Category: Boyfriend

Day 2: The Hangover

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It’s the close of day 2. All the food is prep except for the eggs, which are currently in a pot on the stove not boiling. 

I’m tired. I’m cranky. My head hurts. My body aches. This is sugar leaving my body. I believe they call this withdrawals. 

I thought about cheese a lot today. Like more than any one human should. Many cheese filled thoughts. 

But no cheese was had. 


Breakfast was the same as yesterday. 


I had an avocado tuna salad with sliced cucumbers and orange bell pepper. It was delighful. 

All you need to do is mash up an avocado, stir in the flaky tuna, add lots of pepper and salt, and I chopped up some cherry tomatoes for added flavor. 

The boyfriend had leftovers from last night’s dinner. 


Supper tonight was a Whole30 take on taco salad. 

I cut tons of lettuce out of the garden so I knew we had to use it. I browned the hamburger meat with two shallots and some diced yellow bell pepper. I added a can of Rotel to the pan, and I stirred in my taco spices. Cumin. Chili powder. Red pepper flakes. Salt. Pepper. Garlic powder. 

I didn’t measure anything so my just-eyeballin’-it taco seasoning was outrageously hot. But delicious. 

I topped my homegrown lettuce with the taco meat, tomatoes, avocado and Whole30 compliant salsa. 

All that was missing was mounds of cheese. 

Did I say I missed cheese? 

My least favorite part of all this is getting everything ready the night before. I’ve spent three nights in the kitchen cooking and prepping and cleaning and bagging and labeling. I just want to watch some mindless TV and eat a cupcake. 

A cheesy cupcake.

But I digress. 

Whole30 Day 1

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I woke up exhausted. I stayed up late preparing food and making sure everything was ready to go. 

I wrote notes so the boyfriend would remember to get the lunchbox I prepared for him and take it to work. 

I left for work with my cup of black coffee, and I was determined we would both have a good day. 


Breakfast: Two hard boiled eggs and a mix of raspberries, blueberries and blackberries. Plus another cup of black coffee. 


Lunch: Salad loaded with veggies and sautéed chicken and a banana. 


Dinner: Grilled salmon with a lemon dill sauce with roasted broccoli and sweet potatoes. 

Snacks: Sugar snap peas, cashews and pistachios. 

My day was pretty normal. I did notice I craved something sweet right after I finished lunch. So the banana was a must. 

Black coffee hasn’t killed me yet. 

And the lemon dill sauce I made for the salmon was amazing. 

While I’m excited about the challenge of cooking for Whole30, I’m nervous I won’t be able to make food as good as I could before. Let me be clear. I’m basically just sad I can’t put cheese in everything. 

Tomorrow the boyfriend and I are having different lunches. I decided to experiment on myself, instead of him. He did get a mid-morning headache from not drinking a coke. 

So the sugar detox is on the horizon. 

The thing I was most surprised about Day One was the curiosity of people. So much support and pep talks. 

Every day we are on step closer to my food philosophy. Let’s continue to talk and share and build a community around food. 

How It Begins

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June 1. Day 1. 

It’s 10:47 p.m. and I’ve just finished prepping breakfast and lunch for tomorrow. 

The boyfriend and I are starting the Whole30. It’s time for a food check-up, and this is one way I feel like we can both reset our bodies. 

I’m not a fan of fad diets, or diets at all. But sometimes it’s necessary to simplify. We’ve both been slim our whole lives, but our late-twenties and early-thirties metabolisms are making our pants a little tighter and brains a little foggier. 


I went to the store tonight with the Whole30 book, and I got all the stuff to get us started. 

There’s a very real possibility we both will be starving by the end of the day. But after a couple of days, I think I’ll get this meal prep down. 

I just have to get us to the weekend where I can really think about food. 

But I have to go to bed so I will get up to drink my creamless coffee. And I have to leave a note on the door for the boyfriend so he doesn’t leave his breakfast and lunch at home. Otherwise, his first day of Whole30 could be harder than it has to be. 

Follow along day-by-day to see how I navigate the Whole30. 

Here’s to a happier and healthier 30 days of June. And that beach body of my dreams. 

Weeknight Salad

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“What did you have for supper last night?”

“I had a salad.”

“Man, you must be starving.”

“Not if you do it right.”


This salad is huge. It fills the entire plate with mounds of delicious goodness. 

When I make a salad, which is often, they usually look something like this. Minus the eggs. And on a much smaller scale. 

So I thought I’d share my favorite salad fixings. You know, so you can recreate it at your house. 

What you need: 

  • Your favorite lettuce blend
  • One orange bell pepper, diced
  • One cucumber, diced 
  • Cherry tomatoes, halved 
  • Avocado, diced 
  • Your favorite shredded cheese 
  • 4 boiled eggs 
  • Your favorite salad dressing 

This makes enough for two huge salads. 

I whipped this up after the boyfriend and I went for a run. Today is my 5th running anniversary so I had to go for a run. I haven’t been logging as many miles as I use to, but it felt good to get out there for a quick run. 

Neither of us wanted anything heavy after the run, so this salad was the perfect fit. 

Light and fresh. A delightful supper to start my fifth year running. 

What do you put in your go-to salad? 

When the Boyfriend Cooks 

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I have the best Boyfriend. He’s pretty cool. Some nights when I don’t feel like cooking or I’ve had a stressful day, he handles dinner. 

I typically do most of the cooking. The Boyfriend usually helps me grill stuff. But I’m the one who usually prepares everything. 

Last night, he totally came through for me. I had worked late, drove my hour commute home, fed the dogs and poured a glass of wine when he told me he was taking care of dinner. 

I would usually help him prep stuff. But last night, I didn’t have it in me. All my leftover energy went to lifting the win glass to my mouth and back down. 

“What are we having?” I asked. 

He smiled and said, “I’ll take care of it. Don’t worry.” 

I mean really. He is the holy grail of men. 


He puts this plate in front of me 45 minutes later. 

Grilled Barbecue Pork Chops with a side salad. 

I’d give you the recipe, but I have no idea what he put on the chops besides homemade barbecue sauce. He cut up the tomatoes and cucumber and lettuce for the salad. He thought of everything, even the knife, fork and napkin. 

As much as I enjoy cooking and creating delicious food for other people, I felt so special to have him prepare a meal for me. 

It’s simple, sweet gestures like making dinner when I’d rather not that make him the ultimate. 

Who made you a meal that made you feel “taken care of?” What did they make for you?