Whole30 • The Last 15

We finally finished the Whole30!

If you didn't know already, my family and I have taken the last 30 days and changed our eating habits through the Whole30 Program. I posted an update halfway through the program and I figured I ought to post an update at the end.

We've technically reached the "end" of the program, but I don't have any intentions of going back to the way we used to eat.

It's the end, but it's so not the end. If you know what I mean.

In the first 15 days I saw many changes in my skin, weight, energy levels, and even my eyelashes (yes please).

And in the last 15 days?
I AM BEYOND HAPPY.

I chose to do the Whole30 (and basically made the rest of my family) so that we could be healthy overall. I wanted to see if sickness, skin irritations, intestinal discomfort, lack of energy, etc etc would show any change.  We lead a pretty busy life and it seemed like we were constantly exhausted and sluggish; not to mention the fact that my one year old was sick almost every week with one sickness or another. And we already were eating pretty healthy!!

It's amazing what some simple changes in your diet will do.

Let me just tell you what we DON'T have after 30 days...

Unexplained sickness
Sensitive skin
Little to no energy
Constipation (oh come on...you know you've had it too)
Headaches
Sluggishness
Unexplained grogginess
LOVE HANDLES!! (ya, I'm excited about this one)

Losing weight was so not the point, but it was an added bonus...bye bye baby weight! I lost a total of 19 pounds (which was the rest of my baby weight...plus some). The last time I weighed what I do now I was in highschool! Outside of needing to tighten those abs up a little, I'm in the best shape I think I've ever been in. I do exercise regularly though, so that definitely played a part.

My skin has remained almost completely clear. At one point in the last few weeks I ate something that had added sugar (oops...total accident. I didn't know!) By the end of the day my face and back were broke out. (ew.) I couldn't believe how quickly my body reacted after having been clean for only a few weeks. It was a big eye opener for me.

My energy levels are pretty consistent now, and unless I pull an all-nighter with the baby I stay pretty focused and alert all day long. It feels so good to wake up in the morning feeling refreshed and maintain that feeling throughout the day.

And this is my favorite part of our Whole30 experience...

For the first time in a year my son has been sickness free for a consecutive 30 days. (I thought back to when he started getting sick all the time and realized it was when I switched him over to cows milk.) His appetite has easily tripled and he is thoroughly enjoying almost every vegetable I feed him. He is eating more servings of vegetables each day than the average adult. As a parent, I am amazed at his transformation the most. He's even happier and more well-mannered!

I HIGHLY recommend you consider this program. I've read and heard quite a few negative comments suggesting that this is a "crash diet" or that it's "extremely unhealthy because our bodies NEEEEED grains." I think its important to consider that much of what we eat either isn't what our bodies were ever intended to have, or it includes ingredients that are not healthy. Our bodies may neeeed grains, but not chemically modified ones. And the truth is, if you do this only to lose wight and then jump right back into your unhealthy habits as soon as it's over, then you will probably see "crash diet" results.

For us this wasn't a diet...it was a life lesson.
And we don't regret it one bit.

So here is  a breakdown of the last 15 days... (any repeats from the previous 15 days will be linked to my first Whole30 post)

Breakfast:

Taco egg scramble

Avacado

Sliced strawberries

Lunch:

Garlic chicken

Roasted broccoli

Pineapple

I used leftover taco meat in our scrambled eggs. Topped with salsa, avacado, and cilantro it's seriously one of my new favs. 

To roast broccoli, toss cut broccoli florets in olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roast at 400 for about 15 minutes, or until tender. 

Breakfast:

Scrambled eggs with onion and mushrooms

Strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries

Lunch:
Tacos on romaine with salsa and fresh guacamole

Dinner:
Cajun chicken
Roasted asparagus
Apples with cinnamon

I seasoned my taco meat with salt, pepper, garlic powder, chili powder, cumin, paprika, and a few red pepper flakes.

