I Can See The Finish Line!!

Day 22: It’s SPA DAY, People!!!

Last year, my amazing, generous and dear Aunt Lisa gave Hubby and I one of my favorite gifts ever for our 10^th anniversary… a couple’s package at the Spa!! This woman is one of the most incredible people you could ever meet… she is smart and funny and thoughtful and has IMPECCABLE taste. She somehow always knows what would bless you the most and delights in surprising you with it. She’s the best.

Lucky for me, Hubby has a totally irrational fear of lotions and oils of any kind (truly. I have to threaten him with death to get him to put on sunscreen). SO, that meant I got to do a full day of spa-amazingness TWICE! I did it right before Squish was born when I was 38 weeks pregnant, hoping the pedicure would put me into labor. It didn’t work.

Anyway, today was the day to redeem the second half of the package, so I couldn’t wait to get there. I made myself a quick smoothie and rushed out the door.

I spent the morning getting a massage, pedicure, facial and hydro-massage. It was absolutely as incredible as it sounds. Everything smells good. Everything feels soft. All of the technicians whisper when they talk to you. It's quiet and serene and fabulous. All of you are jealous and I have lost all credibility as a regular mom. I know this.

Lunch: Part of my spa package was a “light lunch” provided by their chef, so I was treated to zucchini noodles tossed in a yummy turkey-meat sauce. It was very, very good. I need to know how they made these noodle things. I want to eat them every day.

I headed home after lunch and back to my real little life. I was so grateful to be pampered and treated like a goddess, but you can only take those things for so long. I missed my rug-rats. I missed the spit-up on my jeans and my ponytail pulled out by my little pirate-cowboy. I was ready to do this mommy thing again- only this time, with pretty toes.

Dinner: Hubby and I went out on an anniversary date tonight! I KNOW! What a day!! We headed to this amazing old theater in Waco where you can eat and watch a movie at the same time. It was so much fun. I ordered a burger without the bun with a fried egg on top. I need to try this at home. DELICOUS.

Our actual anniversary is later this week, but it was wonderful to take advantage of Mia being in town to love on the boys while we got some much-needed couple time.

Day 23

Breakfast: Mia was headed out this morning and we had a play-date planned with some of our favorite people, so I threw together a quick omelet with some left-over rotisserie chicken and mushrooms. It’s so nice to have things already chopped and ready in the fridge for busy mornings like this!

 

 

Lunch: After a morning at the zoo (which felt more like an hour-and-a-half session in a sauna, thankyouverymuch 88 degrees and 100% humidity in May), I brought the boys home and fed them a quick lunch. I had a TON of left-over Tuscan Chicken Soup so I scooped myself a bowl and added an avocado and some lime juice. It was even better today!

Dinner: I will admit, I was not much of a branch-out person before this Whole 30 thing. But this has forced me to try all kinds of new produce and I’m so excited to say almost everything we’ve had has been delicious! Case in point: this taco-stuffed acorn squash dish I found! I have never had acorn squash before. It was a tiny bit nutty and savory and yummy, especially when it was stuffed with this taco meat and crunchy colored peppers. I added the peppers because I didn’t have something that the recipe called for, but it turned out great.

 

http://holisticallyengineered.com/2013/02/taco-rice-stuffed-acorn-squash.html

Day 24: Ok, people. The time has come. I MUST EXERCISE. I am not giving myself any more time to “catch up on rest” or “recover from this new baby” thing. My arms are flabby and I’m pretty sure I can’t blame this lovely tummy on the baby in the next room anymore. So here we go. I am committed to 4 days a week minimum of a quick run and some light weight training. A girl’s gotta start somewhere, ok?

I ate a scrambled egg and a piece of watermelon this morning while I fed Buggie his breakfast, and then, in my awesome Super Mom style, put him in front of an episode of Jake and the Neverland Pirates while Squish napped and I pounded the treadmill for 30 minutes. And I do mean pounded. It wasn’t pretty.

After my “run” and some quick arm-toning, I cleaned up my blood-red face and threw on some clothes for our play date. I made half a smoothie because, well, clearly I earned it.

 

Lunch: My last bowl of Tuscan Soup! It was a lot of work to make that first day, but hey, it fed me for 4 days!

Dinner: Tonight I made a super-delicious “quiche”! Ok, it wasn’t quite a quiche because it didn’t have a crust, but it was seriously good. What wouldn’t be delicious with bacon, mushrooms and chicken breast? This was a success, people.

 

http://stupideasypaleo.com/2013/12/18/paleo-chicken-bacon-mushroom-quiche/

Day 25:

I sent Buggie off to school this morning and guess what??? I actually ran again! Ok, “ran” may be a bit of an exaggeration, but I did “jog”. I’m a jogger for now, ok?

