Monday, July 20, 2015

Whole30 Week #1

doing-the-w30-fb-cover

Well, as promised here are the meals I ate for the first week or so on whole30.  It's going good so far.  Food is great, the adjustments haven't been that difficult, and the cravings are in check.  Yeah!

LO= left overs

Day 1


Breakfast:  sweet potato breakfast casserole (I skipped her seasonings and added a southwest seasoning blend from Wildtree) DELICIOUS, coffee with coconut milk


Lunch: spinach salad with chicken, strawberries, lemon vinaigrette (just lemon juice, EVOO, S&P), almonds, and avocados.

Snack: mint chocolate Larabar


Dinner: Chicken with mushroom sauce and broccoli.

Day 2
Breakfast: LO breakfast casserole, coffee with coconut milk

Lunch: pulled LO chicken with mushroom sauce and broccoli

Snack: Larabar


Dinner: Pulled pork, avocado, Hawaiian coleslaw.  I just roasted a pork roast in my slow cooker with some garlic, S&P, and a little water. 

I had LOTS of hot flashes here.  Weather? Food?  Hormones?  I don't know.

Day 3
Breakfast:  LO breakfast casserole, coffee with coconut milk

Lunch: LO pulled pork, coleslaw, avocado, raspberries


Dinner: More LO pulled pork but on lettuce with coleslaw, avocado and green beans.


Snack: banana ice cream with nutmeg & cinnamon.  Take 2-3 frozen bananas (makes 2 servings), I find it best to cut the bananas into chunks before freezing.  Add the bananas to your food processor and add about 1/2 cup coconut milk.  Sprinkle in some freshly grated nutmeg and cinnamon and blend till smooth and creamy.  This treat with satisfy the strongest ice cream craving.  PROMISE!

Still LOTS more hot flashes  here.  Hard to say if it is diet, or hormones, I did have a baby 7 months ago......

Day 4


Breakfast:  3 egg omelet with diced sweet potatoes inside the omelet, 2 slices of bacon, coffee with coconut milk


Lunch:  LO pulled pork, coleslaw, avocado, green bean.  Banana with cashew butter, unsweetened coconut flakes, and walnuts.

Snack:  2 cuties


Dinner:spaghetti squash with lamb marinara sauce (Aldi's has a sugar free marinara that is pretty good), and baked asparagus.

Still more hot flashes.  Ugh, I think it is the diet.  I think it is all the sugar being flushed from my body.

Day 5
Breakfast:  3 egg omelet with sweet potato hash with onions and 2 slices of bacon.

Snack: Baby carrots

Lunch: LO spaghetti squash and asparagus.


Snack: strawberries with unsweetened coconut flakes


Dinner: orange teriyaki turkey meatballs with carrots & Brussels sprouts.

Day 6

Breakfast: 3 scrambled eggs with LO from dinner turned into a hash


Lunch: chicken salad with homemade mayo, almonds, raisins, and a side of carrots.  I'm not going to lie, I like the store bought mayo better (which I am really surprised about).

Dinner: Grilled steaks, roasted white potatoes, green beans with almonds.  Mix of fruit for "dessert" of pineapples, strawberries, and melons.

We were at my in-laws for dinner and my MIL was nice enough to make something Whole30 compliant.

Day 7
Breakfast:  3 scrambled eggs with LO fried white potatoes and carrots.

Lunch: Chicken Salad with carrots


Dinner: Jalepeno Chicken Burgers on a portabella mushroom "bun".  Sweet potato fries.

Day 8
Breakfast: 3 scrambled eggs, banana with cashews, cashew butter and unsweetened coconut flakes.

Lunch: LO chicken burger topped with 1/2 an avocado, and baby carrots.


Dinner: Cod with pomegranate pear salsa with coconut "rice" cauliflower.  REALLY, REALLY good.

Snack:  banana ice cream.  Yum!

Well, so far so good.  It was a great first week of eating.  Food tasted great.  I LOVE the sweet potato hash with my eggs, the slightly spicy southwest mix from Wildtree really works well here (I don't sell it, if you don't know a demonstrator, find a blend in your local grocery store that is whole30 compliant).

