Day 20: A Bit of a Struggle!

We are in our twenties! And I don't know if it's all mental, but today was a difficult day. I think I hit a wall and realized that it is a lot of work cooking, preparing, planing and eating well. It is hard work, it is all worth it, but it is time consuming and sometimes it would be so much easier to order in food - whether it's a pizza, sushi, chicken, steak, vegetables...whatever it is, it would be easier. But I am learning and changing with Whole30 and it's not supposed to be easy. I am supposed to be working towards making the best version of myself and it is not just for 30 days, it is for the rest of my life. So although next week is really busy and I won't be home a lot to cook which means less leftovers for lunches, I need to stay focused, stay in control, stay happy and not go off track!

I didn't go off track today, but it wasn't my best day. And it was the first time in 20 days that I had a thought of "I feel fat." And I am not fat, and 1 day of "bad" eating does not make me feel fat, but I now know how I feel when I am following a strict Whole30 and how I feel when I don't. And trust me, I don't like the feelings I felt yesterday.

Yesterday started early, but I wanted a day off from Bar Method so Ryan and I had breakfast together. We had an egg omelette made with 2 eggs, coconut milk and applegate pork pepperoni, bruschetta, avocado, spinach and tomato and topped with avocado and pecans.

I thought at the time that it was great and delicious but a few hours later I found myself snacking. And I wasn't snacking because I was hungry, I think I was bored...I think I was a bit lost because I woke up early but didn't have a routine or something planned so I was watching TV and fell victim to HALT (hungry, angry, lonely, tired). Ryan was at the office working really hard and I went back to my old mentality, that if he didn't see it, it didn't happen. My snack (3 hours after Meal 1, so maybe I really was hungry) was plantains and almond butter and a frozen N'Oatmeal muffin. It wasn't bad for me, but it felt bad to be snacking. It was 3 hours after Meal 1 so maybe I should have had Meal 2 instead of the snack, but we didn't have dinner plans until 6pm, so I would have probably snacked at 3/4pm anyway. I wasn't focused on work or an activity, so my mind wandered to filling the time with food. And I felt guilty and bad about myself and all around negative the rest of the day. It wasn't fun and I miss not letting food control me, but today, I unfortunately took a step back in forming my new habits.

Meal 2 was the last leftover spaghetti squash pizza and a green salad topped with nuts and 100% cacao nibs and balsamic vinegar. Maybe it wasn't what I really wanted to eat and I just ate it because it was convenient because it was the first time in 20 days that I craved something sweet after the meal to "finish" it. I use to always need chocolate after a meal to feel full and this was the first meal that I felt like I needed more in order for it to be done. So after Meal 2 I had a few dates and figs with more almond butter. And again, I felt sluggish and down and negative and horrible about myself. I don't want food to be the enemy but I can't revert back to my old habits now that Whole30 is winding down. This is the time to take it seriously so I can end Whole30 with new outlooks about food and new habits and routines. Today I went back to my old crutches of sweets to feel full and I don't know why.

Meal 3, we decided to go out to dinner - the first time going out since starting Whole30. I wanted to be out of the house and out of the kitchen. We decided not to go out to eat just for a meal, but to make it fun, make it an experience and make it something to get my mind off of the negative aspects of the day. We went to Gyu-Kaku in the East Village which is Japanese BBQ. The menu is raw meats and vegetables that you cook at your table at your own grill! My concern was that all of the marinades were soy based because it is Japanese cuisine, so I called ahead to the restaurant and told them that I had an allergy to soy - they told me all of the food can be ordered with just salt and pepper!