Breakfast:
Taco egg scramble
Guacamole
Fresh grapefruit

Snack:
Raspberries
Blueberries
Cashews

Breakfast:
Scrambled eggs with spinach, onions, and mushrooms
Turkey sausage links
Bananas with cinnamon

Dinner:
Venison steak with balsamic mushrooms and onions
Roasted dijon green beans

Lunch:
Balsamic dijon burger topped with a fried egg
Sweet potato with cinnamon and coconut oil
Cantaloupe

Breakfast:
Scrambled eggs with sausage, onions, and roasted broccoli
Slice strawberries
Honeydew melon
Bananas with cinnamon

Snack:
Berry and spinach smoothie

Extra:
Cinnamon coconut coffee creamer
Chocolate coconut coffee creamer

The smoothie is equal parts strawberries, raspberries, and frozen blueberries, one banana, two cups of spinach, 1/2 cup coconut cream, and a little water.

Okay, these coconut creamers are my FAV! In my first post I referenced a vanilla coconut cream, which was tasty, but didn't quite hit the spot for me. I'm kind of a coffee creamer snob. So I set out to make my own version.

Place two cans of full fat, unsweetened coconut milk (I like this brand) in the fridge until completely chilled (a few hours). Take 5 or 6 medjool dates and place them in a coffee cup and just barely cover with warm water (about 1/2 cup). I intended to let them soak for 10 minutes, but then I forgot about them...For three hours. Oops! Oh well, happy accident! Take the coconut milk from the fridge, flip the cans upside down (don't shake), open, and drain off the liquid. Scoop out the cream and add to a food processor with the soaked dates and the water they soaked in. I ran this through the food processor until the dates were as fully incorporated as I could get them and then split the creamer in half. To one half, add cinnamon. (I didn't measure, but I'm assuming 1 tsp...or add to taste.) To the other half add 100% cocao powder (Hershey's special dark is what I used)...I didn't measure this either, but I'm thinking about 1TBSP... or to taste. Once I split the cream and added my add-ins, I individually ran them through the food processor again to fully incorporate the ingredients. Refrigerate. Once cold it's thick like whipped cream...and tastes SOOO good.



Breakfast:
Scrambled eggs with salsa and cilantro

Extra:
Coffee with cinnamon coffee creamer (referenced above)

Snack:

Cashews

Obviously I didn't take photos of my food this day... I can't remember why. BUT these cashews were my favorite snack through my Whole30. 

Lunch:

Balsamic venison steak
Roasted broccoli
Roasted butternut squash

Snack:
Fried bananas in coconut oil and cinnamon

The recipe for the broccoli is referenced earlier in this post. Toss the squash in olive oil, sea salt, and cinnamon and roast at 400 for about 20 minutes, or until tender.

Ok these bananas were so good. SO GOOD. If you have texture issues then you might not like these (they're soft in the middle), BUT if you don't...then these will rock your world. (Ok maybe just mine)

Slice a banana into 1/2 inch slices and lightly top with cinnamon. Heat a tbsp of coconut oil in a pan. When the oil is hot place the banana slices cinnamon side down and sprinkle cinnamon again. It's important that your oil is hot and that you only flip these once, otherwise you'll lose the carmely coating on the outside and just be left with squishy bananas. Once the underside is browned (or carmely and slightly crunchy) flip. Fry for a few more minutes until both sides are done and serve.

Breakfast:
Sliced apples with cinnamon coconut cream

Dinner:
Chicken fajitas on romaine with salsa and fresh guacamole

The cinnamon coconut cream is just a scoop of the refrigerated coffee creamer.

Slice chicken breasts into thin strips and season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, chili powder, paprika, cumin, and red pepper flakes. Marinate with 1/4 cup of olive oil in a ziploc for 1/2 hour. Slice onion and colored bell peppers (I used green and red) and very lightly season with the same seasonings. Fry the veggies and chicken separately (so they'll be done at the same time), preferably in a skillet. Serve in romaine leaves and top with salsa, guacamole, and cilantro.

