Well, I'm officially 21 days into my new Whole30 but last week I decided that I wanted to go off plan (in a reasonable amount, mind you!). It becomes different when you are no longer tracking your eating by putting it in a notebook or a blog and just living normally. I'm still eating basically the same way, except I have been cooking with butter and not ghee - didn't make the time to make it last week. I have also had things like almond flour carrot/apple cake (no sugar, though) and coconut pancakes on the weekend. I even found myself in a restaurant for a business lunch unable to find ANYTHING that fit in with my plan, so I ordered something with potatoes, cheese and wheat. Hello, bloated belly! But it's ok. I feel ok with making choices. I'm also very aware of how I feel afterwards.
Today is Sunday and I will be making a big batch of borscht, some ghee (I do prefer it), some braised cabbage and some grilled chicken in the oven.
At this point I'd like to be working on getting workouts into my weekly schedule. I have everything I need at home to be working out, so there are really no excuses other than me being too lazy and not feeling like it. I will do a flow yoga class via myyogaonline.com today and I know I'll feel better for it.
I was planning on posting some recipes with photos but I'm not there yet. I promise it will be coming soon.
Sunday 24 February 2013
Wednesday 6 February 2013
my second Whole30 day 3
Alright, I'm back in the saddle! I just feel a million times better for eating clean again, too!
So far, it's been easy to slip into my Whole30 compliant eating. The only thing is because I was away all last weekend, I wasn't able to do a big cook up on Sunday, like I usually do. But I'm still managing because JM was able to buy groceries and stock up on all the stuff he knew I wanted.
Come this weekend, I'm going to start getting creative in the kitchen and post a few photos and recipes!
So far, it's been easy to slip into my Whole30 compliant eating. The only thing is because I was away all last weekend, I wasn't able to do a big cook up on Sunday, like I usually do. But I'm still managing because JM was able to buy groceries and stock up on all the stuff he knew I wanted.
Come this weekend, I'm going to start getting creative in the kitchen and post a few photos and recipes!
Monday 4 February 2013
Whole30 wrap up and new start!
Ok, so I kind of ended my Whole30 in a miserable way, but I did get a lot out of the experience and loved it so much that I'm starting again today. I won't be posting here about everything I eat, but I will try to post about good recipes and start adding photos.
Here are the things that I have gained:
Here is what I lost:
5 pounds is not a huge loss, but I'm happy with it. I can only imagine what a few more months will bring. I think that losing steadily is the way to go and I'm happy with the rate of just over one pound per week. Don't forget that I only exercised seriously for the first week. I think that my last two days in Paris might have had an effect on my weigh-in today (I was constipated to put it bluntly) so I may have even lost more than that in the end. At any rate, I have started again today with all my tools in hand: my go-to recipes and websites and cookbooks full of great ideas. I'm hoping to ease into exercise in a way that is sustainable.
Here are the things that I have gained:
- energy
- a good sleep every night
- waking up without an alarm and feeling awake
- a sense of control over my choices
- no afternoon slump in energy
- excellent recipes
- confidence
- happiness!
Here is what I lost:
- 2.5 kilos or 5 pounds
- my belly (it's flatter now)
- cravings - I watch my co-workers eat chocolate after lunch with their coffee and I don't feel any urge to join in
5 pounds is not a huge loss, but I'm happy with it. I can only imagine what a few more months will bring. I think that losing steadily is the way to go and I'm happy with the rate of just over one pound per week. Don't forget that I only exercised seriously for the first week. I think that my last two days in Paris might have had an effect on my weigh-in today (I was constipated to put it bluntly) so I may have even lost more than that in the end. At any rate, I have started again today with all my tools in hand: my go-to recipes and websites and cookbooks full of great ideas. I'm hoping to ease into exercise in a way that is sustainable.
Whole30 day 30
Well, as you know, I can't say I have completed a whole Whole30 due to going off-plan yesterday. Here's what happened anyway.
breakfast
I had a boiled egg that I took from home, 1/2 an avocado, a piece of pumpkin bread and a mandarin orange.
lunch
I was in a fancy part of Paris and had no time to get a real lunch. I ended up at Fauchon (fancy bakery) of all places. Luckily they had some deli items, so I ordered a plate of chicken breast and vegetables. It came with lentils but I didn't eat them. I later had a small coffee.
supper
Back at the hotel cafeteria, I had a piece of veal in tomato sauce with some veggies and an apple for dessert.
After supper, we went out for a drink. I was planning on just getting a perrier or something and then I don't know what happened. I got tempted. I ordered a hot chocolate (what?) with whipped cream on top. I don't know how I got to that decision, but it was like I had already gone off-plan so what was one more thing? Then the people at my table ordered a plate of cheese and I ended up taking a few bites of various cheese. I lived to regret it though. I immediately had a belly full of misery and my digestion was not comfortable.
The next day (day 31!) I had the same thing for breakfast and made two none-compliant choices: a Korean dish of chicken and veg that had some rice. I ate the rice. But wait, it gets worse! I was lured in by a Starbucks and ordered a latte AND a piece of carrot cake/bread. Don't worry. I lived to regret that even more even though it tasted good!
breakfast
I had a boiled egg that I took from home, 1/2 an avocado, a piece of pumpkin bread and a mandarin orange.
lunch
I was in a fancy part of Paris and had no time to get a real lunch. I ended up at Fauchon (fancy bakery) of all places. Luckily they had some deli items, so I ordered a plate of chicken breast and vegetables. It came with lentils but I didn't eat them. I later had a small coffee.
supper
Back at the hotel cafeteria, I had a piece of veal in tomato sauce with some veggies and an apple for dessert.
After supper, we went out for a drink. I was planning on just getting a perrier or something and then I don't know what happened. I got tempted. I ordered a hot chocolate (what?) with whipped cream on top. I don't know how I got to that decision, but it was like I had already gone off-plan so what was one more thing? Then the people at my table ordered a plate of cheese and I ended up taking a few bites of various cheese. I lived to regret it though. I immediately had a belly full of misery and my digestion was not comfortable.
The next day (day 31!) I had the same thing for breakfast and made two none-compliant choices: a Korean dish of chicken and veg that had some rice. I ate the rice. But wait, it gets worse! I was lured in by a Starbucks and ordered a latte AND a piece of carrot cake/bread. Don't worry. I lived to regret that even more even though it tasted good!
Whole30 day 29
Ok, here is where my story goes a little awry. As you know, I had to go to Paris (for work) and I wanted to be compliant for my last two days. But eating out for every meal and being in Paris kind of made things difficult for me. And I made some poor choices. I'll 'fess up now. I went off plan. Here's how it went down.
breakfast
I had some pumpkin/banana pancakes and two fried eggs. Later in the train I had a few almonds and cranberries/raisins and a mandarin orange.
lunch
I went to a restaurant at a train station where I thought I could get something reasonable. I saw a piece of fish served with crunchy vegetables and thought that would do. Except the fish was served in a beurre blanc sauce and the crunchy vegetables were veggies in filo pastry that was deep-fried (fancy, though). I was super hungry, so I ate up and finished with a little coffee. Oh well, I thought.
I had to pick up a group that I was showing around Paris and later in the day, when I was walking around with them, they came across the famous "Berthillon" ice cream place on Ile Saint-Louis. They all wanted ice cream. I was going to hold out, but then I thought "I've already eaten off-plan today and I AM in Paris..." and so I asked which sorbet had the least amount of sugar added and went with that in a cup. It was a small single scoop and it was ok, but I kind of regretted it after when my stomach was going all gurgly.
supper
We had meals where we were staying. I had a piece of fish with some veggies with an apple for dessert. I was kind of hungry afterwards, so I had a piece of pumpkin bread and a couple of almonds/raisins.
It feels strange to go off-plan when there's no real reason to - I was feeling great and loving what I was eating. But circumstances put things a little out of whack.
breakfast
I had some pumpkin/banana pancakes and two fried eggs. Later in the train I had a few almonds and cranberries/raisins and a mandarin orange.
lunch
I went to a restaurant at a train station where I thought I could get something reasonable. I saw a piece of fish served with crunchy vegetables and thought that would do. Except the fish was served in a beurre blanc sauce and the crunchy vegetables were veggies in filo pastry that was deep-fried (fancy, though). I was super hungry, so I ate up and finished with a little coffee. Oh well, I thought.
I had to pick up a group that I was showing around Paris and later in the day, when I was walking around with them, they came across the famous "Berthillon" ice cream place on Ile Saint-Louis. They all wanted ice cream. I was going to hold out, but then I thought "I've already eaten off-plan today and I AM in Paris..." and so I asked which sorbet had the least amount of sugar added and went with that in a cup. It was a small single scoop and it was ok, but I kind of regretted it after when my stomach was going all gurgly.
supper
We had meals where we were staying. I had a piece of fish with some veggies with an apple for dessert. I was kind of hungry afterwards, so I had a piece of pumpkin bread and a couple of almonds/raisins.
It feels strange to go off-plan when there's no real reason to - I was feeling great and loving what I was eating. But circumstances put things a little out of whack.
Whole30 day 28
Well, I'm a little behind in these posts, but I'll explain why a little later on.
breakfast
I had leftover pumpkin pancakes with some applesauce and 2 fried eggs.
lunch
We had lunch provided at work and luckily I could eat it! I had pork roast with carrot purée with an orange for dessert.
supper
JM made some curried turkey that we had with a veggie fry up. I fried some apples in some coconut oil and we ate that topped with a few toasted nuts and cranberries.
