Week 2 Whole 30 Daily Journal

Monday, Day 8, finally feeling back to normal today. That stomach illness really wiped me out!

Breakfast 1: one egg fried in a little ghee, black coffee

workout: My Y has this class called Cycle Beat Tone where you cycle to the beat of the music. The instructor throws in upper body moves and this results in major calorie burn. I know on Whole 30 we’re not counting calories and measuring portions, but I still like seeing that high calorie number on my heart rate monitor! Felt great through the workout with that little bit of protein on my stomach.

Breakfast 2: pizza quiche and a few grapes – I found this recipe on a Whole 30 Pinterest Board, made a batch Sunday night with plans to eat it for a quick breakfast for a few days. I’m worried about a histamine reaction, but I took a Histamine Block and seem fine so far.

Lunch: I had planned kale salad and canned salmon, but the pork I thought I took out of the freezer, turned out to be two bone-in chicken thighs. They needed to be cooked or they would go bad, so that’s what I had for lunch. Just the chicken. Not very balanced, I know.

afternoon snack: not granola – 1/2 green apple, 1 T coconut flakes, a few almonds, a few walnuts, 1 date, dash of cinnamon and dash of salt all chopped up in my mini food processor. Drizzled with a little almond butter. Yum!

Dinner: Asian Beef and Vegetable Stir Fry with chicken thighs instead of beef. Modification for Whole 30: omit honey and maple syrup and add juice and zest of one orange instead.

Day 8 Review: I did want some sort of sweets today, but managed to resist – at least I have as of this writing. What’s going on over here is temptation central. We’re doing a little experiment with my cookie recipes. I’ve baked some of the cookies, sealed them and left them at room temperature. Every couple of days my husband or kids open one and eats it to test for freshness.   would like to be the one tasting for freshness. Wah.

Tuesday, Day 9 Breakfast: Awoke feeling stomach pain again. Stuck with black coffee, piece of toast and an egg.

Lunch: Trader Joe’s Turkey Burger fried up on my good ‘ole George Foreman Grill. Anybody else still have one of those? They’re great for cooking something quick even if it’s just out of the freezer. Used two leftover sweet potato “buns” to make a sandwich. Just a little spinach and tomato on top.

Dinner: Not feeling great. Dinner is rice and broth again.

Day 9 Assessment: I baked more cookies today testing some tweaks to the recipe and seeing how long they stay fresh once they’re sealed. It’s hard to trust other people’s opinions and not actually sample them myself!

Day 10 Breakfast: Thankfully, I woke up without stomach pain. Finished up the pizza quiche plus a little piece of turkey kielbasa and black coffee, of course.

Mid-day intense workout! I did not feel super energetic in class today. Maybe I’m still a little depleted after being sick, maybe it was just time to eat again. Regardless, I made it through, but I was ready for lunch by the end!

Lunch: I used the snack from Monday (not granola) as a base for a sort of chicken salad.

to my mini food processor, I added: 1/2 green apple (with skin), half dozen walnut halves, couple tablespoons unsweetened coconut flakes, two dates, pinch of salt, a couple ounces of smoked turkey breast and a spoon of avocado mayo. Very much like a classic waldorf salad.DSC_3207

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I ate this salad over a bed of spinach and it was deee-lish! I’ll probably have this again. Probably tomorrow. Thankful to still be feeling well.

Needed a little more to eat so I had a banana, drizzled with almond butter and sprinkled with cinnamon. Felt very dessert-like.

Dinner: I am not in the mood to cook! I love cooking. I do it all the time. But occasionally, I’ll get burnt out and totally lack for inspiration. I have my meal plan for the week ready. I can see what I wrote down for tonight. But I don’t want to cook it. I don’t want to cook anything.

Alas, the need to feed my family and my practical side took over and we had, as planned, grilled fish, leftover sweet potatoes and spinach salad with hot bacon dressing. I don’t believe I’ve posted that spinach salad recipe yet. I’ll get on that this week.

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Day 10 Review: I’m kind of over it, but trying my best to hang in there. Feeling ok. Waiting for that burst of energy to kick in.