After my workout I was starved, so I threw some of the left-over taco meat from the acorn squash night in the microwave and added an egg on top. I enjoyed it with my new obsession, plantain chips! Have you guys tried these? The only ingredients are plantains, vegetable oil and salt. They are great when you want to eat a chip but you can’t.

 

Lunch: We ran some errands and picked Buggie up from school, and then while the boys napped I ate some left-over quiche and took a long, hot shower. Total. Bliss.

Dinner: Ok, guys! Cue the music! Cue the lights! This recipe wins the BEST CHICKEN EVER award!!! You must make this immediately. It was flavorful and juicy and sooooo good. I served it with a sweet potato and a big salad. Here’s the recipe for Artichoke and Roasted Garlic Stuffed Chicken!

http://popularpaleo.com/2014/07/24/roasted-garlic-stuffed-chicken/

Day 26: It’s Saturday again, which is my favorite day for so many reasons, but today was especially great because one of the gymnastic places in town did an “open gym” day for kids. Hubby fed Buggie some breakfast and had him out the door at 8:15. Did I mention I love this man? After the gym, they headed to the zoo and didn’t come home until lunch time. I had almost 4 hours of time to myself! I spent almost all of it in the kitchen. I made myself a quick smoothie so I could drink it while I folded an embarrassing amount of laundry and made beds and tidied the nest and cooked up a storm.

I made a “breakfast meatloaf” that will be my breakfasts for the next few days. Recipe to come tomorrow! I also made Buggie these zucchini, carrot and apple muffins. They turned out colorful and they smelled great! I couldn’t try one because…well, they’re muffins…but Buggie devoured his when he got home.

Here's the recipe in case you want it:
http://www.theleangreenbean.com/zucchini-carrot-apple-muffins/

 

 

Lunch: I made lunch for the boys and then I raided the fridge and ate some left-over artichoke chicken and half a sweet potato from last night. It was fast and yummy and I was satisfied!

Dinner: Listen, people. I spent the entire day in the kitchen (ok, not the WHOLE day but a lot of the day, ok?) so I was not in the mood to make what I had planned. We fed Buggie some frozen chicken nuggets (again with the Super Mom) and while I snuggled him to sleep, Hubby ran out to grab my favorite salad from Newks. I omitted the cheese and added my own dressing and it tasted just as delicious as always! Some of these trades are just no big deal at all. Other things, like grapes for dessert instead of a cookie, are a little harder on the ol’ will power.

Day 27: Yesterday I made this Breakfast Meatloaf in the crock pot. The recipe says it’s best the day after you make it, so I sliced some up this morning, threw it on the skillet to “toast” it, and added some eggs. It was delicious! And super fast and fun. I highly recommend this recipe.

http://meatified.com/slow-cooker-breakfast-meatloaf/

Lunch: We are running low on supplies over here (how do we run out of food so fast???) so I threw together a salad with some romaine and spinach, and added some tuna, grapes, almonds and dried cranberries. The salad is the new sandwich, guys!

 

Dinner: We are eating a lot of “stuffed” things this week- stuffed acorn squash, stuffed chicken breasts, and tonight, stuffed pork chops with bacon and apples. Of course it sounds good. It has bacon in it! It did not disappoint. TOTALLY DELICOUS.  But I made a few changes to the recipe:

 

1. I added half the amount of bacon it calls for. Don't get me wrong, I love bacon, but 10 strips is a little much...

2. I do not have "lard" at my house. So I used coconut oil.

3. Cooking these in the oven for 35 minutes AFTER you brown them is crazy-talk. I browned them for about 7 minutes on each side and that was plenty of cooking time. I almost over cooked them. If I had baked them we would have had bricks for dinner!!

I served it over sautéed kale with apple cider vinegar. WINNER!!!

 

 

http://paleoparents.com/2011/stuffed-pork-chops/

 

I can’t believe I only have a few days left! This has been relatively easy and so much fun. I plan to continue eating like this for the most part, with the obvious exception of my coffee creamer and the occasional treat. I will deserve it with all the running I plan to do. Ha!

The Home Stretch!

 

Day 19: Ahhhh, Fridays. The day we realize THE WEEKEND IS COMING!! It’s almost here!!! Our husbands will be home for two whole days and we will get to go to the bathroom by ourselves and even *possibly* take a bubble bath! I love weekends. Not only because I might actually squeeze in a little bit of mental space, but because there’s pretty much nothing better on this earth than watching my husband play with his boys. I love the way their eyes light up and they can’t contain the grins when they see him. I love the way he tirelessly plays “monster” and chases Buggie around the house. I love that he truly enjoys this time with them as much as I do, and that we get to share in all this crazy, messy, chaotic fun. It reminds me that we are in this together, and that we are so incredibly blessed that there’s no way we could ever wrap our minds around the truth of it.

It was a school day, so I was thrilled to scarf down another piece of Italian Brunch Bake for breakfast while I contemplated working out during Squish’s nap. Yah. It didn’t happen today either. Maybe tomorrow. Sure. Tomorrow.