After supper I made a pumpkin/apple/carrot cake with a bit of almond flour. I know this is somewhat not compliant (it's a cake - albeit with NO sugar!) but you see, I had plans to go to Paris for the weekend and I knew that breakfast would be impossible at the hotel where we were staying, so I thought I'd pack up a bunch of stuff. I made some hard-boiled eggs and packed an avocado (1/2 for each morning), some mixed almonds and raisins/cranberries and some mandarin oranges, along with a few slices of the pumpkin bread.
breakfast
I had leftover pumpkin pancakes with some applesauce and 2 fried eggs.
lunch
We had lunch provided at work and luckily I could eat it! I had pork roast with carrot purée with an orange for dessert.
supper
JM made some curried turkey that we had with a veggie fry up. I fried some apples in some coconut oil and we ate that topped with a few toasted nuts and cranberries.
After supper I made a pumpkin/apple/carrot cake with a bit of almond flour. I know this is somewhat not compliant (it's a cake - albeit with NO sugar!) but you see, I had plans to go to Paris for the weekend and I knew that breakfast would be impossible at the hotel where we were staying, so I thought I'd pack up a bunch of stuff. I made some hard-boiled eggs and packed an avocado (1/2 for each morning), some mixed almonds and raisins/cranberries and some mandarin oranges, along with a few slices of the pumpkin bread.
Wednesday 30 January 2013
Whole30 day 27
Three days to go! I already know that after these 30 days, I will be pretty much sticking to the same way of eating, with just the occasional "paleofied" (or not) treats. It feels too good to be this in control of what I put in my mouth!
breakfast
Pumpkin pancakes with some grated apple and almond butter.
lunch
Mashed cauliflower, cabbage and meatballs, followed by a mandarin orange.
supper
Fried cod, braised cabbage and sauteed spinach, plus an endive salad with walnuts.
We're pretty much out of leftovers now, so tomorrow at work will be a challenge. I can always bring up a frozen piece of cod and some spinach and be done with it. We have a full kitchen at work, so I can cook it up in a frying pan at lunch.
One other "problem" I have is that in two days I am going to Paris for three days to help translate for a visiting group. I'm going to have to stock up on breakfast items because I know otherwise I'll be looking at a baguette, butter and jam first thing in the morning. I don't want to blow it. I figure eating out for lunch and supper will be easier. I can always order a piece of meat (or a stew dish) with some veggies on the side. Or a big salad! The only thing I may not be able to control is whether things are fried in butter or canola oil...
breakfast
Pumpkin pancakes with some grated apple and almond butter.
lunch
Mashed cauliflower, cabbage and meatballs, followed by a mandarin orange.
supper
Fried cod, braised cabbage and sauteed spinach, plus an endive salad with walnuts.
We're pretty much out of leftovers now, so tomorrow at work will be a challenge. I can always bring up a frozen piece of cod and some spinach and be done with it. We have a full kitchen at work, so I can cook it up in a frying pan at lunch.
One other "problem" I have is that in two days I am going to Paris for three days to help translate for a visiting group. I'm going to have to stock up on breakfast items because I know otherwise I'll be looking at a baguette, butter and jam first thing in the morning. I don't want to blow it. I figure eating out for lunch and supper will be easier. I can always order a piece of meat (or a stew dish) with some veggies on the side. Or a big salad! The only thing I may not be able to control is whether things are fried in butter or canola oil...
Tuesday 29 January 2013
Whole30 day 26
JM didn't sleep too well last night due to his cold/flu thing, and so I didn't sleep so well either. At about 4am, he went down to sleep on the sofa because he couldn't stop being restless. It took me about an hour to get back to sleep after this. I remarkably felt ok (yesterday I felt like I was coming down with something).
breakfast
Sweet potato hash with 2 fried eggs and tea. We have no more sweet potatoes and only one egg left in the house! What will I do tomorrow? I know - pumpkin pancakes.
lunch
Kind of exactly the same as yesterday: meatballs, cabbage, roasted veg and mashed cauliflower. Mandarin for dessert.
supper
Kind of exactly the same as lunch!
Plus some fried cinnamon apples with some pecan pieces and dried cranberries.
Sleep update!
Ok, so aside from last night's poor sleep, I've been meaning to note that I now don't need an alarm to wake up and when I wake up, I'm awake. All my life I have had a difficult time waking up and getting up, and now I'm doing this with much ease. I'd say that's a marked improvement, along with the lack of the afternoon slump that I used to have. I only have 4 days left and I'm excited to see the full results at the end!
breakfast
Sweet potato hash with 2 fried eggs and tea. We have no more sweet potatoes and only one egg left in the house! What will I do tomorrow? I know - pumpkin pancakes.
lunch
Kind of exactly the same as yesterday: meatballs, cabbage, roasted veg and mashed cauliflower. Mandarin for dessert.
supper
Kind of exactly the same as lunch!
Plus some fried cinnamon apples with some pecan pieces and dried cranberries.
Sleep update!
Ok, so aside from last night's poor sleep, I've been meaning to note that I now don't need an alarm to wake up and when I wake up, I'm awake. All my life I have had a difficult time waking up and getting up, and now I'm doing this with much ease. I'd say that's a marked improvement, along with the lack of the afternoon slump that I used to have. I only have 4 days left and I'm excited to see the full results at the end!
Whole30 day 25
Monday felt in control since all the food had been prepared the day before.
breakfast
The usual (sweet potato hash and 2 fried eggs)
lunch
All the good stuff in my fridge! Moroccan meatballs, braised cabbage, roasted vegetables, mashed garlic cauliflower. A mandarin for dessert.
supper
JM was still feeling under the weather and wasn't too hungry. So I heated up more bone broth with some onions and then I also had a bit of the butternut squash casserole. For dessert I had some leftover coconut cream, mixed with a little pure cocoa powder, some dried cranberries and pecan pieces. Was that legal? It was good!
I may or may not have had a mandarin or an apple after that. I honestly can't remember!
breakfast
The usual (sweet potato hash and 2 fried eggs)
lunch
All the good stuff in my fridge! Moroccan meatballs, braised cabbage, roasted vegetables, mashed garlic cauliflower. A mandarin for dessert.
supper
JM was still feeling under the weather and wasn't too hungry. So I heated up more bone broth with some onions and then I also had a bit of the butternut squash casserole. For dessert I had some leftover coconut cream, mixed with a little pure cocoa powder, some dried cranberries and pecan pieces. Was that legal? It was good!
I may or may not have had a mandarin or an apple after that. I honestly can't remember!
Sunday 27 January 2013
Whole 30 day 24
Sunday. Day of cooking. Also day of rest. And laundry.
breakfast
JM and I had the other half of the mushroom, spinach, red pepper, ground chicken frittata from last night. I also had 1/2 a banana with a lick of almond butter. And tea. Later in the morning I had a mandarin orange.
I had a bit of a lazy morning. JM is coming down with something and so we just relaxed in front of the fire and watched a couple of short documentaries. I was trying to gather up the courage to get cooking! But first I wanted to get the few "to do" items off my list: ironing, paperwork and a couple of emails.
Once I got in the kitchen, here's what I made:
Moroccan meatballs - same as last week from the Well Fed cookbook
Mashed Garlic Cauliflower - same as last week!
Roasted vegetables - same as last week!
Chez Panisse Braised Cabbage - same as last week!
Butternut Squash Casserole - NEW! From my Well Fed cookbook.
Kale Chips - NEW! From Nom Nom Paleo but I can't find kale in France so I just used curly green cabbage. I worked out great!
Apple Chips - NEW! From this website that I found via Just Eat Real Food on Facebook.
Ok, so I know that there were a lot of repeats, but I enjoyed last week so much that I thought I'd give it another go. Plus, I think it's good to get familiar with recipes so that they get under your skin, so to speak, and then you can build up your repertoire bit by bit. The meatballs were made with different meat this week. When we were at the market yesterday buying our local eggs, I saw that the vendor had some ground poultry sausage meat. I asked him what was added to it and he said just salt, pepper and parsley. Since he's a local producer and grower, I figured this must be quality stuff. And it was!
lunch
Lunch was on the late side after I cooked all of the above (except the apple chips) and so we had a mixed plate, with all of what I made: meatballs, mashed cauliflower, roasted veg, cabbage and butternut casserole. Oh, and we had some kale chips as an appetizer! I mixed up a little berry compote with some coconut cream and threw a couple of pecan pieces on top and that was dessert. It is the weekend after all!
supper
After all that cooking, I had a little rest and then cleaned up a little. JM has been coming down with something over the last few days, so I thought a little bone broth with some onions might be a good idea. I heated up half the bone broth I made last week and had frozen, with two chopped onions. After that we had exactly what we had for lunch. I also had a mandarin orange and a couple of apple chips, but the supper was quite filling and I probably didn't need dessert!
Ok, I'm going to 'fess up here. When I first started the Whole30, I also wanted to organize my exercise at the same time. Since the end of the first week, my exercise has totally been non-existant but I know that I can bring it back in, with time. It feels good to be getting my cooking and eating established and I'm looking forward to exercising to complete the picture.
breakfast
JM and I had the other half of the mushroom, spinach, red pepper, ground chicken frittata from last night. I also had 1/2 a banana with a lick of almond butter. And tea. Later in the morning I had a mandarin orange.
I had a bit of a lazy morning. JM is coming down with something and so we just relaxed in front of the fire and watched a couple of short documentaries. I was trying to gather up the courage to get cooking! But first I wanted to get the few "to do" items off my list: ironing, paperwork and a couple of emails.
