Whole30 Reset : Day Eight - Eleven thru...DAY TWENTY FIVE

DAY 25 UPDATE: I started writing this draft on day 11 and never finished it or published it and THEN just stopped recording my progress!! Which does upset me because I had some REALLY good recipes to share.  Most notable was a Whole30 Beef & Broccoli, a Deconstructed Taco with cashew 'cheese', and two delicious soups. But the good news is that as of Day 25 I have stayed true and am feeling good! Today I had a little headache but I think it's because I didn't have any coffee this morning which quite possibly means I have a caffeine addiction. Yay. My last day for this reset is on Saturday. After that, I am thinking I will reintroduce bread into my diet first to see how I feel after eating it. Then we'll see what I add next. Anyways, here is that entry I started and never finished:

I don't know what some days this blog is easy to keep up with and others it seems impossible! So I'll sum up kind of quickly for this entry so I can get caught up with the days I missed.

For breakfast, I had my usual, which I didn't bother taking a photo of because you have seen it already. I basically cooked 2 over easy eggs and 2 pieces of bacon and had that over a bed of spinach.

Then for lunch, I came home and cooked chicken and had that with some mixed lettuce, red onions, red bell pepper, and mushrooms. I used the dreamy Italian dressing by Primal Kitchen.

For dinner, I had the green curry shredded pork that was left over. I didn't take a pic of that...sorry!

On day 9-11 I can't recall everything I ate, but it WAS Whole30 compliant! I had Pederson's Spicy Sausage with Eggs over spinach and sprinkled on a little Everything but the Bagel Spice for breakfast on one of those days...

For lunch... I made chicken Marsala and had that by itself and then made mashed potatoes and had that for dinner.

And on Sunday I decided to try The New Primal's Hot Wing Sauce. And MAN does it have a kick!

Annnnnd that's where I stopped recording my progress.

Photos I took of other things I made during the time I was too lazy to record:

 This was a weekend breakfast when I just wanted a super filling pile of goodness. I made an omlette with peppers, onions, and mushrooms and topped it with jalapenos, salsa, avocado and served that with Spicy Sausage and a slice of bacon. YUM.

 I used the last of the frozen carnitas to make bbq carnitas tacos with butter leaves, avocado, and green onions.

This was one of the delicious soups I made! Damion helped me debone a whole chicken and we ate the whole pot in 2 days. lol

 Thanks to my gal pal Brenda, she recommended I try the cauliflower gnocchi from Trader Joes as well as the kale/cashew pesto so I put that together over a bed of zoodles and it was pretty darn good! I don't think it is a recipe everyone would love but I liked it. :)

That is all. HOPEFULLY, I will report back in a timely manner. If I don't. I apologize.

Whole30 Reset : Day Seven

Today was a lot calmer than yesterday. Which is good and bad. Good in that I have a grain more of sanity. Bad in that I am not as occupied by other things so I start to think about how hungry I am. I need to drink more water.

For breakfast I was going to make this sweet potato bake I've been excited about but it said it takes FORTY MINUTES! Who the F has time for that?? So instead, I diced some sweet potato and red onion, prepared two eggs over medium, and two pieces of Pederson's Farm bacon. It was filling. I have been drinking Bulletproof coffee, black every morning. I'm wondering if I have given myself a caffeine addiction because I would not look forward to a morning without coffee... Then again I only drink 1 cup every morning so, maybe not? In any case I thought I took a picture of the breakfast I made this morning but apparently not. Strange...

For lunch I had the last of the leftover pulled pork soup:

That was delicious as usual, even more so actually because those veggies really soaked in that jalapeno.

For dinner I was craving CURRY and remembered that I had a bottle of Yai's Thai Green Curry sauce that is Whole30 compliant so I threw that in a saute pan with some green beans, onions, bell pepper, sweet potato and pulled pork. It was pretty darn good, I must say. PLUS I had leftovers! So I will plan on having that for lunch tomorrow.

