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The Unofficial Official Last Day

It’s January 30th and that means I made it to day 30 of this Whole30. Well, technically I did cheat one day, so it’s not an official Whole30, but since this is my third(ish) time through, I think it counts. So in the words of Vicki Gunvalsen, Wooooohooooo!

I haven’t updated here for awhile because, well, things have been pretty routine. Cook, sweat, shop, sleep, repeat. We’ve been using our dehydrator a lot for fruit, which I think has saved us some grocery money. However, I’ve yet to find a good shopping routine. We plan to stick with this Whole30 way of eating for the foreseeable future (while allowing a cheat meal or drink once every two weeks) so I’m still eager to fine tune the shopping and spending. I was spoiled in California. Within 5 miles of our house we had several big chain supermarkets, two Trader Joe’s, two Whole Foods, a Sprouts and, my personal favorite, Whole365. I even went to Whole365 when we visited last November, for old time’s sake. Here, I have to drive about 20 minutes for Trader Joe’s and a little longer for Whole Foods. I can certainly find enough of what we like at the in-town supermarkets and the couple small, natural food stores. But the mark-up is all over the place. And don’t get me started on how hard it is to find a good avocado.

Sad lil guys

The good news is that’s forced me to try a few new recipes. On Monday I made this beanless chili recipe in the InstantPot and it came out great. On reheating, the sweet potatoes fell apart, but that didn’t affect the taste. I used ground beef instead of turkey and I doubled the Rotel. I also didn’t measure the spices because I like to live dangerously. I’ll definitely be making it again!

Pretty much the only thing I need to go to Whole Foods for is compliant dressings and mayo (yet somehow I always seem to spend $140 there…) so I think I finally have the kick in the pants I need to start making my own. Biff has been kicking around the idea of making another batch of Kombucha, but I’m ok with not having a living yeast culture on our counter.

So I’m off to workout and then to the grocery store today! Tomorrow I’ll weigh myself and maybe I’ll have a gluten-free cider to celebrate. And then, it’s right back into another Whole30!

 

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Uncategorized, Whole30 Journey

I’m Probably Not Dying

Holy moly- day 20 already? Time is flying and things have been busy- as evidenced by my little delay in posting! We got some snow overnight; it’s the first significant snowfall we’ve had since we moved here so I used my free time making mildly panicked grocery runs this week. And wouldn’t ya know it, I still didn’t have enough ghee and we’re already down to two kombuchas?!

On Thursday, I had a physical with my new doctor here in town. I know I’ve mentioned it before, but during a round of the Whole30, you’re not supposed to weigh yourself. But since I didn’t weigh myself to start with, I rationalized that I wouldn’t get discouraged by learning my weight at this juncture. So I weighed myself before I went and it was about what I thought. But somehow, just an hour later with nothing additional to eat, and the lightest clothing I could get away with, I was 7 pounds heavier on that damn doctor’s office scale. Never fails. What is that? Maybe it’s time to stop using the stupid sliding thingy. I was also a good inch shorter than what my driver’s license says. Rigged. Otherwise, the check-up went pretty well. I have to do some bloodwork still so I’m not 100% sure I’m not dying, but it’s looking that way.

Five Tiers of Fun!

We also got a new, Whole30-related kitchen gadget this week: a dehydrator. One of the few “treats” we allow ourselves is dried fruit. It’s really hard to find without added sugar, and it’s stupidly expensive for what it is. So we took matters into our own hands! We dried out some pears, bananas, mangoes and apples so far. They all turned out great except we should have pealed the mangoes first because the skin was a little tough.

And then today, I’ve just been fighting the temptation to hunker down with some wine while watching the Patriot’s game. Does Tom Brady drink wine? I peg him as a Chablis kind of guy. I was also tempted to finish my son’s hot chocolate (he ate the whipped cream off and then declared he was full) while watching the neighbor’s snow-blow, but ultimately, I stayed strong!

I added a few new dishes to the rotation this week, too. I got a suspiciously good deal on some pork chops, so I cooked those in a pan on the stove top and then deglazed the pan with the leftover marinade, some garlic and onions. I poured that over the chops, mashed potatoes and asparagus. Now I think I’m an expert in deglazing. I did a similar technique with steak tips the next night. Who knows what I will deglaze next!