Once I got in the kitchen, here's what I made:
Moroccan meatballs - same as last week from the Well Fed cookbook
Mashed Garlic Cauliflower - same as last week!
Roasted vegetables - same as last week!
Chez Panisse Braised Cabbage - same as last week!
Butternut Squash Casserole - NEW! From my Well Fed cookbook.
Kale Chips - NEW! From Nom Nom Paleo but I can't find kale in France so I just used curly green cabbage. I worked out great!
Apple Chips - NEW! From this website that I found via Just Eat Real Food on Facebook.
Ok, so I know that there were a lot of repeats, but I enjoyed last week so much that I thought I'd give it another go. Plus, I think it's good to get familiar with recipes so that they get under your skin, so to speak, and then you can build up your repertoire bit by bit. The meatballs were made with different meat this week. When we were at the market yesterday buying our local eggs, I saw that the vendor had some ground poultry sausage meat. I asked him what was added to it and he said just salt, pepper and parsley. Since he's a local producer and grower, I figured this must be quality stuff. And it was!
lunch
Lunch was on the late side after I cooked all of the above (except the apple chips) and so we had a mixed plate, with all of what I made: meatballs, mashed cauliflower, roasted veg, cabbage and butternut casserole. Oh, and we had some kale chips as an appetizer! I mixed up a little berry compote with some coconut cream and threw a couple of pecan pieces on top and that was dessert. It is the weekend after all!
supper
After all that cooking, I had a little rest and then cleaned up a little. JM has been coming down with something over the last few days, so I thought a little bone broth with some onions might be a good idea. I heated up half the bone broth I made last week and had frozen, with two chopped onions. After that we had exactly what we had for lunch. I also had a mandarin orange and a couple of apple chips, but the supper was quite filling and I probably didn't need dessert!
Ok, I'm going to 'fess up here. When I first started the Whole30, I also wanted to organize my exercise at the same time. Since the end of the first week, my exercise has totally been non-existant but I know that I can bring it back in, with time. It feels good to be getting my cooking and eating established and I'm looking forward to exercising to complete the picture.
Whole30 day 23
Saturday - we went to the market and it was snowing and sunny at the same time. Gotta love it.
breakfast
Same old, same old. (sweet potato hash and 2 fried eggs)
lunch
Banana pancakes with some applesauce and coconut cream. I know this lunch is teetering on the edge of off-limits, but it was still legal!
supper
Since I knew that I will be doing a major cook-up tomorrow, I didn't really feel inspired to do too much tonight. I roasted some pieces of sweet potato (and regular potato for JM) and I made a frittata with onions, garlic, red pepper, mushrooms, spinach and ground chicken. I had some pineapple pieces with coconut cream for dessert.
Cooking day Sunday, here I come!
breakfast
Same old, same old. (sweet potato hash and 2 fried eggs)
lunch
Banana pancakes with some applesauce and coconut cream. I know this lunch is teetering on the edge of off-limits, but it was still legal!
supper
Since I knew that I will be doing a major cook-up tomorrow, I didn't really feel inspired to do too much tonight. I roasted some pieces of sweet potato (and regular potato for JM) and I made a frittata with onions, garlic, red pepper, mushrooms, spinach and ground chicken. I had some pineapple pieces with coconut cream for dessert.
Cooking day Sunday, here I come!
Saturday 26 January 2013
Whole30 day 22
Friday! Yay!
breakfast
Sweet potato hash with 2 fried eggs. Tea.
lunch
Leftover veggie stirfry from last night with some leftover ready-made ground beef. One mandarin orange.
supper
Broccoli and fried fish, with a salad. Fried apples with coconut cream for dessert.
That was it, really.
breakfast
Sweet potato hash with 2 fried eggs. Tea.
lunch
Leftover veggie stirfry from last night with some leftover ready-made ground beef. One mandarin orange.
supper
Broccoli and fried fish, with a salad. Fried apples with coconut cream for dessert.
That was it, really.
Thursday 24 January 2013
Whole 30 day 21
breakfast
Sweet potato hash with two fried eggs, followed by 1/2 banana, a pumpkin pancake and some applesauce.
lunch
Wah! I forgot to bring stuff to work with me this morning. Luckily I still had some leftovers at work, namely some braised cabbage and some broccoli. I ate that but didn't feel satisfied without protein and some fat. Other than that I just had green tea.
supper
JM made a mixed vegetable dish (carrots, turnips, cabbage, onion) and we ate that with some pan-fried cod and a salad. Followed that with some pineapple and coconut cream.
I'm not sure if it was the big breakfast or the small lunch, but when I got home, I was already craving the coconut cream before I had supper. Uh oh.
Sweet potato hash with two fried eggs, followed by 1/2 banana, a pumpkin pancake and some applesauce.
lunch
Wah! I forgot to bring stuff to work with me this morning. Luckily I still had some leftovers at work, namely some braised cabbage and some broccoli. I ate that but didn't feel satisfied without protein and some fat. Other than that I just had green tea.
supper
JM made a mixed vegetable dish (carrots, turnips, cabbage, onion) and we ate that with some pan-fried cod and a salad. Followed that with some pineapple and coconut cream.
I'm not sure if it was the big breakfast or the small lunch, but when I got home, I was already craving the coconut cream before I had supper. Uh oh.
Wednesday 23 January 2013
Whole30 day 20
Today was a pretty important medical procedure (in the evening) for me. On the food side, things were pretty much samey-samey.
breakfast
Sweet potato hash with a fried egg, followed by one leftover pumpkin pancake with some coconut cream and applesauce.
lunch
Braised cabbage, broccoli and moroccan meatballs. Mandarin orange for dessert and a wee cup of coffe to follow. How French!
supper
We did a mixed fry up with the braised cabbage, the remaining moroccan meatballs and the ready-made ground beef. THIS is a recipe that needs to be advertised! It was almost a sweet and sour beef dish. Too good. Really! We also had a mixed green salad, but it paled in comparison to that fry up.
I did have a little dessert of pineapple with coconut cream, shaved coconut, walnut pieces and a couple of raisins/cranberries. A delicious day!
breakfast
Sweet potato hash with a fried egg, followed by one leftover pumpkin pancake with some coconut cream and applesauce.
lunch
Braised cabbage, broccoli and moroccan meatballs. Mandarin orange for dessert and a wee cup of coffe to follow. How French!
supper
We did a mixed fry up with the braised cabbage, the remaining moroccan meatballs and the ready-made ground beef. THIS is a recipe that needs to be advertised! It was almost a sweet and sour beef dish. Too good. Really! We also had a mixed green salad, but it paled in comparison to that fry up.
I did have a little dessert of pineapple with coconut cream, shaved coconut, walnut pieces and a couple of raisins/cranberries. A delicious day!
Tuesday 22 January 2013
Whole30 day 19
breakfast
I made pumpkin pancakes with the leftover pumpkin in my fridge and ate them with a little applesauce. I'm not sure that I got enough protein since I only used two eggs in the pancakes and didn't even eat 1/2 of them. At any rate, I didn't get super hungry before lunch, so that's good.
At work, we have a tradition of having a communal apéritif before lunch when there are new artists who are going to be in residence in our building (this is France, after all!). Champagne was served and, as much as I would have liked a little bubbly, I opted for a glass of water with only a *splash* of apple juice. There were things to nibble on, but I just had a couple of pistachios. Phew. Survived that one!
lunch
I had the pork Rogan Josh, mashed cauliflower, roasted veggies and the sauteed spinach/mushroom from last night. I ended lunch with a mandarin orange and skipped the coffee. Felt better for it, too!
supper
JM used the "ready made" ground beef and broccoli, along with the braised cabbage and roasted veggies and did a huge fry up. It was super tasty! We ate that along with a salad for supper and then I had two pumpkin pancakes with applesauce and some coconut cream for dessert.
I know that this is a non-photo blog (so far) and really I'm doing this as a way to be accountable to myself. However, I'm discovering all sorts of good recipes and advice along the way, and I hope to start transferring some of this along, but I first need to get through my Whole30!
I made pumpkin pancakes with the leftover pumpkin in my fridge and ate them with a little applesauce. I'm not sure that I got enough protein since I only used two eggs in the pancakes and didn't even eat 1/2 of them. At any rate, I didn't get super hungry before lunch, so that's good.
At work, we have a tradition of having a communal apéritif before lunch when there are new artists who are going to be in residence in our building (this is France, after all!). Champagne was served and, as much as I would have liked a little bubbly, I opted for a glass of water with only a *splash* of apple juice. There were things to nibble on, but I just had a couple of pistachios. Phew. Survived that one!
lunch
I had the pork Rogan Josh, mashed cauliflower, roasted veggies and the sauteed spinach/mushroom from last night. I ended lunch with a mandarin orange and skipped the coffee. Felt better for it, too!
supper
JM used the "ready made" ground beef and broccoli, along with the braised cabbage and roasted veggies and did a huge fry up. It was super tasty! We ate that along with a salad for supper and then I had two pumpkin pancakes with applesauce and some coconut cream for dessert.
I know that this is a non-photo blog (so far) and really I'm doing this as a way to be accountable to myself. However, I'm discovering all sorts of good recipes and advice along the way, and I hope to start transferring some of this along, but I first need to get through my Whole30!
