Day 23: Does McDonalds serve FREE Pizza on Mondays?

Breakfast:  

 1 whole grapefruit  
2 Hard Boiled Eggs
3 slices bacon(not pictured)

Lunch:

Taco Salad left-overs

Last night was crazy.  They say (the whole 30 people being they) that at some point during your Whole 30, you will have vivid, realistic dreams about food.  Acording to the Whole 30 Timeline that should happen around the mid-point of your journey.  Well I am WAY past the midpoint and they just started.  Everyone is different.

So my dream last night, was about free food.  Specifically, free pizza from McDonalds.  I guess it was a new thing that McDonalds was serving pizza, and on Mondays the 'free item of the day' was pizza.  I got three slices, ate them all, knew I was 'breaking the rules' and really didn't care because it was delicious!

Then I woke up and realized McDonalds doesn't serve pizza, and they definitely don't give it away for free. I also woke up slightly relieved, because I realized that I did not in fact ruin my Whole 30 with pizza from McDonalds. Whew.

Today was delicious all around.  I'm enjoying the taco salad and will be having more of it tomorrow, and possibly the next day.  The turkey burger was super simple to make (in the broiler/toaster oven), Tristan ate one too, and he loved helping mash the potatoes.  

I really think I may never go back to making mashed potatoes with 'real' butter and milk.  A little bit of Ghee, some garlic powder and a tiny bit of water and you have the most amazing potatoes ever.  Tristan was hesitant to try them again, and we had a repeat of last time.  He tried one small bite, his eyes lit up and he was so excited because they were so good.  

Dinner:

Turkey burger, garlic mashed potatoes,
cinnamon mashed sweet potatoes, banana, grapes

Day 22: Am I done yet?

Breakfast:

Potato & onion hash,

bacon

Lunch:

Pineland Farms grass fed

beef burger in lettuce 'bun'

& salad w/ balsamic

My heartburn is back.  I’m not happy about it.  I thought it was gone, and now its back.  I guess it wasn’t the coffee after all, but now I don’t know what it was!  L  The only thing I can think of is I had some Almond Butter on a banana last night – I haven’t had Almond butter in awhile.  Maybe I’ll avoid it for awhile.  But my heartburn is still here at the end of today, and I Haven’t had any more.  UGH.

This really makes me want to just throw in the towel.  How does a diet that is supposed to make you feel better, give you the worst heartburn of your life and make you feel yucky?  Doesn’t seem right.

Lunch was delicious, I bought the burgers frozen and broiled it in the toaster oven.  Added a little salt, pepper and garlic powder.  YUM!  I did over cook it a little bit, I kept checking the temp and it wasn’t right, again and again, and then all of a sudden it skyrocketed!  Oiy.

Dinner was good - not as good as the taco salad on Superbowl Sunday, there is just something about someone else making food for you that seems to make it that much better, no?  It was still yummy, I think the avocado was a bit under-ripe, but it was all I had.

I am so ready to be done.  We went to a birthday party for one of Tristan's friends today, and there was cake, and frosting, and hoodsie
cups and I wanted to eat all of it so bad.  I really don't believe that it is
my 'Sugar Dragon' as they say, because I've never really had one of those.
I think its just me wanting to be able to savor and enjoy a bite of cake or
ice cream.  For the most part the food I've been eating is delicious, but
while I fully believe there is WAY too much sugar in the American diet
today, I also fully believe in the fact that it is okay to eat in moderation,
and on special occasions.  I'm ready to be able to par-take in those special occasions.

Dinner:

Taco Salad w/ salsa

& avocado

Day 21: Very Orange Day

Breakfast:

Grapefruit &

water w/ lemon

Earl Grey tea

Lunch:

Sweet potato & potato

has, 2 HB eggs, prunes

& raspberries

I’m in love with grapefruit lately – I’ve eaten a whole grapefruit 3 times in the past 4 days. Yum!

I hardboiled the last of my eggs that I bought at the beginning of this journey, I had 4 dozen, now I have none, Time to go shopping. 

I forgot how much I LOVE hardboiled eggs.  Yum!

For dinner I sautéed the chicken in bacon grease, which I didn’t like as much as how I normally do it in olive oil.  The onions were amazing, sautéed after the chicken and with a little water to pull al lthe flavor off the pan.  The SP fries were a little under-done, but still yummy.  I never made it to the carrot. 

Dinner:

Chicken, Sweet potato

fries, sauteed onions, carrot

Day 20: Bacon, bacon, bacon, bacon

Breakfast:

Hash w/onions

& fried eggs

Lunch:

Chicken stir fry

w/ avocado

I ate eggs again today.  I can finally eat them again without gagging, although I think that is partially

due to my lymph nodes no longer choking me and the heartburn being gone.  I’m so glad that is gone.

