Week two of Whole 30 (okay week 1.5) is over and was pretty eventful. I may not have had a perfect week as far as the meals go, but I still stayed away from the sodas, ate clean and got my workouts in. I'd say even if I had a couple missteps this week, I did pretty amazing. ;)
We had a lazy start to Monday (as seems to be the pattern when the husband is home for any reason) and just had snacks for breakfast. The husband and kiddos had cereal and I had fruit. For lunch, we went out to eat and got some yummy Mediterranean food. This is where the first slip up of the week happened. And I made it count. Apparently, hummus is a no-no on the Whole30 (insert sad face here). I was good about not dipping my kofta (if you don't know what that is, look it up and fall in love - I'll be making it at home here soon) in the yogurt sauce it comes with, which is so good by the way. I did however, dip it in the hummus. But in all the bad choices that I could have made, I think hummus wasn't that bad. I still haven't had a soda since starting Whole30 and haven't had any dairy or grains! This Amazing Breakfast Casserole was our dinner. Yes, it has cheese in the recipe. Nope, I didn't add it. The husband and kids added it to theirs after it was done, while I added some jalapenos for taste. And it is now one of my favorite breakfast recipes. Next time, I will cook the eggs a little less, but they were still super yummy and the potatoes and bacon were cooked to perfection!
Tuesday didn't turn out at all like I wanted it to. My husband had a late night visit to the ER on Monday night so we woke up late in the morning, had a late breakfast and then found out he needed to head to the doctor. That meant grabbing lunch out. I went to one of my favorite restaurants and resisted the urge to buy a sandwich. I actually did well and ordered a salad with olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette for dressing. I also had them remove the cheese. Unfortunately, I didn't look at the menu and forgot to have them remove a few items that aren't really Whole30 (tortilla strips, corn, beans) but I figured I could deal for one small slip up since it was still a very healthy meal. We had to run some errands after my husband got done at the doctor and that pushed our dinner back a bit. I am really good about sticking to "Taco Tuesday", but this week it was all about making food that we had and not grabbing something out (since that gets tough on Whole30 and on the budget). Lucky for me, we had all the stuff ready for Apple Spice Pork Chops, which are amazing, even if you aren't doing the Whole30 Nutrition Plan (see, not a diet).
So, instead of Taco Tuesday, we had Wrap it Up Wednesday (yep, just made that up). I just wound up making these Chicken Tacos in the crock pot since I actually had time to cook them. They were amazing! I just realized I didn't talk about breakfast. That's because it was boring and uneventful. I had some bananas and almond butter while the husband and kids had cinnamon rolls. Want to challenge yourself even more on the Whole30? Pour the icing on the cinnamon rolls you can't have. So many temptations to just stick my finger in the icing and eat it. (And yes, that is a normal reaction to have when you cut sugar out of your diet....I'm not crazy.)
Thursday was an interesting day. It was my first day home with the kids in about a week. Breakfast went fine since it is usually the easiest meal of the day anyway. I heated up some bacon, scrambled some eggs and cut up half an avocado. My son had homemade McMuffins while I stared longingly at the bread and cheese (yes, we are at that point....don't judge me). I was so scared that I was going to grab that Dr. Pepper around lunch time to just help me get through the day. I sensed this might happen so I just made a fresh glass of lemon water and kept it by me while warming up lunch. And then I made another cup of lemon water for when I actually sat down and ate my lunch. Lunch was leftovers and not very exciting. I actually tried a Whole30 compliant ranch dressing that I made and was very disappointed so I won't even share that recipe with you. Dinner, however, was a success and will be on our regular meal plan. Here's what we had: Paleo Mongolian Beef. The only issue I had with this was that there wasn't more of it. I wound up steaming some veggies (in the microwave because I'm lazy sometimes) to complete the meal.
Friday, we started our day off with fruit and cereal (no cereal for me; just the fruit) as we do most mornings around here. Lunch was boring as well as it was just leftovers for me (those pork chops above are great reheated) and a corndog for my son. Dinner was great. Friday is usually our day to go out to eat or order pizza. I have been trying to perfect a pizza at home recipe for months and just could never get it right. The stars aligned and with a yummy store bought crust (Kroger brand for the win), everyone had pizza. Everyone except me. I had these Pizza Potato Skins. I totally spaced on picking up most of the topping so mine just had sauce, pepperoni and seasonings. It was okay, but I will definitely try them with more toppings another day.