Ryan and I loved dinner! It was fun, it was unique and the food was delicious. Ryan ordered beef with a miso marinade and chicken with pesto and corn. I ordered NY Strip Steak with salt/pepper, Duck with salt/pepper and Salmon. I only realized after I ate it that the salmon had butter (not whole30 approved because it is dairy) but it was only a little amount since the salmon steams on the grill. I tried to keep my food separate from Ryan's on the grill since I didn't want cross-contamination of the soy on my food and I think I did a good job - but this is real life and yes I may not eat it, but people around me do and I can't stop Ryan from having his meat marinated in soy and I didn't want to ruin dinner by yelling at him to keep his food on his side of the grill. We also weren't going to have separate grills. This is life. So yes, I may have had a little dairy and may have had some cross-contamination but all-in-all I think it was a really successful dinner out. Sashimi was the safe bet eating out but this was more fun. And the more I feel comfortable with my new eating habits, the more comfortable I feel requesting specific cooking instructions at restaurants and asking about ingredients in their food.

 

We came home and I didn't need dessert which was good and I was full and satisfied so even though it was a difficult day for me, I think I came out of the day recognizing my struggles and being able to recognize them so they don't happen again!

It was an incredibly beautiful spring day in NYC so I think with the warmer weather coming, my emotions will be lifted and I will be happier and more excited about life. And summer seems easier with cooking because it's a lot of fresh meats and vegetables and not heavy sauces and dips!

Day 19!

I feel like a teenager waiting for their big birthday to arrive - it's my last day as a "teen" and I am fully embracing turning 20 tomorrow...on Whole30 that is! It feels like forever ago that I was meal prepping the vegetable soup fearing I wouldn't have anything to eat the next 30 days. But now I can't imagine not having done Whole30. No sugar cravings, no sugar crashes, my energy is constant, my sleep is deeper and more regular, my skin has cleared, my clothes fit better and I feel motivated and determined in all aspects of my life.

With that said though, this week has been pretty crazy and I have not meal planned for next week - this is extremely not like me as I usually am scribbling recipes and meals the entire week before. But this week I was extremely busy with work and I decided to enjoy the week I was in with the food I was eating rather than jumping ahead. Today I am feeling a little set back though as I don't know what I am cooking this weekend or next week or what groceries to buy, but that is normal and that is what Whole30 has been for me - finding a new normal!

Last night's spin class with Pablo was really intense. The room was hot, everyone was sweating, we were breathing hard and Pablo just kept pushing us farther and higher and deeper than we thought we could go! I left feeling strong but tired and couldn't wait to get home and curl up on the couch with Ryan and watch True Detective.

Pre-workout meal was a hard boiled egg and a turkey blueberry muffin (don't worry I only have 2 left, but these lasted so long and were so great to have on hand). Post workout was a Blueberry Rx Bar which I ate so quickly on my bus ride home. And dinner was leftover Spaghetti Squash Pizza, the last remaining cashew cheese stuffed mushroom and some grape tomatoes and dates for added sweetness. I was really full after eating this which surprised me because after spinning I usually can't get enough food quick enough and that's when I start binging on cereal and cookies. I feel so much better than that I have controlled and regulated my eating habits and feel fuller longer as well as satisfied.

This mornings Bar Method class was tough because I was so sore from spin but it felt really good to stretch my muscles after such an intense ride. Pre workout I had my n'oatmeal frozen muffin and post workout I had a Pecan Pie LaraBar. Meal #1 is spaghetti squash pizza because I cannot get enough of it with some Trader Joe's Zesty Naco Kale Chips for some crunch as well as something green on my plate.

Meal 2 today is a walnut and vegetable salad that I bought because I was too tired to throw one together when I got home at 8pm last night. The salad was mixed greens with broccoli, asparagus, tomatoes, scallions, mushrooms, peppers, hard boiled egg, walnuts and grilled chicken with a balsamic vinegar dressing. I had a couple of plantain chips on the side but the salad was so filling that I didn't even need them!

Meal 3 was a delicious swordfish, it's Ryan's favorite, and his other favorite - brussel sprouts with bacon. We made dinner as soon as I got home from work which is a habit we have begun to break since starting Whole30, but we wanted to watch the last 2 episodes of True Detective and they are very long so we need all of the time we could get!