Breakfast:
Fajita egg scramble
Sliced avocado
Sliced bananas
Sliced peaches

Lunch:
Grilled steak
Roasted zucchini and summer squash
Roasted sweet potato

Dinner:
Balsamic chicken
Leftover roasted zucchini and summer squash
Leftover roasted sweet potato
Sliced avocado

I just cut up some leftover fajita meat and fajita veggies and added it to our eggs. Topped with salsa, this was an incredibly tasty breakfast.

I always butterfly my chicken so that it is a consistent thickness when it cooks...also I prefer a thinner piece of chicken because it doesn't dry out as easily. Season the chicken and fry in olive oil about 6 minutes on one side. When you flip the chicken, toss balsamic vinegar on top and continue to fry about 3 minutes. Flip and rotate about every 2 minutes so that the balsamic glaze will cover the whole piece of chicken. Continue this until the meat is cooked through. This is one of my favorite Whole30 recipes.

Dinner:
Balsamic cauliflower
Sliced avocado
Baked sweet potato with coconut oil and cinnamon

Season the cauliflower and steam it in a little bit of chicken stock. When it's almost done remove the lid and add balsamic vinegar and sautée until the vinegar turns to glaze and coats the cauliflower.

Lunch:
Grilled hamburger with dijon
Grilled zucchini fries
Sliced apples with cinnamon
Sliced honeydew melon

Dinner:
Italian chicken tenders with sautéed onions in tomato sauce
Roasted butternut squash
Frozen blueberries

Snack:
Pumpkin pie smoothie

I made the italian chicken very similar to the way I did in the link...except I added balsamic vinegar to the onions and I used more tomato paste...a lot more.

Ok...pumpkin pie smoothie. Totally desserty...but oh em gee...so good. This actually started out as a pumpkin spice coffee creamer. I made the creamer the same way I did with the cinnamon and chocolate (mentioned earlier) only to one half of the coconut cream I added (approx.) 1/4 cup pumpkin puree, a few shakes of pumpkin pie spice, a few shakes of cinnamon. (The other half I did chocolate again) You really can't mess this up...just adjust it to taste. I put this in the fridge with intentions of letting it chill for coffee the next morning....and then I decided to blend some with ice.
Best. Decision. Ever.

Breakfast:
Scrambled eggs with balsamic ground beef and onions

Snack:
Chocolate pumpkin spice shake

Dinner:
Grilled chicken
Baked sweet potato with coconut oil and cinnamon
Sliced apples
Sliced honeydew melon

Breakfast was kind of an experiment this day. I browned some ground beef in balsamic. It was good, but not my all time favorite.

This chocolate pumpkin spice shake was the best treat I made the whole 30 days. I took about 1/2 cup each of pumpkin spice creamer and chocolate creamer (that I mentioned earlier) and blended with ice. So good.

So, the thirty days are over.
At approximately 12:01 a.m. on day 31 my husband ate a custard filled, chocolate covered long john donut. (ok I ate a teeny, tiny bite too)

I instantly had a headache. It sounds dramatic, but it was insane how sweet it was.

We really like how healthy we feel and want to keep it that way. We wont keep a strict "don't ever break the rules" diet, but we'll continue many of the eating habits we've learned over the past thirty days.

If you're doing The Whole30 Program or considering it I hope these posts help!

Here's a couple of links I referenced often:
The Whole30 Program
The Whole30 Shopping List
The Whole30 Forum
The Official "Can I Have?" Guide

Whole 30 - The First 15

It's been almost a year since I've posted on this blog, but life is crazy people. I'm a mother of two now so I basically only have time for 80 million loads of laundry and an equal amount of dirty diapers each day. Plus, I'm attempting to potty train my almost two year old right now, which means I do all the dirty diapers PLUS clean pee off the floor all the day long. So that (and everything else) leaves me to decide: do I sleep?... since I only get approximately two hour increments of sleep totaling 4-6 hours each night (thank you tiny baby that insists on eating ALL THE TIME) OR do I write a blog post about food?