Monday 21 January 2013
Whole 30 day 18
Monday, January 21, 2013. Apparently today is meant to be the most depressing day of the year. My day was certainly dark, but that was mostly due to the weather. My food brought in a lot of sunshine, though!
breakfast
Oh, I just stuck with the usual: sweet potato hash, 2 fried eggs plus some coconut cream with the berry compote. All washed down with tea.
lunch
Leftover heaven! Moroccan meatballs, mashed garlic cauliflower, roasted vegetables and a petit café to end the meal. No fruit. No dessert.
supper
More delicious leftovers! Pork Rogan Josh, mashed cauliflower, plus a little side dish of spinach and mushrooms that I tossed in a frying pan. JM made a salad and I also added some pineapple salsa for something cool and sweet. And then I had dessert. More pineapple, coconut cream, grated coconut, walnut pieces and a little applesauce. Oh boy, that was good.
I noticed that there is still some pumpkin leftover in the fridge so I have made plans to make pancakes tomorrow morning.
breakfast
Oh, I just stuck with the usual: sweet potato hash, 2 fried eggs plus some coconut cream with the berry compote. All washed down with tea.
lunch
Leftover heaven! Moroccan meatballs, mashed garlic cauliflower, roasted vegetables and a petit café to end the meal. No fruit. No dessert.
supper
More delicious leftovers! Pork Rogan Josh, mashed cauliflower, plus a little side dish of spinach and mushrooms that I tossed in a frying pan. JM made a salad and I also added some pineapple salsa for something cool and sweet. And then I had dessert. More pineapple, coconut cream, grated coconut, walnut pieces and a little applesauce. Oh boy, that was good.
I noticed that there is still some pumpkin leftover in the fridge so I have made plans to make pancakes tomorrow morning.
Sunday 20 January 2013
Whole30 day 17
Sunday, blissful cooking day, Sunday!
breakfast
1/2 sweet potato hash
2 fried eggs
some coconut cream with the berry compote I made yesterday. Mmmm, that was good.
tea
(in my defence, the sweet potato in question needed to be used because it had some squishy rotting parts, so I cut those off and used up the rest)
I dealt with paperwork, did the ironing, changed the sheets and vacuumed our second floor in the morning and then I got ready to cook. I started out by making a curry with the pork that I bought yesterday. It was the Rogan Josh recipe from the Well Fed recipe book, but I made it with pork instead of the lamb that it called for. I let that simmer while I made a few other things:
- braised cabbage (like last week, but with green and red cabbage mixed together)
- Nom Nom Paleo's pineapple salsa
And then I got hungry and made lunch.
lunch
veggie mango smoked salmon sushi (no rice, of course)
This recipe also came from the Well Fed cookbook and I added a little black radish, some homemade mayo and some toasted sesame seeds to mix it up a little. They didn't come out as pretty as in the photo in the book, but they were tasty.
I then continued on my cooking spree and did what Well Fed suggested doing: Prepping veggies and meat for the week. That way when you get home, but don't know what to have/make, you just pull out the already partially cooked veggies, throw in the cooked meat, add whatever spices are calling your name, heat it all up and eat up. I made some ground beef with onion and garlic as well as some broccoli. All you do for the veg is wash and stir fry/steam them in the water that's remains on the veg after the washing. All that said and done, I think I made quite a bit of food for leftovers this week, so I don't suspect that we will be scratching our heads too much on what to have.
supper
The pork Rogan Josh of course, along with some spinach that I sauteed and the braised cabbage. We also used the pineapple salsa for contrast and had a mixed green salad. I did have dessert... fried apples with coconut cream, a few pecan pieces and a couple of raisins/cranberries.
All in all, a good weekend with lots of good food and a feeling of being prepared and in control for the week to come. I like that feeling.
breakfast
1/2 sweet potato hash
2 fried eggs
some coconut cream with the berry compote I made yesterday. Mmmm, that was good.
tea
(in my defence, the sweet potato in question needed to be used because it had some squishy rotting parts, so I cut those off and used up the rest)
I dealt with paperwork, did the ironing, changed the sheets and vacuumed our second floor in the morning and then I got ready to cook. I started out by making a curry with the pork that I bought yesterday. It was the Rogan Josh recipe from the Well Fed recipe book, but I made it with pork instead of the lamb that it called for. I let that simmer while I made a few other things:
- braised cabbage (like last week, but with green and red cabbage mixed together)
- Nom Nom Paleo's pineapple salsa
And then I got hungry and made lunch.
lunch
veggie mango smoked salmon sushi (no rice, of course)
This recipe also came from the Well Fed cookbook and I added a little black radish, some homemade mayo and some toasted sesame seeds to mix it up a little. They didn't come out as pretty as in the photo in the book, but they were tasty.
I then continued on my cooking spree and did what Well Fed suggested doing: Prepping veggies and meat for the week. That way when you get home, but don't know what to have/make, you just pull out the already partially cooked veggies, throw in the cooked meat, add whatever spices are calling your name, heat it all up and eat up. I made some ground beef with onion and garlic as well as some broccoli. All you do for the veg is wash and stir fry/steam them in the water that's remains on the veg after the washing. All that said and done, I think I made quite a bit of food for leftovers this week, so I don't suspect that we will be scratching our heads too much on what to have.
supper
The pork Rogan Josh of course, along with some spinach that I sauteed and the braised cabbage. We also used the pineapple salsa for contrast and had a mixed green salad. I did have dessert... fried apples with coconut cream, a few pecan pieces and a couple of raisins/cranberries.
All in all, a good weekend with lots of good food and a feeling of being prepared and in control for the week to come. I like that feeling.
Whole 30 day 16
Happy Saturday! I had a great day. I started by sleeping until about 8:45, which is rare for me on a weekend day, but I felt well-rested and ready to get up.
breakfast
Since I still had some of that unfrozen pumpkin in the fridge, I made the pumpkin pancakes I made earlier this week, and topped them with a little applesauce. Even though there were eggs in the pancakes, I also had a hard-boiled egg that needed eating.
After breakfast, JM and I went into town to catch the last of the market and to hit up the supermarkets. I got some local eggs, a few bags of apples and we stocked up on things like coconut milk, veggies for the week and we bought some different meat options from the local butcher. I don't know the exact details of the meat's origins, but I do know it's local and good quality. That's about as close to "grass-fed organic" as I can find for the moment where I live.
lunch
When we got home, we heated up some of the frozen squash soup that we had made a couple of weeks ago (I love having things stocked in the freezer!) and JM made a salad with frisée and artisanal lardons. I'm not quite sure if the lardons fit the Whole30 guidelines, but I had it anyway. I indulged in some coffee, along with the coconut cream I whipped up into a whip topping with a little vanilla. Man that stuff is good!
After lunch I got cooooooookkkinnnggg. Oh boy, I was so excited. Here's the list of things I made:
- ghee
- bone broth (I asked the butcher for some bones and he gladly gave me some)
- mashed garlic cauliflower (I just boil cauliflower and garlic together and then drain it and mash it with some ghee and coconut milk)
- roasted vegetables (I used sweet potato, purple carrots and turnips, along with garlic)
- moroccan meatballs in a tomato sauce (yum!)
- a berry compote, using mixed berries and agar agar (and vanilla)
- a coconut lemon spinach ice cream that I made up. I'll fill you in on the details down below.
supper
Well, we dug into what I had made in the afternoon. Mashed garlic cauliflower, roasted veggies and moroccan meatballs. Oh yeah, and that ice cream.
The ice cream idea came a day before when I saw a post from Just Eat Real Food on Facebook for this mint chocolate chip ice cream recipe.
Doesn't that look tempting? Well, since it has chocolate (albeit homemade) and honey, it's not exactly Whole30 compliant. But I liked the idea of whirring up spinach to add a green colour to the ice cream! I had no peppermint extract, so I decided to take some coconut milk, add some lemon rind and a tiny bit of lemon juice and lemon extract and blend it up with some spinach. No sugar! The only mild sweetness came from the coconut milk. I poured it all into a metal cake tin and put it in the freezer and stirred it a couple of times over the course of 2 hours and then it was done. It was a refreshing treat, but since there's snow outside, it occurred to me that perhaps ice cream isn't what I'm craving most or wanting after a meal. I'm happier with warm or room temperature things. I also bought a hot water bottle yesterday, so I filled it up with hot water and warmed my self up after dessert!
breakfast
Since I still had some of that unfrozen pumpkin in the fridge, I made the pumpkin pancakes I made earlier this week, and topped them with a little applesauce. Even though there were eggs in the pancakes, I also had a hard-boiled egg that needed eating.
After breakfast, JM and I went into town to catch the last of the market and to hit up the supermarkets. I got some local eggs, a few bags of apples and we stocked up on things like coconut milk, veggies for the week and we bought some different meat options from the local butcher. I don't know the exact details of the meat's origins, but I do know it's local and good quality. That's about as close to "grass-fed organic" as I can find for the moment where I live.
lunch
When we got home, we heated up some of the frozen squash soup that we had made a couple of weeks ago (I love having things stocked in the freezer!) and JM made a salad with frisée and artisanal lardons. I'm not quite sure if the lardons fit the Whole30 guidelines, but I had it anyway. I indulged in some coffee, along with the coconut cream I whipped up into a whip topping with a little vanilla. Man that stuff is good!
After lunch I got cooooooookkkinnnggg. Oh boy, I was so excited. Here's the list of things I made:
- ghee
- bone broth (I asked the butcher for some bones and he gladly gave me some)
- mashed garlic cauliflower (I just boil cauliflower and garlic together and then drain it and mash it with some ghee and coconut milk)
- roasted vegetables (I used sweet potato, purple carrots and turnips, along with garlic)
- moroccan meatballs in a tomato sauce (yum!)