Thursday, Day 11 Breakfast 1: one scrambled egg and black coffee

early morning high intensity workout

Breakfast 2: two slices g-free toast with almond butter and sprinkle of cinnamon. Confession: peanut butter is one of my favorite foods, but it is off limits on the paleo diet. My functional medicine doctor thinks it’s horrible for me so I obey and steer clear. But I really, really miss peanut butter toast. Almond butter is NOT, I repeat, is NOT a good substitute. Sometimes the craving for peanut butter takes over and I eat almond butter anyway. Sigh.

And I know, I know, you are not supposed to eat anything resembling bread on the Whole 30. All that bread while I was sick got me used to having it again. I will quit, I promise.

Lunch: I told you I would be eating this again! Same as yesterday – sort of like chicken salad/Waldorf salad, but with turkey, over a bed of greens. Inka plantain chips – so usually I make my own, but when I saw these on Thrive’s website, I decided to give them a try. It’s certainly more convenient to rip open a bag, than make a batch of my own. And they have three ingredients: plantains, palm oil and salt. Score!

Dinner: Nut crusted chicken and sautéed vegetables. Y’all, this chicken was so, so good! We devoured it. My kids said repeatedly how much they loved it. Such accolades. I can hardly stand it. Props to America’s Test Kitchen for the inspiration.

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Day 11 Review:  Nothing too exciting here. Still not feeling super energetic, but I’m not overly tired either. Just normal, I guess. I’m scrutinizing my body – looks and feelings – searching for some change. I should notice something since I’ve been doing this Whole 30 thing about 95% for three months now! Maybe there’s something I’m not noticing. It doesn’t feel good to be so self-focused though. Moving on.

Day 12 Breakfast: I so enjoyed that gluten free toast when my stomach was upset that I can’t seem to get off it! Had two slices with ghee and two scrambled eggs this morning. With a side of black coffee and some raw carrots. Must stop with the toast.

mid-day workout

Lunch: You guessed it! More turkey Waldorf Salad. It’s just so yummy! Feels special and fancy, but is super duper quick to throw together.

Dinner: taco meat, guacamole, plantain chips, salad

Day 12 Confession: I ate a cookie today. I’m testing my paleo cookies with regards to how well they freeze both in dough form and baked. I baked a batch today from dough I froze two weeks ago. These were for a customer (my first customer!!!) so I felt that I absolutely had to taste to make sure they tasted fresh.

Day 13 Breakfast: bacon, eggs with tomato, kale and avocado

Lunch: Trader Joe’s turkey burger in lettuce wrap with a little Primal Kitchen Mayo

Dinner: teriyaki wings, cole slaw, green beans, sweet potato fries, carrots with ranch dressing/dip

Day 13 Review: It’s really hard to be a food blogger and follow the Whole 30 to the letter. I’m not one of those cooks who never tastes my food. You really have to taste so you can know you are serving something that tastes good and is not rotten or something horrible like that. However, tonight, my parents came for dinner and I made a pumpkin pie for dessert. This recipe will be in the ebook and I would normally NEVER publish a recipe that I have not personally tasted and approved of. BUT, my parents will give me honest feedback. My dad is an excellent pie baker and has no problem handing out criticism or praise where it is due. So tonight, not even a little taste passed my lips, but the whole gang around the table gave the recipe a thumbs up!

Sunday, Day 14 Breakfast: two eggs, some ground pork, black coffee

Lunch: turkey Waldorf salad again, over greens, plantain chips

Dinner: restaurant meal – burger over sautéed mushrooms and onions, side of potato salad, two of my daughter’s french fries. I couldn’t resist.

Wow, almost halfway through. Last night I had a breakthrough of sorts. As my family sat eating the pumpkin pie I had made, I just realized that I really didn’t want any. I feel better when I do not eat sugar. I enjoy eating sugar, but are the ramifications worth it? Most of the time, the answer is a definite no. Hopefully, this will carry me through week three.

Next week: week three – this is the week everyone says is the easiest and where you start to really feel the great side effects. Well, Whole 30, I’m waiting.