An Update: Feeling Good

The past few weeks have been a blur with travel and work and social events, but overall I think I've done well sticking to Whole30. Here's a quick rundown of some highlights from the last few weeks:

• I made another batch of mayo--and this is even better than my last (a thicker consistency). Success!
• I've really worked to branch out and expand my horizons with the foods that I'm eating:
• I've learned to love plantain chips (baked or pan fried in coconut oil, yum)
• Made a "mediterranean tuna" with olives, capers, pimentos, and Greek seasoning mix
• Tried out spaghetti squash (I still haven't figured out how to like it)
• Cooked my first ever pork loin roast
• And made coconut "rice" using riced cauliflower. Pictures below.
• I also found the BEST sweet potato baked fries recipe. You microwave the sweet potato first, then let it cool (preferably in the fridge). Then I tossed it in olive oil and seasonings and baked it on foil at 450 for about 10 minutes, flipping it then baking for another 10 minutes or so on the top rack. The texture is the best I've found with sweet potatoes. Here's the original recipe from The Clothes Make The Girl. I've used both "normal" and Japanese sweet potatoes, and both are divine. (I made a dipping sauce using my mayo and sriracha sauce. Yum.)

Chicago was a land of temptation, but I managed to eat mostly within the Whole30. It meant that I had a virgin Bloody Mary after our Ugly Sweater 5K run (oh but it was so good!), and resisted the temptation of a Chicago style hot dog. I'm not confident that some most of the food I ordered out was Whole30 (including that Bloody Mary), but I feel like I stayed true to the spirit. (Minus the 3 chicken wings I ate, which I can't really justify but we needed some food, and I only ate 3, and without any ranch dipping sauce. S'all about balance.) I did have the most divine salad for dinner one night with a Green Goddess Tahini dressing (with olive oil, garlic, and basil) I'm still hoping to replicate.

At any rate, here are some of the neat meals I've been eating--I'm branching out!

African Chicken Stew with Coconut Cauliflower "Rice"

African stew with plantains and mild kimchi

Spicy Roasted Eggplant - so delicious

Shredded Pork Loin Roast with Coconut Mashed Sweet Taters

And here is my new favorite breakfast. I shred a sweet potato then cook it in coconut oil with some BBQ rub seasoning (a little bit of heat that balances so nicely with the sweet flavor from the oil). Then I poach two eggs (sprinkled here with smoked paprika) and lightly pan-fry some prosciutto. After taking the pretty picture, I stir the egg and yolks into the potatoes and eat it with the salty prosciutto. It is heavenly. Even if you're not on Whole30.

The Most Delightful Breakfast

So, all in all, I am feeling great and so happy I committed to this. I'll follow up with some more posts when the 30 days are officially up, and to track my progress with reintroducing foods.

And I'll also try to chronicle the training for my next grand running adventure: a 20-mile trail run on February 1st. It will be an adventure! But that's another post to come...