Day 30?!?!

We're done!

 

Breakfast: Hardboiled egg & some coconut milk
Lunch: mixed greens salad, peppers, & carrots w/ grilled chicken & Oil & red wine vinegar
Dinner: Grilled chicked & some mixed nuts

Wow, it's really day 30.  But, it's not so final as it felt before.  Day 30 is the end of this Whole30, sure, but it's definitely not the end of a big change. I've cut out a ton of crap from my diet, and I have no intention of introducing [most of] it back in. The biggest things that are gone to stay are the processed, fake food from a wrapper, fake sugars, and random sugary snacks like Oreos & Elf cookies that used to permeate my days. I've found much better things to snack on that make me feel a whole lot better.

So I said yesterday that I would discuss all the benefits in this post:

Why I'm glad I did the Whole30

1. I don't get huge swollen mosquito bites anymore (this alone would have been enough to convince me that I was doing something right).
2. My skin has cleared up immensely.
3. It's helped me figure out which foods make me sick (not 100% sure about an allergy yet... blood work this week though).
4.  My hair & nails are growing faster.
5. I'm now 16 lbs lighter than I was when I started & wear a size 6 (which I haven't worn since my junior year of high school).
6. I actually know how to cook things now & find time to do it every day (even for breakfast!)
7. I can run faster & can tell that I’m more agile when playing sports.
8. I learned a lot about nutrition (mostly from Joe... clearly the reader of the family).
9. I started a blog that motivated other people to try the Whole30, too!

Why I'm not glad I did the Whole30

1. Now I’m spoiled and want to eat this way forever... Which will be expensive.
2. I will never get the hours of my life back that I spent explaining why I'm not eating _insert food_ or drinking _insert alcoholic bev_.
3. That's it. I'm mostly glad.

Now, for some really embarrassing pictures:

The left picture is before, the right is after (hopefully that's obvious).  I absolutely HATE these before pictures but I feel like I have to post them in order to really show the difference.  Same pair of jeans in both pics, but a whole lot looser now :)

 

Day 29 of Our Whole30

Meals

Breakfast: 2 eggs and some sweet potato
Lunch: Nectarine, almonds, walnuts
Dinner: Scallops, Arugula salad w/ mayo/olive oil/spices dressing, Kale & Tomato side
Snack: Idk yet, but there will probably be something in this category :)

Zomg there is only one day left... Tomorrow is DAY 30.  Like I mentioned in my last post, I don't have any plans to completely abandon my new eating habits, but I also don't plan to stick to them 100%.  Some things that won't change:

• Leafy greens & veggies will remain a staple
• Yikes, our farm share ends in 4 weeks, so I guess we'll have to buy 'em :(
• We're still going to bake whole chickens & use them for lunch meat / bone broth soup
• We're still going to stay away from things that come in a wrapper or has been processed to the point where its ingredients are beyond recognition.
• We're going to limit grains to ~2 servings a week or so
• We're going to keep eating different kinds of fish throughout the week
• Still no fake sugar & diet sodas.  I've kicked the habit, so no point in bringing it back.
• Still no dairy, but that's just cause I already know I'm allergic.

All in all I'm super happy we did this. I'll save my Day 30 post for all of the details about what's changed as a result of our The Whole30, but I think the benefits have been enormous.

That said, I still want a Pizza Hut pizza.  And it will be mine.

Tonight's dinner, lookin' delish.

Day 28 of Our Whole30

Tailgating Whole30-Style

Just to make our last weekend of the Whole30 extra tempting, we went to a Penn State football game with Joe's family. I took lots of pictures recap the most delicious & definitely healthiest tailgate I've ever been to. If we can Whole30 at a Penn State tailgate, we can do it anywhere.

Burgers with beet stems & onions + homemade steak rub. That's not my beer I swear!!

Part of the spread: Almonds, Veggies & Guac, Green salsa & Red Salsa (all homemade of course :)

Other part of the spread: Mixed greens, cucumber onion & tomato salad, pickles, & olive oil dressing.

[Not pictured]

Delicious-looking cookies made by Joes sister.  

I got in a few stare downs with these un-pictured cookies, but ultimately, I was victorious. I asked Joe if we could take some home for Tuesday (aka Day 31) & he scoffed at me.  Whatever, Mr. Potato head. 

I've been thinking a lot about Day 31 coming up so soon.  I feel anxious about it.  I don't want to stop Whole30ing but at the same time... I do want to.  So far, our plan is to stick with it as much as we can, but allow exceptions that make sense. For example, if we're traveling & run out of food... we don't have to spend $20 to get the ONLY whole30 approved items.  Also, if we go out with some friends, we can have a few drinks (the rule I'm most looking forward to ditching). 

I also don't think this will be our last Whole30.  We'll try sticking with it as much as we can, and if there comes a day when we feel we've shifted too far back to the dark side, we'll use it to reset. 

Anyways, the Penn State tailgate was a great success, and we had a lot of fun. Only two more days left, ahh! 

Day 24 of Our Whole30®

Keepin' on keepin' on!

Joe is at work until 9PM, so below are some pics of what awaits him.  The weirdest thing is that I didn't even have to go to the grocery store... we just have all this stuff.  Who the hell even am I anymore? Next blog post maybe I'll take a picture of our fridge...

I priced out my meals as though I'm a master chef (to make Joe appreciate them more.)