Whole30 Reset: Day Six

This morning I woke up from an odd dream. As I write this, I couldn't tell you what it was about. But I was in a mad rush to get ready. Was texting friends I haven't spoken to in a while and was trying to make breakfast. Then I thought...boy... I need a shower. but I only had 8.5 minutes till the sweet potato toast would be done... so I hopped in the shower and shampooed and conditioned my hair faster than I ever have in my life!! Suds up and then rinsed as thoroughly as possible. I was impressed with my speed.

Anyway, this is what I was able to whip together in the midst of the madness:

I baked a slice of sweet potato in the oven at 350 degrees for 15 minutes, topped it with baby spinach and baby butter lettuce, 2 over easy eggs, Pederson's bacon and avocado slices. Then I sprinkled a little salt, pepper, and everything but the bagel seasoning. It was delish! If you make it, I suggest seasoning the potato before you top with anything else and when you eat it break open the egg for that runny yolk. ;)

I failed you for lunch. I also failed me... in that I FORGOT TO TAKE A PICTURE!! 

I know. but I can describe it...? I ordered lunch for the office from this AMAZING Chinese food place in Kearny Mesa called Shanghai Saloon & Dumpling Inn. Don't worry, it wasn't for me! We had a conference call we all had to be on so I made a mad dash to Stehly's Market to see if they had a healthy lunch option, I was shocked to find that they had no options that did not include dairy, grains, legumes or added sugars!  I DID pick up a blood orange juice from them that was a whopping $4.50 but I have been craving a little citrus and it will be nice to cook with too so, I bought my juice (also, their juices are fresh squeezed so there is no added sugar) and rushed home to put something together. I had two roma tomatoes, avocado, the last of my butter lettuce and baby spinach, red onion, and pineapple. So I chopped it all up and added a little of Primal Kitchen's Italian dressing and a squeeze of lime. a dash of salt, pepper, and everything but the bagel spice. I wish I could share it with you...instead I have a photo of something very similar so...here that is:

(Photo from 'Kalyns Kitchen') 

So, my gal pal Megan is coming over tonight. I was thinking I will just reheat my soup from last night.

UPDATE: That is what we did. And I forgot to take a picture of it but it looked the same as last time anyways, so here is that:

Til tomorrow! :D

Whole30 Reset: Day Five

DAY FIVE

Let's get right to it. On day five I started with:

What are you looking at? Well, let me tell you! I put down a layer of that baby spinach and baby butter lettuce first. I've been using this in place of potatoes. Potatoes are absolutely ok when on the Whole30 BUT if you are interested in a little more chance at weight loss it's good to replace it with something less starchy like lettuce. At first, I thought, that's a terrible idea... who wants lettuce with their breakfast? But I gave it a try and I have to say, it isn't my enemy. I made my favorite Pederson's Farms bacon and then threw some cherry tomatoes, onions and bell pepper on the pan with a little button of extra virgin olive oil and put that on top of the bed of lettuce, then topped that with 2 over easy eggs which I sprinkled the Everything but the bagel spice on and lastly Topped it with a little salsa, pico de gallo and guacamole.

I was so happy when I sat down that I took a pic of the moment. My Alien, my plants (Frank & Pamela), and my Lotso all looked so cozy. So that's this memory:

For lunch, I came home and heated up some of the left-over drumsticks and threw on some celery, carrots, and pickles. I used the last of my Primal Kitchen Ranch dressing. :( And before I left I had a blood orange (because I love a citrus finish and this lunch felt a little light). But it actually held me over just fine.

For dinner, I found a pulled pork soup recipe, these are the ingredients: 

And this is the finished product.

I added sweet potatoes which made it a hearty soup and still packed full of good nutrients! It was so good I had seconds! This is what I ended my day with, I really want to try out a sweet potato breakfast bake recipe I have been eyeballing so I may do that tomorrow. We'll see!

The Whole 30 Stretch ROUND THREE

Oh, hi. Hello there. It's been a while.