Lunch was leftovers from yesterday.  I guess one change throughout this program has been I eat smaller portions.  I used to eat all of the stir fry from the grocery store, but now it lasted me 2 meals.

Dinner was delicious, I was craving bacon all day and stopped on my way home to get some sugar free from Whole Foods.  I was bummed at first, because I couldn’t find any, then I asked at the butcher counter and a nice guy helped me look.  He had no luck either.  He offered to check in the back, but wasn’t hopeful.  He found a whole box!  I got three just to make sure I don’t run out over the next 10 days. 

I ate way more bacon then I should have last night though……

Dinner:

Pork chop w/ green

beans, roasted

carrots & bacon

Day 19: Where is the Tiger Blood?

Breakfast:

Nut Porridge with

berries and banana

Lunch:

Chicken stir fry

w/avocado

I didn’t like the porridge as much this time.  I was really thick and gooey.

 

Lunch was good – I totally forgot to bring lunch today, so I opted for stir-fry from the grocery store next door.  Make-your-own stir fry with no sauce.  The avocado really added some flavor with the lack of sauce.

Dinner was out at Gather again, because it was late, and I was tired, and I’m so sick of cooking, I just needed a break.  Plus all my meat at home was frozen…

I’m still dedicated to finishing this, but I’m no longer sold on the results.  I feel NO different, besides the nonsense with heartburn I had for over a week (which was not a positive) which has finally gone away.  I also stopped drinking coffee, perhaps that was the cause?  But I’ve been drinking one cup of coffee a day for months now, so I don’t understand why all of a sudden it would give me heartburn….

I don’t feel any different, no ‘Tiger Blood’ at all.  No limitless energy.  I don’t see any physical changes in my body. 

I will be fairly upset if in 11 more days I still feel the same, and I went through all of this nonsense for nothing. 

Dinner:

Grass fed Burger

& Salad @ Gather

Day 18: Revisiting old Favorites

Breakfast:

Scrambled eggs with
onion and peppers

Lunch:

Meatballs in sauce

I ate eggs again for the first time in awhile!  I started to cook them in coconut oil, because its good for you, but added some extra virgin olive oil to cut down the coconut flavor a bit, because the smell was making me gag a little.  It turned out to be great, not too much coconut at all!

I was happy to eat the rest of my meatballs.  I had frozen them because I thought the tomato was causing my heartburn.  But since it hasn’t gone away, and I haven’t had tomatoes, I gave up that theory.  So I ate them, and they were delicious. 

Dinner was thrown together, I do have a menu for this week, but things keep getting thrown askew by life.  I had pork chops that needed to be cooked so I threw some spices on the chops and baked, while sautéing the asparagus with garlic and EVOO.  It was yummy, the asparagus is over a week old, I was surprised it still looked okay but some of it tasted a bit off. 

I’m still waiting for the tiger blood.  I read all these stories about people who ‘feel so great’ on this diet, and notice all these changes, and things getting better.  Unfortunately the only difference I’ve really seen is the development of heartburn and enlarged lymph nodes choking me.  This doesn’t seem like the intended results at all.

Dinner:

Pork chop with asparagus

Day 17: Teriyaki Whole 30?

Breakfast:

Apple 'crisp' bake - Apples, spices,
chopped cashews, almond flour, ghee

 

Lunch:

Left over sausage and potatoes

Today was good.  Breakfast was rushed, so I baked it mostly at home, and then finished baking it at work.  The apples could have been a bit softer, probably needed a little more cooking.  But it was good.

The left over lunch was delicious.  I was so looking forward to the mashed potatoes again.  YUM!

Dinner was at my sisters house, she make a Whole30 Teriyaki sauce and it was so yummy.  It was a bit sweet for me, for every night.  I think particularly with not having sugar for a while now, I’m more sensitive to it and I could tell!

Dinner:
Teriyaki stir fry and salad with
mango cucumber dressing

Day 16: 1/2 Snow day

Breakfast:Yum Granola,
Strawberries, Pineapple

Lunch:

Stir fry – cabbage,
sweet potato, onion, pepper

Breakfast was a bit of a last minute throw together.  I had left over granola, threw in some strawberries and pineapple.  I think I had a banana too.  Lunch was kind of disappointing, I was hoping the cabbage would be awesome, but it was just ok.  Dinner was good, but since I cooked the sausage and the zucchini in the same pan (but at separate times) the sausage was cold by the time I ate. 

The potatoes were amazing.  Why don’t I make garlic smashed potatoes more often.  And surprisingly, I think I prefer mashed potatoes with Ghee, as opposed to butter!

Today was a ½ snow day – snowed all day long and I had to pick Tristan up early from school because his school closed early.  Driving home was dangerous, I’m glad they closed when they did!

I have no ‘Tiger Blood’ feelings yet.  I’m still sleepy when I wake up in the morning, I’m still having gut/digestion problems.  Where is my Tiger Blood.

