Whole30 Update: Day 22

I am on day 22 of whole30.  Can't believe it's somewhat close to coming to an end.  It really is more kind of a habit, rather than a "count down the days."  Actually, I kind of stopped counting days about a week ago.

I will admit I still miss my cream and sugar in the mornings with my coffee and there a times I'd love to pull into Whataburger and get a hamburger, fries, and Dr. Pepper!!  I did cheat once (due to lack of being prepared) and within 30 minutes got a headache.

Overall, I am feeling good.  Last week, I was really struggling with energy.  Just flat out tired.  I think planning a bachelorette party and VBS, staying up wayy to late started to catch up with me.  I started trying to go to bed at a decent time (I am naturally a night owl) and upping my protein intake and I think that has helped.

Actually, today is the first day I haven't really wanted something sweet.  Fruit didn't even sound good and sounded too sweet.  What??  I will admit I've probably eaten 2 whole watermelons by myself within the last week.  They have just been so good.  And sweet!!  Now I'm trying to focus on not snacking.  I have allowed myself to have a snack when I felt like I needed one, but really it's more I just want to eat, to eat.

So here's what I've been eating in pictures:

 

Tuna fish with homemade mayo

Baked chicken with olive oil, carrots and celery, garlic, salt & pepper, mashed sweet potatoes with coconut butter & cinnamon, sliced cucumbers & tomatoes.

 Breakfast: pork patties, sauteed mushrooms with an egg & fresh fruit.

 Lunch: chicken salad (made w/ homemade left-over roasted chicken, pickles, homemade mayo), apple chicken sausage, sliced apples with cashew butter sprinkled w/ cinnamon, fresh fruit.

 Perfect snack: sliced apple, cashew butter, cinnamon, dried coconut chips.

 

 Pork patties, guacamole, sliced tomatoes

Breakfast (B. picked out my plate:): ground pork, poached eggs, mashed sweet potato with ghee, and watermelon

Breakfast: pork, sweet potato hash, eggs, and fresh fruit

One of my favorite meals!  Marinara sauce (no sugar) simmered with grass-fed beef, carrots, mushrooms, & onions with sauteed zucchini noodles.  So good!!

I've been craving iced coffee.  I've had a few cups of black coffee but it's just not the same.  I had some left over black coffee from breakfast and threw it in a blender, added canned coconut milk, tablespoon of coconut butter, dash of cinnamon, and a few ice cubes.  Turned out to be a perfect treat for during naptime.

Also - it's naptime and I'm NOT napping!  This is huge!!  By 2pm everyday, I was done and needed a nap.  Now I don't feel that afternoon slump, or I should say not near as much as I did prior to whole30.

So there ya go...of course those are just the meals I remembered to snap pictures of.  Here's to finishing strong!!  I'll give an update once I'm done!!!

Father's Day Weekend

So I hadn't blogged regularly like I had hoped I would.  Such as life!  Father's day weekend was packed full of fun stuff. 

Saturday morning, I cleaned up the house (from a bachelorette party the night before) while my in-laws helped AB trim our oaks and cut down another tree.  Then we took a glorious 4 hour family nap.  Later that evening, we went over to some friends house.  The boys loved playing outside!  The dads chatted inside, while us girls played & chatted outside while the boys played.

Sunday we went to church, came home and ate lunch.  That evening the in-laws came over for dinner.  AB grilled steaks, while I grilled shrimp inside on the grill pan.  We had baked sweet potatoes and watermelon.  Perfect whole30 compliant Father's day meal.  We even ate on the fine china in honor of Father's day.  Nothing but the best! ;)

AB is the best daddy to B.  He is so incredibly patient, loving, and such a great example.  He leads and guides our family with integrity and Christian values.  He is a hard-worker and always puts us first.  I am so thankful for him and so thankful he is the father of B.  We love you honey!!

I also have an amazing father!  He adores me and adores his grandbabies.  He is funny, loving, caring, and will do anything for his family.  I can't thank him enough for the sacrifices he has made for us and how he has loved us well.  He also has loved my mom in  a way that shows us what it means to love.  Dad, I love you and am thank God you he picked you to be my dad!!

And my father-in-law, is also an wonderful man who loves us big!  He is also willing to help us out, loves B. like no other, and is compassionate and kind.  He is also a very hard-worker and I am so thankful he raised AB to the be man he is.

I couldn't be more thankful for these men!!  Happy Father's day to them!!!

Weekend Recap

We love weekends around here!  We had a fun, relaxing weekend.

Friday night, we cooked dinner then I hung out on the couch by myself while the boys crashed early.  Was nice to be able to watch whatever I wanted on TV and read a book.

Friday was also National Donut Day so I treated this little guy to donut holes.  He said they "were yummy in his tummy!"

Saturday, I got up and cooked us all breakfast and cleaned up around the house.  We had a pool birthday party right before lunch.  B is like a little fish!  Couldn't get enough of the water!

Pool birthday parties are the best!  Especially before naptime...we came home and everyone took reallllly long naps!  That afternoon, we went to eat my in-laws parents house for dinner.  I also worked on doing a little embroidery!