Sleep, people. It's the only way I'll survive all the laundry and diapers and stuff.

So that's why I take year long breaks between blog posts.

But really though, I love my life. 

Anyway, as many of my friends and family know (due to the daily food pictures I post online), in an attempt to get healthy (and lose that extra baby weight), I have been doing the Whole30 Program. If you've never heard of Whole30, make sure you check out this link. They do an incredible job of explaining the program without making you feel like you need to have a lot of money or a lot of time.

Well, you will need to prepare meals...and that takes time. But it's not like you need to spend 100 hours in the gym and $100 a day on gross, miniature sized pre-made meals. This program is about eating real food for complete overall health. 

Since I've been posting so many pictures during my Whole30, I've had many people asking questions and have even inspired a handful to start their own. So I decided to make an update on this blog. I'm going to attempt to share what I ate each day and included pictures, recipes, and/or links. 

Let me start by telling you where I'm at now. 

I'm 15 days in and OH EM GEEEEEE I can't believe how I feel. I could SOOO go for a giant chocolate cookie, but truth be told...I've been making really tasty food and we are so not suffering. I don't own a scale, so sadly I don't have my starting weight and I can't give a current weight (like I want to anyway...hahaha). But on this program you're really not supposed to focus on that part during the 30 days. 

Honestly though, I had to roll the waist band on my pre pregnancy skinny jeans the other day just to keep them up...and I still suffered from saggy butt. (the pants...not my own.) Plus, while I'm not incredibly keen on mentioning love handles or cellulite or fat pockets (I've had two children...but we can pretend I've never had any of those things)...I'm happy to say they're almost completely gone. I still have areas that I'd like to improve, but upon completing this program and incorporating more exercise I'm actually quite optimistic about all that fun stuff. (Speaking of exercise, I run three times a week for about 35 minutes. It's important to have SOME kind of physical activity if you're looking to lose weight.)

Also, my eyelashes are growing (weird?) and my skin is so clear. I've had some break out areas that NOTHING was working to clear up. Four days into my Whole30 program and my skin was completely clear. I was amazed. My two year old baby kid is benefiting from our diet change as well and his skin (which was being all sensitive and persnickety) also cleared up almost instantly. 

Energy. Who'da thought a mother of two under two would need energy. 

Ya. I have some now. I'm tired when it's time to be tired, but for the most part I haven't felt groggy or sluggish at all. I get up around 6:30 a.m. every day (Umm..not by choice. Thank you little babies.) and I haven't felt like I'm running on E. 

So there ya go. I've done 15 days of Whole30 and if I had to stop now I'd call it a complete success. It's amazing what eating real food will do for your body. I think it's obvious that much of what we eat today is so modified we actually end up eating things our bodies were never intended to digest. I used to feel sluggish and bloated after almost every meal, and in 15 days I haven't felt that once. 

It's super great. 

Sooo here is a break down of my first 15 days...

Breakfast:
Scrambled eggs with spinach, chicken sausage, and onions.
Sweet potato hashbrowns.
Sliced Strawberries.

Everything was cooked in olive oil and seasoned with sea salt, fresh cracked pepper, and garlic powder.

Lunch:
Spinach, romaine, and mixed greens salad with grilled chicken, raspberries, blueberries, cucumber, onions, and olive oil/vinegar dressing.

Dressing: 1 part olive oil to 2 parts apple cider vinegar, salt and fresh cracked pepper

Dinner:
Italian chicken with sautéed mushrooms and onions
Roasted dijon green beans
Sweet yellow summer squash

Liberally season chicken breasts with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and italian seasoning before frying it in the pan. When it's completely cooked through, sauté mushrooms and onions in the same oil. When the onions are almost completely cooked add 1 tbsp tomato paste and 1/4 cup chicken stock. Continue sautéing until chicken stock reduces and mushrooms and onions are done. Top the chicken with the sautéed mushrooms and onions. 