Lunch: Squish and I ran to Sams today on our way to grab Buggie from school and I picked up two awesome finds!! Frozen tilapia fillets, with the only ingredient being tilapia, and frozen turkey burgers, both Whole 30 approved! I was so excited! It would be great to have something I could throw in the toaster oven while I put the boys down and then eat with a side of veggies. Hello, Lunch Fairy!!

Today I baked one of the tilapia fillets, and sautéed some kale and broccoli super quick in the skillet. I added an apple and I was good to go!

 

Dinner: My first “guest recipe”!! My sweet friend Kristin decided to jump on the Whole 30 bandwagon with me, and she has helped me gather some great recipes! This one was for coconut chicken patties. They were a big hit!! I will admit that I slightly overcooked them, so my picture is not as pretty as the originals, but I also added some awesome dipping sauce, homemade sweet potato fries and a salad with mango, strawberries and walnuts. It was delicious!

 

Here’s the recipe:

http://cherryblossomkitchen.com/coconut-crusted-chicken-patties-paleo-whole30/

 

Here is her FAR prettier picture. It makes me laugh now when I look at mine.

For the dipping sauce, I threw one avocado, a tablespoon of olive oil, the juice of a lime and some salt in the food processor and blended it till it was velvety smooth. It was like very smooth guacamole and was a perfect complement to the coconut chicken.

I’ve struggled with finding a sweet potato fry recipe that produces CRISPY fries, but this one swore it would deliver. I can say they definitely were crispier than the ones I’ve made in the past, but still not perfect. Oh well. They were delicious dipped in the avocado sauce.

http://healthycrush.com/crispy-baked-sweet-potato-fries/

 

Day 20: I can’t believe I’m on Day 20! I’m not sick of the food or tired of this whole thing yet. I’m still having lots of fun and enjoying all the new foods we’re eating. I'm still getting used to all the prep, but it's beginning to feel a little more like a habit, now.
 

Breakfast: I enjoyed my last slice of Italian Brunch Bake today. It served me well! I have to say I liked my original breakfast casserole from Week 1 a little more, but this was still good.

Lunch: Guys. We went to a precious friend’s birthday party today. You wanna know what they served? CHICKEN MINIS from Chick-Fil-A. And the most gorgeous cookies you’ve ever seen. And cupcakes. Oh. And there was fruit for me.

When I got home I reluctantly threw a frozen turkey burger into the toaster oven. I used the left-over avocado sauce from last night and added some Whole 30 mayo and cherry tomatoes. I also re-heated some sweet potato fries and honestly it was very satisfying!! It was no chicken mini, but it sufficed.

 

Dinner: This was another winner right here!! I made this delicious spiced pork tenderloin, some roasted broccoli and some mashed garlic and butternut squash! The squash was so. good. I could have eaten the whole bowl. It was like kicky mashed potatoes. You have to try these, guys!

 

Here’s the pork recipe:

http://holisticallyengineered.com/2013/02/whole30-spiced-pork-tenderloin.html

 

Here’s the squash!

http://holisticallyengineered.com/2012/12/roasted-garlic-and-butternut-squash.html

 

Day 21: It’s a rainy Sunday morning here, folks. Our Sundays are madness. (Not mine, your saying. My Sundays are quiet and serine and organized... And now we’re both laughing because we all know that’s not true.)

Can I as a question, here?? Why in the world is there not a church service at a time that works for babies that take a morning nap?? If you go to the 8:30 service, your kid is so exhausted by the end that he is batting his ears and pulling his own hair out. If you go to the 10:00 service, you have to wake your baby up and take him to the nursery when he’s grumpy because… well, you WOKE HIM UP. If you go to the 11:30 service, that works great! Unless they cancel the 11:30 services for the summer. Then that doesn’t work. So we went back to waking Squish up and trying to tickle him into a better mood. It worked this time. He was a squishy delight in the nursery.

I made a smoothie for myself, but everyone in my family loved it and wanted to share, so I drank half and made myself a scrambled egg and some watermelon.

Lunch: This is what I like to call “Leftovers Salad.” I threw some chopped up pork from last night, along with the last of the sweet potatoes from the night before that, some blueberries, olive oil and vinegar on a bed of greens. It was so yummy and I felt good about using up the rest of the leftovers.

Dinner: My Mother-in-Love came to visit today to help with the kids and keep Squish for me on Tuesday morning when I have a SPA DAY! You read that right. More on that later.

Anyway, I know some people have Mother-in-laws that are difficult or opinionated or disapproving. But I honestly don’t. My sweet MIL is my cheerleader. She’s always on my side and she (somehow, delusionally) thinks I’m great. So I'm blessed to have TWO moms in my life who love me beautifully and adore my boys. "Mia" (her grandmother name) got here this afternoon and helped entertain the boys while I took on this big soup adventure. It was a lot of chopping. Like, a lot. It was a lot of steps. It was a lot of cleanup. And, in the end, it was pretty good. Perhaps not worth ALL the time it took, but it was pretty good.

