Just a quick update: still going strong on Whole 30 and feeling good!
I made some awesome recipes this past weekend and highly recommend them:
Ginger Zucchini Soup: Updated recipe in her latest cookbook calls for 1 tsp ginger, 1 tsp ground coriander, and 2 cups of chicken broth with 2 cups of beef broth. Additional note: I LOVE my immersion blender.
Chocolate Chili: I made this with 1 lb of ground beef and left all else the same. Delicious!
Spicy Sausage, Kale & Potato Soup: To make this Whole 30, I do the following: use coconut oil, sub in Japanese sweet potato (white flesh) for white potato, use ghee for butter, and stir in coconut milk at end (for cream).
All in all, I'm feeling great and--at this point--I'm planning to keep going with Whole 30 into February. Why not?
My only two complaints are that my heart palpitations are persistent (and strong), and though I sleep the first part of the night completely passed out, dead to the world, sometime starting after 1:30 I'll wake up repeatedly. Of course, part of that is likely that I've been really focusing on getting to work at 9am (and succeeding!!) so I'm always anticipating my alarm going off.
But the best shift for me has been that I no longer wake up feeling like I got hit by a bus, which was a frequent feeling I had pre-Whole 30.
So feeling good, keeping at it!
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
Friday, January 9, 2015
Day 8: Feelin' Great
Just a quick update on this month's Whole 30. I'll share the good, the bad & the ugly in reverse order.
The ugly: I came down with a nasty 24-hour stomach bug (or food poisoning?) this week. It was... awful. Unfortunately, without going into detail, it ruined my ability to eat certain foods I'd been greatly enjoying so far this month.
The bad: This is more entertaining than bad, but I've started having carb dreams, which is a known side effect of Whole 30. After I was sick, I dreamed about bagels. Last night, I dreamed about gorging on Ritz cheddar cracker sandwiches, which I haven't eaten in YEARS! I woke up feeling so bummed that I'd broken plan for something so mundane. It's amazing how your body reacts when you drop the sugar and processed foods!!
The good: Thanks to Whole 30, and my stomach affliction, I'm down 4 pounds. I also was quite proud that--apart from a few sips of ginger ale during my bug--I stuck to Whole 30. My first attempt at food was a frozen banana blended with some compliant almond milk and a heap of dried ginger. It worked! My first solid was white potato (now allowed on the plan) baked into fries with coconut oil. And so I was back on track. (Side note: I've become a ginger fiend this week.. I'm putting it in everything.)
The best takeaway for me was realizing that the foods I'd normally default to: saltines, toast, bagels--weren't going to make me feel better than real food would. (Plus since I was starting with a clean slate nutrient-wise, I wanted to do it right.)
Overall, my energy is great. I've given up coffee (I stopped when I got sick and just haven't picked it back up... so far, so good). I think I'll keep black tea in the rotation, but if I can drop black coffee that's not a bad thing. I'm sleeping well until 5am (still trying to figure this one out). I've managed lights out by 10-10:30 most nights, an improvement.
Dinner last night was delicious: zoodles cooked with egg and garlic, topped with ground beef and broccoli sauteed in coconut aminos, ginger, and garlic. Definitely a keeper for those nights when I need a 10-minute meal.
Other things of note: I watched "Guardians of the Galaxy" last weekend, and I've decided this is my theme song for the year... not necessarily for a literal interpretation of its message, but for its joy:
I love the way the main character dances through danger, and you can't listen to it without wanting to dance in a wonderfully uncool way (like he does). It's a good year to metaphorically grab the alien rat by the gut to use as a microphone. (It makes sense if you watched the clip.)
Now please excuse me while I groove to "Come and Get Your Love" and continue my 2015 goal setting for work.
The ugly: I came down with a nasty 24-hour stomach bug (or food poisoning?) this week. It was... awful. Unfortunately, without going into detail, it ruined my ability to eat certain foods I'd been greatly enjoying so far this month.
The bad: This is more entertaining than bad, but I've started having carb dreams, which is a known side effect of Whole 30. After I was sick, I dreamed about bagels. Last night, I dreamed about gorging on Ritz cheddar cracker sandwiches, which I haven't eaten in YEARS! I woke up feeling so bummed that I'd broken plan for something so mundane. It's amazing how your body reacts when you drop the sugar and processed foods!!
The good: Thanks to Whole 30, and my stomach affliction, I'm down 4 pounds. I also was quite proud that--apart from a few sips of ginger ale during my bug--I stuck to Whole 30. My first attempt at food was a frozen banana blended with some compliant almond milk and a heap of dried ginger. It worked! My first solid was white potato (now allowed on the plan) baked into fries with coconut oil. And so I was back on track. (Side note: I've become a ginger fiend this week.. I'm putting it in everything.)
The best takeaway for me was realizing that the foods I'd normally default to: saltines, toast, bagels--weren't going to make me feel better than real food would. (Plus since I was starting with a clean slate nutrient-wise, I wanted to do it right.)