I've been busy! Traveled to Bangkok in Thailand, Singapore, and Shanghai Disney in China. Visited a darling gal pal in San Francisco (Berkeley). Went to Tucson, AZ to visit my mom. And enjoyed a LOT of food along the way. But alas, reality has been knocking on my door and I know it will only get louder so it's time for a reset!

In case you have no idea what it is you can visit: https://whole30.com/
I also shared their summary on this entry here: CLICK ME, I WILL SHOW YOU.

A Whole30 reset is so misunderstood. So many think it's a 'fad diet'. It's 'not the right way to lose weight'. 'It's too restrictive'. Thing is if you have said one of those things you have no idea what the Whole30 is and in this case I encourage you to pick up the book so you can understand what it is before you jump to conclusions. The Whole30 isn't about weight loss. Yes, I do want to lose weight. But I want to be healthy more than anything. And that means I need to address my relationship with food. And THAT is what the Whole30 is about. You take 30 days to reset your habits, your thought process, your reward system, your self-love, your relationship with food. You aren't allowed to weigh yourself because health isn't about that number on the scale. Weight loss is a byproduct of eating healthier so you may lose weight. It varies across bodies. I have done it twice and consequently lost over 30 pounds each time. So that is what it is, and why many refer to it as a journey to food freedom. I want to be free of cravings, free of guilt and free of bad habits that sabotage my health. Most importantly is that this is my choice. There are still going to be people that disagree, or that feel strongly about a 'better way'. I've tried this before and it works. Living a healthy lifestyle isn't easy when there are so many unhealthy options out there in your face.  It takes effort. That is the effort I am after.

SO TODAY is February 5th. I started on Feb 2 but didn't record my meals until Superbowl Sunday (Feb 3rd) so I will share from then and on.

Just F.Y.I. I record these things for myself as a sort of diary I can reflect on. I don't have many readers but I try to keep my entries interesting in case someone DOES find their way here. And also, if you are thinking about doing a Whole30 reset or are just curious, I am here to help! Ask me anything!

Ok, so...yes SUPER BOWL SUNDAY!!!! I was dreading it because when I think about it I think of all the yummy food that is associated with it like chips and salsa, potato chips, and random yummy but not very nutritious foods that pair with these things. But I had to remind myself, it's not hard. It's not about what you 'can't' eat because there are countless 'cans'. So what do I WANT to eat? Hot Wings. Man, I love hot wings. and specifically, I love drumsticks. Especially after watching the show Hot Ones by the First We Feast YouTube channel. So I set out to find a recipe that didn't include sugar, soy, dairy, et cet.  This is what I made and where you can find the recipe:

SImple Salt & Pepper Chicken Wings

&

Crispy Baked Buffalo Wings

I used the baking instructions from the buffalo wings for both recipes because these are drumsticks and take a little longer than wings. It came out SO GOOD. I used Tapioca Flour in place of flour from grain. I also used Primal Kitchen's Ranch dressing to avoid added sugar and dairy. And that was dinner! I was full from all the veggies! 

So on day four, I started with Pederson's Spicy Breakfast Sausage Patties. These are absolutely delicious. I am a girl that loves her meat so I don't do breakfast without it. Pederson's Farms is downright my BEST FRIEND when I am on the Whole30. Their meat is fresh, organic and free of added sugars. You'd be surprised how hard it is to find breakfast meat without sugar! So I filled the bowl with Baby Spinach and Baby Butter Lettuce and topped it with 2 eggs, sprinkled some Everything but the bagel seasoning and chipped up two breakfast sausage patties. It's just enough to hold me over till lunch time. 

So then I came home for lunch and was excited to use the pulled pork I had prepped on Saturday. That bad boy took TEN HOURS to slow cook but was well worth the time. I followed a simple recipe from wholekitchensink that allows for a more versatile pulled pork that can be used many different ways once cooked. For this meal, I decided to try a bbq pulled pork lettuce cup (in a bowl) with avocado and a splash of ranch:

I used the Golden BBQ sauce from Primal kitchen and it was delicious! Super simple, quick and easy.

