Whole30 - Week 4

We did it. And I'm so glad.

I'll post a separate Whole30 recap, but for now, let me say this: In 30 days, we got a glimpse of a healthier lifestyle that left us wanting for more.

Here's our final meal plan. Thursday was our last day. On Friday, we "eased" back into our regular eating habits with 4th of July hotdogs (buns included!), potato chips (the majority were sweet potato chips), and a teensy bit of wine ;-).

Monday

Breakfast - No-bake fruit and nut bar

Lunch - Curried cream of broccoli soup

Dinner - Fajitas & guacamole

Snacks - banana

Tuesday

Brunch*  - Sausage, bell pepper, and onion omelette

Dinner - Organic chicken apple sausages and sweet potato fries

Snacks - Apple with almond butter

*went into work late due to a DMV appt; had time to eat a big breakfast later into the morning

Wednesday

Breakfast - Banana, No-bake fruit and nut bar

Lunch - Leftover burgers and homemade guacamole

Dinner - Green curry with chicken and broccoli (3 tablespoons curry cooked in 1 tablespoon coconut oil, add 1 diced onion and cook for ~5 minutes over medium heat, add chicken and cook through, add broccoli and coconut milk, salt and pepper to taste, and simmer until broccoli is completely cooked and all is heated through)

Snacks - Apple with almond butter

Thursday

Breakfast - Banana, no-bake fruit and nut bar

Lunch - Curried cream of broccoli soup

Dinner - Burgers with avocado mango salsa in lettuce wraps, grilled onions, peppers, and zucchini 


See Whole30 - Week 1; Whole30 - Week 2; Whole30 - Week 3
(If you're looking for the remaining 5 meals of our Whole30 that I left out from the beginning (for the sake of satisfying my OCD tendencies of needing meal plans Monday - Sunday), just ask!)

Whole30 - Week 3

We're in the home stretch! Less than a week to go! And thank goodness. Because, I have to admit, I am over this.

I hit a wall last Thursday - I became tired of constantly meal planning, prepping, cooking and cleaning. But you know what? I feel good. And, although it is work, the Whole30 is not hard. I'm lucky to have the luxury of taking such good care of my body, or so I'm reminding myself.

While I may be tired of this whole ordeal, I am grateful for it. So, without further ado, here's our Whole30 week 3 meal plan:

Monday

Breakfast - Banana, Egg prosciutto muffin cups

Lunch - Curried cream of broccoli soup

Dinner - Slow cooker shoulder roast, broccoli

Snacks - No-bake fruit and nut bar

Tuesday

Breakfast - Banana, egg prosciutto muffin cups

Lunch - Curried cream of broccoli soup

Dinner - Southwest meatloaf

Snacks - Dried apricots (no sugar added)

Wednesday

Breakfast - Banana, no-bake fruit and nut bar

Lunch - Leftover burgers and homemade guacamole

Dinner - Leftover Whole30-friendly red curry from my sister

Snacks - Apple with almond butter

Thursday

Breakfast - Banana, no-bake fruit and nut bar

Lunch - Curried carrot soup

Dinner - Salsiccia styled cauliflower crust pizza
Snacks - Dried apricots (no sugar added)

Friday
Breakfast - Banana, egg prosciutto muffin cups
Lunch - Curried carrot soup

Dinner - Spaghetti squash with Paleo pesto

Saturday
Brunch - Sweet potato, apple, and pancetta hash topped with scrambled eggs
Dinner - Paleolithic plate at Samovar Tea Lounge (yay for eating out!)
Snacks  - Dried fruit (no sugar added)

Sunday
Brunch - All-natural breakfast sausage and scrambled eggs
Dinner - Mustard lime chicken and brussel sprouts
Snack - That's It bar

Whole30 - Week 2

Garrett and I are just over halfway through our Whole30, and we feel great! I think we've hit the "Tiger Blood" phase. For me, this means that I am full of energy and always ready to do something active. Other than at work, I'm spending less time sitting and more time attending yoga class, going for walks, cooking, cleaning, and anything, really, on my feet.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. This post is supposed to be devoted to week 2. 

