Thursday, April 30, 2015

Whole30 - Day 2


Whole30 — Day 2

Mood: Mixed
Difficulty level: Moderate
Energy: Low
Stomach: I had some burning stomach pains today, like 2 hours worth… but! To be fair, I am thinking it might not have been related solely to Whole30 and the "hangover" period I have read about via Whole30's timeline explanation (good read) - honestly, I blame work
Overall: Feeling proud to have lasted through the stress of the day and still be motivated to push forward


Today was a rough one… not necessarily Whole30 rough, but work rough. Things with work are frustrating lately, and I haven't been able to shake it off as well as I usually can.


I left my house this morning with a big kiss from my handsome man (my handsome man as of 9 months today!) reminding me to focus on having a better day because I have him, I have my family, and he and I have a future that is what REALLY matters. So true


except, I failed… I got to work and I got stressed and frustrated. Today would definitely be a day I would have loved to come home to a glass (or bottle) of wine. But, nope… can't do that, and I am honestly feeling really thankful I have a reason to be motivated to keep from open the bottle. 

Wine is great, and wine is good, but wine is not going to get rid of the stress of my day. It masks it and I have used it as a coping mechanism lately. Not cool. Must stop that… and, thanks to Whole30, I AM STOPPING THAT!

Anyhow… here is how today's meals went:


Breakfast:


Egg Bake (same as yesterday - yay meal prep!) and a cup of black coffee — surprisingly, I am finding it super easy to drink plain black coffee… I have never been a big cream person; I only ever use a splash. Thankful for the easy transition, because coffee is a MUST



Egg Bake: saute Gwantley bacon; once cooked add onion, red pepper and garlic to cook until softened. Cool, then add to beaten eggs (6 whole, 3 egg whites) plus salt/pepper, dash cayenne, and a couple shakes of dried tarragon. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes, just until set. Portion into 6 squares.


Lunch:


Soda water with lime, roasted butternut squash & zucchini with simply broiled Grouper and a squeeze of lime plus some blueberries on the side!



Toss 1 small butternut squash and 3 small zucchini with 2 tsp. coconut oil, 1/2 tsp basil, 1/2 tsp pepper, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp garlic powder and roast at 400 for 18-20 minutes on non-stick sheet pan. Easy! Yum!

Snack:


LäraBar - Lemon Bar


I love Lärabars. The ingredients are fabulous because they are ALL NATURAL which is why they are Whole30 compliant. 4 total ingredients: Dates, cashews, almonds, lemon juice concentrate. Whhhaaaattt?! YES please! All of their bars are naturally sweetened by dates! Yummmm! Check 'em out for sure! [4 for $5 at Publix!]



*Disclaimer: Not ALL Lärabars Whole30 compliant.
Compliant LäraBars per Whole30 website: Apple Pie, Banana Bread, Carrot Cake, Cashew Cookie, Cherry Pie, Chocolate Coconut Chew, Coconut Cream Pie, Key Lime Pie, Lemon Bar, Pecan Pie, Pumpkin Pie.

Dinner:


Salad: mixed greens, onion, cucumbers, chopped tomato, salt and pepper topped with

Homemade balsamic vinaigrette.


Homemade balsamic vinaigrette (3 servings): 2 T. olive oil, 3 T. balsamic, 2 tsp water, 1 tsp spicy mustard, sprinkle salt & pepper, dash basil, dash oregano, dash garlic powder, dash onion powder — shake in small tupperware — EASY BREEZY and yummy!

Oven Roasted potatoes topped with sautéed sirloin, avocado and hot sauce plus a generous squeeze of fresh lime. I mean… SERIOUSLY?! I could eat this every single day! I was not missing anything during this dinner...

Roasted potatoes: cut 10-12 small new potatoes into roughly 1 1/2 inch pieces, toss with 2 tsp coconut oil, 1/4 tsp garlic powder, 1/4 tsp onion powder, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, 1/2 tsp dried cilantro and roast at 400 for about 20 minutes on non-stick sheet pan; flip potatoes 1/2 way through roasting so they are golden brown on all sides

Sautéed Sirloin: Heat 1 tsp coconut oil, add 1 small diced onion and cook til softened; add about 1 pound sirloin, 1 tsp minced garlic, 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp chili powder, 1/2 tsp dried cilantro, 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper - sauté on medium heat until meat is browned and cooked through

All in all - it was a successful day, minus that awful burning stomach ache I got around 2:30p that lasted a solid 2 hours…. hopefully that was a fluke and it won't happen again tomorrow.


Perhaps that is the "hangover" they explain?



Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Whole30 - Day 1

Whole30 — Day 1:

Mood: Normal
Difficulty level: Easy
Energy: Moderate
Stomach: I confess… gassy!
Overall: Feeling ready to conquer this program!


Breakfast:

Prepped Egg Bake with Gwaltney bacon, red peppers, onion, garlic, tarragon, salt/pepper


Lunch:

1 Aidell's Chicken & Apple sausage, roasted sweet potatoes and and sautéed Kale with peppers/onion/carrots/garlic/S&P


Snack:

1/2 grapefruit

Dinner:

BIG veggie salad - lettuce mix, tomato, cucumber, pepper, beets, avocado, sprouts, homemade balsamic dressing*, hard boiled egg

Sorry y'all - I was hungry and forgot to snap the pic!

plus…

small piece Egg Bake (pictured for Breakfast)


Dessert:

My FAVE hot tea, Yogi Throat Comfort & 5-6 small dates


Whole30…. Go!

Perhaps you have heard of the popular "reset" program, Whole30. It claims to change your life. I have a couple dear friends who have not only survived it, but RAVE about it in support.

The information in their book is based on scientific data that comes with valid references, which is definitely nice to see. Reading the book and hearing great feedback from my friends made me want to give it a go.

This graphic pretty much sums up what is allowed in the plan (which definitely does not include wine… *Sigh*) - you can read all the in's and out's, and more importantly the do's and don't's of the Whole30 program here.

Can I really go without wine? Sadly, or not, but I think that will be my biggest challenge...



Confession: I tried to do it once before. I lasted about 8 days, and then I had to travel for work - end of that story.

Here I go again… I did a BUNCH of meal prep this weekend (but failed to take pics…). This is definitely the kind of thing you need to plan for.

I plan to post daily meal pics as I go on here and on my Healthy: Yum-E! Instagram account: @HealthyYumE

In the blog posts, I will include the following:

Mood: Normal/Poor/Great!
Difficulty level: Easy/Moderate/Hard/Kill me
Energy: Nonexistent/Low/Moderate/Superwoman!
Stomach: I have a history of gall bladder disease, and IBS - we'll see how I react to this (promise to be blunt and honest)
Overall: I will add a simple overall how-I-am-doing statement