Overall, my energy is great. I've given up coffee (I stopped when I got sick and just haven't picked it back up... so far, so good). I think I'll keep black tea in the rotation, but if I can drop black coffee that's not a bad thing. I'm sleeping well until 5am (still trying to figure this one out). I've managed lights out by 10-10:30 most nights, an improvement.
Dinner last night was delicious: zoodles cooked with egg and garlic, topped with ground beef and broccoli sauteed in coconut aminos, ginger, and garlic. Definitely a keeper for those nights when I need a 10-minute meal.
Other things of note: I watched "Guardians of the Galaxy" last weekend, and I've decided this is my theme song for the year... not necessarily for a literal interpretation of its message, but for its joy:
I love the way the main character dances through danger, and you can't listen to it without wanting to dance in a wonderfully uncool way (like he does). It's a good year to metaphorically grab the alien rat by the gut to use as a microphone. (It makes sense if you watched the clip.)
Now please excuse me while I groove to "Come and Get Your Love" and continue my 2015 goal setting for work.
Sunday, January 4, 2015
Whole 30 - Day 4 Update
Welp, I'm 4 days into Whole 30 and feeling so good about it. Once again, I'm reminded how--if nothing else--it's so useful for helping me to branch out and make different meals than I normally would.
My go-to breakfast in the last month had been corn tortilla with chipotle pepper sauce, feta and egg. (White and yellow, basically.) My go to breakfast these last few days? Sauteed onion, sweet potato shreds and kale cooked with garlic and salt, then baked with 2 eggs, some prosciutto and kalamata olives. Colorful and so many more nutrients. And much as I'm a cheese addict, I don't miss it a bit.
Last night, I made the most amazing Chicken Tikka Masala from Against All Grain. I made a few modifications: I really wanted coconut milk in it, so swapped that in for the almond milk. I didn't have 2.5 cups of tomato sauce, so I used a small can of it and a can of diced tomatoes (which actually gave the dish a nice texture). I had chicken breast in the freezer and so subbed that in for thigh. I did make the cashew cream, which added a wonderful creaminess to the meal.
I simply would not have made that dish, or taken the trouble to make cashew cream, on my "normal" diet. I'm so grateful to the Whole 30 plan for opening me up to experimenting in the kitchen.
Today, I'll be making some short ribs (first time ever!) and a frittata to get me through breakfasts this week. Lunch will be my go-to tuna with homemade mayo and chock full of veggies, or leftover chicken tikka masala with salad.
I have baby bok choy and acorn squash waiting some treatment, and some zoodles (zucchini noodles) ready to go.
I've been eating luscious, full meals and minimally snacking. Unlike in past attempts, I'm not craving fruit or dessert to keep up my sugar intake. I feel balanced and even-keeled.. that's the best way I can describe it.
It's easy to start jumping into the thought that I should eat like this 100% of the time, and "I hope I keep this up longer than the month." But in line with my resolve for 2015, I'm not going to get ahead of myself. For now, it's a day at a time, with 30 total in sight. Then, we shall see.
And seriously--if you like tikka masala and can handle the fat in the recipe without fainting (it's a lot), check it out. YUM.
My go-to breakfast in the last month had been corn tortilla with chipotle pepper sauce, feta and egg. (White and yellow, basically.) My go to breakfast these last few days? Sauteed onion, sweet potato shreds and kale cooked with garlic and salt, then baked with 2 eggs, some prosciutto and kalamata olives. Colorful and so many more nutrients. And much as I'm a cheese addict, I don't miss it a bit.
Last night, I made the most amazing Chicken Tikka Masala from Against All Grain. I made a few modifications: I really wanted coconut milk in it, so swapped that in for the almond milk. I didn't have 2.5 cups of tomato sauce, so I used a small can of it and a can of diced tomatoes (which actually gave the dish a nice texture). I had chicken breast in the freezer and so subbed that in for thigh. I did make the cashew cream, which added a wonderful creaminess to the meal.
I simply would not have made that dish, or taken the trouble to make cashew cream, on my "normal" diet. I'm so grateful to the Whole 30 plan for opening me up to experimenting in the kitchen.
Today, I'll be making some short ribs (first time ever!) and a frittata to get me through breakfasts this week. Lunch will be my go-to tuna with homemade mayo and chock full of veggies, or leftover chicken tikka masala with salad.
I have baby bok choy and acorn squash waiting some treatment, and some zoodles (zucchini noodles) ready to go.
I've been eating luscious, full meals and minimally snacking. Unlike in past attempts, I'm not craving fruit or dessert to keep up my sugar intake. I feel balanced and even-keeled.. that's the best way I can describe it.
It's easy to start jumping into the thought that I should eat like this 100% of the time, and "I hope I keep this up longer than the month." But in line with my resolve for 2015, I'm not going to get ahead of myself. For now, it's a day at a time, with 30 total in sight. Then, we shall see.
And seriously--if you like tikka masala and can handle the fat in the recipe without fainting (it's a lot), check it out. YUM.
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