Day 7: Spectacular Spectacular

June 7, 2016Leave a comment

I’ve made it through the fog. No more headaches. No more feeling drunk when I wake up in the mornings. No more mid-day slump.

Over the weekend, I hit my groove with Whole30 cooking and meal prep. Hallelujah!

Egg muffins and berries for breakfast yesterday and today. The muffins are full of sautéed veggies, and they reheat marvelously.

I’ve had avocado tuna salad with cucumbers the last two days for lunch. The boyfriend has been cleaning up leftovers for lunch. Lemon chicken and veggies and chicken tacos.

But supper last night was amazing.

Pesto chicken with sautéed zucchini and yellow squash.

I made the pesto with walnuts, basil from the garden, tons of garlic and good olive oil. First time to make pesto without Parmesan cheese. And it was still creamy and delicious.

I cooked the chicken and diced the veggies Sunday morning so it made cooking last night a breeze.

Such goodness.

On another note, I’m acquiring a taste for black coffee. I still miss the cream, but it’s much I more bearable now that the fog has lifted.

The boyfriend says his pants are already fitting and feeling much more comfortable. That’s a huge win since it’s one reason we chose to do this.

My skin is looking much better. Less breakouts. More freckles, but that’s from all the sun I’ve been getting.

We will keep plugging along. Eating good, whole foods while being mindful of our cravings. I did almost judo chop a lady for a bag of Cheetos the other day. So…baby steps.

How to Survive a Music Festival on Whole30

June 6, 2016Leave a comment

Well I survived. No booze. No food. Just water and a smoked turkey leg.

Yesterday was busy. I prep and cooked food for several hours. I made mayonnaise from scratch, and then turned it into ranch dip. I made pesto. I cooked taco meat. I sautéed chicken breasts. It was crazy.

I got an hour or so of uninterrupted pool time. And an awesome show at Riverfest.

Let’s recap breakfast and lunch.

Scrambled eggs with mushrooms, broccoli, onion and bell pepper. Coffee had coconut cream in it. Not the same as real cream, but a nice weekend treat.

Lunch was tacos with ground chicken, Whole30 compliant salsa, tomatoes and avocado. The lettuce was out of the garden.

Dinner was music and a turkey leg.

Just smoked turkey to perfection. No spices. No sauces. It was the best we could do since my apple and mixed nuts got confiscated at the entrance.

We had a solid evening of excellent music. Judah and the Lion. X-Ambassadors. The Goo Goo Dolls. It was epic. We even had the opportunity to meet X-Ambassadors and get our picture made. Very cool moment.

So I’ll be spending the day creating an awesome 90s playlist since The Goo Goo Dolls show blew my mind. One of the best shows I’ve seen in a while.

I was sad to see the graveyard of frozen lemonades and half-eaten corn dogs lining the sidewalks on our way out last night. Some people just don’t know a good thing when they have it. The boyfriend was upset we couldn’t drink all the free craft beer we wanted in the VIP tent.

But on the upside, pants are fitting better. So day 5 wasn’t a total bust.

Day 4: Saturday Goodness

June 4, 2016Leave a comment

Today’s been the best day so far on this Whole30 journey. No headache. More energy than the last few days. But that could be because I slept in.

Breakfast was not boiled eggs. Yay!

Scrambled eggs with onions, bell pepper, tomatoes, garlic and fresh basil with a side of pistachios, cashews and an mini orange.

The boyfriend and I are going to a music festival this weekend, so we have to pre-eat and survive the no booze law of Whole30.

So I made this after we lounged in the pool for a little while.

Balsalmic chicken and vegetables.
What you need:

Chicken cutlets
Salt and pepper
Garlic powder
Onion, sliced
Bell pepper, sliced
Garlic, chopped
Zucchini, diced
Yellow squash, diced
Balsalmic vinegar

Sauté the chicken in coconut oil. Season the chicken liberally wit salt, pepper and garlic powder. Cook until golden brown, remove from pan and set aside.

Add sliced onions, sliced bell peppers, chopped garlic, diced zucchini and yellow squash into the pan you cooked the chicken. Sauté until veggies are soft and starting to brown a little bit.

Add the chicken back into the pan of veggies. Pour in some good Balsalmic vinegar and let it cook down to create a sweet sauce.

Plate it up and enjoy.

This is absolutely delicious. I used a Balsalmic vinegar I got at a specialty store in Eureka Springs. Worth every cent.

It’s the closest I’ve gotten to Asian type flavors. And I was thrilled to create something so delightful in the middle of the afternoon.

Currently, the boyfriend is eating cashews with salsa since his beloved chips are not compliant.

Say a prayer for us as we head into the land of music festival junk food and booze city. This will be our biggest test of willpower yet.

I’m packing snacks, but in case I find a cheese booth…..prayers and happy thoughts are appreciated.

Day 3: Redemption Dinner

June 3, 2016Leave a comment

Dinner tonight was heavenly.

Looks like another plate of chicken and veggies, but it’s packed full of flavor.

This isn’t my recipe. I found it on the Whole30 recipes Instagram this afternoon.

I had all the ingredients to make it, and the photo made it look amazing.

And it absolutely is.

What you need:

Chicken cutlets
Coconut oil
Cherry tomatoes, halved
One lemon, sliced
Garlic
1/2 can coconut milk
Broccoli
Orange bell pepper
Fresh basil, chopped

Sauté the chicken in coconut oil until golden brown. Add the lemon slices, garlic and tomatoes. Cook until chicken is cooked completely.

Remove the chicken from the pan. Add the coconut milk to the lemon tomatoe mixture. Toss in the broccoli florets and thinly sliced bell pepper. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cover and cook on medium high until broccoli is fork tender.

Add the chicken back into the pan. Coat with sauce. Top with chopped fresh basil.

I was truly in love with this meal. The roasted sweet potatoes were an added bonus.

The boyfriend got a hunk of lemon thinking it was squash, and I think that made it not so lovely for him.

And that my friends is day 3.

Same breakfast. Last night’s leftovers for lunch. And a kickass Friday dinner all Whole30 approved.

I still have a headache. And I still miss cheese. And I’m gonna try Whole30 compliant coconut cream in my coffee as a Saturday treat.

I’m also going to make my own ranch and barbecue sauce. And make another trip to the grocery store. Believe it or not, we are out of almost everything now.

Day 2: The Hangover

June 2, 2016June 2, 2016Leave a comment

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.