Half way there

 

I can't believe we're half way through our Whole 30. I honestly thought when we started that there was no way we were going to be able to finish this thing. I mean, seriously, give up dairy and carbs for a whole month?? But we have done 15 days and honestly, it's going pretty well. So here's our half way sum up (well, at least mine, since Jared doesn't write on here, but occasionally emails me after I post it and says "you really need to put THIS in there"):

 

How I feel: I do feel better. I don't have that seriously happy all the time feeling, or the tiger blood feeling, but I do feel better. I rarely get hungry in the afternoon and I don't have that afternoon crash where I feel like I have to have a soda or coffee or something. I am sleeping better, falling asleep more easily and sleeping more deeply. I'm not sleeping any later in the morning, because, well, I have an Adi-alarm to wake me up each morning.

 

How I look: Better?  It's hard to tell. I am definitely less bloated, which is awesome. I don't feel like I'm losing a ton of weight, but I don't have a lot to lose, either. Jared looks great - I know he has lost some weight and is feeling pretty good about it. I do feel like my skin is clearer, no nasty breakouts this month.

 

So what about my goals? First, these are the goals I set for myself:

• Nutrition: I will eat breakfast. Before coffee. Every day.
• Fun and Play: I will turn my phone completely OFF for 4-6 hours every weekend (and not overnight. When Adi is awake. :))
• Stress Management: I will take a lunch break every day at work. Away from my desk (!).

So how have I done?

 

Nutrition: Check. I've had breakfast every day and I've only had coffee one day, and it was just a little bit of black coffee.  I changed up breakfast a little bit this past week and am planning to do a little more this coming week (stay tuned for recipes!).

 

Fun and Play: This one was easier this weekend and throughout the week I was much more conscious of when my phone was on and why. We had lots of fun outside time this weekend (blueberry picking, beach trip, etc), so it was easy to keep the phone away unless it was for photo ops!

 

Stress Management: I've been enjoying my lunch time breaks with my book, although I'm still doing a lot of them at my desk. The weather has had some say in that, although I could go to a lunch room, it's pretty heavily used and wouldn't be any less stressful, I think.

 

Let's talk about FOOD! Some photos of what I ate this week:

 

Breakfast on Saturday: Three fried eggs and a tomato topped with Jared's mayo (egg, olive oil, dijon mustard, and Emeril's Essence). 

Breakfast today: Modified Sweet Potato Hash (see below for recipe), two eggs fried in coconut oil.

Lunches have mostly been leftovers and salads. This was lunch one day, though - best way to eat chicken salad: on celery. Gives it an awesome crunch!. Plus a very yummy heirloom tomato given to us by a friend and some avocado.

 

Found this compliant chicken sausage in the store, it has spinach, garlic, fennel and black pepper. Served with blanched green beans with lemon juice and almonds and sweet potato fries with cinnamon.

 

Jared made this yumminess (we've now had it twice!). It's Salmon with Dill Mustard Sauce. Served with a baked sweet potato and roasted asparagus with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

 

 

And taco salad! We made our own taco seasoning (see recipe below) to avoid MSG and other nastiness. We usually do tacos with ground turkey, not beef. I would have added avocado to mine, but my avocados were bad. Sad face. I top mine with salsa for a kick and to avoid using salad dressing.

Ok, here are the promised recipes:

 

Sweet Potato Apple Hash:

(Modified from here)

 

1 sweet potato, cubed
1/2 white onion, diced
1/3 apple, diced
1/3 lb ground pork or other meat
1/4 - 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
salt
2 T coconut oil

 

Bring a pot of water to a boil, add sweet potatoes and cook 5-8 minutes until soft. Drain and let dry. Saute onions and garlic in coconut oil until onion is translucent. Add meat and saute until cooked through. Add spices, salt, sweet potato and apple. Cook until sweet potato is browned and apple is cooked through (4-5 min).

 

This made enough for 3 good sized servings.

 

Taco Seasoning

 

8 tbsp chili powder
4 tbsp onion powder
2 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp paprika
1 tbsp salt (kosher)

 

Mix well. Use 3 tbsp of mixture + 2/3 cup of water per 1lb of meat. Brown meat, add spices and mix well. When spices are covering meat, add water, stir and simmer for 5 minutes on low. (This recipe will not thicken as much as the store bought because there is no cornstarch.)

 

Enjoy!