I subbed parsnips instead of radishes, and kale instead of spinach. Otherwise I followed the recipe.

http://holisticallyengineered.com/2013/02/tuscan-chicken-soup-low-carb-and-paleo.html

Again, take this on when you have an extra pair of hands around to help. It’s a lot of work.

Day 21:It’s the beginning of Week 4!! It has gone by so fast I can’t believe I’m almost done. I haven’t missed too many things… other than some fried chicken nuggets and the occasional sweet treat. It was nothing that sent me into crazy-cravings, though, so my guess is I’ll keep up most of the habits I’ve learned this month... with the exception of my coffee creamer. We will be adding that back in.
 

Breakfast: We are low on supplies again so I scrambled some eggs and ate some watermelon for breakfast. Later in the morning I had half an apple with one tablespoon of almond butter. That helped sustain me through a morning at the museum with the kids until we met Husband for lunch at Chick-fil-A. Gosh, I say the name of that place a lot on this blog. It’s getting sad. I should branch out more.

Lunch: I had the same Grilled Market Salad I had a couple of weeks ago, minus the blue cheese. This time however, I wised up and added some more grilled nuggets to mine. I was starving an hour after I ate it last time. This time I was sustained for much longer. Still no dressing though, because they don’t have any without added sugar, and I left mine at home. Silly me.

Dinner: This was SO GOOD!!! We love salmon in our family, so I was excited to try out a new way to cook it. I found this recipe from Giada (whom I just love, even if she’s way too skinny to be a chef). I added some roasted cauliflower and a salad with berries. It was a hit! We will definitely be making this again.

 

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/salmon-baked-in-foil-recipe.html

We’re on the home stretch, people! We can do this! Our little bit of coffee creamer is just one week away!!

Real life, folks.

WEEK 3

Day 15: We woke up to a “you can hear the echo when I say HELLO” empty fridge. Like a “come on, Buggie! Have a piece of ham and a package of fruit snacks for breakfast!” kind of empty. Ok, it wasn’t THAT bad. I had an egg for him. But seriously. That was it.

I scrounged up an avocado and gratefully my mom sent me home with a mango yesterday (bless her) so I made this weird little breakfast. Two eggs, an avocado and some mango slices. Not my favorite but it was fine and filled me up!

Lunch: After flying around the grocery store, I had supplies to make myself a decent salad with tuna, chopped apples, almonds and a little bowl of leftover soup. I was SLEEPY today so I was thrilled when all the stars aligned and the boys napped at the same time for more than 30 minutes! Nothing teaches you about the real luxuries in life more than motherhood.

 

Dinner: Some of our dearest friends had a baby a few days ago, so I went visiting armed with a large pizza (I know. I’m so fancy.) and got to swoon over a newborn for a little while. Gosh it seems like that was 100 years ago for us. Squish will be six months old later this week and I can’t even remember when he was that small. It’s all just flying by way too fast.

I came home and threw together this old staple: a Greek Artichoke Spinach Fritata. It’s delicious and easy. I don’t even read the recipe anymore since I’ve made it one thousand times. You’re about to see why I’ve never been on food network. When I’m cooking from memory I don’t measure or really pay attention to the times on things. I just go with my gut, you know?? Here’s the gist:

You need:

Greek seasoning
6 eggs
Refrigerated hasbrowns
Fresh spinach
1 can of artichokes
Tomatoes

Preheat your broiler.
Get a REALLY BIG skillet and throw some olive oil in there. Sautee your bag of hashbrowns until they are a pretty golden brown… about 5-10 minutes. I always feel like this takes longer than it should.
Chop up two big handfuls of fresh spinach. Drain your artichokes and chop ‘em up. When your hashbrowns are pretty much finished (don’t you love the specifics??) dump in your spinach and artichokes. Then add about a tablespoon of greek seasoning. Sautee it all together until your spinach is wilted and your artichokes are heated through.
In another bowl, mix up your 6 eggs and add a good amount of salt and pepper. Then pour your eggs over the veggies in the skillet and let it cook (covered) for about 5 minutes, or until the edges begin to set. Then take your tomatoes and slice them very thin. Lay them out on top of your frittata. If you are NOT doing Whole 30 or if your husband really likes feta cheese, top the whole thing with that. Then put it under the broiler (uncovered) until the center is set and the top is slightly browned.

 There you have it! It’s super yummy. I’m planning on eating left-overs for breakfast tomorrow.

(Obviously, the lonely side with the absentee feta is for me.)

