whole30 lunch

Whole30 #2: Days 16-18 Recap

April 25, 2015

I am documenting my second Whole 30 journey to help me see how far I’ve come from my first Whole30 (Feb 2015) to this one (April 2015). Plus, I don’t want to fall into any food ruts. Hopefully this will keep me inspired through the whole process. I’m looking forward to the transformation in how I approach food, cook with it, and enjoy it. Check out all my Whole30 related posts HERE from why I did my first Whole30, why I am doing this one, and food diaries.

{Day 16}

Thursday, April 16th, 2015

I can’t think of anything special to report about today related to cravings or victories or whatever. I am still craving chocolate chip cookies. I’d like to eat a slice of pizza or a plate of nachos, but that seems like a constant.

BUT! my skin seems so much clearer, especially my forehead. Victory!

Breakfast

Scrambled eggs with 1/2 of a baked sweet potato, Frank’s Red Hot Sauce

I used to love scrambled eggs as a kid, but I really don’t care for them anymore, especially without cream. ha! But the sweet potato was nice for breakfast.

Lunch

Curried and Grilled Avocado Kale Salad from B.Good

My friend Megan and I went out to lunch to talk over wedding music. We went to B.Good, which has AWESOME burgers and baked sweet potato fries. I probably could have made a burger on a lettuce bun work for me but I just decided to go for a salad. I talked to the staff about the ingredients and they were so helpful. I picked the Curried and Grilled Avocado Kale & Grain bowl. I omitted the quinoa (sad face), peas, and the mint- yogurt sauce, but added tomatoes. I was tempted to add chicken or steak but I didn’t want to risk any non-compliant issues related to oils, which might have been an issue with the veggies but I did the best I could.

Snack

Cashew Cookie Lara Bar

Big Surprise…

Dinner

Steak with roasted vegetables- fennel, baby zucchini, grape tomatoes

Mom came for a weekend visit so this was an introduction to the Whole30 foods that we eat. Thankfully she loved it. Steak is always a winner.

Dessert

Banana, Apple, Almond Butter

“I’m pretending this is an ice cream sundae”- Price. HAHAHAHAHA!!!

We shared this plate of fruit and almond butter. It was yummy.

{Day 17}

Friday, April 17th, 2015

It was a busy day with work in the morning in Burlington and then working more at home. It was nice to have mom around though at home for the day. Plus, it’s nice getting to cook for more than just me and Price. And show her that Whole30 is great.

Lunch

Banana with almond butter

I was so hungry as I skipped breakfast to get to my project site so this banana was awesome. It feels good to enjoy bananas, really enjoy them, not just eat it. Not sure if that makes sense, but it does for me.

Dinner

Pork Cutlets with Roasted Potatoes and Brussels Sprouts

Mom was really excited about the brussels sprouts that we got at Haymarket so I made them for dinner. I used to be so nervous about cooking pork but now I feel more confident about not drying it out. Plus, I’m actually enjoying eating it now too.

{Day 18}

Saturday, April 18th, 2015

Today was busy and our eating routine was off- didn’t do breakfast at home, late lunch, etc. I was really jealous that Autumn had a croissant for breakfast. I really miss weekend breakfasts. Damn, I miss it a lot.

Breakfast

Kale Storm- banana, mango, spinach, kale, lemon juice, apple juice

Mom and I were out running errands early in the morning, so I didn’t make breakfast at home. I grabbed this smoothie from The Juicery and shared some with with Autumn.

Lunch

Salad- romaine, broccoli slaw, sprouts, cucumbers, grape tomatoes, toasted slivered almonds, homemade ranch, prosciutto

It’s nice having my mom visit as she compliments all of my cooking, even if it’s just a big salad. ha! But I do agree, it was awesome.

Snack

Trader Joe’s Apple and Coconut Fruit Bar

I ate this at the end of the check out. I have no shame. My favorite Trader Joe’s Fruit bar. I am going to skip getting the others as this was so good.

Dinner

Grilled chicken breasts and grilled veggies, topped off with mustard

Price grilled our dinner. I love when we work together to make dinner, I did the prep & he did the grilling.

