Day 20: 20 down and 10 to go...

It feels like the last 20 days have flown by!! It feels like I just started. However, I know from experience that the next 10 days will drag so I am going to change up my recipes and try to keep the program fresh and fun... this is about the time when I start hating eggs. So I am going to be making banana nut pancakes. ALL ingredients in these are whole 30 friendly. Granted this might be considered SWYPO... They do not taste at all like actual pancakes... they taste more like baked bananas. If you want to leave out the word "pancake" to make yourself feel better... then fine. Call them banana round ups or something equally as creative.

Breakfast:
Banana Walnut Pancakes

Lunch:
Chipotle! I was super busy today! so I swung in and grabbed:
burrito bowl- carnitas, guacamole, double pico, and double lettuce.

Snack:
Thats it- mango bar.

Dinner:
Mustard salmon
italian asparagus
Sweet potato cakes

Yummy new recipes to add to my repertoire are the best!!

Day 19: Ahhh... thats much better

I am back to feeling great. Thankfully it didn't take as long to feel good again after birthday weekend. I will say I am nervous about how the end result will be of this whole 30 considering this hiatus I took. I am not sure it will be as great as the last time I did it. I am not going to stop as no matter what... I will be better off doing the program and taking a break, then not doing the program at all or putting it off. I can always do another one down the road.

Breakfast:
Banana Walnut Pancakes

Lunch:
Steak and eggs
salad topped with fancy peas and vinaigrette

Snack: Apple

Dinner:
Almond crusted sole
steamed carrotts
mashed parsnips

Tally Ho!

Day 18: Oye...

So after my little hiatus I was back to no sugar... and I paid for that birthday cake. The headaches are back! NOOOO!! I am hoping that they subside soon!!

Breakfast:
Banana nut pancakes

Lunch:
Chicken Thigh
Side salad w/ veggies
Dijon Vinaigrette

Snack:
Thats it! bar
Baby Carrots

Dinner:
Mediterranean Steak
Fancy Peas
Smashed sweet potato

I am hoping that the bugger subsides soon because I am ready to get back to feeling better!! I skipped my workout today because I felt terrible! Which is maybe the worst part... not only is eating poorly a bad deal for your body dietarily... but you are less motivated to workout because you feel awful! Slipper slope!!

However... I would do it again. How many times do you turn 30?

Day 17: Back in the Saddle

I am back from the birthday hiatus! It was a great one, despite the gluten headaches and upset stomach from cheese that is. Which was a great incentive to get right back on track! Here are some things that I noticed while eating non whole 30 foods.

1. I get full much faster. I couldn't finish a single meal that had any gluten in it. Usually two bites in I was stuffed.

2. After my first taste of refined sugar, the sugar/carb cravings came back almost immediately.

3. I was 4 hours into my break before I started feeling sluggish and weighed down.

4. I never had a negative reaction to wine... which just means that I don't have an allergy to sulfites or alcohol. That doesn't mean that drinking it in high quantities is ok. Even if that happens sometimes.

So there is a little taste of what happens when you get off the whole 30, except for the wine thing which I think might just be me. Pink Champagne cake was delicious, but this isn't inspiring me to get off the whole 30 track again any time soon. In fact my boyfriend mentioned over the weekend that while he didn't participate this time around, he is interested in doing it again and possibly scheduling it in permanently somehow to our lifestyle. Some kind of a 3 weeks on, 1 week off scenario. So I will keep you posted on the development of that!

My "twin" Shanley and I at our Birthday Party Sunday...

Here is what I had today...

Breakfast:
2 Eggs
avocado slices
1/2 apple
isernos breakfast sausage

Lunch: Sabai Thai Kitchen
Chicken Yellow Curry- no rice, no potatoes

Dinner:
Chicken thighs
Arugula Salad with Pesto Dressing
Fancy Peas

So I guess I am 30 now... I don't feel any different. Other than getting a smaller pair of hudson jeans as a birthday gift. The gal at Nordstrom actually wanted me to go down 2 sizes. I mean I eat sausage, I just don't want to look like sausage!

Either way...Thanks Whole 30!

Day 16: We interrupt this Whole 30 to bring you my 30th Birthday...

This weekend is my 30th Birthday. I understand that this whole 30 was poorly planned. However, I feel that I desperately needed it. So I in fact fully plan on drinking wine this weekend. I will be sticking to the Whole 30 very closely, except for that aspect. Of course as promised- The Whole 30 does not recommend taking any kind of break or deferring from the program in any way during your program.

But I am turning 30... if that is not a good reason to be lax about the alcohol part of this, I don't know what is. I also plan on having a small piece of cake on sunday... and paying for it Monday. My head hurts already! It is what it is. Judge, berate, do your worst. Bottom line, if I don't celebrate this milestone, I will regret it forever.

If you are really irritated that I am doing this and are insisting that I call my program the Whole 28, then you are weird. Get a life. I'm celebrating... I have been alive 3 decades, and I am going to drink wine. Suck it. :)

Breakfast:
2 slices of compliant Bacon
1 egg
sweet potato hash browns

Lunch:
4 oz petite steak w/ Mediterranean seasoning
Arugula salad w/ home made vinaigrette

Snack: That's it! bar

Dinner: Dinner party at our friends house
Olive and Caper Chicken
Roast Green Beans
Side salad with figs and balsamic/oil.
and WINE! This one I am not going to be upset about.

Let the birthday festivities commence!

Day 15: The Half Way Point

This is the part of the whole 30 where you say to yourself... "Wait a minute... this isn't so hard! I'm already half way there!". It feels good to hit this point, because you realize that you can make it to the end. I'm even considering tacking on another 2 weeks for good measure. Both because I can, and because I feel like it will make up for the tortilla chip incident.

I am also headed back to work after our winter hiatus! So I am armed with lunabars, Thats it! bars, green tea, and a protein packed lunch!

Breakfast:
Isernos Chicken Sausage
2 eggs fried in coconut oil
1 banana

Lunch:
Lettuce wrapped burger w/ avocado, bacon, and tons of veggies
mustard and Creamy Pesto Dressing

Dinner:
Mediterranean Lamb Chops
Arugula Salad
Sweet Potato Hash browns

15 down... 15 to go!

Bistro Italian Salad

This is a versatile one! This is actually a variation of a pasta that I saw on Pioneer Woman... I think hers was called "Pantry Pasta" because all of the ingredients were found in her pantry. If you can do it with pasta, I figure you can do it with salad!

I love this recipe for lunch because I usually am cooking for 1 or 2 and this recipe really utilizes all of my delicious leftovers. I cooked steak the other night using my Mediterranean rub, which can be found in my Mediterranean Lamb recipe. It was developed for the Lamb recipe, but really its good on anything. I used it on NY steaks. The leftover steak was perfect for slicing and putting on this salad. Most of the ingredients can be found in your pantry and I serve it with my Creamy Pesto Dressing . 

Ingredients:

2 cups Mescaline Greens

Leftover Steak 

1/4 cup Artichoke hearts drained and chopped

1/4 cup roasted red peppers drained and chopped

1/4 small haas avocado sliced

1/4 cup chopped mixed olives

1/4 cup of chopped pepperocinis

2 tbsp chopped almonds

Optional: 1 fried or hard boiled egg (if you need extra protein)

Assemble and toss... we all know how to make a salad. I don't need to spell it out for you. :)