Sauté the yellow summer squash in coconut oil and apple juice. 

Season the green beans with salt, pepper, and garlic powder and spray (or drizzle) with olive oil. Roast in 425 oven for 10 minutes (or until done). Mix 1/2 tsp dijon mustard and 2 tsp olive oil. Toss cooked green beans in dijon mixture. (This is my new favorite way to do beans...it doesn't taste mustardy at all)

Breakfast:
Scrambled eggs with sautéed sweet potatoes and spinach

Lunch:
Spinach, romaine, and mixed greens salad with strawberries, blueberries, grilled chicken, and oil/vinegar dressing. Topped with sea salt and fresh cracked pepper.

Breakfast:
Fried eggs with turkey sausage and salted avacado

Dinner:
Balsamic dijon chicken
Roasted asparagus
Steamed baby carrots

Mix 3/4 cup balsamic vinegar, 4 tbsp organic dijon mustard, and two minced garlic cloves in a jar (or sealed container). This will make enough sauce to use multiple times, so I store it in a jar for easy access. Sauté chicken breasts in olive oil (well seasoned). When almost done, top with sauce and let finish. This is one of my new favorite sauces ever. You'd think those 3 flavors would be really overpowering, but mixed together and cooked they are soooo good.

Toss asparagus in olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Roast in 400 oven for 10-15 minutes or until done. Sometimes I toss in the same dijon mixture used for my green beans. It really is so tasty.

Steam seasoned carrots in a little bit of apple juice.

Lunch:
Apple pork tenderloin (we didn't use honey)
Fresh picked blueberries

Dinner:
Cajun Catfish
Steamed broccoli
Ribeye
Mashed sweet potatoes

Dinner was interesting on day 4 because we went out to eat. It felt a little obnoxious, but we made sure to ask what everything was seasoned with and cooked in. It's harder eating out, but it is possible.

Breakfast:
Scrambled eggs with mushrooms, onions, and spinach
Fresh strawberries and blueberries

Lunch:
Balsamic dijon pork tenderloin
Roasted sweet potatoes
Fresh Strawberries

Dinner:
Taco salads with homemade guacamole, salsa, and blueberry salsa

Marinade the pork tenderloin in the balsamic dijon sauce mentioned earlier. Cook on the stove until internal temp reaches 145 or until inside is no longer pink.

Breakfast:
Scrambled eggs with sautéed onions and spinach
Roasted sweet potatoes
Turkey sausage links
Banana

Dinner:
Venison steak with sautéed balsamic onions and mushrooms
Roasted brussel sprouts
Baked sweet potato with cinnamon and sea salt

Toss brussel sprouts in olive oil, sea salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Roast in 400 degree oven for 20 minutes or until tender.

Obviously I didn't take photos of my food this day. But I did snack! I've found that filling a SMALL bowl with cashews and/or almonds will quickly fill a munchie craving. Plus, it turns out I really love cashews! Who knew?!

Breakfast:
Scrambled eggs topped with cilantro
Baked sweet potato with cinnamon and sea salt
Sliced strawberries

Lunch:
Balsamic dijon burger topped with fried egg
Sliced strawberries
Salted avocado slices

Dinner:
Blueberry, strawberry, peach, banana, spinach, kale, and almond milk smoothie

Snack:
Roasted zucchini fries

Fry a hamburger patty in the balsamic dijon sauce mentioned earlier. Top with a smear of dijon mustard and a fried egg (runny yoke).

We also enjoyed a tasty snack of roasted zucchini fries. Just toss the fries in olive oil and seasonings and roast at 375 for 15 minutes or until tender. 

Breakfast:
Scrambled eggs with sautéed onions, tomatoes, and spinach
Turkey sausage links
Baked sweet potato with pumpkin pie spice and sea salt

Dinner:
Balsamic dijon burger with fried egg
Zucchini fries
Peaches

Obviously I was a fan of the balsamic dijon burger. I love the egg and hamburger combo! Try it!