Dessert

Fresh Berries with vanilla coconut cream

I just got vanilla beans (from Amazon) so I scraped half of one and put that in the coconut cream. The berries were so fresh and so good. Loved it.

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What are your favorite Whole30 recipes? Please share!

Are you considering doing Whole30? Give it a try!

Whole30 #2- Days 13-15 Recap

April 21, 2015

{Day 13}

Monday, April 13th, 2015

I forgot my phone at home today!! It was terrifying. I realized it when I got on the bus and there was nothing I could do about it.

Breakfast

Lara Bar- Cherry

I really, really like Lara Bars. I am so thankful there is a good, affordable option for a snack or as a replacement to a meal that I was too rushed to make.

Lunch

Salad- mixed greens, veggies, homemade vinaigrette

I enjoyed my salad just as much as this woman was enjoying her’s.

Dinner

Ground Pork Stir Fry mixed with Broccoli Slaw in a Coconut Curry Sauce

This was a ‘I don’t give a crap about cooking right now’ dinner. I threw together some broccoli slaw with pork (that I was originally going to use for breakfast sausage)

{Day 14}

Tuesday, April 14th, 2015

Price had a sleep study at night so it was weird to sleep alone, as well as have dinner alone. I def missed him. I probably would have mindlessly had dessert or wine without him, but Whole30 reigned me in. yay!!

Breakfast

2 over easy eggs, diced sweet potato with salsa and Frank’s Red Hot

I made sweet potatoes in advance and it was awesome. It made breakfast (and lunch) so much easier. I am doing to make a big batch of roasted sweet potatoes again soon.

Lunch

Leftover pork stirfry (from the night before) with 1/2 a sweet potato and 1/2 a slice of tomato, pistachios

It was a little bit of everything! It was fine, but not very satisfying.

Dinner

Salad with mixed greens and veggies, topped off with pulled pork tenderloin

Price was not at home for dinner so I only had to worry about throwing something together for me. It’s not to say that I really worry about making a grand meal for us but I care so much less when it’s just me. So I whipped up a salad and tossed some slow cooker pork tenderloin on there and ta-da dinner!

{Day 15}

Wednesday, April 15th 2015

HALF WAY DONE!!!!!!

Breakfast

Since I was solo for the morning routine, I didn’t have much time for breakfast (or lunch prep) so I just threw together some left over sweet potato, 1 link of chicken sausage, and roasted broccolini. Then I got 2 over easy eggs from the cafe in my building.

It was a really good breakfast, and huge. It was so filling that I wasn’t too hungry for lunch for a long time.

Lunch

Cashew Cookie Lara Bar and Pulled Pork (not pictured)

How many Cashew Cookie Bars can I eat while doing Whole30? Not enough!!! It’s really my favorite one. I think I could eat one for B.L.D for all 30 days. (I should try that next time… jk…)

I took a photo of my pulled pork tenderloin, but it was super blurry and looked gross, but it wasn’t. It was super yummy. Plus, I might have put some leftover homemade ranch dressing on it. OMG. I loved it.

Dinner

Mushroomy, meaty sauce on cauliflower rice, string beans

The leftover sauce from a few days prior was perfect on cauliflower rice. It basically resembled chili it was such a thick, hearty sauce. It was really good. I made us so green beans too just to add a veggie, not like cauliflower isn’t one…

Great Moment

I made this cake for my coworker’s birthday and I didn’t even have any. No accidental licks of my fingers. Nothing. And damn, it smelled awesome.

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What are your favorite Whole30 recipes? Please share!

Are you considering doing Whole30? Give it a try!

Whole30 #2: Days 10-12 Recap

April 16, 2015

{Day 10}

Friday, April 10th 2015

I went to the gym in the morning. It felt good to go. I signed up for the abs class but got a more in depth training session with the trainer as I was the only one who showed up. Yay me! It felt good getting a lesson on arms and abs. And then I was sore.