Day 20 of Our Whole30

Amanda's Meals

Breakfast: two hard boiled eggs
Lunch: Spinach salad w/ eggs, grilled chicken, broccoli, peppers & Oil/Balsamic vinegar
Dinner: Arugula salad with grilled salmon, grilled lemon & roasted red peppers w/ garlic oil
Snack: an apple, almonds, a grilled banana w/ almond butter

I dropped the "a" from the end of my day, because I realized this is the only day 20 so far.  I've been wondering what I'm going to do after this Whole30 is over... One thing is for sure, I'm definitely having a beer.  But I don't know about the rest of the stuff.

Last night we went to Prime 16 with some friends, which is known for beer & burgers. I somehow got over the Elf cookies, but it would take a lot more than 20 days for me to get over beer & burgers. :( I miss 'em.

Only 10 days left! Tuesday, September 18th is Day 31 :)

Day 17a of Our Whole30

Amanda's Meals

Breakfast: Egg casserole w/ salsa
Lunch: arugula salad w/ shrimp & avocado from Oaxaca Kitchen
Dinner: spaghetti squash w/ meat sauce
Snack: a few slices of pineapple, ~ a Tbsp of almond butter

Joe has gone rogue on the Whole30. He's invented his own Joe version of the Whole30 which includes allowance of white potatoes.  There are a couple reasons for this, and although I would prefer that he explain himself, himself... I know he's not going to log into this blog & do it. So here is my interpretation:

Basically, he's dropped some weight & isn't too happy about it. He thinks he needs more carbs & thinks that potatoes are the thing to do it. He also has other excuses such as "We have potatoes & if we don't eat them they will go bad" "The grocery store only had two sweet potatoes which I didn't purchase (?)" and "I can't follow anybody else's rules for 30 days." 

In addition, he said that according to It Starts With Food, the only reason for excluding white potatoes is because there are simply too many of them in the average American diet.  They do not create any kind of inflammation or other negative effects in the body, so he's folded the pages of the book that say that (to justify his cheating) & has thus created Joe30.  I think it’s a little dumb considering that the point is only to do it for 30 days - not forever... but Joe is a pioneer, and if he wants to Joe30 instead of Whole30, I can't control him. But, I can control this blog. As such, I won't pollute it with such nonsense as white potatoes during the Whole30. His meals for the day are outta here!

I, on the other hand, am still a law-abiding citizen. Joe's sister has also started the Whole30, which is awesome because we're going to a PSU tailgate together in 2 weeks.  Now we won't have to be the only weirdos bringing our own food & not getting tanked.

Before I forget - I learned from a chef we met on our Sunday hike that adding a little bit of pineapple juice to coleslaw makes it taste phenomenal. If you ever want to taste a candy rainbow dipped in magic & fantasticness... you're probably not going to be able to do that. So, you might as well just put some pineapple juice on your coleslaw, cause I think it's the closest you'll get.

In sum, Day 17a marks the death of my Whole30 partnership.  Sure, Joe will still be doing some version of the Whole30, but from here on out I consider myself to be a lone wolf.  I would even change the name of my blog to lonewolf30 if that weren't a stupid blog name.  *Sigh* a lonely Day 18a awaits me...

Day 15a of Our Whole30®

Joe's Meals

Breakfast: 3 eggs w/ guacamole & salsa + a banana

Lunch: almonds w/ raisins, cantaloupe, blueberries, carrots, sweet potatoes

Dinner 1: leftover stuffed peppers with chicken bone broth & veggie soup

Dinner 2: Roast beef, mayo, & tomatoes wrapped in Swiss chard leaves

Amanda's Meals

All same as Joe!

We went on an 8-9 mile hike today, hence the weird lunches + two dinners for each of us.  Joe made ghee last night for the sweet potatoes & omg is it delicious.  It tastes exactly like the butter they put on Auntie Anne's pretzels <3 & The soup Joe made definitely turned out the best it has yet.  He's becoming a Whole30 master chef and I love it.

We also went shopping tonight since Macy's was having a sale. I am officially a whole pants size smaller than I was before I started the Whole30.  I know that's totally not the point of doing it, but it's still pretty exciting.

I'm going to spend the rest of the night making egg loaf so we can stop having to make breakfast every morning. I got some delicious looking chorizo for it this time, so I think it's gonna be good.  I'll let ya'll know how it turns out!  G'night!

The soup in progress

Day 14a of Our Whole30®

Joe's Meals

Breakfast: 3 eggs w/ tatsoi, brocolli, peppers, onions

Lunch: ground beef, coleslaw

Dinner: Peppers stuffed with ground beef, leeks, garlic, pepper, tomatoes topped w/ homemade tomato sauce + salad w/ roated beets.

Snack: coleslaw, squash raviolis, almonds, cantaloupe, Coconut water

Amanda's Meals

Breakfast: same as Joe

Lunch: banana w/ almond butter

Dinner: same as Joe

Snack: almonds, coconut water

Day 14a was a big cooking day.  Joe pretty much cooked the entire day, hence the snacking.  We made more homemade sauce, mayonnaise, squash raviolis, coleslaw, cabbage & onion soup, roasted beets, & stuffed peppers.

This was Joe's 3rd time cooking the bone broth soup & I guess the 3rd time really is the charm.  He got it to turn out perfectly this time. He thinks the trick was making sure he removed all of the fat from the bones.  

I took a picture because this dinner was fantastic!

We got really excited yesterday because we found some chocolate at the grocery store with NO added sugar! So of course we bought it, and .... it was absolutely terrible.  Turns out, neither of us like chocolate... we like sugar. Go figure.

Sickening.