So just ten days to go on this round (not counting my transgressions last weekend). Right now, we’re planning to take a day or two off and then probably get back on another round. Or, at least, do two weeks on, have one day off, and then two weeks on, one day off, and so on. I think we could really do that for a long time. Feeling good feels good!

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Day 12: Supermarket Sweep

Exercise: Going to the Grocery Store, Family Walk
Food: Fried Eggs Over Hash Browns with Peppers, Onions and Bacon, Big Ass Salad(again), Egg Roll in a Bowl (again)

I mentioned in yesterday’s post about how nice it is to have a variety of grocery stores nearby. The newest one is quickly becoming my favorite. Whole Foods opened up a Whole 365 just about a mile from my house. That’s their more affordable brand. Some say it rivals Trader Joe’s. I say not quite– the produce, for example, is all organic so you don’t have the option to choose cheaper, non-organics there. But the quality is great. And I want the organic stuff anyway. Plus, it’s all shiny and new and the tweakers who like to hang out at my local Safeway haven’t discovered it yet. I spent about $165 and I think my haul will last most of the week. I’ll probably need to do another trip to get stuff for my son and maybe restock a few Whole30 items. So, I’d say I’ll probably spent about $225/$250 on groceries this week. That seems a little high for a family of three, but we’re also not eating out or buying booze (kill me now!!!!!) Oh and today’s total included cat food and cat litter. The organic kind. #whole30cats

I continue to feel better and better each day. I’m still sleeping like a rock, and waking up feeling refreshed. A lot of times I’d feel the need for a nap (my mom always took a 20 minute nap after work growing up. I thought “who only naps for 20 minutes?” Until I found myself doing the same thing.) But lately I haven’t. Boom! No workout today because I still felt a little stiff from yesterday’s. We went for walk/skateboard/bike ride as a family instead.

For breakfast, I spiced things up a little and did our potatoes as hash browns. They didn’t get as crispy as I wanted but that was probably due to my impatience. I topped with onions, peppers and fried eggs. A little bacon on the side and life was good.

Lunch was another salad of turkey, bacon, tomatoes, cucumbers, avocado, onion, spinach and romaine. We dressed it with Primal Kitchen’s Ranch.

And for dinner, I made Egg Roll in a Bowl again, mostly to use up some ground pork. I added some extra cabbage this time. I also learned that I’m not quite ready to poach eggs on my own. Biff had to rescue the operation. He did say the eggs might not have been right to start. I’ll go with that!

So…takeaways from today: try to look a little bit presentable when going to the grocery store because you’ll probably bump into a friend (I did!); ain’t nobody got time for naps; I might not know how to poach eggs after all. Bike ride

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Day 8: One Week In

Exercise: Barbell Club
Food: Scrambled Eggs with Avocado, Veggies and Salsa, Leftover Bolognese with Carrot Noodles, Leftover Egg Roll in a Bowl (now with more egg!)

Eggs with Salsa

What I lack in cooking skills, I make up for with my plating techniques

Today marks one week since we started following the Whole30. Boom! I think that pretty much makes me an expert? Maybe not, but I do feel that I have a pretty good handle on things. I went to the grocery store today (yes, another trip to the grocery store) and I had a much easier time reading labels and ruling out certain items. My biggest challenge is still cooking. I’ve alluded to the fact before that I’m not a good cook. And it’s not something I particularly enjoy. But I am proud that I’ve churned out some edible things and I feel like I’ve improved a little just by virtue that I’m cooking more daily than ever before. I may even foray into soups this week! Yeah, you didn’t think things were going to get so wild on this blog, so fast.

The Whole30 creators stress that it is not a weight loss diet. Though most people who can spare to lose a few lbs tend to see some good progress. So people aren’t encouraged to weigh themselves during the 30 days. But it’s so tempting! I do feel lighter– not necessarily weight-wise, but maybe I just have less bloat? Ultimately, I’d like to lose 40lbs, and I’m already thinking that when 30 days is up, maybe I’ll do another 30. Or add a macros counting component? But just like when LaLa dishes some hot gossip, I need to back it up! (Is two Vanderpump Rules references in two days too many?) One step at a time. I’m glad to already be feeling better, regardless of what the scale says.