Breakfast

2 over-easy eggs with homemade bacon and guac (store-bought), then a clementine & some berries at work

Friday’s are tough as it’s Pod Breakfast Day at work and it’s typically a sea of bagels, muffins, and donuts. Thankfully, I made breakfast at home and found some fruit to snack on once I got at work.

Lunch

Watercress and Fig Salad from Cocobeet, Kale Chips from Cocobeet

I love Cocobeet!! They are $$$ but the quality of their juices and food is so damn good. I miss going for their breakfast bowls when I wanted to treat myself to a healthy, hearty breakfast. (I miss you quinoa!!) And their Chia Pudding is the best. THE BEST.

But I found a few things that are whole30 complaint. I grabbed one of their salads and boxes of kale chips. It was my first time trying kale chips & nutritional yeast- so good!

Dinner

Aidell’s Chicken and Apple Sausage with roasted broccoli, served with mustard

I was tempted to make a meat and mushroom sauce over butternut squash noodles but I was burned out. So it was a simple dinner kind of night. I cut up 2 crowns of broccoli and tossed them with some olive oil, garlic, and salt & pepper on a baking sheet. I tossed it under the broiler. After a few minutes I added the sausage links that I sliced up on a diagonal. A few minutes later it was all done. Divide up and drizzle with mustard. Done!

{Day 11}

Saturday, April 11th 2015

I spent a good chunk of the day at work catching up on things there while Price and Autumn ran lots of errands. They even planted flowers. So cute. It was a good day, not much to say…

Breakfast

Eggs with potatoes and bacon

When I was growing up my dad would make ‘potatoes and eggs’ on the weekends. I loved it. I like my do my potatoes the same way but slicing them on a mandoline and putting them in a skillet to ‘fry’ up. I only used about a tablespoon of oil on the whole batch of potatoes- not too bad! It just another way of making home fries.

‘Lunch ‘

Kale Chips & some pistachios

I finished off the kale chips while I was at work for the afternoon. I wasn’t really hungry from the big breakfast.

Dinner

Meaty mushroom sauce on butternut squash noodles

Our butternut squash was a dud! It was soft in the middle (like seeds in the long part, weird) so we had to chop it up to spiralize it. It made our noodles tiny and annoying, but dinner was good overall.

Dessert

Cocoa packed chia pudding (chia, compliant coconut milk, cocoa powder)

I wanted to try something new so I made this chia pudding quickly on Friday night. It was a big dud as the cocoa made it pretty bitter and thickened it up too much. Blah. Live and learn.

{Day 12}

Sunday, April 12th 2015

The weekends are so hard for me to stick to Whole30. I just want to make waffles to enjoy and to get food while out running errands. Or get take out. I’m starting to feel less committed to this Whole30, as compared to the first one, and Price feels the same way. We will stick it out to accomplish it but my heart isn’t into it like the first one. Hoping that feeling changes soon.

Breakfast

Eggs with potatoes and bacon

I’m getting tired of eggs.

Lunch

Cashew Cookie Lara Bar (1pm) & salad (3pm) made with mixed greens, romaine, sprouts, tomatoes, cucumber, and almonds with a homemade ranch dressing

I grabbed the Lara Bar while I was shopping at Trader Joe’s. I was so hungry after our busy morning together shopping so I inhaled it in the car. It tasted like it was was best food on earth. ha!!

Once we got back home and I got Autumn down for a nap I made Price and I salad that we enjoyed sitting on the back porch. I can’t wait to get our patio table up to use!

Dinner

Chicken (Organic, free range) with roasted tiny potatoes and broccolini (8.30pm)

Dinner was awesome. I loved the tiny potatos and broccolini. I’m already thinking about my next Trader Joe’s trip and when I can get more.

I’ve been having a FB msging convo with Rachel about quality of chicken. While we would love to buy organic free range chicken (and other meats) for our families we’re running into a budget problem. It’s so easy to grab store brand chicken at $2.49 a pound compared to $6.99 a pound (like what I bought a trader joe’s). So we have been talking quality in terms of taste and processing. I did notice that I really enjoyed some air chilled chicken that I recently bought. I need to remember the brand and where I got it (Market Basket?) to get it again, and check and see if it was organic or not and how much it was a pound.