- a berry compote, using mixed berries and agar agar (and vanilla)
- a coconut lemon spinach ice cream that I made up. I'll fill you in on the details down below.
supper
Well, we dug into what I had made in the afternoon. Mashed garlic cauliflower, roasted veggies and moroccan meatballs. Oh yeah, and that ice cream.
The ice cream idea came a day before when I saw a post from Just Eat Real Food on Facebook for this mint chocolate chip ice cream recipe.
Whole30 day 15
Ah, this was the end of the week for me and the marking of the halfway point!. Yay, me! I was excited because this being the weekend, I knew that whole lot of cooking was coming my way and that makes me happy.
breakfast
Sweet potato hash with a fried egg. 1/2 a banana with some almond butter and some tea.
lunch
A whole avocado, 2 hard-boiled eggs, the flat green bean veggie stirfry from last night and a little coffee at the end.
supper
JM made the same flat green bean veggie stirfry (with hot peppers) and we shared a steak. Plus we had salad. I fried up some apples in some coconut oil with some cinnamon and we ate that with a little applesauce and a few raisins and cranberries.
Ok, so Friday wasn't the most inspiring food day - just more of the same, really, but the weekend is about to change all that!
breakfast
Sweet potato hash with a fried egg. 1/2 a banana with some almond butter and some tea.
lunch
A whole avocado, 2 hard-boiled eggs, the flat green bean veggie stirfry from last night and a little coffee at the end.
supper
JM made the same flat green bean veggie stirfry (with hot peppers) and we shared a steak. Plus we had salad. I fried up some apples in some coconut oil with some cinnamon and we ate that with a little applesauce and a few raisins and cranberries.
Ok, so Friday wasn't the most inspiring food day - just more of the same, really, but the weekend is about to change all that!
Thursday 17 January 2013
Whole30 day 14
Even after the long day yesterday, JM and I still managed to get to bed late (the Millenium series was on).
breakfast
1 pumpkin pancake and TURNIP hash (instead of the sweet potato)! It wasn't as good as sweet potato hash, but it's a good lower-carb alternative. I also had a hard-boiled egg and some tea.
lunch
I had some of last night's leftover cabbage/carrots, along with another hard-boiled egg and an endive salad that I threw a 1/2 avocado on top of. Plus a mandarin and a coffee.
supper
JM whipped up a flat green bean/turnip/pepper/garlic stir fry and we had that with a 1/2 piece of steak each. After supper I had a little bowl of applesauce that JM made today, with a little shaved coconut and a couple of pieces of walnuts.
tomorrow marks my half-way point of my Whole30.
breakfast
1 pumpkin pancake and TURNIP hash (instead of the sweet potato)! It wasn't as good as sweet potato hash, but it's a good lower-carb alternative. I also had a hard-boiled egg and some tea.
lunch
I had some of last night's leftover cabbage/carrots, along with another hard-boiled egg and an endive salad that I threw a 1/2 avocado on top of. Plus a mandarin and a coffee.
supper
JM whipped up a flat green bean/turnip/pepper/garlic stir fry and we had that with a 1/2 piece of steak each. After supper I had a little bowl of applesauce that JM made today, with a little shaved coconut and a couple of pieces of walnuts.
tomorrow marks my half-way point of my Whole30.
Whole30 day 13
I had quite a long day yesterday (day 13) and didn't quite feel up to posting what I had eaten. I had to get up at 6:15 to drive 50 km for a blood test and then drive back before heading to work. Oh, and did I mention it's been snowing here? So yeah, that was fun.
breakfast
When I got back from the blood test, I was starving because I hadn't eaten anything, just in case I needed to have an empty stomach. I had unthawed a bit more pumpkin, so I whipped up a batch of those pumpkin pancakes based on this recipe. I put a little applesauce on them and had a boiled egg on the side. Washed all that down with a little coffee (with some almond milk...).
lunch
Leftover heaven! Braised red cabbage and the green cabbage/carrot/onion dish from Sunday, plus a last piece of chicken. I also had 1/2 an avocado and a mandarin orange.
snack
Dinner wasn't ready when I got home, so I had an emergency 1/2 pumpkin pancake.
supper
JM steamed up some cabbage and carrots and we had that with some fried white fish (Cabillaud in French, but cod to us English speakers!). We had a green salad with that and then I had another pumpkin pancake after supper with a smidgen of applesauce. Later on I had a mandarin orange.
It was a long day and I was happy to get to bed!
breakfast
When I got back from the blood test, I was starving because I hadn't eaten anything, just in case I needed to have an empty stomach. I had unthawed a bit more pumpkin, so I whipped up a batch of those pumpkin pancakes based on this recipe. I put a little applesauce on them and had a boiled egg on the side. Washed all that down with a little coffee (with some almond milk...).
lunch
Leftover heaven! Braised red cabbage and the green cabbage/carrot/onion dish from Sunday, plus a last piece of chicken. I also had 1/2 an avocado and a mandarin orange.
snack
Dinner wasn't ready when I got home, so I had an emergency 1/2 pumpkin pancake.
supper
JM steamed up some cabbage and carrots and we had that with some fried white fish (Cabillaud in French, but cod to us English speakers!). We had a green salad with that and then I had another pumpkin pancake after supper with a smidgen of applesauce. Later on I had a mandarin orange.
It was a long day and I was happy to get to bed!
Tuesday 15 January 2013
Whole30 day 12
There was snow on the ground when I woke up today! Unfortunately I couldn't have a snow day because I can walk to work in 7 minutes, but it was nice to see on the ground.
breakfast
Sweet potato hash with a fried egg (seriously, I need to find another breakfast - although this one is really tasty!). I also had 1/2 a small banana with a bit of coconut cream. Tea and coffee were both enjoyed. In that order.
lunch
Lunch was a bit of a surprise because I took a container out of the freezer not really knowing what was inside. I knew it was vegetables, but I wasn't sure what kind. It ended up being sauteed sweet potatoes, peppers, carrots and onions. Hmmm... I am not sure I needed another sweet potato but it's what it was. I started out with some yummy leftover pumpkin soup and had my veggies with a hard-boiled egg. No dessert, just a little coffee (yay me!).
snack
I had to drive into the city for another appointment and so I grabbed a few almonds and a couple of raisins/cranberries for the road.
supper
We still had leftovers, so we started with pumpkin soup and had the braised red cabbage and green cabbage with veggies, and a piece of chicken. We also had an endive salad. I did have a little dessert of applesauce with some coconut cream, coconut and walnut pieces. That's it! I have a sneaking suspicion that I'm not exactly getting rid of the dessert dragon, but at least I'm making some healthy choices when I do indulge.
Something to work on for the rest of my Whole30!
breakfast
Sweet potato hash with a fried egg (seriously, I need to find another breakfast - although this one is really tasty!). I also had 1/2 a small banana with a bit of coconut cream. Tea and coffee were both enjoyed. In that order.
lunch
Lunch was a bit of a surprise because I took a container out of the freezer not really knowing what was inside. I knew it was vegetables, but I wasn't sure what kind. It ended up being sauteed sweet potatoes, peppers, carrots and onions. Hmmm... I am not sure I needed another sweet potato but it's what it was. I started out with some yummy leftover pumpkin soup and had my veggies with a hard-boiled egg. No dessert, just a little coffee (yay me!).
snack
I had to drive into the city for another appointment and so I grabbed a few almonds and a couple of raisins/cranberries for the road.
supper
We still had leftovers, so we started with pumpkin soup and had the braised red cabbage and green cabbage with veggies, and a piece of chicken. We also had an endive salad. I did have a little dessert of applesauce with some coconut cream, coconut and walnut pieces. That's it! I have a sneaking suspicion that I'm not exactly getting rid of the dessert dragon, but at least I'm making some healthy choices when I do indulge.
Something to work on for the rest of my Whole30!
Monday 14 January 2013
Whole30 day 11
Today was a bit of a different day. Normally I would be working but today I took the day off in order to go to a homeopathic doctor who lives almost two hours away by car. My appointment was for 11am and I had no idea what time I'd be back, and since I worked all day Saturday, I thought it would be good to not rush back for work.
breakfast
I had the usual sweet potato mash with two hard-boiled eggs, plus 1/2 avocado and then a 1/2 banana with a little coconut cream on it. I opted for tea this morning.
lunch
I was driving when it was lunch time. Even though I was planning on passing by the "big" city, perhaps getting in to see another doctor and also check out the sales, I decided to stop at a rest stop for lunch. I originally thought I'd go for a salad bar with hard-boiled eggs, but I ended up having a chicken drumstick, along with some ratatouille and a provencal tomato. I had two mandarin oranges and a coffee for "dessert" and then headed off to the city. The other doctor wasn't able to see me, so I went for a little sale shopping and while I was at the mall, I remembered I still had some mixed nuts from the train on Saturday, so I ate a few of those to fill the gap.
supper
We had supper ready in record time! I reheated the braised green cabbage (with onions and carrots) as well as the chicken from yesterday in the oven and in 20 minutes we were eating! We both had a dollop of the homemade mayonnaise with our chicken and it was tasty! I also fried up some apples like yesterday, but the apple variety was one that turns to mush when heated, so it's more like a fried applesauce. I had that with a blob of coconut cream.