Whole30 Slaw Recipe

Ingredients:

Main ingredients

Small head of savoy cabbage (shredded)

Small head of white cabbage (shredded)

1 lg. cucumber (shredded)

1 lg. carrot (shredded)

2 tomatoes (w/o seeds)

2 frying peppers (chopped)

Dressing ingredients

6 Tbsp olive oil

3-4 Tbsp white vinegar

1/2 Tbsp garlic powder

1 tsp mustard powder

salt & pepper to taste

Steps:

1. Combine cabbages, cukes, carrot, chopped peppers & chopped tomatoes in a large bowl. 

2. In a separate bowl, whisk the dressing ingredients together.  

3. Pour the mixture over top of the veggies.  

4. Shake / mix it up. & you've got yourself some coleslaw, my friend. 

It's just that easy... that is, if you consider shredding vegetables to be easy.  Here's ours!

Day 13a of Our Whole30®

Joe's Meals

Breakfast: Apple, 2 chicken sausages, green beans
Lunch: almonds w/ raisins
Dinner: quarter lb ground beef w/ peppers, onions, tomatoes, swiss chard stems
Dinner #2: Hangar steak 10oz, Swiss Chard & Boston lettuce w/ oil & vinegar

Amanda's Meals

Breakfast: 1 Chicken sausage + an apple
Lunch: Mixed greens salad w/ hardboiled eggs, grilled chicken, tomatoes, peppers, oil & vinegar
Dinner: Hangar steak ~6oz
Snack: almond butter

Wowzers, I skipped a lot of days of blogging!  Blogging every single day is tough work, but I'll do my best to keep up a little better.  Part of the reason I think I've gotten a little lax is that I don't really feel like I'm doing anything out of the ordinary. Before, I needed to keep this blog. It made me accountable (even if only to a blog) and it helped me vent about how terrible things are when I don't have Elf Fudge cookies to comfort me.

But now, I kinda love the Whole30.  I don't really want to eat Elf Fudge cookies, or chips, or pretzels, or whatever else I'm "missing out on".  I feel good about the choices that we're making every day.  Eating is far more intentional, as opposed to mindlessly snacking on things that are high in calories & low in nutritional value (such as my ex-loves, the Keebler Elves). I never thought I'd say it, but I honestly just don't miss the stuff I'm missing.

One of the main reasons I started this diet was because I just didn't feel "normal".  I felt like the food I was eating was a big contributor to that... but I couldn't pinpoint which food & when. That is why the Whole30 really resonated with me.  On Day 13a, I went to the doctor to talk about my suspected "food allergies", and he was so awesome.  He said that this diet is a great idea and that I'm taking all the right steps to feeling totally normal & eliminating the things that make me feel more like a 50 year old and less like the 25 year old that I am. He said a lot of people let the unhealthy/crappy feeling become their new normal, so it was great that I'm being proactive about it.

It was really cool to get that confirmation from my doctor, especially because when I tell some people about this diet they act like it's the most outrageous thing they've ever heard.  Honestly, I think that's hilarious.  Everyone can agree that the average American diet is crazy unhealthy, but as soon as you do something radically different.... well that's just insane.  To that I say, "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over, but expecting different results.".  Yeah, I know it's wildly over-quoted, but it's applicable.

So, if you think the Whole30 is crazy or stupid... just think it quietly. I don't want to argue for the sake of seeing how many trivia facts you can remember from high school biology. I don't pretend to know it all, and neither should anyone else.  Keep an open mind & don't be a hater.

On a separate note, Joe finished up "It Starts With Food", so he may actually know everything at this point - no pretending needed. If he doesn't, he's getting damn close. I've only read parts of it so I'm going to hopefully get into it this weekend.

That's it for Day 13a, folks!

Day 8a of our Whole30®

Joe's Meals

Breakfast: Eggs w/ steak with pepper & onion
Lunch: Cabbage stuffed with ground beef, peppers, onions topped with homemade tomato sauce
Snack: cabbage coleslaw, peach, almonds, pineapple, spoonful of almond butter
Dinner: same as lunch

Amanda's Meals

Breakfast: Eggs w/ steak with pepper & onion
Lunch: Cabbage stuffed with ground beef, peppers, onions topped with homemade tomato sauce
Snack: almonds, spoonful of almond butter
Dinner: same as lunch

Today, we woke up early and played some beach volleyball.  One nice thing about not drinking is no hangovers, so we could actually get up, play outside, & enjoy the whole day. Volleyball was a ton of fun, but beach days are always more fun with beer. I will definitely resume beer + beach after Day 30.

Not much more to report Whole30-wise today.  I didn't do any pre-made breakfast tonight, so this week could be kind of annoying in that regard.  I'll have to get up earlier to actually make eggs, and probably factor in some time to ruin eggs & try again. I am the self-proclaimed worst egg maker in the world.  I can't even crack them right, so I spend a good portion of the time digging shells out of the mix.  If the Whole30 improves my egg-making capability, it'd be totally worth it. What if I'm a mom someday who can't make eggs? I can't have my future kids going to other future kids' houses and doing cartwheels over eggs like they've never been fed a breakfast before... how embarrassing. I'll just have to man up and improve the egg cooking now, before it's too late.

Well, I'm off to bed.  Buenas noches, Whole30 Day 8a! 

Day 7a of our Whole30®

Joe's Meals

Breakfast: Eggs w/ a sweet potato
Lunch: Half a burger,
Snack: a ton of almonds, a pear, carrots
Dinner: Homemade cabbage coleslaw, steak

Amanda's Meals

Basically the same as Joe, since we were together all day - just a little less than him :)

Saturday during the day we attended the New Haven Open.  We had tickets that allowed us two free delicious looking hot dogs, and we had to regretfully decline them.  I never got free hot dogs before the Whole30... why now?  Anyway, we knew this would happen so we brought a baggie of almonds roasted in coconut oil with us plus two pears.  Let me tell you - those almonds roasted in coconut oil are the bees knees. They are actually so good that I can't believe we are allowed to eat them during our imprisonment, er, Whole30. 