The hot flashes were intense.  I think it was my hormones.  It was probably a combination of getting my period (really bad timing) paired with all the sugar and "junk" leaving my system.

I'm already feeling lighter and no joke, my pants that were too tight to wear comfortably are already fitting.  Amazing.  

Friday, July 10, 2015

Whole30 Challenge

 doing-the-w30-IG

Well, I found myself attempting something a bit crazy this summer.  Whole30.  Every heard of it?  No?  Neither did I until a few short weeks ago.  I found myself in a rut, trying to eat healthy but having this intolerable sweet tooth that was landing me with a bowl of ice cream every night on my couch.  I was tired, stressed, and I just couldn't get my hands on enough sugar.

At work, a friend told me that her sister in-law did this crazy meal plan for 30 days which has some pretty rigid rules like: no dairy, no alcohol, no sugar, no beans.  She told me her SIL lost 12 or 13 pounds (I can't exactly remember) following this plan for 30 days and it changed her relationship with food.

Ding.Ding.Ding.  That's exactly what I need.  I need to end this bad relationship with my food.  

So five days after hearing the word Whole30 for the first time, I found myself attempting this crazy 30 day journey.  And of course because I have a ton of free time (hahaha) I thought I would document what I ate along the way.  The Whole30 program actually recommends that you DON'T track your food (I think because you're over thinking it then) so I think this is one of the many reasons you won't find a lot of menu plans online.  If you're thinking about attempting the whole30 program yourself, perhaps you'll find inspiration in my journey.   

You can read about whole30 on their website here: All about Whole30.  But here is a really quick summary of what you CAN NOT eat:

1. No Sugar.  None.  Not even honey.  Read your labels!
2.  No alcohol.  Not even for cooking.
3. No grains, none of them. No rice, Bulgar, oatmeal, quinoa, noodles, etc.
4. No legumes, including peanuts and peanut butter.
5. No dairy.  This means no milk or CHEESE!
6.  No caarageenan, MSG, or sulfites.  Again, read your labels!
7.  No Paleo-fied "treats".

You might be asking, what's left?  LOTS.  I promise!  Fruits, veggies, meat, nuts, and eggs. And you'll eat a lot of these items.  You'll also learn, there aren't a lot of recipes because you really don't need any.  Cook your protein, pair it with a veggie and you're done!  And if you are wondering if this is "kid friendly".  Yes! My kids (7, 2, and 7 months) usually ate the same meal right along side my husband and I.  There's nothing crazy here folks, after all, it's whole food

Here are the reasons I wanted to attempt this program:

1.  Lose weight. 
 Ok, big elephant in the room.  I'm doing this to lose weight.

 I want to get back to a healthy weight for LOTS of reasons but here are some of my top reasons.

I got gestational diabetes with my final pregnancy.  There's a 60% chance that I'll get type 2 diabetes in the next 10 years because of that.  Being overweight is one of the biggest reasons type 2 would occur.  Obviously, I'd like to reduce my risk of type two! 

I want to play with my kids. Without getting winded, without struggling, without getting tired.  I got 3 very young children.  They deserve active healthy parents that will live for a very long time.  I want to see them grow into very old men.

I want to buy clothes "off the rack".  I don't want to go to plus size stores or sections.  I also really want to go to some trendy second hand places and buy nice used clothes at a discount (that's a lot harder to find in plus sizes).  Buying used clothes would be a huge budget saver! 

2.  Break my sugar addiction.
It's a real thing.  I love sugar more than anything.  My typical breakfast is sugar:  two cups of coffee, each with 3 tablespoons of sugary creamer, two chocolate chip granola bars (candy bar anyone?), and homemade yogurt with chocolate chips, honey, and sweetened shredded coconut added to it (again, candy bar anyone?).  No wonder I wanted sugar all day long.  I wanted this program to tame my sugar dragon. I want to be in control of me again, not my cravings.


3.  Cure my Candida.  
For the past 20 years I've had an off again on again problem with candida (skin yeast infection).  Mainly on again.  I read that this program resolved candida for some and I was hoping it would do the same for me.  