Then for dinner, I wanted to use pineapple that I had in the fridge so I made Pineapple Pulled Pork in a Lettuce cup.

For this dish, I threw some of the pulled pork into a saute pan and added diced fresh pineapple, thinly sliced fresh jalapeno and about 3 tablespoons of Coconut Amino (in place of soy sauce). I layed this on top of a few leaves of Butter Lettuce and then topped it with fresh guacamole and pico de gallo. This definitely had some heat and was more filling than I had anticipated. I'll definitely make this one again. So that's it for now. I'll add Day Five later today once I finish dinner. I'm super excited about a soup for the pulled pork so we'll see how that goes. Ta-Ta for now! <3

Whole30 Reset: Day 25 - 30

I DID IT!!!

I was so busy preparing for our shredding event and Kensington walkabout that I was not able to keep up with this blog. I'm definitely disappointed because I feel like it shouldn't be that hard to make one entry a day, yet here I am. On Friday I was really busy getting prepared for the events on Saturday and I'm sure I had my usual breakfast and then I think I had Chipotle for lunch maybe... And for dinner I've been making that chicken potato dish because it's super easy and really yummy and I just ran out of the Cajun spice I've been using from Weber. Saturday was the shredding event and the Kensington Walkabout which went really really well. We met some great people from our neighborhood including neighbors from our street so that was really nice. We also met a few people who might be able to use our services which of course is wonderful. After the event I was so tired. My legs hurt really bad but I really wanted to see Isle of dogs so Damion and I went to go see it at a new theater we hadn't been to.    While the theater was terrible the movie was  Excellent! It's honestly one of the best movies I've seen in my opinion especially of its kind. It was funny it was sad the story was interesting the work that went into the movie was incredible. They did this thing where they would show the same scene from two different views for example one would be first person and the other would be  An aerial view.  I feel like everyone should see it and maybe it's not for everyone but it's definitely an incredible movie. Sunday I had my normal breakfast I can't really remember what I had for lunch but I went grocery shopping and bought more groceries so hopefully I can finish strong. I did realize that I'm going to Disneyland on Wednesday and I thought that that would be my day 30 but my day 30 is actually on Tuesday because I started the day before I announced it on my blog so at least I did actually finish it and I don't have to feel like I have no willpower lol. Today I have my normal breakfast I'll update later with what I had for lunch and dinner but I definitely feel good and I can't wait to see what my results are as far as weight loss goes. But I have definitely benefited from getting used to cooking at home again and finding snacks in the produce section instead of less healthy aisles.

4/20/18 Update: Well I COMPLETED it!  It was definitely difficult to keep up with the blog when I had so much to do but I'm just glad I can say I completed it.  I lost ~25 pounds.  I didn't weigh myself on day 1 so I had to go off old numbers.  But I can say more importantly I gained back those good habits I need in my life going forward.  Melissa just started a 9 day mini reset that I am really excited about.  I can totally fit that in between my trips coming up!

Thank you for coming along this journey with me.  For those of you reading this that helped encourage me along the way, THANK YOU.  Without you, I don't know if I could complete this.  Surrounding yourself with people that support your choice to change your lifestyle is the best thing you can do for yourself if you want to try this.  But I guarantee you will be happy with the results.  <3

Whole30 Reset: Day 24

Boy am I counting down the days.  I have 6 days left.

I need to remind myself that this reset has been to help me get back into better habits, NOT to dream about when it is over.  Trust me, I am still learning.  I definitely cannot wait til I can have ice cream again, but I think I am going to save those cravings for special things.  Like ice cream in Australia and New Zealand!  I mean look at this place called iCreamy.  I want pretty flower ice cream cones!

For breakfast today I had eggs, bacon and mixed lettuce. 

For lunch Damion took me to Chipotle and I had my usual.

For dinner: That delicious chicken dish I made the other day (See Day 21) is what I will make tonight.  I am going to enter this early so that I do not forget to enter it later. :D  I'll update if there are any changes.