Saturday daytime is one thing, but Saturday night time is a sad reminder that we can't drink alcohol :-/ We went to a party with an abundance of beer, liquor, & wine and not a single sip of one crossed our lips. You know what, though? I still had fun. It's definitely a good thing to learn that I can still have a good time without drinking. That was very much in question before this Whole30 began.

We're almost in the double-digit days again, and I'm feeling pretty good minus the small sacrifices here and there. I think my food preferences have changed. I know that's a weird thing to think, but hear me out... Joe made this cabbage coleslaw which is essentially cut up cabbage, carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, with olive oil & vinegar.  That, to pre-Whole30 Amanda, sounds absolutely disgusting.  But I ate it, and it tasted like the best thing I had ever eaten.  I seriously could not stop eating this raw cabbage coleslaw concoction.  Now, I've never eaten it before now, so I can't say that I disliked it before... but I've known me longer than anyone, and pre-Whole30 Amanda would have hated it - I just know it.  Day 7a Amanda freakin' loves it. So, that's why I think things have changed.

Overall, Day 7a has treated me well. I have no complaints and am hoping for the same smooth sailing throughout the rest of the Whole 30 :)

Day 6a of Our Whole30®

Joe's Meals

Breakfast: Egg casserole, fresh pineapple
Lunch: Coleslaw (recipe to follow:), two chicken sausages, eggplant w/ tomato sauce
Snack: avocado/kale salad, pineapple
Dinner: Skirt steak + various tapas from Barcelona Restaurant in New Haven.

Amanda's Meals

Breakfast: Egg casserole w/ sauce
Lunch: Pear w/ almond butter, coleslaw, avocado/kale salad
Dinner: Skirt steak w/ tapas from Barcelona

I was still sick today / tonight, but a friend of ours was in town, so we decided to go out to eat.  I was so delighted with Barcelona for being such a Whole30-friendly establishment.  We ate a feast and it was glorious.

First, we a whole garlic bulb roasted in olive oil. I love garlic, and have never thought of just roasting and eating it... but it was everything I could have imagined.  Then we had squash with onions, shrimp, and arugula salad w/ avocado & oranges.  We also ordered a plate of peppers, which all looked alike, but some were hot & some were not. One pepper, in particular, made our friend Katie _cringe_.  So, being the bad ass that I am, I took two bites of it. You know, just to prove that I'm a stellar pepper eater. If anything, I only proved that I am _not_ a stellar pepper eater. My whole face turned red, my lips were burning, and there was no stopping it.  We had to ask the waitress to bring over a glass of milk so I could gargle it (no worries, I spit it out.) ... I will never eat a Barcelona pepper again as long as I live.

It was definitely very nice to eat out and not have to be "that guy" who special orders everything and ends up with a plate of lettuce.  Props to you, Barcelona.  You made Day 6a extremely pleasant :)

Day 5a of Our Whole30®

Joe's Meals

Breakfast: 2 eggs w/ organic burger & sweet potatoes mixed up
Lunch: Salmon w/ homemade olive oil mayo & broccoli, applesauce
Snack: Baked chicken, pear, broccoli, chicken w/ homemade BBQ sauce
Dinner: Salmon w/ steamed broccoli

Amanda's Meals

Breakfast: egg casserole w/ homemade sauce
Lunch: Salmon w/ apple sauce + chicken broth soup
Dinner: Salmon w/ steamed broccoli
Snack: some fresh pineapple

Day 5a was another rough sick day. I would think eating so healthy would help bring me back to health, but it is not the case. *sigh*

Joe is still goin' strong. Seriously, a lot of people make excuses about being too busy, or not having time to prep food...  Well, he is definitely too busy & definitely doesn't have time, but somehow he makes it work.  What a champ. You go, Joe.

Day 4a of Our Whole30

Joe's Meals

Breakfast: eggs n'at
Lunch: 
Dinner: Hamburger w/ homemade BBQ sauce + half a sweet potato

Amanda's Meals

Breakfast: Egg casserole

Lunch: Ground beef mixed w/ sweet potatoes and Eggplant+asparagus w/ sauce (?shit's getting real weird on the lunch menu.)

Snack: Blueberries, spoonful of almond butter

Dinner: Hamburger w/ homemade BBQ sauce + half a sweet potato

First to air a few things out... 

1. I didn't blog about Day 3a.  No worries - I stuck to the Whole30 without cheating. But honestly, Day 3a feels like eons ago at this point and there is no way I can accurately describe how it went.  Sorry Day 3a, but you are dead to me.

2. As you may have noticed, I am not entirely sure what Joe is eating these days.  He goes to school full time, gets home around 9 or 10PM, and we go to bed shortly after. He's been exhausted, I've been sick... so we haven't been talking about what he's eating.  This Whole30 business is old hat to us at this point, so whatever he's eating, you can bet your ass it's a meat, a veggie, a fat, or a fruit.

Now that I've got that stuff off my chest, I can get to the meat of blog: Day 4a. I think & hope that Day 4a is the peak of my sickness. So overall, I feel awful. I don't have much of an appetite, I'm pretty sure I look like an infected person, and that I'd be feeling this way Whole30 or not. Joe, on the other hand, is still as healthy as ..... what's the comparison?...... an ox?  ......Are oxen known for their health?  Where I grew up, they were known for drowning after attempting to ford the river on the way to Oregon. Anyway, he attributes his health to the fact that he played in the dirt as a child.  Apparently, in matters of the immune system, the Whole30 is no substitute for being a dirty little child.

