Whole30 Day 2 - Thank Goodness for Leftovers

One of my friends who recently finished the challenge sent me a link to The Whole30 Timeline to give me a heads up as to how I might expect to feel at various stages of the program. So far, I haven't had much of the "Hangover" phase. I think it helps that I already cut out Cherry Coke Zero over a week ago and I haven't been eating much gluten or desserts lately. I'm still sad about giving up soda. But after drinking one or two Cherry Coke Zeros everyday, I figured that I should try and cut the habit. Especially since it hasn't been on sale recently, and I really dislike paying full price for soda. 

Today was all about leftovers. It was nice to know that I had a fridge full of food that was on the program, delicious, and would be ready to eat in minutes. 

For breakfast I had the same as yesterday. Sweet Potato Hash Browns, two eggs, hot sauce and guac. Just as delicious as yesterday and even better since all I had to do was heat the hash browns and cook the eggs.

For lunch I had leftover Whole30 Meatloaf, Mashed Sweet Potatoes, and Sauteed Green Beans. It turns out the meatloaf is delicious with guacamole on top. We had bought a pack of Wholly Guacamole recently at Costco, so I'm eating that until it's gone and then I'll probably switch to diced avocados. 

Late afternoon I got a little hungry, but not nearly as bad as yesterday. So I had a couple garlic and jalapeno stuffed olives and some black tea with coconut milk. Definitely sustained me until dinner.

For dinner it was the same as lunch. The whole family had leftover Whole30 Meatloaf, Mashed Sweet Potatoes, and Sauteed Green Beans. So good. But Tommy wouldn't eat the sweet potatoes. Even though he LOVES sweet potatoes, he doesn't like them mashed with other stuff. So the fact that there is cauliflower in it makes it pretty much inedible to him. Oh well.

Since I had eaten the rest of the hash browns, I decided to make Onion Sweet Potatoes and Carrots last night so I could just reheat them in the morning and have them with some eggs. Plus Tommy loves roasted sweet potatoes and carrots, so I knew he'd be happy to have that with lunch. 

Onion Sweet Potatoes and Carrots

1 sweet potato, peeled and diced
6 carrots, peeled and sliced
2 Tbsp oil
1 Tbsp dried minced onions
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 425°F.
2. Toss all ingredients together in a 9 x 13 baking dish.
3. Bake for 30-40 minutes, stirring halfway through.

Whole30 Day 1 - Excitement

So yesterday was my first day of the Whole30. I have a lot of excitement about starting the program. I know it will take a while to see results, but I'm looking forward to the journey. It's a nice break from our regular routine. Whole30 does allow nuts. I'll see how it goes, and I may end up adding some nuts in my diet. If I can get enough good fats through other means, I'm going to try and continue to avoid nuts since Tommy is allergic. He is allergic to eggs too, but so far it hasn't been a problem if we cook some for ourselves as long as Tommy doesn't eat it. I'm also likely not going to use ghee. Even though some dairy allergy people can consume ghee since the vast majority of milk proteins are filtered out, it's not a risk I'm willing to take. Plus I'd rather just use a different kind of cooking fat like coconut oil that fits in the program and Tommy's diet. 

Our pantry was already stocked with a lot of Whole30 compliant ingredients. Like canned coconut milk, avocado oil, coconut oil, coconut flour, meats, fruits, veggies, etc. We already had Aidells Chicken & Apple Sausages from Costco. They're only sweetened with fruit juices, so they fit in the program.  And Wholly Guacamole. So it was a little easier for me to start even though I had only decided the night before. It's not a completely out of the blue decision. I have been thinking about doing Whole30 for a while. I just kept making excuses about why I wanted to wait before starting. I'm glad I finally got over my fear and decided to jump in. 

For breakfast I made Sweet Potato Hash Browns (see below), two eggs and a dollop of guacamole. And Frank's hot sauce! I'm so glad that's on the program. Breakfast was delicious and very filling. The hash browns were a little spicier than I intended. I think next time I'll cut down the paprika a bit. Or try a different seasoning. Plus the hash browns made enough for two breakfasts, so that makes the extra effort required to peel and shred the veggies worth it. I had some of the cream from a can of coconut milk in my coffee. It's not French Vanilla Creamer by any means, but it was better than I thought it would be. For me I like that a lot better than black coffee.