Here's a few before shots.  I wasn't going to post these, they make me cringe.  But, a friend and I have been having a lot of body image discussions and I need to start feeling good about myself, no matter what size I am.  I also need to remember that my family and friends love me for who I am and not based on the number on the scale.  They would not love me less if the scale said 900 lbs and would not love me more just because the scale says 120 lbs.  They love me for me and I need to start doing the same. 



Well, now that that is out of of the way......wish me luck!  See you soon!  I'll be back with my first week on this journey real soon. 


  • Do not consume added sugar of any kind, real or artificial. No maple syrup, honey, agave nectar, coconut sugar, Splenda, Equal, Nutrasweet, xylitol, stevia, etc. Read your labels, because companies sneak sugar into products in ways you might not recognize.
  • Do not consume alcohol in any form, not even for cooking. (And it should go without saying, but no tobacco products of any sort, either.)
  • Do not eat grains. This includes (but is not limited to) wheat, rye, barley, oats, corn, rice, millet, bulgur, sorghum, amaranth, buckwheat, sprouted grains and all of those gluten-free pseudo-grains like quinoa. This also includes all the ways we add wheat, corn and rice into our foods in the form of bran, germ, starch and so on. Again, read your labels.
  • Do not eat legumes. This includes beans of all kinds (black, red, pinto, navy, white, kidney, lima, fava, etc.), peas, chickpeas, lentils, and peanuts. No peanut butter, either. This also includes all forms of soy – soy sauce, miso, tofu, tempeh, edamame, and all the ways we sneak soy into foods (like lecithin).
  • Do not eat dairy. This includes cow, goat or sheep’s milk products such as cream, cheese (hard or soft), kefir, yogurt (even Greek), and sour cream… with the exception of clarified butter or ghee. (See below for details.)
  • Do not consume carrageenan, MSG or sulfites. If these ingredients appear in any form on the label of your processed food or beverage, it’s out for the Whole30.
  • Do not try to re-create baked goods, junk foods, or treats* with “approved” ingredients. Continuing to eat your old, unhealthy foods made with Whole30 ingredients is totally missing the point, and will tank your results faster than you can say “Paleo Pop-Tarts.” Remember, these are the same foods that got you into health-trouble in the first place—and a pancake is still a pancake, regardless of the ingredients
  • - See more at: http://whole30.com/whole30-program-rules/#sthash.WbAwOMbC.dpuf

  • Do not consume added sugar of any kind, real or artificial. No maple syrup, honey, agave nectar, coconut sugar, Splenda, Equal, Nutrasweet, xylitol, stevia, etc. Read your labels, because companies sneak sugar into products in ways you might not recognize.
  • Do not consume alcohol in any form, not even for cooking. (And it should go without saying, but no tobacco products of any sort, either.)
  • Do not eat grains. This includes (but is not limited to) wheat, rye, barley, oats, corn, rice, millet, bulgur, sorghum, amaranth, buckwheat, sprouted grains and all of those gluten-free pseudo-grains like quinoa. This also includes all the ways we add wheat, corn and rice into our foods in the form of bran, germ, starch and so on. Again, read your labels.
  • Do not eat legumes. This includes beans of all kinds (black, red, pinto, navy, white, kidney, lima, fava, etc.), peas, chickpeas, lentils, and peanuts. No peanut butter, either. This also includes all forms of soy – soy sauce, miso, tofu, tempeh, edamame, and all the ways we sneak soy into foods (like lecithin).
  • Do not eat dairy. This includes cow, goat or sheep’s milk products such as cream, cheese (hard or soft), kefir, yogurt (even Greek), and sour cream… with the exception of clarified butter or ghee. (See below for details.)
  • Do not consume carrageenan, MSG or sulfites. If these ingredients appear in any form on the label of your processed food or beverage, it’s out for the Whole30.
  • Do not try to re-create baked goods, junk foods, or treats* with “approved” ingredients. Continuing to eat your old, unhealthy foods made with Whole30 ingredients is totally missing the point, and will tank your results faster than you can say “Paleo Pop-Tarts.” Remember, these are the same foods that got you into health-trouble in the first place—and a pancake is still a pancake, regardless of the ingredients
  • - See more at: http://whole30.com/whole30-program-rules/#sthash.WbAwOMbC.dpuf