That's all for today. I'm hoping this sickness passes me by so I can get back to reporting more on the Whole30. Good riddance, Day 4a! 

Day 2a of our Whole30

Joe's Meals

Breakfast: Egg casserole with sauce

Lunch: He'll fill it in later

Snack: He'll fill it in later

Dinner: Cod baked with coconut flakes + green beans & eggplant with sauce

Amanda's Meals

Breakfast: Egg casserole with sauce

Lunch: Baked chicken with homemade mayo

Snack: a nectarine, banana with almond butter, 1 hard-boiled egg

Dinner: Cod baked with coconut flakes + green beans & eggplant with sauce

I'm sick today :( I have a super annoying cough since last night.  It's one of those dry, infectious, apocalypse-is-here-and-I'm-patient-zero type coughs. I can't separate this illness from the Whole30's effects, so I can't really speak to what a Day 2a is like for me. I draw the conclusion that cheating on the Whole30 is sickness-inducing... that or the 3 year old in front of me at the wedding coughing all over his hands and then lunging at me with his saliva-covered fingers is sickness-inducing... we'll never know which it was, so I won't speculate any further.

Last night I made more homemade sauce & another egg casserole. Joe seems to be eating a greater portion of egg casserole every day, so he needs to dial it back.  It doesn't save that much time if I have to make an egg casserole every 2 days.  I started out eating approx half of his portion, and now he's eating literally 4X as big of a piece as I am.  That's right, Joe.  I'm monitoring your egg casserole intake... whatchu gonna do about it?

Well, I'm off to cough some more & mope around a bit. Good seeing you again, Day 2. You're different than I remembered you, but still not likable.

Day 1 of our Whole30® (Yes, I said ONE)

For shame. . .

Our good friends getting married = getting together with people we don't see very often =  alcohol & debauchery.  OK, to be fair, we could have avoided the alcohol.  In fact, I did avoid it for what I consider to be a very respectable amount of time. I didn't drink at all at the rehearsal dinner, during the 3 hours between the ceremony and wedding, or even for the first hour of the wedding. As the Whole30 would say, I didn't HAVE to do anything and it's not "hard" to just refrain, but you know what - shut up, Whole30. I chose to do it.

Throughout the night, I drank ~2.5 glasses of red wine.  After the first glass, it was like I was already hung over.  I had an instant headache & felt pretty crappy. Of course that didn't stop me, though. Besides, if I didn't drink people would totally think I'm pregnant. I can't have that, right? So after 1.5 more glasses, my inhibitions were lowered. I took a bite of wedding cake. That bite of cake made me feel like I just broke out of prison.  Once I was free, I proceeded to eat a cookie & a bag of "veggie chips" (which are really just potato straws). I mean once I cheated with the alcohol, I figured I might as well get my fill of non-Whole30 food while I could.  Looking back on my choices though, I could have done a little better. Cheating with Veggie chips? Wow, good one. <sarcasm> How will I ever go without those for another 30 days </sarcasm>

I'm not even going to guess how much Joe drank.  He was in the wedding, though. What kind of groomsman doesn't drink? I think even the strictest Whole30-er would agree that it's pretty freaking lame not to toast your friends at their wedding when you're in it, eh? And sometimes when you have friends like ours, a toast = 8-12 beers and a few Jager bombs.

Anyway, now that I'm done justifying it, I'll come right out and say it: We're a couple of weak sauce cheaters.  However, we're redeeming ourselves by owning up to it and starting back at Day 1.  We kept our diets completely clean today and even stocked up on good meats & fruits at Costco this afternoon.

Was it worth it?  I'd say so.  Sure it's 13 extra days of Whole30-ing, but otherwise I probably wouldn't have gotten this sweet picture:

Don't judge me, Whole30.

Day 11 of Our Whole30®

Joe's Meals

Breakfast: Breakfast casserole w/ a banana
Snack: Guacamole & Kale salad with a white peach
Lunch: Cup of baked chicken with 2 tbsp homemade mayo, baba ganoush, broccoli, & 2-3 tbsp almond butter w/ celery
Dinner: bison burger w/ chopped spinach & onions & acorn squash w/ coconut oil

Amanda's Meals

Breakfast: Breakfast casserole w/ sauce
Lunch: baked chicken w/ homemade mayo wrapped in romaine leaves
Snack: baked chicken
Dinner: bison burger, chicken broth soup
Snack2: Banana w/ almond butter

 Joe wants to take up hunting so we can get cheaper meat. I think that just seems to be taking things a bit too far. To his disappointment, he already missed the deadline to enter the hunting license raffle this year (drat).  There's always next year's Whole30, I guess. Serendipitously, we won a basket of meat products for some raffle he signed up for a few weeks ago. We're getting it on Monday, so hopefully it's nitrate-free!

Today was pretty uneventful.  I felt a little weird/dizzy in the morning.  I couldn't tell a few times if my stomach was hurting or if I was just hungry.  I don't feel as hateful & angry, though, so that's a plus.  I feel kind of like I'm on auto-pilot.  Eat, work, eat at work, work more, drive home, eat, clean, sleep.  Oh, and find time in between to prepare food, which makes more messes, which calls for more cleaning.  I really miss just opening the package and throwing away the mess...

This weekend we're heading to a wedding.  I am curious to see how much fun they are without alcohol :)

Day 11 is done and I feel like things are looking up just a little bit.  See you tomorrow, Day 12.