Ryan made dinner and I just helped prep! I love when he cooks because it is not as stressful as it used to be when I was weighing and measuring every ingredients. We made Seared Swordfish with Lemon Cashew Crust. It was so easy to make the crust with some cashews, lemon zest and basil and then we baked the swordfish for 15 minutes. The brussel sprouts were easy too, baked them for 40 minutes! We used coconut oil and balsamic vinegar as the marinade this time to change the flavors a bit from the usual ghee. They're always delicious and I love that we found a new love for a new food. The swordfish was my favorite way that we have ever made it. It is a steak and sometimes I treat it too much like a delicate filet of fish, which it's not. Baking it helped all of the flavors and juices come together and I didn't over or under cook it at all!

 

I hope everyone had a great day despite the rain and cloudy skies today!

XO

Day 18! ZOODLES!

Zoodles - it's so much fun to say and so much fun to make!

Yesterday I used to my new spiralizer to make zucchini noodles. This contraption is incredible and I can't wait to use it to make sweet potato curly fries!

Day 17, Meal 3 was The Clothes Make the Girl (Well Fed) Paleo Pad Thai with Paleo Sunshine Sauce. Last week I had made my own pad thai using almond butter but I decided to follow a recipe to make an almond sauce. The result was a delicious, creamy nutty sauce and I got to use my new coconut aminos (in place of soy sauce). The original recipe uses spaghetti squash for the noodles but zoodles were just as delicious! I followed the recipe to make 2 servings so I was able to have leftovers for lunch today (Day 18, Meal 2). I didn't have a lot of vegetables so I improvised a lot: I used leftover pork chop and added cashews and warm figs to the dish. I can't wait to make this again and continue to improvise with the ingredients. The sauce was definitely a keeper!

Paleo Pad Thai
Serves: 2

5-6 Zucchini
2 eggs
2 tsp coconut aminos
2 tsp + 1 tsp coconut oil
1/2 medium onion, sliced thin
8 oz. meat of choice
Sunshine Sauce

1. Use a spiralizer to create zucchini noodles. Set aside

  

2. Crack the eggs into a small bowl and scramble them along with the coconut aminos.

3. Heat a skillet over medium heat and add 2 tsp coconut oil. Once hot, add the egg mixture to the pan and cover. Let it cook for 4 minutes until browned, flip and cook 3 more minutes.

4. Remove eggs from pan and cut into strips. Set aside.

5.  Increase heat (using same pan) to medium-high and add 1 tsp coconut oil. Sautee onions for 2 minutes. Add zoodles, meat and egg strips. Cook for 3 minutes.

 

6. Add sunshine sauce to the pan and mix everything until well combined and heated.

Serve and enjoy! (top with nuts, scallions, lime juice, figs, etc.)

Sunshine Sauce
2 tbsp lime juice
1 clove garlic
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tbsp coconut aminos
1/4 tsp powdered ginger
1/2 tsp rice vinegar
1/4 cup almond butter
1/4 cup coconut milk

1. Place all of the ingredients in a food processor (except coconut milk) and blend.

2. Add coconut milk and process until smooth and creamy!

 

 There is an amazing looking recipe on skinnytaste for Zoodles with Lemon-Garlic Spicy Shrimp that I would love to make next. It looks so fresh and delicious!

Day 18, Meal 1 was a really filling omelette. I had breakfast at home with Ryan today and made us matching Bruscetta, Turkey, Avocado, Vegetable Omelettes. The omelette was made with 2 eggs and 1 tbsp coconut milk, salt, pepper and cinnamon (for added sweetness. I let the eggs settle in the hot pan and then added spinach, grape tomatoes, oven roasted turkey breast and let it cook. When all of the liquid settled, I added 2 tbsp of Trader Joe's Bruscetta and sliced avocados and turned half of the omelette over. I let it cook a little longer and then served it with more avocado slices on top and some pecan pieces. I had a side of plantain chips and a blueberry turkey muffin.

 

 

Meal 2 was left over zoodle pad thai and broccoli cooked with amino acids!

I am spinning tonight at Pablo Fitness so I have a hard boiled egg for my pre workout meal and an Rx Bar for post-workout on my commute home. I am going to have leftover spaghetti squash pizza for Meal 3 and maybe even Meal 1 or 2 tomorrow.