Oh, the day I have been dreading typing about: Saturday. Breakfast went great as I just had some fruit, which I love for breakfast. Lunch however was a whole 'nother story. My husband had a function at his work. Well, most work functions consist of BBQ. Yep, this one did too. And I didn't want to be the wierdo eating my burger patty with my hands (because there were no forks to be found outside) so I sacrificed and ate a burger with cheese, ketchup and a bun. I also had a hot dog in the bun with ketchup. I know, I know. Terrible for the Whole30 journey. But guess what? We all slip up from time to time and I'm okay with that. Yes, if you have read the book for Whole30, you know that this is not okay by those standards. Oh well, I'm only doing this for 30 days and not restarting. Yep, I'm a failure, but I'm okay with it. Dinner was much better. This Chicken and Veggie dish was amazing. I had hoped to have leftovers, but that didn't pan out so well.
Sunday was another work day for my husband and I woke up feeling terrible (thanks bread, cheese and sugar) so we actually just snacked on some fruit all morning. And then lunch hit. I realized I didn't have leftovers (my usual lunch item) so I panicked a bit. And then I remembered that I have a TON of eggs in the fridge (one item to make it through Whole30 for sure). I scrambled up some eggs for myself, poured them over the potato insides I had leftover from Friday and topped it all with some Pico de Gallo. Guys and gals, that may just be a new favorite meal of mine. I would normally add some cheese, but you know, I gotta follow the rules sometimes. Dinner was this great Roast. I don't have an Instant Pot so I just cooked mine up in the crock pot. It was great, but I was missing the buttery goodness of this Mississippi Roast. I do have a bunch of leftovers from tonight so I'm thinking I'll add the meat in with my eggs in the morning and that I'll have roast and veggies again for lunch tomorrow.
Okay, let's talk about how I'm feeling. I have made it a full 10 days without a sip of soda. I almost caved tonight and had one, but I'm still going strong. I will admit the urge to grab a can from the fridge is getting extreme, but it's all good. Lemon water for the win right now! My energy has come back, which is a great thing. And I am starting to see more results from my workout program. As much as I miss all my favorite foods (I could go for a chicken sandwich, some mac and cheese and a Dr. Pepper right now), I know that I will be happy I did this in the end.
I hope that you are enjoying these posts and would love to know if they are inspiring anyone else to jump up and try the Whole30 nutrition plan (because diet is a 4-letter word) themselves.
I'll be back next week with a new Whole30 post, but expect a couple other blogs before that! We can't all just live on these Whole30 blog posts, right?
Have a great week, everyone and do something this week you don't think you are strong enough to do!
-Danielle
We had a lazy start to Monday (as seems to be the pattern when the husband is home for any reason) and just had snacks for breakfast. The husband and kiddos had cereal and I had fruit. For lunch, we went out to eat and got some yummy Mediterranean food. This is where the first slip up of the week happened. And I made it count. Apparently, hummus is a no-no on the Whole30 (insert sad face here). I was good about not dipping my kofta (if you don't know what that is, look it up and fall in love - I'll be making it at home here soon) in the yogurt sauce it comes with, which is so good by the way. I did however, dip it in the hummus. But in all the bad choices that I could have made, I think hummus wasn't that bad. I still haven't had a soda since starting Whole30 and haven't had any dairy or grains! This Amazing Breakfast Casserole was our dinner. Yes, it has cheese in the recipe. Nope, I didn't add it. The husband and kids added it to theirs after it was done, while I added some jalapenos for taste. And it is now one of my favorite breakfast recipes. Next time, I will cook the eggs a little less, but they were still super yummy and the potatoes and bacon were cooked to perfection!
Tuesday didn't turn out at all like I wanted it to. My husband had a late night visit to the ER on Monday night so we woke up late in the morning, had a late breakfast and then found out he needed to head to the doctor. That meant grabbing lunch out. I went to one of my favorite restaurants and resisted the urge to buy a sandwich. I actually did well and ordered a salad with olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette for dressing. I also had them remove the cheese. Unfortunately, I didn't look at the menu and forgot to have them remove a few items that aren't really Whole30 (tortilla strips, corn, beans) but I figured I could deal for one small slip up since it was still a very healthy meal. We had to run some errands after my husband got done at the doctor and that pushed our dinner back a bit. I am really good about sticking to "Taco Tuesday", but this week it was all about making food that we had and not grabbing something out (since that gets tough on Whole30 and on the budget). Lucky for me, we had all the stuff ready for Apple Spice Pork Chops, which are amazing, even if you aren't doing the Whole30 Nutrition Plan (see, not a diet).