For lunch I cooked up some of those chicken and apple sausages with half of a red bell pepper. I ate the sausage on top of an arugula and pear salad, and used reduced balsamic vinegar as the dressing. I also had a few olives with it. Lunch tasted good and filled me up initially, but I was hungry again two hours later. Looking back I realized that lunch didn't have enough good fats. Good to know.

For dinner we had Meatloaf, Mashed Sweet Potatoes and Sauteed Green Beans. It was sooooo good. And it made a ton, so we have a lot of leftovers. This meatloaf is seriously delicious. And Tommy loves it too. Win win. I went to the gym after dinner, so dinner was my pre-workout meal and then I had a little more meatloaf with some guac for a post workout meal. I went to bed feeling good and full.

Sweet Potato Hash Browns

Makes 2 Servings

1 large sweet potato, peeled
1 small onion
2 Tbsp avocado oil
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp salt

1. Shred the sweet potatoes and onion on the large hole side of a box grater, or in a food processor.
2. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook the veggies until browned. 

Whole30 Meatloaf, Mashed Sweet Potatoes and Sauteed Green Beans

Yesterday was my first day of the Whole30. I was already planning on making meatloaf, mashed potatoes and green bean casserole for dinner, so it only took a little modifying to make it Whole30 compliant. This dinner was delicious. And the best part was I made a lot of it, so we'll be having it tonight too. 

My Sweetener Free Meatloaf fits with the program as is. I'm not getting bent out of shape about only eating grass-fed organic meats. I'm being realistic and using the meats we already have. This time I doubled the recipe so we could have enough for another dinner. I doubled all of the spices, ketchup, etc and used 2 lb ground pork, 1.25 lb ground bison, and 1.25 lb ground turkey. I mixed everything together in a big bowl and split them into two loaves. It turned out delicious! Way better than when I've tried to use just pork and turkey in the past. This picture also highlights the importance of lining the pan with foil. Just toss the foil when you're done and cleanup is super easy. Much less frustrating that scrubbing the pan.

My Gluten and Dairy Free Green Bean Casserole is pretty close to Whole30 compliant. I could have easily modified that recipe to change how I fried the onions and left out the sherry. But that didn't seem to be in the spirit of the challenge. Whole30 has a phrase, Sex With Your Pants On. It refers to when you change something to fit in the program that imitates some unhealthy habit you have, and you just end up feeling unsatisfied and still crave the original. So I decided to do sauteed green beans and mushrooms. They tasted great and were a lot healthier and easier than making green bean casserole. 

Sauteed Green Beans

2 cans green beans, rinsed and drained
4 oz cremini mushrooms, sliced
1 Tbsp avocado oil
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp dried thyme

1. Heat oil in a medium skillet.
2. Add the mushrooms, garlic and seasonings. Cook until the mushrooms have released their liquid.
3. Add the green beans and cook until the mushrooms are browned.

Mashed Sweet Potatoes

3 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 lb frozen cauliflower
2 Tbsp coconut oil
1 Tbsp coconut cream from a can of coconut milk
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder

1. Combine the sweet potatoes, cauliflower and water to cover in a large pot. Bring to a boil.
2. Boil until the veggies are soft. Drain and return to the pot.
3. Mash the veggies with the remaining ingredients. 

Climbing Out of a Rut, One Meal at a Time

Last night I came to the realization that I'm in a rut. I haven't been sleeping well lately. I know that for me, if I don't get a lot of sleep every night, it has a domino effect on the rest of my life. I have much less patience, and then that lack of patience leads to a snappy attitude, and an unhappy household. Also, I joined a gym two months ago, and even though I've been going several times a week, I have yet to lose any weight. So it's time to look at my diet. 

Usually after someone gets over the initial shock of what Tommy can't eat, they tend to follow that up with, "Oh, if I ate like that I'd be so skinny." Well, it doesn't really work like that. We eat well in this house, and there are so many great foods that Tommy CAN eat. Plus, the gluten free grains are pretty similar in calories to wheat, and some like coconut flour have much more! 

So last night, when I came to the realization that I'm in a rut, I decided that today I would start the Whole30. It's 30 days of no alcohol, no sugar, no grains (even gluten free pseudo grains like quinoa), no sweetener of any kind, no legumes (except green beans and sugar snack peas), no dairy, no white potatoes, no MSG, added sulfites or carrageenan, and no paleo-fying baked goods. So no almond or coconut flour cookies, muffins, etc. 