  • Do not consume added sugar of any kind, real or artificial. No maple syrup, honey, agave nectar, coconut sugar, Splenda, Equal, Nutrasweet, xylitol, stevia, etc. Read your labels, because companies sneak sugar into products in ways you might not recognize.
  • Do not consume alcohol in any form, not even for cooking. (And it should go without saying, but no tobacco products of any sort, either.)
  • Do not eat grains. This includes (but is not limited to) wheat, rye, barley, oats, corn, rice, millet, bulgur, sorghum, amaranth, buckwheat, sprouted grains and all of those gluten-free pseudo-grains like quinoa. This also includes all the ways we add wheat, corn and rice into our foods in the form of bran, germ, starch and so on. Again, read your labels.
  • Do not eat legumes. This includes beans of all kinds (black, red, pinto, navy, white, kidney, lima, fava, etc.), peas, chickpeas, lentils, and peanuts. No peanut butter, either. This also includes all forms of soy – soy sauce, miso, tofu, tempeh, edamame, and all the ways we sneak soy into foods (like lecithin).
  • Do not eat dairy. This includes cow, goat or sheep’s milk products such as cream, cheese (hard or soft), kefir, yogurt (even Greek), and sour cream… with the exception of clarified butter or ghee. (See below for details.)
  • Do not consume carrageenan, MSG or sulfites. If these ingredients appear in any form on the label of your processed food or beverage, it’s out for the Whole30.
  • Do not try to re-create baked goods, junk foods, or treats* with “approved” ingredients. Continuing to eat your old, unhealthy foods made with Whole30 ingredients is totally missing the point, and will tank your results faster than you can say “Paleo Pop-Tarts.” Remember, these are the same foods that got you into health-trouble in the first place—and a pancake is still a pancake, regardless of the ingredients. 
  • - See more at: http://whole30.com/whole30-program-rules/#sthash.WbAwOMbC.dpuf

  • Do not consume added sugar of any kind, real or artificial. No maple syrup, honey, agave nectar, coconut sugar, Splenda, Equal, Nutrasweet, xylitol, stevia, etc. Read your labels, because companies sneak sugar into products in ways you might not recognize.
  • Do not consume alcohol in any form, not even for cooking. (And it should go without saying, but no tobacco products of any sort, either.)
  • Do not eat grains. This includes (but is not limited to) wheat, rye, barley, oats, corn, rice, millet, bulgur, sorghum, amaranth, buckwheat, sprouted grains and all of those gluten-free pseudo-grains like quinoa. This also includes all the ways we add wheat, corn and rice into our foods in the form of bran, germ, starch and so on. Again, read your labels.
  • Do not eat legumes. This includes beans of all kinds (black, red, pinto, navy, white, kidney, lima, fava, etc.), peas, chickpeas, lentils, and peanuts. No peanut butter, either. This also includes all forms of soy – soy sauce, miso, tofu, tempeh, edamame, and all the ways we sneak soy into foods (like lecithin).
  • Do not eat dairy. This includes cow, goat or sheep’s milk products such as cream, cheese (hard or soft), kefir, yogurt (even Greek), and sour cream… with the exception of clarified butter or ghee. (See below for details.)
  • Do not consume carrageenan, MSG or sulfites. If these ingredients appear in any form on the label of your processed food or beverage, it’s out for the Whole30.
  • Do not try to re-create baked goods, junk foods, or treats* with “approved” ingredients. Continuing to eat your old, unhealthy foods made with Whole30 ingredients is totally missing the point, and will tank your results faster than you can say “Paleo Pop-Tarts.” Remember, these are the same foods that got you into health-trouble in the first place—and a pancake is still a pancake, regardless of the ingredients. 
  • - See more at: http://whole30.com/whole30-program-rules/#sthash.WbAwOMbC.dpuf