Dessert

Chia pudding (complaint coconut milk, cocoa powder) with a sprinkling of unsweetened shredded coconut

I was so excited about the unsweetened shredded coconut that I picked up from Trader Joe’s. The chia pudding was still blah, but the coconut was a nice add to it to jazz it up.

____________________

What are your favorite Whole30 recipes? Please share!

Are you considering doing Whole30? Give it a try!

Whole30 #2: Days 7-9 Recap

April 14, 2015

{Day 7}

Tuesday, April 7th 2015

I got the change to work from home in the afternoon. I love that! I was able to make a fresh lunch. No leftovers for me! Man, leftovers get so boring. It was nice to have something ‘fancy’.

Breakfast

Scrambled eggs with sweet potato has, guac

We don’t have scrambled eggs often. Hardly ever. I got an herb packet while I was in Seattle so I am going to have to use that next time as they were good.

Lunch

Sauteed fish over salad with tomatoes, red onion, avocado, TJ’s verde salsa

I threw this together quickly once I got back from my final punchlist of a project. It felt like a celebratory lunch.

Dinner

Chicken breast with baby zucchini over lightly dressed greens

Price really likes these baby zucchini, I should get bags and bags of these when I go shopping there. They are quick to prepare and taste so good. I like that they don’t get very watery like how ‘adult’ zucchini tend to get.

{Day 8}

Wednesday, April 8th 2015

Woohoo! 1 week through. Today was a rough day, not because of Whole30 exactly, but because I am a moron. Such a moron.

Breakfast

Spinach and Sweet Potato Crustless Quiche served with quacamole and salsa verde; venti cold brew with some cinnamon sprinkled on top

I made my quiche look like cake!!! It has quacamole frosting and a salsa finishing sauce. And I’ve lost my damn mind. It didn’t taste like cake. It didn’t trick me. It just made me more annoyed. I dunno. ha!

I grabbed this cold brew on the way into work. I was so excited that I had a moment to get a coffee and to try cold brew. I sprinkled some cinnamon on top. It was so good, but then…

Lunch

Salad- mixed greens with 2 hardboiled egg whites, sweet potato hash, (leftover) chicken breast, 1/2 avocado, with homemade ranch

I was in need of this salad. I felt so off from the caffeine bomb from the cold brew. I would have preferred something like a burger and fries, like when you ‘soak up’ booze after a night of drinking, but my salad was my only real option.

Snack

I had a HORRIBLE HORRIBLE HORRIBLE headache from my caffeine crash. I thought I was going to throw up on the bus ride home. I had a bunch of water and this bag and started to feel better. UGH.

Dinner

Roasted Chicken with roasted green beans and grape tomatoes with a ‘special sauce’

I started to roast the chicken but then had to go to the gym so then it was Price’s job to take over. He finished it up and broke it down for our dinners and lunches coming up. It was really yummy.

I made a ‘special sauce’ with some homemade mayo, Franks Red Hot, and spices. So good!

Food Swap!

My friend Kellie is also doing Whole30 with us. She swapped (Puerto Rican) sofrito for mayo from me. I can’t wait to use it!

Exercise

I went to the gym!! I was supposed to meet with a trainer after work to create a program but he was sink or something so I met with the assistant manager who was nice and showed me some arms stuff to do. Looking forward to meeting with a train to create a real program and doing it.

{Day 9}

Thursday, April 9th 2015

No coffee for me today after yesterday’s mishap. ugh!!

Breakfast

Spinach and Sweet Potato Crustless Quiche served with quacamole

We didn’t like this quiche much. Maybe it was the sweet potato but not our favorite. Blah!

Lunch

Clementine with chicken breast and string beans, homemade mayo

My lunch felt boring but it was really good. I feel like I take too big of a serving of chicken but if I don’t eat much then I don’t feel full. And I don’t think it’s a volume thing as a protein thing.

Clementines are da bomb…

Dinner