How did I feel in week 2? Well, once I got past day 10, I started to feel really good. Days 8 and 9 were filled with mild flu-like symptoms, with heavy sinus drainage, overall weakness, and a headache. I continued to consistently blow my nose through day 14 (TMI?), but as a person with a mild dairy allergy that leads to sinus issues, I wasn't surprised. 

I also feel like we figured out a better meal and snack balance in week 2. I didn't really think of snacks in week 1, or size meals appropriately (large enough) for the husband. After making these adjustments and again devoting time to meal planning, grocery shopping, and cooking, it really started to feel like smooth sailing.

We got this.

Here's our week 2 meal plan:

Monday

Breakfast - Banana, Egg prosciutto muffin cups

Lunch - Curried cream of broccoli soup

Dinner - Almond chicken fingers, braised kale, sweet potato fries

Snacks - No-bake fruit and nut bar

Tuesday

Breakfast - Banana, egg prosciutto muffin cups

Lunch - Leftover steak and homemade guacamole

Dinner - Cauliflower crust pizza with homemade tomato sauce, all natural chicken apple sausage, red onion, and red bell pepper

Snacks - Apple with almond butter

Wednesday

Breakfast - Banana

Lunch - Leftover steak and homemade guacamole

Dinner - Leftover Whole30-friendly red curry from my sister

Snacks - Dried fruit (no sugar added)

Thursday

Breakfast - Banana, no-bake fruit and nut bar

Lunch - Leftover cauliflower crust pizza 

Dinner - Tamale Pie & fresh guacamole
Snacks - Apple with almond butter

Friday
Breakfast - Banana, egg prosciutto muffin cups
Lunch - Leftover tamale Pie & fresh guacamole

Dinner - Salad from Roam Artisan Burgers

Saturday
Brunch - All-natural breakfast sausage, mushroom, and onion quiche
Dinner - Burgers topped with guacamole, sweet potato fries, and braised kale
Snacks  - Dried fruit

Sunday
Brunch - All-natural breakfast sausage and scrambled eggs
Dinner - Chicken tikka masala

Whole30

If you know me at all, you know that I love food.

Good food is one of the things that makes me happiest in life. For that reason, I hardly ever diet. I don't like to deny myself of happiness.

But over the past few months, good food started to lose its appeal. True to routine, I was eating too much. And all of the sudden, eating too much wasn't making me very happy.

I started my first desk job in March. While I absolutely love it, I began to notice that packing on the pounds became much easier when I was sitting all day opposed to chasing horses and kids around the clock.

Not to mention all of the snacks we have in our office. I am a Goldfish cracker fiend. And cereal? Hell, I hadn't eaten cereal in years until I started my new job. Then, almost immediately, I was eating cereal almost every morning.

My diet became full of processed foods, pumped with sugar and preservatives and all types of things that aren't so good for you. I started to feel unhealthy.

So, I decided to embark on the Whole30. Thirty days of cutting "out all of the psychologically unhealthy, hormone-unbalancing, gut-disrupting, inflammatory food groups for a full 30 days." What, exactly, does this mean? Well, this is what I can eat during the Whole30: meat, seafood, eggs, vegetables, fruit, oils, nuts, and seeds. Things with very few ingredients, or no ingredients at all. What I can't have? Added sugar (real or artificial), grains, legumes, white potatoes, alcohol, carageenan, MSG, or sulfates. (If you're looking for more details, look here.)

Luckily, my husband is doing this with me. I'm not sure how strong my willpower would be if I had to do this alone, because, like I said before, I love food.

We're 10 days in and feeling pretty good. I've noticed some changes, which I'll share in the weekly meal plan posts. The most important thing that I'd like to share now, though, is that I haven't been hungry. At all.

I'll add our weekly meal plans as we go. Week 1 is up now:

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4