No exercise today - not for the last four days actually - so I had better be getting up early tomorrow to rectify the situation!
breakfast
I had the usual sweet potato mash with two hard-boiled eggs, plus 1/2 avocado and then a 1/2 banana with a little coconut cream on it. I opted for tea this morning.
lunch
I was driving when it was lunch time. Even though I was planning on passing by the "big" city, perhaps getting in to see another doctor and also check out the sales, I decided to stop at a rest stop for lunch. I originally thought I'd go for a salad bar with hard-boiled eggs, but I ended up having a chicken drumstick, along with some ratatouille and a provencal tomato. I had two mandarin oranges and a coffee for "dessert" and then headed off to the city. The other doctor wasn't able to see me, so I went for a little sale shopping and while I was at the mall, I remembered I still had some mixed nuts from the train on Saturday, so I ate a few of those to fill the gap.
supper
We had supper ready in record time! I reheated the braised green cabbage (with onions and carrots) as well as the chicken from yesterday in the oven and in 20 minutes we were eating! We both had a dollop of the homemade mayonnaise with our chicken and it was tasty! I also fried up some apples like yesterday, but the apple variety was one that turns to mush when heated, so it's more like a fried applesauce. I had that with a blob of coconut cream.
No exercise today - not for the last four days actually - so I had better be getting up early tomorrow to rectify the situation!
Sunday 13 January 2013
Whole30 day 10
Ok, I'm finally catching up to myself. Today is day 10 and I'm writing this on day 10.
breakfast
Well, I had a good sleep in and then when I got up I wanted to have a weekend treat again. I saw the rest of the leftover pumpkin in the fridge and decided to give the pancakes another try. I added a 1/2 mashed banana to give it some sweetness and consistency. I still ended up adding some almond powder and shaved coconut. I cooked them in coconut oil and had them with applesauce and coconut cream. Oh and coffee.
lunch
I decided that I wanted to make a huge amount of food today, so I got cooking after having a late breakfast. Just yesterday morning, I received a copy of Well fed that I had ordered off Amazon last week. I looked through it and chose a couple of recipes that I wanted to make today. I also had a couple of recipes that I had seen on Nom Nom Paleo. World's best braised cabbage and Chez Panisse Braised Red Cabbage. I also made some ghee, some hard-boiled eggs and my first-ever mayonnaise! Oh, and I planned out a little dessert for later with some apples that I chopped up and fried up in some coconut oil and cinnamon. During all that cooking, I ended eating a little lunch composed of the red braised cabbage, a boiled egg, a couple of pieces of dried ham and 1/2 an avocado. The mayonnaise was very tiring to make because I only have a whisk. After a couple of minutes of whisking I finally brought out the immersion blender, which I was afraid might not work (and make it all fall apart), but it worked!
supper
I broiled up the green braised cabbage (with carrots and onions) for 15 minutes in the oven and I heated up some of the best chicken ever. Dessert was those apple pieces that were cooked up in a frying pan, topped with a little - you guessed it - coconut cream.
breakfast
Well, I had a good sleep in and then when I got up I wanted to have a weekend treat again. I saw the rest of the leftover pumpkin in the fridge and decided to give the pancakes another try. I added a 1/2 mashed banana to give it some sweetness and consistency. I still ended up adding some almond powder and shaved coconut. I cooked them in coconut oil and had them with applesauce and coconut cream. Oh and coffee.
lunch
I decided that I wanted to make a huge amount of food today, so I got cooking after having a late breakfast. Just yesterday morning, I received a copy of Well fed that I had ordered off Amazon last week. I looked through it and chose a couple of recipes that I wanted to make today. I also had a couple of recipes that I had seen on Nom Nom Paleo. World's best braised cabbage and Chez Panisse Braised Red Cabbage. I also made some ghee, some hard-boiled eggs and my first-ever mayonnaise! Oh, and I planned out a little dessert for later with some apples that I chopped up and fried up in some coconut oil and cinnamon. During all that cooking, I ended eating a little lunch composed of the red braised cabbage, a boiled egg, a couple of pieces of dried ham and 1/2 an avocado. The mayonnaise was very tiring to make because I only have a whisk. After a couple of minutes of whisking I finally brought out the immersion blender, which I was afraid might not work (and make it all fall apart), but it worked!
supper
I broiled up the green braised cabbage (with carrots and onions) for 15 minutes in the oven and I heated up some of the best chicken ever. Dessert was those apple pieces that were cooked up in a frying pan, topped with a little - you guessed it - coconut cream.
Whole30 day 9
As I mentioned, I had to go to Paris for the day for work. I got to sleep in a bit, but the sunshine (what's that? It's been so long!) actually woke me up before my alarm clock.
breakfast
I switched things up! I had unthawed some cooked pumpkin the night before and I decided to venture into the world of pumpkin spice pancakes. The original recipe called for almond butter, which I didn't have, but I figured I could make it without. Wrong. It was too runny. So I threw a little almond powder and some shaved coconut into the batter and went with that. Not sweet at all, but I put a little applesauce and coconut cream on it and it was a good weekend treat! I had coffee with coconut cream in it and a mandarin orange for good luck.
lunch
I was with a colleague and whenever we go to Paris we like to have sushi. We found a place near the train station and I opted for some salmon and tuna without rice. It came with a cabbage salad and a miso soup. I know that soy is out, but I had the miso soup, along with the 3 mini cubes of tofu, as well as soy sauce with my sushi. Oh well. I did the best I could.
snack
On the way home, I picked up some unsalted mixed nuts and a bottle of bubbly water at the train station, because I wasn't going to get home until 10pm and I needed something in my tummy before I got home!
supper
JM didn't have any leftovers from his supper, so what did I have? 1/2 sweet potato hash with 2 fried eggs! I know it was a bit late to be eating, but I hadn't had that much all day. I had a little pineapple, 1/2 an apple with some coconut cream and a few raisins and dried cranberries. Why all this sweet stuff these last few days? Even if it's fruit it's still sugary. Well, let's just say that the next day ended up welcoming my AF (that's Aunt Flo - or my period) so perhaps there was a connection. Either that, or I'm not being strict enough with myself regarding the sweet tooth dragon.
breakfast
I switched things up! I had unthawed some cooked pumpkin the night before and I decided to venture into the world of pumpkin spice pancakes. The original recipe called for almond butter, which I didn't have, but I figured I could make it without. Wrong. It was too runny. So I threw a little almond powder and some shaved coconut into the batter and went with that. Not sweet at all, but I put a little applesauce and coconut cream on it and it was a good weekend treat! I had coffee with coconut cream in it and a mandarin orange for good luck.
lunch
I was with a colleague and whenever we go to Paris we like to have sushi. We found a place near the train station and I opted for some salmon and tuna without rice. It came with a cabbage salad and a miso soup. I know that soy is out, but I had the miso soup, along with the 3 mini cubes of tofu, as well as soy sauce with my sushi. Oh well. I did the best I could.
snack
On the way home, I picked up some unsalted mixed nuts and a bottle of bubbly water at the train station, because I wasn't going to get home until 10pm and I needed something in my tummy before I got home!
supper
JM didn't have any leftovers from his supper, so what did I have? 1/2 sweet potato hash with 2 fried eggs! I know it was a bit late to be eating, but I hadn't had that much all day. I had a little pineapple, 1/2 an apple with some coconut cream and a few raisins and dried cranberries. Why all this sweet stuff these last few days? Even if it's fruit it's still sugary. Well, let's just say that the next day ended up welcoming my AF (that's Aunt Flo - or my period) so perhaps there was a connection. Either that, or I'm not being strict enough with myself regarding the sweet tooth dragon.
Whole30 day 8
This was the end of the work week. First week back at work after the holidays was tough! I was coming near the end of my prepped food, so it was essentially more of the same.
breakfast
1/2 sweet potato hash with a fried egg (surprise!). To switch things up I just had tea along with that.
lunch
leftover steamed cauliflower with pork roast and an endive salad with 1/2 an apple. I also had a mandarin orange.
supper
JM made more of that braised mixed vegetable dish and we had pork roast to finish. For dessert (yes, again! I swear I will beat this sugar dragon) we had some pineapple pieces, coconut cream, shaved coconut, walnut pieces and a couple of raisins. Later on that evening I had a mandarin orange.
Was completely beat and had to get to bed because a trip to Paris was scheduled for the next day.
breakfast
1/2 sweet potato hash with a fried egg (surprise!). To switch things up I just had tea along with that.
lunch
leftover steamed cauliflower with pork roast and an endive salad with 1/2 an apple. I also had a mandarin orange.
supper
JM made more of that braised mixed vegetable dish and we had pork roast to finish. For dessert (yes, again! I swear I will beat this sugar dragon) we had some pineapple pieces, coconut cream, shaved coconut, walnut pieces and a couple of raisins. Later on that evening I had a mandarin orange.
Was completely beat and had to get to bed because a trip to Paris was scheduled for the next day.