Things are so busy at work lately but I have a lot of energy and am no longer suffering from the 3pm crash or sugar cravings. I am so happy and so proud!

XO

Day 17!

I can't believe it's Day 17 already. Who knew 30 days could go by so fast!

Today began early with Bar Method and it felt good to give my body a rest yesterday after doing Level 2 on Sunday and basically a Level 2 Monday with Brittany's double seat work! And now that I'm eating well, I don't feel so horrible on days when I don't work out. I used to feel crappy, sluggish, slow, bloated and out of control with my eating if I didn't work out one day but now my body is feels so much better and exercise is an added benefit to my nutrition rather than dictating it!

I had my frozen Lara Bit (N'oatmeal Muffin) pre-workout and a Lara Bar (Coconut Cream Pie - YUM) post-workout. I don't like to have the bars often because they are a treat but I used the turkey blueberry muffins as today's protein in my salad for lunch so I needed something else. Meal 1 was leftover spaghetti squash pizza and 2 stuffed mushrooms!

And Meal 2 was a huge salad with kale, spinach, cabbage, tomatoes, cucumber, pomegranate seeds, mango and avocado salsa, hard boiled egg and 2 turkey blueberry muffins.

I ordered and received my vegetable spiralizer yesterday so today I want to try to make zoodles! And I have leftover pesto and 1 more pork chop so it should be a simple meal to prep!

I hope everyone is having a great day!

XO

Day 16 - Meal 3

Dinner was perfect! I made the spaghetti squash pizza and I am so glad I did! It was such a different and unique way to use the ingredients instead of as pasta and a bolognese sauce.

I bought the spaghetti squash on my way home from the office and was able to microwave it instead of baking it in the oven to save time. In order to prep it in the microwave, I cut the squash in half and put it face down in a baking dish. I added an inch of water so that the squash would steam and microwaved it for 10 minutes. After it was done, I used a fork and scraped out the spaghetti strands! This saved so much time rather than baking it for 40 minutes before even assembling the dish!
 

The rest of the dish was very simple to put together. While the spaghetti squash was cooking, I added my ground sirloin and onions to a pan over medium heat and cooked it until the meat was cooked through. I then added pizza sauce (no sugar!) and mixed it all together.

When the spaghetti strands were scraped into a baking dish (I used 9x13) I added the meat/sauce mixture and stirred to combine. Then I added 3 egg (beaten) and mixed everything together well until the eggs were completely combined.

 

This baked at 350 degrees for 1 hour! I cut it into 6 servings and ate 1 for dinner and had another for breakfast (Day 17)! So many leftovers and I am so happy. This will make a great hash for breakfast another day but it was a great alternative to my vegetable omelette on Bar Method days!

While the pizza baked I was trying to think of a side dish. I had baby mushrooms and some leftover cashew cheese that I wanted to use up but I didn't want another salad. Instead, I made cashew cheese stuffed mushrooms! Best decision I ever made. It was a kitchen sink combination - cashew cheese, spinach, mushroom stems and bruschetta from Trader Joe's. I combined all of the ingredients and mixed well and then added the mixture to the mushroom caps. I baked these with the pizza at 350 degrees for 25 minutes! These were so simple, so delicious and can be made with any ingredients and vegetables (and bacon) and the cashew cheese added great flavor! I didn't miss the parmesan or mozzarella that usual stuffed mushroom recipes call for!

The rest of the evening was nice - Ryan and I watched Cosmos and True Detective. Because my dinner took so long to cook, I ate at 7:30pm and was so full through the night. I love that feeling and it was something I never felt before Whole30. I was always hungry a couple of hours after dinner - well not really hungry, but craving sugar and something sweet. Now I don't and it's so freeing!