Tiger blood is what you are supposed to feel in the 3^rd week of the Whole 30 – like you have endless energy, don’t need an alarm clock anymore, etc.  Not yet….

Dinner:

Chicken apple sausage, garlic
smashed potatoes, zucchini

Day 15: Super Bowl Sunday (Go Pats!)

Day 15:

Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner
Sweet potato hash w/peppers and onions and sausage	Pork w/ sauerkraut, veggies	Taco salad w/ guac, sweet potato chips, buffalot chix dip, avocado

Buffalo Chicken Dip! :)

 

Thoughts:

Tried sweet potatoes again this morning, and was pleasantly surprised that I can tolerate them again.  Not so sick of them anymore after the week long break.

Also still not sick of my pulled pork and sauerkraut deliciousness – had it for lunch again!  The pork is now all gone thought.  My mom used to have sauerkraut at every thanksgiving, and I would never try it, because it smelled so bad.  It is a potent taste for sure, but its not bad at all!

Went to a party at Tristan’s school today – food I can’t eat everywhere.  Cake, Cheese, Crackers, cookies, donuts, meatballs, pizza!  Ugh!  I picked out a few veggies and fruit that I could eat, watched Tristan eat a whole piece of cake – debating having one small lick of frosting, but again held strong, and I’m proud of myself for it!

Dinner was a super-bowl extravaganza with a deluxe taco salad, and home-made Whole 30 approved buffalo chicken dip!  It was SO good!  It was great to be at a Whole30 dominant super bowl party too – only the kids and one adult are not doing the whole 30 so all the adult food was approved. 

I’m really not that excited about the super bowl, but went to he party just to have some Whole 30 approved super bowl snacks and delicious food!  It was awesome.  Today was a great day to be my ½ way point on my Whole 30 – its all downhill from here right?

Day 14: Temptation abounding

Day 14:

Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner
Bacon, home-made pork sausage and cabbage stir-fry	Pulled pork with Sauerkraut, raw peppers and bacon	Sausage, peppers and onions, with bananas, almond butter and raisins.

Thoughts:

Home-made pork sausage takes a long time to make.  It turned out good, probably could have used a few more spices, last time I did too many, this time not enough.  I’ll get it down eventually.  The bacon was delicious (duh) and because I needed veggies, and just bought some shredded cabbage, I stir fried the cabbage in bacon grease – yum!

For lunch I had more pork and sauerkraut – I still can’t believe I’m eating sauerkraut.  Pinch me!

Tristan had French fries and chicken at the mall today – I really wanted a fry – but I held strong.  He also wanted Red Mango (frozen yogurt) and I let him get some – they had my favorite flavor (white peach) which they haven’t had in a long time.  I was SO tempted, but I ended up compromising with a all fruit smoothie instead.  Hopefully white peach will still be there in 2 weeks!

Dinner was a last minute idea stolen from my sister who just started her Whole 30 with her husband today.  I used the home-made sausage from this morning and some onion and pepper I had that needed to be used and it was delicious.  The onions were perfect – I need to use more onions, I forgot how much I love them.

I’ve learned a lot about cooking, although its not so much attributed to this Whole30 as it is to getting new pans for Christmas.  I read the instructions (shocking I know)  of the pans (who knew pans came with instructions?) and in the process learned how to cook on lower heat.  I’ve always been a high heat cooker – because it cooks faster right?  Turns out low heat cooking makes more delicious food – takes longer but the payoff is tremendous.  Who knew?  (I know, everyone else in the developed world….)

Day 13: Yummy Day!

Day 13:

Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner
Berry ‘cobbler’ (bluberries, raspberries, blackberries, ghee, granola, almond butter – baked and mushed)  YUM!	Pulled pork and sauerkraut and apple (not as pictured)	Burger with lettuce bun, salad with oil and vinegar, potato-leek soup(@Gather)

                          

 

Thoughts:

Breakfast was SOOOO good – a bit potent (without the ‘normal’ sugar to cut it down) but I loved it.  It was kind of a thrown together last minute deal. 

I’m surprised at how much I enjoy the sauerkraut with the pork.  I’ve never touched sauerkraut before (despite being Irish) because it just smelled potent and yucky.  It goes SO well with the pork, for lunch today I had them both warm (dinner last night was cold kraut) and it was delicious.  The kraut adds just the right touch to the pork that is dried a bit from heating in the microwave.  Yum!

Dinner was out at a restaurant, one that serves local grass fed beef and was very accommodating.  I was a bit miffed when my ‘dairy and gluten free’ potato leek soup came with a scoop of sour-cream on top (what happened to dairy free?) but I just scooped it out and ate the soup.  I may have gotten a few milk proteins, but it couldn’t be helped. 

Still taking the pro-biotics(14 billion organisms/pill) and enzymes but they don’t seem to be helping