I went to Barbell Club tonight instead of CrossFit. It meets at 7pm, so after I’d had all my meals for the day. I felt good! We worked on our Snatch. And Clean and Jerks. Those are real things. Man, things are getting wild tonight.

Enough about snatch work. Breakfast was…drumroll…eggs! Scrambled eggs with veggies, avocado and a nice salsa I found at Trader Joe’s to be exact. Quite good and satisfying! I’m trying to lessen my potato intake, and since I didn’t workout in the morning, I didn’t feel like I needed them.

For lunch I had some leftover Bolognese sauce over carrot noodles. I packed Biff the same thing for work, but he reports that the noodles didn’t reheat so well. Good to know!

Dinner was the rest of yesterday’s Egg Roll in a Bowl, this time with that aforementioned poached egg. I had to have Biff show me how to poach and egg so now I know. Ladies, find you a man who can handle eggs!

So…takeaways from today and a week of healthier, clean eating: if you practice anything enough, you’ll get better at it (ie cooking); no one likes a limp noodle, especially at work;  22 days to go!

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Day 5: Shop ’til I Drop

Exercise: Family walk/skate/bike ride, wholesale club shopping
Food: Eggs with Bacon, Onions, Peppers, Potatoes and Avocado, Green salad with tuna fish, Bunless Burgers with Potatoes, Onions, Bacon and Asparagus

Sams Club

A few of my many purchases this week.

Yay! It’s the weekend! When it comes to the Whole30, that means absolutely nothing! Well actually, it means Biff (that’s my mans) doesn’t have to work and is helping me out in the kitchen. He’s a really good cook. I knew he was a keeper when, shortly after we started dating, he made stuffed chicken breasts and homemade pita bread out of the random stuff I had in my kitchen. I honestly didn’t even know I had chicken.

Today, I know exactly what I have in my kitchen. Mostly because I’ve gone to the grocery store every friggin’ day since New Year’s. This morning, I hit up the Sam’s Club to buy some of the items we’ve been using the most in bulk. (I know Costco is generally better, I am a mom afterall. But something about our local Costco brings out the worst in every human who steps foot in it. Actually, the behavior starts in the parking lot. I can’t.) I stocked up on peppers and onions and organic beef. One of the criticisms about the Whole30 is that it’s expensive to eat this way. It can be, and I’ve definitely blown my usual grocery budget this first week. But I think if you stick to a few staples and buy what you can in bulk, it’ll even out. I’ve also purchased a few things this week, like specialty salad dressing and mayo, that I could make much cheaper. The time savings make these worth their price tag for me.

I didn’t go to CrossFit today since I went 5 days in a row this week. I thought I might go to Barbell Club (like CrossFit, but focuses on weights/strength training) but it meets at 7:45am. I slept decently last night and wanted to revel in that (and my jammies) a little longer. Instead, we went for a walk as a family. Well, I walked, Biff did some skateboarding, and Atticus (that’s my 6-year-old) rode his bike halfway. I dragged it the other half.

For breakfast, Biff made some eggs over potatoes with bacon, avocado, onions and peppers. It seems like all of our breakfasts are a variation of this, but it works and we’re not sick of it yet. Plus I just bought 400lbs of peppers and onions at Sam’s.

Lunch was the same old green salad with tunafish we’ve had a few times this week as well. I realized part of the desire for a simple lunch stems from the fact that our good pans are usually in the dishwasher from breakfast (or sitting in the sink) at that time.

Biff tackled dinner as well, and took my idea of bunless burgers to the next level by adding bacon,  onions and peppers, avocado and Sk8er Boi love. We had potatoes and asparagus on the side.

So…takeaways from today: having a husband who cooks rocks; dragging a Spiderman bike counts as cardio; don’t feel the need to explore new recipes until you’re sick of the ones you have.

Family Walk

Days like today in January are why it costs a zillion dollars to live here.

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