 

Day 16:

I always have these fantasies about what I’m going to do on the mornings when Buggie goes to school. I visualize myself cleaning the whole house and then putting on my running clothes and getting in a good workout and a shower and doing my hair, all before Squish wakes up from his morning nap.
Here’s what ACTUALLY happens: Buggie runs in at 7:03 (every. day.) and I grab him and pull him up on the bed with me and tickle him until he insists it’s time to play. I’m already running behind because I refuse to give up this routine.
I rush into the kitchen and make his lunch for school. (Yes, yes. All of you super-moms did this last night before you went to bed. I cleaned up the kitchen and fell into a coma-like sleep at 9pm. That’s the difference between you and me.) I make him a ham and cheese sandwich and YES I CUT IT INTO A CUTE SHAPE, ok? I use a cookie cutter and it’s adorable and I don’t care if his teachers think this is evidence that he will not tie his own shoes until 4^th grade. I like it. And I write a note on his napkin, too! I’m creating a narcissist!!
I balance the rest of the next hour feeding Squish a bottle while reading yet another book about sea anemones to Buggie while I coax him to potty and put on his shorts. I beg him to eat breakfast and then send him out the door with Hubby with a big sigh of relief that he will not be THAT late, and turn around to enjoy the glory of a quiet house. I put Squish down for his first nap and I think… here I go! Watch how productive I will be! And then I turn on a morning show and sit and drink my coffee while it’s hot and eat my breakfast. And I sit there for a long time. I think about how I should get up now, but my stomach is full and I can’t run on a full stomach. And then I remember that I have a few thank-you notes to write. And then I decide a hot shower sounds amazing. So when I hear Squish waking up on the monitor a little while later, my dreams for a Barbie-mom morning are dashed. But somehow I am still fulfilled. I will carry on.

That was a very long way of saying that I did indeed have left-over frittata for breakfast this morning. It was still delicious.

Lunch: I grabbed a rotisserie chicken at the store yesterday and took all the skin off before I chopped it up. Today I threw some of the meat over some greens and added blueberries, dried apricots and cashews. It was bright and pretty and happy.

 

Dinner: This was one of my favorite recipes so far!! Bacon and avocado sliders served over sweet potatoes. It was so good and was actually really easy to make! Everyone loved them.

Here’s the recipe:

http://stupideasypaleo.com/2014/05/22/paleo-avocado-bacon-sliders/

I used some of the sweet potatoes and made a puree for Squish. He’s almost 6 months and it’s time to start solids! It could have gone better. It could have gone worse. But he was stinkin’ adorable.

 

Day 17:

I woke up this morning feeling ambitious. I have a fridge full of veggies and I intend to use them, dang it! I’m not sure what possessed me to make this on a morning when my children were so “busy”, but I did. Here’s the “Italian Brunch Bake” I made. It certainly is a great recipe for brunch, considering that by the time you’re finished making it, it is basically lunch time. But I plan to eat it for the next 4 mornings, so it’s worth it. I used fresh red peppers in mine because I'm not a fan of the roasted ones in a jar. I think they're slimy. There. I said it.

 

This is her picture, not mine. Mine did NOT cut into pretty squares like this. I basically scooped it out with a spatula. It looked like a vegetable explosion on my plate. But it was good!

http://www.whatigather.com/2012/03/zesty-italian-brunch-bake.html

Lunch: We had a play date at the museum this morning with some sweet friends, and we fed our kids while we were there. I came home and got the boys down, and then I was starving (this is becoming a pattern for me since my lunches no longer work between two slices of bread). I used the rest of that chicken from yesterday and had pretty much the exact same salad. It was not terribly exciting but it was yummy!

Dinner: We met with our Life Group from church tonight, where the group-meal was hamburgers, chips, a cheese tray, watermelon and ice cream. I ended up eating a plain hamburger patty between two slices of lettuce and a piece of watermelon. It was kind of sad. People kept looking at my pathetic plate and making the “I’m sad for you” face while ketchup squeezed out between the meat and cheese on their own hamburger buns. I felt sad for me, too.

When we got home, I ate the last piece of frittata and at least went to bed with a full tummy. I missed the ice cream, but c’est la vie.

Day 18: Italian Brunch Bake pay-off! I served myself a big slice and a bowl of berries and patted myself on the back for a job well done. Who cares if I almost lost my mind trying to chop veggies while pretending to be a crab chasing a sea urchin? It’s all worth it now that I have no work to do at all this morning.

Lunch: And the world’s weirdest lunch award goes to…. This totally strange “omlet” thing I made as I was trying to use up the rest of my mushrooms before they went bad! I sautéed all the rest of the sliced mushrooms and added a couple of scrambled eggs. I LOVE mushrooms but this was not delicious. I added half of an apple and some almond butter to round the whole thing out. I know, I know. Where’s the green? Where’s the red? Where’s the pretty? I don’t know. I think I left it with the rest of my brain at the post office or the bank or one of the other stops on our tour ‘de errands this morning.