Day 16

Good Morning and welcome to Day 16 on Whole30 -- the beginning of the downhill journey. I know I still have 14 days left, but I really don't want it to end. I have never felt so good, so happy, so energized, so fresh, so excited...and I am almost afraid of Day 31. I really think after Whole30 I will continue and do another Whole30, or at least keep with the lessons I have learned and continue to eliminate certain foods from my diet. Eliminating dairy, grains and sugar has not been as hard as I thought I am feel incredible. Where I used to feel sluggish and tired and bloated, I no longer do and I know it is because of my food choices the past 15 days. I know that by eating protein and fat and eating 3 large meals a day and not snacking that I have changed my taste buds, my habits and my body in a good way. My blood sugar is regulated, my body is using fat for fuel instead of sugar and all aspects of my life are benefiting! That's not to say I will never have a paleo brownie or cupcake, but not on a regular basis and certainly not everyday. I am definitely going to stay with a paleo lifestyle after Whole30 and keep grains out of my diet and dairy because I know those things negatively effect me and my body and mind! Sugar will be on special occasions - like a Saturday evening at home baking with Ryan, or an event where I can bring something sweet so I know I can have something while everyone is having sugar laden and carb heavy treats. I don't want to deprive myself, I just want to control when and how I "treat" myself. I want to get rid of seeing food as a reward and more as a decision that I am conscious of making!

The first day downhill started with a morning at home with Ryan! I really wanted to go to Bar Method but sometimes an extra hour of sleep is more important than an hour working out. Breakfast for Ryan was a bowl of gluten free cereal and a simple scrambled eggs!

I used the remaining leftover chocolate chili from Saturday night and made chili with fried eggs (runny) and some slivered almonds, shredded unsweetened coconut, pistachios and goji berries. It was delicious - so warm, so filling and was a great alternative to a vegetable omellete. I really love the chili and next time I need to make a larger batch to freeze!

Lunch today is a large vegetable salad with leftover pork chop and mango salsa!

For dinner I really want to make spaghetti squash "pizza" from OMGPaleo but it takes a lot of time to cook because the spaghetti squash takes 40 minutes and then the pie takes 1 hour of additional cooking time. But it is going to be great for morning breakfast instead of omelettes on Bar Method mornings the rest of this week so I really want to do it. Ryan said if he gets home early enough he could buy the spaghetti squash and prep it for me to save time! Fingers crossed!

Have a great day everyone!

XO

Day 15: Getting Over The Hump of Whole30

Last night Ryan really wanted to make homemade pizza - which means making a gluten free crust rather than buying premade crusts. He was really excited and motivated and I supported him completely, as much as I could when it's Day 15 and pizza sounds incredible! He found a recipe and even though it seemed a bit complicated, he was focused and determined to make the pizza! He bought pizza sauce, pancetta, sausage and cheese and basil. Ryan prepped the pizza dough before I came home since it had to pre-bake for 30 minutes before adding toppings and cooking for an additional 30 minutes. His meat lovers pizza looked absolutely delicious and I am so proud that he realized how easy and fun it is to cook, even if it seems more convenient (easier and quicker) to buy! When you cook, you know the ingredients in your food - there's no hidden ingredients for coloring or freshness - everything in the food is consciously added! And it tasted better because you worked hard for that meal! I am so happy and after Whole30 I hope Ryan will make an almond flour pizza crust for us one night!

Ryan's Meat Lover's Pizza on a Gluten Free Crust!

My dinner was a delicious pan-seared porkchop with homemade pesto and a mango and avocado salad. It was light and fresh and extremely filling. I had never made pesto before and didn't realize just how simple it was. All of the pesto jars in the store had added sugar, soy, and other ingredients that do not belong in pesto.

My simple pesto recipe was:
1/2 cup olive oil
2 cups fresh basil
1/3 cups of walnuts (or pine nuts)
2 gloves garlic
 *Use a food processor to combine all of the ingredients!

The pork chop was cooked on the stove and seared for 4-5 minutes on each side in ghee. And the mango salad was nomnompaleo's recipe that I made with the salmon on Day 0! Dinner was great and I was so proud for not being tempted by Ryan's cheesy pizza which he was so proud of. I wanted to have a bite just to tell him how good it was to make him feel great, but I know it would have made me feel terrible and compromised Whole30 so it was not worth it! He knows how proud I am of him and we support each other all the time in our food endeavors!