Lunch:
Roasted zucchini with sausage/meat marinara

Ok this was the first meal that really felt like comfort food. It was one of my faves. Just roast zucchini as you would the fries mentioned earlier. I added italian seasoning to them as well. Then brown some hamburger and some italian sausage. Add marinara and heat completely. Top the roasted zucchini with the sauce. So good!

Breakfast:
Scrambled eggs with sautéed onions, mushrooms, and sweet potatoes. Topped with cilantro
Turkey sausage links
Salted avocado slices
Sliced strawberries

Snack:
Larabars!!

Dinner:
Stuffed peppers with kale
Roasted asparagus

Dessert:
Grilled peaches with cinnamon and coconut vanilla cream

Ok, lets talk larabars. According to Whole30 you can have most kinds of larabar. But make sure to read your labels! These bars are a real treat. Slightly sweet, but still healthy...it's totally justifiable in my opinion.

And ok, I know dessert is pretty much a no no during the Whole30 program, but in all fairness...there is nothing non-compliant about grilled peaches. And let me tell you, having stayed away from anything even resembling dessert for 11 days, this was another nice treat. Just grill with a little cinnamon until completely heated through. The vanilla coconut cream is a homemade non-dairy creamer I made for my coffee. This stuff is soooo good. It tastes like melted vanilla ice cream. A small spoonful of this on a warm cinnamon peach.. yes. Just yes.

Lunch:
Creamy roasted cauliflower and mushroom soup topped with grilled chicken

Dinner:
Stuffed zucchini

This soup was incredibly filling and super tasty. I followed the cooking instructions on this site and the ingredients list on this site. I highly suggest this soup!

For the zucchini I actually had some leftover meat sauce from the stuffed peppers and from the zucchini with marinara mentioned earlier. I used that as the stuffing and followed the cooking instructions listed on this site. This was another new favorite of mine.

Breakfast:
Blueberries, strawberries, cashews

Dinner:
Balsamic dijon chicken
Roasted asparagus with oil/dijon sauce
Leftover mushroom soup

The recipes for the items on my dinner plate are mentioned earlier in this post.

Breakfast:
Scrambled eggs with sausage, onions, and roasted asparagus

Lunch:
Taco salad with fresh guacamole

Dinner:
Cilantro lime chicken with fresh guacamole
Baked sweet potato with pumpkin pie spice and sea salt
Fresh picked blueberries

Snack:
Blueberry, strawberry, banana, and coconut milk smoothie

For the taco salad, brown some hamburger with salt, pepper, garlic powder, cumin, chili powder, and red pepper flakes. Top with salsa (read your labels) and guacamole.

For the chicken, sauté some diced onions and jalapeño. Before they are tender add seasoned chicken breast to the pan, right on top of the onions and peppers. Top with cilantro. Cook until about half done, flip, and add more cilantro. Squeeze the juice of one lime on the chicken. When the chicken is completely cooked through, top with one last squeeze of lime juice and pile high with guacamole. Delish!

This was the first time I've made a smoothie with coconut milk. I'm not a huge fan of the way coconut milk smells when the cream and water are completely mixed together. So I mostly just added the cream part of the coconut milk. I also added a tbsp of coconut oil.

   

Dinner:
Stuffed zucchini
Mashed roasted garlic cauliflower
Sliced peaches

Snack:
Piña Colada Smoothie (minus honey)

Snack:
Kale chips

Toss kale pieces in olive oil and sea salt and roast at 400 for about 10 minutes. Watch them closely because they can burn pretty quick.

Also, you HAVE to make this smoothie. It's soooo good.

So there you have it! The first half of my Whole30 is complete and I've been happy with (almost) every minute of it. My sugar cravings still need a little work, but my body is thriving from all the healthy food we've been eating.

If you're trying to decide whether or not this program is for you, just do it. It's only 30 days. The WORST that could happen is you eat good food for 30 days.

I'll post another update when I'm finished!