 

Dinner: Guys, I have the world’s best husband. I know, you probably think yours is the best. And maybe he is for you, but mine is the BEST for me. I mean he’s really great. He called on his way home from work and offered to take Buggie to Chick fil A for me tonight and let me have a few moments of quiet after Squish went down. He’s a good man. A keeper, that one. I asked him to bring me some grilled nuggets on his way home, and I added them to a big bowl of greens with avocado, mango, walnuts and dried apricots. So good!! And hardly any clean-up afterwards. Bliss.

 

I have roped a few poor friends into doing this Whole 30 thing with me. Crazy loves company, people! I can’t wait to share some of their recipes next week. It’s like they’re doing the hard part for me! (insert evil laugh here).

Days 10-14: Evil Temptations!!

Day 10: It’s Wednesday morning over here and I don’t know about you, but I woke up thinking, “NO CASSAROLE TODAY!!” It’s time for something new and fun. I found a recipe on a blog a couple of weeks ago for a very yummy looking smoothie. Before I post the recipe I will add in a few quick warnings:

Hard-core Whole 30ers do not always cheer for smoothies as a regular breakfast because they are usually heavy on the fruit, so consume with caution, people! I added mostly spinach and then used frozen berries in mine. I left out the orange juice and scaled back on the amount of almond butter. It was really yummy! It was very filling and I loved that I could eat breakfast while running around after the kids… no sit-down required!

http://atransparentlife.com/2012/03/13/breakfast-smoothie-extraordinaire-a-la-whole30/

Lunch: We had a playdate this morning at the museum with some of our favorite friends, and I packed Buggie’s lunch for him but forgot a snack for myself. By the time I got home and got the boys down I was REALLY wishing for the lunch fairy, and luckily I had just enough turkey chili left over to fill me up, along with some raw veggies and a handful of grapes. Lunch: Check.

 

Dinner: Tonight I was craving some red meat! I found a delicious-looking recipe for Carne Assada and had just enough time to let the meat marinate for a few hours. This recipe calls for some avocado/tomatillo salsa, but I was rushed today and didn’t have time to make that part. It was still delicious when I served it with potatoes, sautéed mushrooms in balsamic vinegar and some fresh peppers!

 

Here's the original recipe:

http://www.primallyinspired.com/whole-30-dinner-recipes-quick-easy/

 

Yes, yes. Her picture is far prettier than mine.

 

Day 11: Hubby came home from work sick today, which meant I needed to make a quick exit with the boys so he could take a nap for a few minutes. I was grateful for my smoothie this morning that I poured in a thermos and toted along with us on our morning adventures! We headed to the library and checked out every book imaginable about under-the-sea-creatures. Sometimes when you’re three, you need to see 11 books about sea anemones until you’re satisfied.

Lunch: I took Buggie and Squish to Chick-fil-A today. (Cue the dramatic music). I love Chick. I love the grilled nuggets and the fries and the sauce. It was my first time to really venture out and stick to this Whole 30 thing and I was nervous. I ordered Buggie his usual and then scanned the menu for something I could eat. I ordered their Grilled Market Salad and asked them to hold the cheese. It has grilled chicken and berries all over it. I couldn’t have any of the dressings because they all have added sugar (come on, Chick! Get with the times!) but it was actually really good by itself!  I decided that I will probably be that weird girl who carries dressing in my purse from now on. It’s ok to point and laugh.

 

Dinner: This was one of my favorite meals so far! I get the Rachel Ray magazine every month, and while some of her recipes are full of pasta and cheese and all those other sins, I found a couple that I could use this month! I couldn’t find this particular recipe on-line so I took a picture of it from the magazine. I followed it almost exactly, except I swapped chicken broth for the white wine and obviously didn’t include the feta.

 

Day 12

Breakfast: I was in the mood to try something WILD for breakfast, so a few days ago I found this recipe for cinnamon apple “porridge” and thought I’d give it a try! I soaked all my almonds, cashews and walnuts along with the coconut over night, and then this morning I just threw it all together. It was SO YUMMY! It was warm and filling and juuuusssst right (get it, Goldilocks?). It takes a little bit of prep but Buggie was at school this morning so it was no big deal. It made a ton so I imagine I’ll be eating on this for a few days.

 

http://thenourishinghome.com/2014/10/grain-free-cinnamon-apple-breakfast-porridge/

Lunch: After we picked up Buggie from school and I put both the boys down for snoozes, I threw together this super yummy salad. I put a package of water-packed tuna over greens, and then added slivered almonds (I’ve had a lot of nuts today… hope I haven’t gained 3 pounds), strawberries, avocados and topped it with olive oil and lemon juice. It was a winner, folks.

Dinner: FIRST WHOLE 30 FAIL!! Oh, this was disappointing, people. I found this recipe for a bacon-wrapped Kalua pork roast that cooks in the crock pot all day. First of all, finding bacon with no sugar added is like finding the holy grail, so God-speed on that one. Second, the recipe says it’s supposed to cook for 12 hours! Yah. That requires forethought that doesn’t happen in this house. So here’s the recipe, and my good luck to you in making it turn out better than I did. Ours was VERY dry. The boys soaked theirs in barbeque sauce but I was out of luck. I had to use my sweet potato and artichoke as buffers just to get the protein down. This one was not my best work, folks.