I have a few friends that have done The Whole30 Challenge and LOVED it. They said they slept well, felt great (after the initial sugar detox), and also lost weight. One of the nice parts about this challenge is you are just supposed to weigh yourself at the beginning and end and not in the middle at all. It's all about rediscovering your relationship with food and how it makes you feel.

Ben and Tommy are not doing the challenge, just me. But I will try and still make a family dinner. It's not too far off from what Tommy eats now. I'll still make some gluten free baked goods for them, but I won't be enjoying them doing the next 30 days. I'm looking forward to the challenge and using it as a stepping stone to a healthier lifestyle.

Meal Planning - Week of March 3 and Last Week in Review - UPDATED

Update: After I originally posted this and did the grocery shopping, I decided to start the Whole30 Challenge yesterday. So I've made some updates to our original meal plan. For instance, I'm not making falafels anymore since the main ingredient is garbanzo beans. Instead tonight we're having leftover meatloaf.

Well, after our first week of meal planning, I've definitely learned a few things. I need more rest days. This last week I got pretty tired of cooking and cleaning by the end. The goal for this week is to make more double meals so we have plenty for a second dinner without any more cooking. It was easier than I thought to only go to the grocery store once a week. I don't think I forgot to buy anything, and since we had leftovers one extra day, we actually have all the food for dinner tonight too.  I'm hoping this trend will continue. I think it will definitely help decrease our food spending.

Wednesday is the beginning of Lent. During Lent, I'm going to try and make a vegetarian entree for dinner on Thursdays so that Ben can have a meatless lunch and some sort of seafood for dinner on Fridays. 

Here's the plan for this week:

Monday - Roasted Carrot and Bacon Soup

Tuesday - Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, and Gluten and Dairy Free Green Bean Casserole Pizza

Wednesday - Leftovers  Whole30 Meatloaf, Mashed Sweet Potatoes and Sauteed Green Beans

Thursday - Falafels Leftovers

Friday - Coconut Shrimp

Saturday - Leftovers Carnitas Taco Salads

Sunday - Eat Out Leftovers

Cilantro Overload - In a Good Way

Today Ben and I had an excellent day skiing while my dad watched Tommy. We had powder all day and skied until our muscles were sore. We got home and were happy and tired. I really didn't want to cook dinner tonight. Ben and I had agreed on just making a frozen pizza for dinner, but then I realized that I didn't have anything for Tommy to eat for dinner. If I had to make something for Tommy, I might as well cook the dinner I had previously planned on making.

I made Brittany Angell's Cilantro and Lime Sweet Potatoes Hasselback Style and  Melissa d'Arabian's Shrimp with Cilantro Pesto. I followed the directions for the potatoes except I used minced garlic instead of sliced since that's what we had. The oil mixture smelled delicious, but it didn't really stand up to the sweet potatoes. I think next time I'll dice the potatoes and roast with the oil and garlic and just add the cilantro and lime for the last few minutes of cooking. 

We've made this shrimp several times before, but never for Tommy. Since the original cilantro pesto calls for pecans, I had to make a couple changes. Instead of the nuts, I tried using a stalk of celery. The pesto was really runny and too sour. So I added another teaspoon of sugar and one of the sorghum flour tortillas from our Carnitas Tacos night. That made a huge difference. This pesto has a lot of cilantro in it, but the flavors all work really well together. Ben's not really a fan of cilantro but he loves this shrimp recipe. 

Tommy put the shrimp in his mouth a couple times, but wouldn't actually eat it. Oh well, at least he didn't have an allergic reaction. I'll call that a positive first trial. I think next week I'll try making baked coconut shrimp and maybe he'll eat one of those. 

Pork and Tofu Pillows

Friday I made Martin Yan's (of Yan Can Cook) Pork and Tofu Pillows. They are basically like pork and tofu meatballs, except a lot softer in texture and they're cooked in a delicious sauce. Pretty easy to make and a nice change from regular stir fry.

I served that with his Simply Gai Lan from his cookbook Quick & Easy by Martin Yan. That recipe is Chinese broccoli (although I just used regular broccoli) blanched and then sauteed with some sherry, ginger and soy sauce. The flavor was good, but it was pretty much overpowered by the Pork and Tofu Pillows sauce. 

Ben and I liked the dinner a lot, but Tommy didn't really care for it. Oh well, he tried a bite. The next day I took the leftover rice, broccoli and sauce and made it into fried rice for Ben and I with the pork and tofu pillows on top. That was almost better than the original dinner. But since rice was a major part, Tommy didn't get to try that version.