Zomg you have to try this Mayonnaise

Ingredients:

3 eggs (minus 1 white)

1/2 tsp mustard powder

1.5 Tbsp white vinegar

3/4 C Olive Oil (poured excruciatingly slowly)

4 cloves garlic

2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

1/2 Tbsp lemon zest

1/2 Tbsp sea salt

How to:

Put all that stuff (except the olive oil) in a mixer.  Mix it @ a slow-ish speed. Figure out the slowest way that you can pour olive oil, and then pour it in at half that speed.

Then dip your finger in there & taste it. Awesome, right?

Day 10 of our Whole30®

Joe's Meals

Breakfast: 3 eggs, salsa and a banana
Snack: baba ganoush, broccoli & carrots, kiwi
Lunch: 1 cup organic baked chicken, half sweet potato w/ 1 tbs coconut oil + cinnamon, more baba ganoush, broccoli, & carrots
Snack: Almond butter & celery
Dinner: 8 oz cod & acorn squash (baked w/ olive oil, garlic & lemon) w/ 2 tbs coconut oil

Joe reports that he was less hungry today thanks to his preparedness. He also talked to Tim, his paleo advisor / best friend / best man. Tim noticed a lack of fats in Joe's diet attributed to "fear of fats".  Joe assured Tim (and me) that he is not, in fact, afraid of them. It is a bit tricky to get enough fats in our diet especially since the nuts we try to buy all have peanut oil in them (wtf?). We'll stick to the oils / avocados & just pay more attention to it.

Amanda's Meals

Breakfast: 2 eggs & a spoonful of almond butter
Lunch: Baked chicken wrapped in romaine + cantaloupe
Snack: grapes & an apple
Dinner: 8 oz cod (baked w/ olive oil, garlic & lemon) + acorn squash

Ah, day 10 and another night of the kitchen looking like hell.

Today I still felt like being terrible to everyone around me, but at some point I realized I had tons of energy.  I came home and p90x'd because I felt like I could do 100 pull ups (I know now that I can't . . . but I had that feeling).  In other news, my mosquito bite is still tiny & did not wake me up. Lastly, I wore a pair of pants today that have never fit me in my life.  Overall, I'm pretty pleased.

Tonight was our marathon cooking night (again.), so Joe made homemade mayonnaise, soup from the past 3 chicken carcasses we baked, and I made another breakfast casserole. This time we used chicken sausage, a leek, and frying peppers.  The homemade mayo that Joe made this time is MUCH better than last time. I'll post the recipe he used because it deserves to be shared.  Delish. The bone marrow broth / soup contains chicken skin, which we later learned contains mostly omega 6's (damnit). But we're eating it anyway cause it's really not that serious.

Things seem to be looking up.  We're in the double-digit days now, so only a short eternity left. Goodnight, Whole30.

Day 9 of Our Whole30®

Joe's Meals

Breakfast: 3 eggs and a kiwi ("wasn't enough.")
Lunch: Half a sweet potato, red snapper
2nd Lunch: baked chicken with avocado & kale salad
1st Dinner: Cantaloupe and baked chicken
2nd Dinner: Bison burger stuffed with spinach, red onion, garlic + Asparagus in olive oil & garlic

Amanda's Meals

Breakfast: 2 eggs
Lunch: Tuna with homemade mayo with an apple
Dinner: Same as Joe's 2nd dinner
Snack: a Kiwi, a banana, and a couple pieces of cantaloupe

Joe thinks he is losing weight and is concerned about it.  We both feel generally emaciated.  It's hard for him to get enough carbs to feel functional, so he's eating more fruit now.  I am really not making any changes and plan to continue to live in misery for the next 21 days. I've been thinking a lot about binging on food.  Today I thought for a while about a Pizza Hut stuffed crust pizza, followed by a few cheesy gordita crunches from Taco Bell. This whole "changing my attitude / relationship with food" mantra does not seem realistic.  I am still very much in a love affair with greasy bread, and absence is only making my heart grow fonder.  We'll see, Whole30®. . . we will see.

Oh!  I do have one piece of exciting news related to the Whole30.  So, I usually get mosquito bites the size of quarters or bigger, and they itch like crazy.  They're so bad that they wake me up at night and I carry around After Bite in my purse just in case I get one.  They stay that way for over a week.  Joe told me that it was probably due, in part, to my diet & inflammation and blah blah whatever.  Well at some point recently... I got bit by a mosquito.  I didn't even notice it until tonight and it's the tiniest little bite.  Well, maybe not the tiniest, but I'd say its an acceptable size for a mosquito bite.  And it barely itches at all. I will give The Whole30 credit for this, as it's the first time in the past 2 summers that a mosquito bite didn't ruin my week.

Is this crazy diet worth tinier mosquito bites?  If I have to answer right now, I say yes.  But that's only because otherwise I know I'd be waking up putting After Bite on my foot all night.  Until tomorrow, Whole30.

Day 8 of our Whole30

Nothing is good anymore.

I read on the website that around day 4 you have a "Kill All the Things" feeling that you can't shake no matter what.  I fully appreciate this reference, as a huge Hyperbole and a Half fan, but now that I am feeling this way... I would even kill Hyperbole and a Half.  Everyone and everything is my worst enemy.  I just want 3 shots of whiskey, an Auntie Anne's pretzel, and a stun gun so I can hurt all the things without the guilt of killing them.

Today I woke up exhausted & made myself 2 miserable eggs.  The kitchen was horrific looking from Joe rushing out, apparently trying to kill all the things in there.  The Whole30 should be called The WholeDamnHouseIsaMess because it is a full time job to keep up with this insanity, let alone clean up after yourself.

I packed myself a lunch of 1 tuna can, the remnants of our homemade mayo which is now mostly olive oil, and 1 sad looking pickle.

I ate this for lunch begrudgingly, though I did slice up a granny smith apple & toss that into the mix.  I don't know what made put an apple in my tuna, but I have to say, it was the closest to good that I came all day.