Whole30 day 7
Ok, I know that I'm writing this on day 10, but I have been tracking what I've been eating, even if I haven't been posting.
breakfast
I went with what I've come to love this week and yet again had 1/2 a sweet potato garlic hash along with a fried egg. I figure I had better start finding another breakfast alternative that satisfies and is as easy as this dish. One thing at a time. I also indulged in coffee with coconut cream (another culprit that is becoming compulsive).
lunch
Leftovers again! Spinach curry, leftover mixed vegetables, a slice of pork roast and an endive salad with 1/2 an apple and 1/2 an avocado. Finished off with a mandarin orange. Felt a bit of a gurgly tummy in the afternoon.
snack before yoga
I had my community yoga class tonight so I had a little handful of almonds along with a couple of raisins/dried cranberries. And a boiled egg. I know.
supper
After 90 minutes of yoga, I was hungry! JM made some steamed cauliflower which we ate with a slice of pork roast. We had dessert. Ahem. Pineapple pieces and coconut cream.
breakfast
I went with what I've come to love this week and yet again had 1/2 a sweet potato garlic hash along with a fried egg. I figure I had better start finding another breakfast alternative that satisfies and is as easy as this dish. One thing at a time. I also indulged in coffee with coconut cream (another culprit that is becoming compulsive).
lunch
Leftovers again! Spinach curry, leftover mixed vegetables, a slice of pork roast and an endive salad with 1/2 an apple and 1/2 an avocado. Finished off with a mandarin orange. Felt a bit of a gurgly tummy in the afternoon.
snack before yoga
I had my community yoga class tonight so I had a little handful of almonds along with a couple of raisins/dried cranberries. And a boiled egg. I know.
supper
After 90 minutes of yoga, I was hungry! JM made some steamed cauliflower which we ate with a slice of pork roast. We had dessert. Ahem. Pineapple pieces and coconut cream.
Whole30 day 6
The Whole30 folks said that I'd feel like taking a nap and boy were they right! I don't know if my exercise last night had an effect but this morning I felt like lead. It didn't help that it was grey outside! I had the hardest time getting out of bed and didn't get up until 1 hour and 15 minutes after my alarm went off. What?
breakfast
I thought about that sweet potato hash last night and decided I would prep it so that all I'd need to do this morning is fry it up. I ate that (it's always 1/2 a sweet potato at a time) with a fried egg and about 1/2 cup of applesauce. I had two cups of coffee with coconut milk, but I have to say I prefer the coconut cream topping!
lunch
I had the spinach curry with 4 burger bite meatballs and made a salad with one head of endive, 1/2 an avocado and 1/2 and apple, topped with some olive oil. I had a mandarin orange afterwards along with a small coffee (not as strong as yesterday's!).
supper
I didn't have the energy to exercise when I got home, so I thought I'd give myself a break. I had a bit of a snack of almonds and raisins because when I got home, JM had also just gotten home and I knew that supper would be a while. JM cooked up a vegetable fry up in ghee (carrots, turnips, cabbage, garlic and onions) and threw in some burger bites that needed to be used up.
Feeling sleeeeeeppppyyyyy... (so sleepy, in fact, that I didn't get around to pushing 'publish' until day 10!)
breakfast
I thought about that sweet potato hash last night and decided I would prep it so that all I'd need to do this morning is fry it up. I ate that (it's always 1/2 a sweet potato at a time) with a fried egg and about 1/2 cup of applesauce. I had two cups of coffee with coconut milk, but I have to say I prefer the coconut cream topping!
lunch
I had the spinach curry with 4 burger bite meatballs and made a salad with one head of endive, 1/2 an avocado and 1/2 and apple, topped with some olive oil. I had a mandarin orange afterwards along with a small coffee (not as strong as yesterday's!).
supper
I didn't have the energy to exercise when I got home, so I thought I'd give myself a break. I had a bit of a snack of almonds and raisins because when I got home, JM had also just gotten home and I knew that supper would be a while. JM cooked up a vegetable fry up in ghee (carrots, turnips, cabbage, garlic and onions) and threw in some burger bites that needed to be used up.
Feeling sleeeeeeppppyyyyy... (so sleepy, in fact, that I didn't get around to pushing 'publish' until day 10!)
Tuesday 8 January 2013
Whole30 day 5
Today was a little shakier than yesterday. I slept better but I just didn't have the energy to bolt out of bed this morning and work out. I made a deal with myself to work out when I got home from work. It's a deal I kept.
I opted for Rocofit's Lower Body and Ab workout with a kettlebell. I managed to do three sets of 10 reps except for the lunges, which I only did two set of 10 reps. My kettlebell is 12 kg so it really pooped my out. At the end I stretched out on my foamroller and it felt good! Supper was the turkey vegetable soup from yesterday with another slice of pork roast and a lettuce/red cabbage salad.
I didn't feel like killing all things today (thank goodness) so maybe the effects of the Whole30 timeline are a little less pronounced in my case because I had been seriously cutting out sugar and grains for a while. Tomorrow and the next day are meant to be tiring (I just want a nap) so I'll have to prepare my food in advance so that I don't have to think about it.
breakfast
Boy oh boy, I was craving that sweet potato hash but I hadn't prepped any the day before and I didn't feel like slicing and chopping first thing this morning, so I had an easy but somewhat less satisfying breakfast, namely, 1/2 an avocado, 2 hard-boiled eggs and a whole grapefruit. Oh, and I washed it down with tea. One thing I'm not sure about on the Whole30 is how much fruit I should be eating. I know I'm supposed to limit it, but what does that mean, exactly? I kept on thinking that I should've been eating vegetables instead of the grapefruit but I just didn't have the courage to whip something up.lunch
I still had some leftover spinach curry, that I ate with a slice of the pork roast that JM made yesterday. It was good together! I had a small mandarin orange and then I made the mistake of heating up some of yesterday's coffee and bringing it up to my office. First of all, my colleague made the batch yesterday and he likes his coffee STRONG. Like, really strong. Undrinkably strong! I poured half a mug and filled the rest up with water and then heated it up. The caffeine made me shaky and I did not feel able to concentrate on work. It felt like my head was spinning! I downed a couple of mugs of water, just to rehydrate and give my stomach something else, but the afternoon was pretty much a write off.supper
I got home from work around 6:45pm and before I headed straight upstairs to work out I felt like I needed a little snack (which is recommended, after all!). I had a handful of almonds, along with some raisins, a mandarin orange and 1/2 an avocado.I opted for Rocofit's Lower Body and Ab workout with a kettlebell. I managed to do three sets of 10 reps except for the lunges, which I only did two set of 10 reps. My kettlebell is 12 kg so it really pooped my out. At the end I stretched out on my foamroller and it felt good! Supper was the turkey vegetable soup from yesterday with another slice of pork roast and a lettuce/red cabbage salad.
I didn't feel like killing all things today (thank goodness) so maybe the effects of the Whole30 timeline are a little less pronounced in my case because I had been seriously cutting out sugar and grains for a while. Tomorrow and the next day are meant to be tiring (I just want a nap) so I'll have to prepare my food in advance so that I don't have to think about it.
Monday 7 January 2013
Whole30 day 4
Ouf! Well I had a good day even if the night's sleep was horrible! I don't know if it was because I was on holiday sleeping schedule or if hubby JM was restless and kept on moving around, but I didn't get much sleep at all. I turned out the light around midnight (late for a work night, I know!) but then I couldn't sleep, so I ended up listening to some podcasts in the dark. Usually this is enough to make me fall asleep in the first 10 minutes, but not last night. I think I probably dozed off around 2am and then tossed and turned throughout the night. The alarm was set for 7:20, at which point I got up and did 25 minutes of yoga. It felt great and put me in the right frame of mind for work.
In the advance preparation category, JM also put a pork roast studded with garlic in the oven tonight so that we can have something for the week.
This was supposed to be the day I wanted to kill everything, but I didn't feel that way at all. The only thing was that my digestion was a little, um, blocked up and my tummy was doing a lot of rumbling. Other than that, I'm ok and feeling fine in spite of the limited sleep and first day back at work (and Whole30 day 4!). I'm eating so many vegetables, there's no reason to be blocked up, but perhaps my body is not used to so much meat...
Today was the first day back at work and it has dawned on me just how much there is to accomplish. I'd like to get to work early, but I'd also like to exercise in the morning without having to get up at 5:30! I'll figure it out when I set my alarm tonight.
breakfast
Gosh, that sweet potato hash is tasty! I still had some leftovers from yesterday, so I fried that up to reheat it and ate that along with 2 hard-boiled eggs, 1/2 an avocado and a cup of tea. I then had 2 cups of coffee with the coconut creamer topping because JM had finished the tea. There was about 1/4 cup of applesauce remaining in a pot, so I finished that, too. Kind of a big breakfast!lunch
I pretty much had last night's supper for lunch: spinach curry, mashed garlic cauliflower (I'm in love!) and 3 burger bite meatballs. I also had a small mandarin orange along with some tea in the morning.supper
JM was kind enough to make a big pot of turkey vegetable soup with some leftover turkey pieces we had frozen. I added another hard-boiled egg and 1/2 an avocado because there wasn't much turkey meat in the soup. After supper I had a 1/2 cup of applesauce and a small handful of raisins and that was that. I know I should be avoiding after meal sweets, but today was not the day to take that on. Tomorrow's another day and in the meantime, the amount of fruit I'm taking in is limited to what I would normally be eating.In the advance preparation category, JM also put a pork roast studded with garlic in the oven tonight so that we can have something for the week.
This was supposed to be the day I wanted to kill everything, but I didn't feel that way at all. The only thing was that my digestion was a little, um, blocked up and my tummy was doing a lot of rumbling. Other than that, I'm ok and feeling fine in spite of the limited sleep and first day back at work (and Whole30 day 4!). I'm eating so many vegetables, there's no reason to be blocked up, but perhaps my body is not used to so much meat...
Today was the first day back at work and it has dawned on me just how much there is to accomplish. I'd like to get to work early, but I'd also like to exercise in the morning without having to get up at 5:30! I'll figure it out when I set my alarm tonight.