This is what it was SUPPOSED to look like in the end. I won't post the gory details of my own finished product.

 

http://happymoneysaver.com/bacon-covered-kalua-pork-recipe/

Day 13: Travels!

We are headed out of town for a little one-night trip to my family’s house in Ft. Worth today! Hubby’s parents (whom I love too much to put into words) bought us tickets to see Newsies tonight in Dallas! NEWSIES, people!!! Only my favorite movie of all time turned into an on-stage production of dance and song and complete happiness. I can hardly handle how excited I am about this.

Breakfast: I scarfed down a bowl of my “porridge” as we loaded up the car. I felt so full afterwards I was uncomfortable. Note to self: you don’t need much of this stuff. It sticks to your ribs.

Lunch: My precious parents grabbed lunch for us at Corner Bakery so it would be all ready and waiting when we got there. I ordered their salad with the apples and walnuts and chicken… hold the cheese. I threw on some olive oil and lemon when I ate it and it was yummy! Look at me, winning when I eat out and all!

Dinner: This was a monumental evening because it was our first night out since Squish was born! I know, I know. Pathetic. But going out takes planning and energy and mascara, and I just have not had the time or desire to go there just yet. But I was so excited to head out tonight! We ate at a Mexican food place in Dallas. Here came temptation #2 (the first one being the FRIES from Chick-fil-A a few days ago!). I love chips. Like, I really love them. I wanted to eat them as I watched everyone dig in around the table. My justifying thoughts went like this:

“I mean it’s more of a social obligation than anything! I think I should make an exception!”

“I’m just being rude now. They’re going to think I’m too cool for school.”

“I’m going to have to be really specific with my order and that nice waiter is going to think I’m a freak!”

“Please take these chips away from my line of sight”

And so on, and so on…

But I made it! Not one chip entered this mouth. I felt like I deserved a medal when we got back to the car. Did I mention they gave us free sopapillas?? And I didn’t eat one, people! MEDAL I TELL YOU!

I ended up ordering a grilled chicken salad and topped it with lime juice. It was filling and yummy and I was perfectly satisfied afterwards. Whew. I did it.

I was sufficiently rewarded with the world’s best musical ever!! It was an amazing show! We had a great time and I’m so glad it was our first-night-out celebration.

 

Day 14: Mother’s Day!

 All of you sweet little mommy’s probably got breakfast in bed today. Not me! All I wanted was an extra hour of sleep, and my amazing Hubby did not disappoint. He got both the boys up and had them playing and happy when I woke up. It was blissful.

We were at my parent’s house this morning, so I didn’t have access to my usual breakfast arsenal. My family orders these INCREDIBLE breakfast burritos from a food truck in Ft. Worth and they will blow. your. mind. But I was a good girl and asked for mine to be egg-only, and when they arrived I took the lonely eggs out of the tortilla and ate them with a side of delicious fruit salad my momma made. The woman can ROCK a fruit salad. She rocks most things.

Lunch: We ended up leaving for home later than we expected, and we were starving half-way through the ride. We decided our only option was to drive through Wendy’s and feed the hungry hippo in the backseat. I ordered a plain baked potato and a small chili. I didn’t know that the chili had beans in it, but it was easy to eat around them. It wasn’t my favorite by far, but it was fine and I was just glad there was something I could eat!

Not my fave.

Dinner: Another Rachel Ray win!! This soup was super yummy. I made it with the shrimp and topped it off with a little coconut milk and it was smooth and delicious. Definitely a favorite!

Again, couldn’t find the recipe on-line, so here’s a lovely pic from my magazine.

 

 

Week three starts tomorrow! I need to sit down and plan my meals and go to the grocery store for heaven’s sake! My fridge is empty. But my belly is not!

 

The Honeymoon

Day 6: Getting the hang of this!!

Happy Saturday, world! I love Saturdays because Hubby is home and gets to spend the morning playing with us and I can drink a cup of coffee while it is almost-sort-of-hot. I love to watch him put on a pirate hat and sword fight with Buggie while I pull and stretch our little world to life in the morning. This partner-thing totally rocks. It’s the absolute best.

Breakfast: Only a few more days left of this breakfast casserole! I brought my other one out of the freezer yesterday and just as I’m starting to get good and sick of it, it’s almost gone.

Lunch: This was one of my very favorite things so far! I threw together some spinach, left-over pork from last night, dried apricots, cashews, avocado, some olive oil and vinegar and it was SO GOOD. Like, delicious.