So, instead of Taco Tuesday, we had Wrap it Up Wednesday (yep, just made that up). I just wound up making these Chicken Tacos in the crock pot since I actually had time to cook them. They were amazing! I just realized I didn't talk about breakfast. That's because it was boring and uneventful. I had some bananas and almond butter while the husband and kids had cinnamon rolls. Want to challenge yourself even more on the Whole30? Pour the icing on the cinnamon rolls you can't have. So many temptations to just stick my finger in the icing and eat it. (And yes, that is a normal reaction to have when you cut sugar out of your diet....I'm not crazy.)
Thursday was an interesting day. It was my first day home with the kids in about a week. Breakfast went fine since it is usually the easiest meal of the day anyway. I heated up some bacon, scrambled some eggs and cut up half an avocado. My son had homemade McMuffins while I stared longingly at the bread and cheese (yes, we are at that point....don't judge me). I was so scared that I was going to grab that Dr. Pepper around lunch time to just help me get through the day. I sensed this might happen so I just made a fresh glass of lemon water and kept it by me while warming up lunch. And then I made another cup of lemon water for when I actually sat down and ate my lunch. Lunch was leftovers and not very exciting. I actually tried a Whole30 compliant ranch dressing that I made and was very disappointed so I won't even share that recipe with you. Dinner, however, was a success and will be on our regular meal plan. Here's what we had: Paleo Mongolian Beef. The only issue I had with this was that there wasn't more of it. I wound up steaming some veggies (in the microwave because I'm lazy sometimes) to complete the meal.
Friday, we started our day off with fruit and cereal (no cereal for me; just the fruit) as we do most mornings around here. Lunch was boring as well as it was just leftovers for me (those pork chops above are great reheated) and a corndog for my son. Dinner was great. Friday is usually our day to go out to eat or order pizza. I have been trying to perfect a pizza at home recipe for months and just could never get it right. The stars aligned and with a yummy store bought crust (Kroger brand for the win), everyone had pizza. Everyone except me. I had these Pizza Potato Skins. I totally spaced on picking up most of the topping so mine just had sauce, pepperoni and seasonings. It was okay, but I will definitely try them with more toppings another day.
Oh, the day I have been dreading typing about: Saturday. Breakfast went great as I just had some fruit, which I love for breakfast. Lunch however was a whole 'nother story. My husband had a function at his work. Well, most work functions consist of BBQ. Yep, this one did too. And I didn't want to be the wierdo eating my burger patty with my hands (because there were no forks to be found outside) so I sacrificed and ate a burger with cheese, ketchup and a bun. I also had a hot dog in the bun with ketchup. I know, I know. Terrible for the Whole30 journey. But guess what? We all slip up from time to time and I'm okay with that. Yes, if you have read the book for Whole30, you know that this is not okay by those standards. Oh well, I'm only doing this for 30 days and not restarting. Yep, I'm a failure, but I'm okay with it. Dinner was much better. This Chicken and Veggie dish was amazing. I had hoped to have leftovers, but that didn't pan out so well.
Sunday was another work day for my husband and I woke up feeling terrible (thanks bread, cheese and sugar) so we actually just snacked on some fruit all morning. And then lunch hit. I realized I didn't have leftovers (my usual lunch item) so I panicked a bit. And then I remembered that I have a TON of eggs in the fridge (one item to make it through Whole30 for sure). I scrambled up some eggs for myself, poured them over the potato insides I had leftover from Friday and topped it all with some Pico de Gallo. Guys and gals, that may just be a new favorite meal of mine. I would normally add some cheese, but you know, I gotta follow the rules sometimes. Dinner was this great Roast. I don't have an Instant Pot so I just cooked mine up in the crock pot. It was great, but I was missing the buttery goodness of this Mississippi Roast. I do have a bunch of leftovers from tonight so I'm thinking I'll add the meat in with my eggs in the morning and that I'll have roast and veggies again for lunch tomorrow.
Okay, let's talk about how I'm feeling. I have made it a full 10 days without a sip of soda. I almost caved tonight and had one, but I'm still going strong. I will admit the urge to grab a can from the fridge is getting extreme, but it's all good. Lemon water for the win right now! My energy has come back, which is a great thing. And I am starting to see more results from my workout program. As much as I miss all my favorite foods (I could go for a chicken sandwich, some mac and cheese and a Dr. Pepper right now), I know that I will be happy I did this in the end.
I hope that you are enjoying these posts and would love to know if they are inspiring anyone else to jump up and try the Whole30 nutrition plan (because diet is a 4-letter word) themselves.
I'll be back next week with a new Whole30 post, but expect a couple other blogs before that! We can't all just live on these Whole30 blog posts, right?
Have a great week, everyone and do something this week you don't think you are strong enough to do!
-Danielle
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