Sunday 6 January 2013
Whole 30 day 3
breakfast
This morning I had to have the sweet potato hash one more time (using just 1/2 a sweet potato every time) along with two fried eggs and one piece of dried ham. I also had some regular black tea and a mandarine orange.lunch
Hmmm... breakfast was kinda late and somehow I never got hungry again until supper. The only thing I had in the afternoon was a coffee with some coconut coffee creamer that I whipped up and then a little later a single burger bite and some green tea. Not good, I know. Still, at least there were no slip-ups food-wise.supper
I had some of the big batch of spinach curry that I made for the week (and for the freezer) as well as some garlic mashed cauliflower and 4 burger bites. For the mashed cauliflower I like to boil it along with the garlic bulbs and then mash it together at the end. The garlic takes on a more subtle flavour that way. This was accompanied by an endive/red cabbage salad that JM made as well as some sugar-free applesauce that JM made earlier in the day.So day 3 is supposed to be the "hangover" day according to the Whole30 timeline but since I had been eating fairly clean for most of the year, I don't seem to have had too bad of a hangover. It didn't even occur to me to eat lunch, for example, let alone crave anything. Oh wait, I did think about a cappuccino and ended up whipping up a coconut milk coffee creamer/topping, so there was that. But otherwise, so far so good. Apparently tomorrow is the "I want to kill all things!" day, which also happens to be my first day back at work after two weeks of holidays. My plan is to be prepared and have all the food I need for the day in order to get by. This is partially what all this extra weekend cooking has been about, after all. As I write this at 8pm I have not, as yet, exercised. I may do some yoga, or I may wait until tomorrow morning and do it on waking. I find my days at work are much better when I have started out with yoga (or any exercise, really).
Wish me luck!
Saturday 5 January 2013
Whole30 day 2
breakfast
Did I mention how amazingly tasty that sweet potato hash from last night was? SO GOOD. Well, I had only eaten half of what I made last night, so this morning I heated up the leftovers and fried myself an egg in some ghee (following Nom Nom Paleo's advice) and boy was it good and satisfying. Miam (that's French for yum!). I followed that with a few pieces of pineapple and then I went about my day!lunch
After getting a bunch of chores done - ironing, dishes, laundry - I decided to make some things for the days ahead: squash carrot soup, hard-boiled eggs and burger bites. I then tucked into a piece of that spinach mushroom frittata, an avocado and a hard-boiled egg, along with some Japanese green tea that I picked up last weekend.supper
This afternoon I did more dishes and cleaning up (hubby JM was coming home after being away for two days, so I wanted to have the house looking nice for him) and then I made the time to do a kettlebell workout by Rosa Coelho (Rocofit). As an aside, when I was last in Vancouver I ended up booking a session with Rosa to learn about kettlebells. I had started watching her videos on YouTube when she was living and working in England and then I found out she had moved back to Canada and that she was actually in Vancouver. The opportunity was too good to pass up!So yeah, supper! JM got home while I was working out and then we got supper ready. I reheated some of the squash carrot soup, as well as the braised turkey and steamed cauliflower. I wanted JM to taste the sweet potato hash (it's that good), so I made that again, doing enough prep for a few days. JM made a little endive salad with some walnut oil and that was more than enough for supper! For a little sweetness afterwards I had some pineapple pieces.
Back to the exercise bit. I have come to realize that I no longer need to have a gym membership to get in shape. True, it's handy to have a designated space to go to with all the equipment, but I have all I need with my yoga mat, my kettlebell, my foamroller and my body weight. I have a big office, with enough room to exercise in, and either I get my computer videos out, or I follow one of worksheets that I have made up with interval training. JM would like to get outside and start running again, so maybe I'll join him. I'm careful to not be going overboard. Lord knows that in the past I have said "that's it! I'm going to workout everyday from now on!" but then a few days later I hit a bump and then a month goes by without any exercise. I'd like to be smarter about how I set up my time for exercise. Having a space in our house makes a big difference as compared to the other places we have lived and keeping it a little bit warm helps, too. It's cold in some rooms in our house!
Friday 4 January 2013
Whole30 day 1
breakfast
For breakfast this morning I had some green tea and a pie slice of a frittata that I made the other day. It has spaghetti squash, onions, mushrooms and spinach in it and I threw in a little curry into the mix to make it a little tastier. I also had some homemade sugar-free apple-pear sauce with a little coconut on top.In the late morning I braised some turkey pieces for my supper tonight because I had unthawed some turkey and it needed to be used up. I took advantage of the braising time and made some ghee at the same time. I now have a jam jar filled with golden yellow ghee, ready to be used when coconut oil or olive oil just won't do.
"lunch"
Before heading out in the afternoon I had a mandarin orange and a handful of almonds. I had gotten up a little on the late side and I wasn't feeling hungry enough to sit down for a "real" lunch after having breakfast just a couple of hours before."lunch" part 2
When I got home, I wanted to do a yoga video but by this time I was feeling hungry, so I ate an avocado and two pieces of salted dried ham that I had picked up at the organic coop while in town. That did the trick and I was able to do my yoga without feeling hungry.supper
For supper I steamed some cauliflower, made some sweet potato hash that I got from Nom Nom Paleo and I had the braised turkey from earlier that day. Since like to have something sweet after supper, I had a few pieces of fresh pineapple that I chopped up to have on hand for the week.I'm hoping that tomorrow will be a good cooking day. I would like to get a few things ready for the fridge and the freezer so that next week, when I'm going back to work, will be easy to handle.
How am I feeling? Great! No cravings (except after my pineapple, which had me wanting more sweet things) and I'm excited to be cooking up a storm. Like I said, I've been flirting with no sugar and no grains for a while now, so it's not a huge shocker (ie. I don't think I'll be getting the withdrawal headaches). Even though I was eating clean, my weakness was "paleofying" food like bread, muffins and cake and diving into those with gusto, thinking that if it's sugar and grain free it's ok. Well, it is ok, but not in the doses I was taking! So taking a month off and really being strict with myself about it is very timely and it's a good way for me to find other foods that satisfy me.
how did I get here?
Good question!
I've been living in France for the last three years and I am married to a French man. In my life back in Canada I had struggled with my weight and health and had finally reached a point of having things in balance health-wise when my personal life fell apart. Things got back on track in my personal life (hence the French husband!) and I ended up moving to France, the land where French women don't get fat and everybody can eat what they want and not exercise because it's not part of their culture. And they eat bread. Loads of bread. My husband JM is unable to conceive of a meal without bread. Oh, and there's the cheese, too, and he's a pretty big fan of that along with the bread.
So in the first three years, my exercise has essentially gone out the window, aside from the weekend hikes and my low intensity yoga class on Thursday nights. I have taken up various things in fits and starts, including yoga on my own with videos from myyogaonline.com and kettlebell workouts through YouTube. I start up for a couple of weeks and then something ends up getting in the way and then I fall out of the habit.
The last year has been one of culinary exploration. I have baked without wheat, without grains, without sugar and I have proven to myself that I can live without these things. When I do give into temptation, I am well aware of the addictive qualities of these foods (especially the sugar!) and I usually just end up feeling heavy, bloated and uninspired. I've been reading up on Primal and Paleo eating habits and in my searching I came across the Whole30 program. Thirty days of no grains, no sugar, no legumes and no dairy. Seems like a lot of NOs, but the idea is to strip things back and learn how to be nourished with real foods and see how the body feels on the other side. What am I hoping to accomplish? To feel healthier, in control and perhaps a little lighter. My goal is to add in the yoga and kettlebell videos to work on my strength and flexibility while I clean out my eating habits.
I figured this blog would be a good way to keep myself on track. Being accountable at the end of the day to be able to share what I ate during the day is a way for me to ensure honesty with myself.
So here we go!
I've been living in France for the last three years and I am married to a French man. In my life back in Canada I had struggled with my weight and health and had finally reached a point of having things in balance health-wise when my personal life fell apart. Things got back on track in my personal life (hence the French husband!) and I ended up moving to France, the land where French women don't get fat and everybody can eat what they want and not exercise because it's not part of their culture. And they eat bread. Loads of bread. My husband JM is unable to conceive of a meal without bread. Oh, and there's the cheese, too, and he's a pretty big fan of that along with the bread.
So in the first three years, my exercise has essentially gone out the window, aside from the weekend hikes and my low intensity yoga class on Thursday nights. I have taken up various things in fits and starts, including yoga on my own with videos from myyogaonline.com and kettlebell workouts through YouTube. I start up for a couple of weeks and then something ends up getting in the way and then I fall out of the habit.
The last year has been one of culinary exploration. I have baked without wheat, without grains, without sugar and I have proven to myself that I can live without these things. When I do give into temptation, I am well aware of the addictive qualities of these foods (especially the sugar!) and I usually just end up feeling heavy, bloated and uninspired. I've been reading up on Primal and Paleo eating habits and in my searching I came across the Whole30 program. Thirty days of no grains, no sugar, no legumes and no dairy. Seems like a lot of NOs, but the idea is to strip things back and learn how to be nourished with real foods and see how the body feels on the other side. What am I hoping to accomplish? To feel healthier, in control and perhaps a little lighter. My goal is to add in the yoga and kettlebell videos to work on my strength and flexibility while I clean out my eating habits.
I figured this blog would be a good way to keep myself on track. Being accountable at the end of the day to be able to share what I ate during the day is a way for me to ensure honesty with myself.
So here we go!
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