 

Dinner: We make quesadillas and tostadas regularly in this house, so I knew I was going to have to find some way to substitute the tortillas and taco shells for something else this month. Tonight I made some really yummy cilantro lime shrimp from SkinnyTaste. Here’s the recipe:

 

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2010/03/cilantro-lime-shrimp.html

 

 

I served it on tostada shells for the boys with sour cream and guacamole and all that stuff, but for me I sliced up some jicama and squeezed lime all over it and then dusted it with some paprika and there you go! Perfectly yummy “tostadas”. I actually think they were more filling this way. I ate some guacamole also, and it was a delicious alternative to my regular Mexican night!

 

Day 7: Doing great!

I woke up this morning and just could not believe how great I felt! I have so much more energy, even though Squish is still requesting milk two times each night. I didn’t think that food could have this big of an impact on my energy level, but I am so excited to feel more alert and able to make it through the entire day without a nap!

 Breakfast: Only. 3. Days. Left. I can do it. The only reason I haven’t given up on this breakfast already is that I hate to waste food. It’s so pretty. Just eat it.

 Lunch: Buggie has a little virus and Squish is still battling his ear infection, so church is a no-go for us today. I spent the whole morning running around to different grocery stores to stock up for next week, so by the time I got home I was starved! Luckily there was just enough pork left in the fridge to throw together some wraps and chomp on some pretty veggies. It’s such a pretty plate!

 

Dinner: Tonight I threw some salmon filets on the skillet and a couple of sweet potatoes in the oven. I steamed some broccoli and added lemon juice and almonds. It was quick and super easy and delicious! Buggie gobbled up his broccoli and potato, but I had to make him some tilapia because he refuses to eat “pink fish”. He doesn’t know what he’s missing.

 

All my meals are organized and ready for next week! I’m excited and feel inspired to keep this thing up.

 BEGINNING OF WEEK 2!!

Day 8: A day of miracles

 Today was a BIG day in the Shelburne house! A BIG DAY, people! Hubby went down to Texas A&M to defend his dissertation proposal… the whiny and nagging “third child” in this family whom I cannot wait to get rid of and move on from, ifIdosaysomyself. Hubby has been working on his PhD for the last 6 years, 2 of which have been dedicated to this dissertation and all the fun surrounding it. I truly have never seen anyone work so hard on anything in my life. The man is a genius and a perfectionist to the core. He has worked tirelessly and relentlessly on this for a brief eternity and it. was. time. He met before his committee today and they loved it! They cheered him on! They affirmed his hard work! It was one of those days where you wish you could physically throw your arms around Jesus to thank him. We can see the finish line and we are so excited!

Breakfast: I scarfed down my usual as I helped get hubby out the door on time. It wasn’t too boring because I didn’t really taste it at all. It fueled and nourished me enough to hose and sweep out our entire garage. Nervous energy, I guess.

Lunch: Here was Miracle Number 2!! I baked a huge batch of brownies for Hubby’s leadership class that was coming over for dinner, and I looked down at that batter in the bowl that I would normally lick off of my fingers and I didn’t even want it, guys! I didn’t even wish I could have it! I have no idea why, but my sugar cravings are pretty much gone completely. I felt like a superhero. However, my lunch was a strange mixture of left-over meat from the weekend and a cut-up apple with almond butter. Not my best work. But I was busy!

Dinner: Did I mention we were having students over for pizza? Bread? Cheese? Yummy fattening deliciousness? Well we did. And I was totally fine thanks to this big bowl of chili I made before they arrived. I doubled the recipe and froze half for a night when I don’t feel like cooking. Here’s the recipe!

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2013/10/no-bean-turkey-and-sweet-potato-chili.html

Obviously I didn't add the sour cream, but I will when I serve it to the boys!

Day 9:  Confession

So, I know that part of this Whole 30 thing is that you’re not supposed to weigh yourself until the end of the month, but I just HAD to! I wanted to know. And guess what?? I lost 4 pounds last week! Crazy! I know this is about far more than weight loss, (I know people always say that, but they really mean that they want to squeeze back into their college jeans, but I DO actually mean this is about more than that to me… and my college jeans might as well be on another planet because that’s not happening, folks) but it felt good to know that this was making a difference in more than just my energy and overall feelings of wellness.

Breakfast: LAST DAY of casserole Praise Be to God.

Lunch: Left-over turkey chili from last night! I think it was even better today, actually. Maybe that’s because all I had to do was just warm it up and move on.

Dinner: Hubby is out of town tonight so it’s just me, and I had big plans to make something special and pretty and tasty but the truth is I’m wiped out from being on my own all day and I didn’t want to! So I made a “lazy dinner” of scrambled eggs with spinach, an apple and almond butter. Almond butter is quickly becoming my new favorite thing.

 

I feel like I’m in the honeymoon period of this Whole 30 thing. I’m like, “You HAVE to try this!” and “This is so great! I’m feeling amazing!”… I am guessing that the boredom and preparation fatigue will set in at some point, but so far this is definitely one of my favorite little adventures.