I didn't eat anything else, then proceeded to my softball game where I sucked the most terrible suck of my life. The worst part was we played against Team Crossfit, comprised of a group of 15 or so obnoxious, yelling idiots.  They played into the stereotype quite well by yelling phrases made famous by DJ Pauly D and screaming uncontrollably over minor happenings like "Ball 1". Before the game, they prepared to look the part by purchasing neon uniforms and tanning and/or spraying themselves with orange glow. If it was a movie, we would have beat them because total d-bags never win in sports movies.  However, it was not a movie, and we lost, and I came home to eat my pitiful dinner. The only thing that made it worse was that I knew I was eating a meal that they would approve of. If they could see it they would probably chant "Ohhh yeah, eat time, yeahhh" - like Pauly D.

Some ground beef with sauce & half a sweet potato later, I'm sitting here delaying any kind of activity. I told Joe I would sort the laundry but I don't want to.  Our kitchen is a mess and I hate it, but I don't want to do anything about it. Our nice little dishwasher pump broke and I am furious, so I feel that cleaning the kitchen will only draw my attention further to it.

Tomorrow is another day.  Another 24 hours of wtf am I going to eat. 22 more days, but I can't just quit.  I can't quit 8 days in even knowing that there are >2.5 more 8 day periods to go.  I hate you, Whole30. I hate you.

Day 5,6,and 7 of our Whole30

Road Trip!

So I'm breaking the regular format since I wasn't able to blog daily while we were away.  This post should be extra long since it covers 3 DAYS! My mom's birthday + Grandparents 50th anniversary party was this past weekend, so that meant an 8 hour car ride (each way) and some serious Whole30 planning.

Friday

We started Friday as usual with our breakfast casserole + prepared lunches.  Then came the cooler.  We packed a tub of blueberries, banana, almond butter, chicken, baba ganoush, cherries, and chicken sausage for the trip. Pretty random assortment, but we didn't have to stop for food & we were able to have some leftovers for snacking at my parents'.

Saturday

The next morning we ate the chicken sausages & Joe went on a shopping trip.  Another $100 later we were back in Whole30 mode.  I think it's pretty much impossible to eat this way and have a single dollar left over.

So Saturday night, we cooked my parents a feast!  Spaghetti squash with the same homemade sauce recipe I used before (this time with ground beef added), plus zucchini fried in coconut flakes (so good!).  My parents were super amazed by the spaghetti squash.  I don't blame them, it is pretty amazing to me, too. Here's a pic of the feast:

Saturday night I really started craving bread.  You know those greasy Chicago deep dish pizzas?  I just wanted the greasy crust.  Not even the rest of the pizza - just that squishy spongy grease covered crust.  I still want it to be honest. And I seriously couldn't stop thinking about it! Typing about it is making my mouth water even now... on to Sunday.

Sunday Party

I woke up Sunday morning and remembered a dream I had about Auntie Anne's pretzels.  I was eating them and they were the most delicious pretzels ever with tons of butter & I was eating them in one bite.  Then I got this guilty feeling & started asking people in my dream, "Did I REALLY just eat those Auntie Anne's pretzels?" .... and that was the entire dream. What the F is wrong with me?

So Sunday's dilemma was my grandparents' 50th anniversary party.  There would be cake.  There would be pasta.  There would be all the things I cannot have and they would all be delicious.  So, we planned ahead and made some squash raviolis. They're made of leeks, onions, and oyster mushrooms rolled up inside of a yellow squash, topped with the leftover meat sauce.  So delicious, but honestly, probably unnecessary to buy leeks & oyster mushrooms - I think you'd get the same effect with cheaper ingredients that are similar in taste. We also made a cucumber & olive salad for some variety (not pictured). I'm proud to say that I didn't cheat once, despite literally having cake all over my hands from helping to cut it - not even one finger lick :) 

 Sunday Driving Back

We left straight from the party, and my aunt sent us off with two pears and an apple, but that wasn't enough to get us through 8 hours.  We had to stop for dinner - but where? Highway exits along our route seem to be pretty un-accommodating to Whole30-ers. So we stopped at what looked to be the biggest rest stop we'd find, and ended up coming out with: 4 hardboiled eggs, two tuna to go's (tossing out the mayo, relish, and crackers), and a bag of cashews.  Not the best dinner I've ever had, but it kept us compliant :)

We survived!

So while it wasn't easy, cheap, or convenient ... we did it. First week, done.

Recipe: Kale-Shews

A recipe for "Kale-Shews" by Joe VW

Ingredients
1 cup Cashews
2 tbsp Coconut Oil
1/4 tsp ginger
Kale
a few pinches of salt to taste

What to do:

0) Preheat oven to 400

1) Grind up cashews finely (using a food processor, or we used a coffee grinder!)

2) Put cashews a bowl and mix them with coconut oil, ginger, & salt.

3) Cut the stems from the kale leaves

4) Take a spoonful of the nut mixture and place it into the kale leaf

5) Roll the kale leaf longways, starting at the leafy end.  As you're rolling, try to fold the sides in so that the cashew mixture is encased. They should look like grapeleaves

6) Repeat steps 4&5 til you've used up your mixture or your kale.

7) Place all kale-shews in a glass baking dish with just enough water to barely fill the bottom of the pan

8) Cover pan with tin foil

9) Bake for 20-25 minutes until kale is soft.

Enjoy warm or cold!