Sunday -we went to church.  It was Pentacost so everyone was asked to wear red.  Well a certain 2 year old told us, "I wear farmer, I wear Aggie!" when he saw it hanging.  Haha!  Well okay...Aggie farmer it is! :)  Our pastor told him, "maroon isn't red, but it's just as good!"  His boys are Aggies!

I had a VBS meeting that evening at church, then came home for dinner and watched a little of the Miss USA pageant.  We had watermelon (with real salt) for an after dinner snack.  So yummy!!  I hated to see the weekend come to an end...

Whole30 {Week 1}

So today marks one week since I started Whole30.  I am currently on day 8 and thought I would share a little about this experience.  If you aren't sure what Whole30, click here to learn more.

I heard about Whole30, maybe two years ago but just had a baby and dieting wasn't really on my radar.  Plus, I read what you had to give up and thought "there's no way!" ha.  I decided to get the book It Starts With Food to see what it was all about.  After reading the first few chapters, I knew it was time to make a change regarding my relationship with food - mostly carbs and sugar.

Yea, all the things that taste amazing, call my name at 9pm after dinner, and all those wonderful looking desserts all.over.Pinterest.

So enter Whole30...here are a few things I've learned so far.

-Everything.  Everything has sugar in it.
-Finding sugar-free bacon is near to impossible.
-Reading labels is a must and honestly kind of scary to think about all the "things" we consume without even realizing it.
-Soy is in everything.  Again, everything.
-Farmers markets and local co-op are lifesavers.
-Breakfast is my favorite meal and I am not a morning person!
-I really miss having coffee.  I've been tempted to try it black, but just haven't.
-Not all salts are created equally.

Here's a run down of what I've been eating:

Day 1:

Breakfast: sweet potato hash, egg fried in coconut oil, garden fresh cucumbers and tomatoes with S&P, cantaloupe

Lunch: Pan seared porkchop in olive oil, paprika carrots cooked in coconut oil, and more tomatoes and cucumbers.
Dinner: I had bunco that night and ended up going to eat with a friend...at Chili's.  I ordered a bacon burger without the bun and all veggies.  Squeezed mustard on top of it.  For my family, I baked a whole cut-up chicken in oil olive, onions, carrots, celery, with spices (garlic, onion powder, salt & pepper)

Day 2: (I guess I didn't photograph this day & now I don't remember what I ate)

Breakfast: was probably the same as day 1.

Snack: apple with almond butter sprinkled with cinnamon
Lunch: ????
Dinner: Slow cooked a chuck roast in the oven with onions & carrots.

Day 3:

 Breakfast: sweet potato hash, fried eggs, pasture ground pork patties, and apple slices.

Lunch: Compliant hotdogs topped with yellow mustard & pickles (with no sugar), cucumbers/tomatoes, slice of cantaloupe.
Dinner:
Wednesday is grocery day so after the farmers market, we went out to eat before I took off to the grocery store, alone!  They had half price oysters on the half shell so we got a dozen & ate them WITHOUT a cracker!  I know...actually I didn't even miss the cracker!  I had the fish of the day (drum), grilled with a side of asparagus.  AB had surf & turf.

 

Day 4: Beach day!

Breakfast: egg scramble with mushrooms, yellow bell peppers, fresh pico, and spinach leaves.  Pasture pork, and cucumbers and tomatoes.
Lunch: For our beach lunch, I packed Applegate salami, green olives, cherry tomatoes, and sugar-free pepperoni (sliced thick) and salt & pepper pistachios to snack on w/ La Croix to drink!

Dinner: grass-fed burgers topped with bacon, sliced avocado & onion, and pico and homemade Whole30 mayo.  Sweet potato fries and sliced tomatoes.

Day 5:

Breakfast (on to go!): 2 hard boiled eggs with S&P, an apple
Lunch: don't remember...???

Dinner: Spaghetti sauce with creamy roasted garlic sauce from Planks, Love, and Guacamole.  It was sooo yummy!  Like we really eating pasta, will definitely make this recipe again!

Day 6:

Breakfast: egg crepe topped with pico, yellow bell pepper, mushrooms, and pork sausage.
Lunch: sausage links with yellow mustard (later I googled the ingredients of sausage & it   wasn't compliant, oops!)
Dinner: sliced brisket, bbq'ed chicken (without sauce), balsamic green beans, salad with ranch dressing using whole30 mayo, and watermelon.

Day 7:

Breakfast: apple- since I didn't have time to cook before church

 Lunch: tuna fish boats made w/ whole30 mayo and watermelon

Dinner: pork chop seared in avacodo oil, oven roasted brussel sprouts, a few green olives and tomatoe slices.
After dinner snack: watermelon with pink salt!

Whew, there's week 1!  I will say that days 2-5 were probably the toughest and randomly yesterday I was craving a Dr Pepper and sausage cheese balls like something fierce.  Totally random!!  I try not to snack but if I do I try to have an apple or watermelon, a few unsalted cashews, or half a Lara Bar.  I mostly drink water with lemon in it.  B loves "lemon-add!" and even B eats better because it.  He always eats whatever we eat so this is forcing us to feed him good stuff, instead of "junk!"

Overall, I am feeling pretty good.  I can tell a difference in mental clarity (thank goodness), and for the most part have more energy.  My body is still adjusting to the whole "shock" of it all, but I am excited to see where I am at the end of this.  I am already planning on doing another Whole30, right after this one!