance for dinner so you can check it out below.  Last night, I made a batch of chocolate chili from the Well Fed cookbook in anticipation of busy days this week.  It came in handy today because I barely had time to reheat the spaghetti squash and chili for a quick lunch.

About an hour and a half after lunch I was hungry - like I skipped lunch hungry.  I considered another small meal but opted for a banana instead.

For dinner, I decided to have more chili but instead of serving it over spaghetti squash (which was great), I thought I'd make a quick batch of cauliflower rice.  I didn't have high hopes for it but it actually turned out pretty good.  

Whole 30 Day 2

Breakfast:  Scrambled eggs, roasted tomatoes, avocado, red grapefruit
Lunch:  Leftover duck breast, green salad, roasted carrots
Dinner: Grilled chicken breast, sweet potato hash browns, roasted brussel sprouts and broccoli

Day 2 was a good day.  It started off with a great workout and included a lot of good food.  I usually like to have some type of green veggies like sautéed spinach or kale with breakfast.  However, today I opted for diced avocado paired with grape tomatoes roasted in the oven with high quality olive oil and sea salt.  I added scrambled eggs and grapefruit for a filling breakfast.

I had some leftover roasted duck breast from dinner a couple of nights ago so I reheated it along with roasted carrots.  Added a quick green salad for the perfect lunch.

Dinner was fantastic.  I grilled chicken breasts after seasoning and placing a little grass-fed butter under the skin.  The result was grilled chicken with skin as brown and crispy as fried.  I pulled the skin off before I ate it and it still tasted phenomenal!  Sweet potato hasbrowns and roasted veggies rounded out a great dinner.

During the day, I had a couple of teaspoons of coconut butter when I started feeling a little hungry but was careful to keep those snacks to a minimum.  Overall, I was pretty happy with day 2.

Whole 30 - Day 1

Whole 30 - Day 1


I kicked off last year with my veggie detox which was slightly short of being an epic fail because I was sooooo hungry.  I did a mid-year juice cleanse which reset my taste buds but still left my stomach growling.  To kick of 2013, I've decided to try the Whole 30 which is essentially a nutritional reset focused on eating real food and cutting out sugars, artificial sweeteners, and processed junk.  This is just what I need after a few slips off the wagon during the holidays.

Today started off with a great Whole 30-ish breakfast of eggs, veggies, a small salad, grapefruit, and green tea (no honey!)  It was filling and satisfying.

However, lunch presented a challenge.  We were invited to a friend's house for a New Year's lunch/dinner get together.  I was starting to get a little hungry before we left the house so I had a couple of teaspoons of coconut butter so I would not be ravenous.  I thought we would only be there for an hour or two and I could eat when I returned home if necessary.

The first test came when I was asked to taste the punch and tea for sweetness.  Since I don't typically make those drinks, I was able to ask a good friend to step in as the taste tester and she was nice enough to oblige.

We ended up visiting with my friend for several hours so I survived the day by eating grilled meat and greens.  Since I did not marinate the meat or season the greens, I cannot be sure they were fully Whole 30 compliant but I did the best I could.

When we came home at around 7pm, I wasn't craving a full dinner but wanted a snack before bed so I ate an apple, organic almond butter, and another small salad.  Day 1 done!