Day 4 of our Whole30®

Joe's Meals

Breakfast: Egg casserole

Lunch: Spinach salad, baba ganoush, roasted chicken, spaghetti squash with homemade sauce, half a sweet potato

Dinner#1: Chicken with mayonaise, sweet potato with almond butter

Dinner#2: Italian sausage, eggplant w/ tomato homemade pesto & balsamic vineger

Snack: handful of blueberries

Amanda's Meals

Breakfast: Egg casserole
Lunch: Spinach salad w/ cucumbers and tomato & baba ganoush with olives
Dinner: Italian sausage link, two slices of eggplant with tomato, homemade pesto, and sauce
Snack: Leftover salmon & a kiwi, banana with almond butter

It is ridiculous how easily the kitchen gets messed up.  Half of the night was cooking & cleaning.  Although the food is great, I think we need a private chef (& maid service). Preparing breakfast in advance for the week has been a huge help.  Finding enough tupperware to bring food along with us has been a problem.  Tomorrow we're a taking an 8 hour car ride, so it's going to be very challenging.  We're also staying at my (Amanda's) parents' house so we may need to do some shopping.  Joe is sick of the blog already...he's cranky and says he's "foggy" from lack of carbs.  Weak sauce.

Day 3 of Our Whole30®

Joe's Meals

Breakfast: Breakfast casserole (eggs, peppers, squash, onion, italian sausage) w/ Homemade marinara
Lunch: Chicken wrapped in lettuce with homemade garlic mayo, sweet potato, cashews & coconut oil wrapped in kale
Dinner: Chicken w/ mayonnaise & spaghetti squash with marinara

Amanda's Meals

Breakfast: Same as Joe, just a smaller serving!
Lunch: Salmon leftover + sweet potato & Kale-shews
Dinner: Arugula salad with grilled shrimp, grilled scallops, and grilled lobster (no butter!), avocado & cherry tomatoes (From Oaxa Kitchen New Haven)

We tried spaghetti squash for the first time ever tonight and LOVE it. Also, the breafkast casserole was so great this morning.  I thought it was a little weird to eat it with marinara but it wasn't weird at all.  We're both still going strong!  Here's how the casserole & spaghetti squash turned out:

So much "Spaghetti" for such a little squash

It was so delish I _almost_ forgot to snap a photo!

Day 2 of our Whole30®

Joe's Meals

Breakfast: 3 eggs with guac, a banana (lots of water)
Lunch: Leftover burger, arugula + lettuce salad w/ oil & red wine vinegar dressing
Dinner: Salmon steak w/ steamed broccoli + carrots on the side
Snack: hard boiled egg, celery + almond butter

Amanda's Meals

Breakfast: 2 eggs with guac & a couple cherries & blueberries
Lunch: Same as Joe
Dinner: Same as Joe
Snack: hardboilded egg, celery & almond butter, Cauliflower + Greens sauteed in olive oil from Elm City Market, bowl of baby carrots

Yesterday, we went shopping to prepare us for a cooking adventure tonight.  We spent over an hour in Stop & Shop, spent $160, and came out with what felt like barely any food at all.  Everything we looked at had something off limits on the ingredients.  Mostly sugar, gluten, or carrageenan. I'm seriously shocked by how much crap goes in deli meat... I thought it was just meat?!  I think we'll have to start shopping at Whole Foods or Trader Joes.  Joe doesn't like the idea of that at all :)

So, tonight we cooked A LOT.  We made homemade marinara sauce, a breakfast casserole for the week, a Joe original he calls "Kale-shews", pickles, 2 sweet potatoes, homemade mayo (to avoid the soybean oil), and a baked chicken (salt & pepper only) for lunch meat for the week. It definitely made a mess, but it will be nice to have some of the prep work done.

The diet today didn't bother me much at all. I noticed I was pretty hungry a few times throughout the day, so I did a bunch of snacking.  By dinner time, I wasn't that hungry, but the salmon was way too good to not eat :)

Here's our finished product!

From Top Right Clockwise: Baked Chicken, Homemade Marinara, Pickles, Breakfast Casserole, Kale-shews

Day 1 of our Whole30®

Joe's Meals

Breakfast: 3 eggs sunnyside up cooked in coconut oil + a handful of blueberries
Lunch: Custom order salad from some café in Stamford, CT. 
Dinner: Organic burger packed with chopped Swiss chard (stems & all), crushed garlic, onion.  A sweet potato on the side cooked with coconut oil and cinnamon. 
Snack: Blueberries, Celery w/ Almond butter

How was it? It was very hard to find something for lunch.... I never crave McDonald's but driving by it, I really wanted it. I should have prepared better for day because I'm not sure if the meat on my salad would have been "acceptable" by Whole30 standards.

Amanda's Meals

Breakfast: 2 eggs, tbsp guac, side of green peppers
Lunch: Salad from Elm City Market in New Haven CT.  Oil & Balsamic vinegar dressing
Dinner: Same as Joe
Snack: blackberries, beet salad

How was it? There are a few things I was REALLY missing on day one: Diet pepsi, granola bars, Elf Fudge cookies, cigarettes, and the ability to concentrate on anything whatsoever.  It was kind of rough, but I think most of that was because of not smoking and a smaller part was because I wasn't eating the way I normally do.

Day 0 of our Whole30®

Hi!  

This blog belongs to Amanda and Joe VanWagner, while we document our Whole30® experience.  Driving in the car, on the way back from a wedding weekend in Harrisburg PA, we decided to try it... 30 days without:

• Sugar, real or artificial
• Alcohol
• Legumes
• Carrageenan, Sulfites, Nitrates, MSG
• Dairy
• Grains
• Potatoes
• Junk-food in general (even paleo junk food:)
• Tobacco

 The website was very convincing, so we figured we could do it...

Here's us the day before: