Whole 30: Week 1 Recap & Week 2 Menu

We survived the 1st week!

Okay, okay, it really wasn't that bad. :) 

It was definitely interesting to see how our bodies dealt with the change. Not that we were junky eaters in the first place, but we definitely liked our dairy and grains. :) And who knew that there is sugar in pretty much everything, including bacon?!?! 

Day 2 was rough. I woke up and thought I was coming down with the flu. At 5am I woke up all sweaty and my stomach feeling off, so I got up, drank some water, ate a handful of almonds, took my fuzzy socks off and layer back down, without any blankets. Finally fell back asleep, but when I woke up for the second time my stomach still wasn't feeling to well. At first I thought I was just hungry so I ate my yummy Apple Bumbkin Breakfast Bake (recipe on my pinterest board, Whole 30, if you're interested!) and then laid on the couch. After a little while I took some ibuprofen and put doTerra's flu bomb oil on my feet. A few hours later I started to feel better and was even able to go to work, but I could still tell that my stomach just felt "off", something wasn't right. And then it finally hit me that it probably had something to do with Whole 30! I went to their website and found this helpful post! Whew! What I was experiencing was normal! Eli also didn't feel the greatest this day, and said he felt very lethargic. 

But now that we are on Day 9 and my body has finally adjusted, I am feeling great! Eli told me the other day that he felt more energetic in the mornings. It is still a struggle to resist my cravings for sweets, but I have discovered that apples and almond butter hit the spot in those moments. And homemade cinnamon applesauce. :) 

We enjoyed all the meals from the 1st week, some more than others, but nothing was gross. I think our favorites were the sausage and cabbage delight, pan fried salmon, and the baked butternut squash. All the side dishes were delicious! I loved finding new ways to cook them, because sometimes salad and cut, raw veggies get boring. 

Alright, Week 2's Menu.

Monday

Breakfast: Eggs w/ leftover meat

Lunch: leftovers

Dinner: Poblano Stuffed Peppers & Cauliflower Rice (was suppose to be sunday's dinner, but we ended up eating lunch at my parent's so we pushed sunday's lunch to dinner, and dinner to monday night dinner!)

Tuesday

Breakfast: Eggs w/ leftover stuffed pepper's

Lunch: Cauliflower Rice w/ left over stuffing :)

Dinner: Macadamia Encrusted Halibut w/ Salad

Wednesday

Breakfast: Eggs

Lunch: Leftovers or Sweet Potato & Egg Salad

Dinner: Comfort Food (steak and veggies dish)

Thursday

Breakfast: Eggs, again...

Lunch: Leftovers or Sausage & Cabbage Delight

Dinner: Carne Asada Lettuce Tacos

Friday

Breakfast:....eggs....

Lunch: probably leftovers

Dinner: Avocado BLT Egg Salad

Saturday

Breakfast: and more eggs. Can you see a theme here?

Lunch: BBQ at Church after Impact Eagle River

Dinner: Whatever leftovers sound good

Sunday

Breakfast: Sweet Potato Hash

Lunch: leftovers

Dinner: Sweet Beef Scramble

Whole 30:Week 1 Menu

As mentioned in my previous post, we are doing the Whole 30 Challenge this month. I am halfway through the first day and doing well! Haha. 

I wanted to post the menu here so that everyone can see how easy and yummy these recipes sound! Seriously, I am pretty excited to try them. And I was able to find almost everything at Fred Meyer's. The items I wasn't able to find were due to the store rearranging everything and I spent literally an hour in the store, walking in circles looking for 3 items or an employee in that section. I'll be so glad in a few weeks when I have re-memorized the layout. But, back to the Whole 30 Menu. 

I found this blog (whole family strong.com) through the Whole 30 website. It was one of their recommendations for recipes and said they were 100% compliant with Whole 30 and they have a 30 day menu already planned out! How handy is that? One thing I was worried about going into this challenge was finding recipes, but now I don't have to worry about that. I also followed a gal on Pinterest who had a Whole 30 board and have started my own board with recipes I want to try. 

Now the menu.....

Monday

Breakfast: Apple Bumbkin Breakfast Bake

Lunch: Chicken Salad on a bed of lettuce & spinach

Dinner: Meatloaf Cake w/ Lemon-herb Asparagus

Tuesday

Breakfast: Meatloaf & eggs OR leftover Apple Bake

Lunch: Chicken Salad

Dinner: Dinner w/ Emma & Mick (who are also doing Whole 30)

Wednesday

Breakfast: Eggs or Apple Bake

Lunch: Chicken Salad

Dinner: Cilantro Caribou Burgers w/ Sauteed Carrots

Thursday

Breakfast: Eggs w/ diced Caribou Burger

Lunch: Chicken Salad OR Sausage & Cabbage Delight

Dinner: Crockpot Pulled Pork w/ Baked Butternut Squash

Friday

Breakfast: Pulled Pork & Scrambled Eggs

Lunch: Chicken Salad OR Sausage & Cabbage Delight

Dinner: Herb Crusted Salmon & Sauteed Kale

Saturday

Breakfast: Eggs w/ Salmon

Lunch: Chicken Salad OR Sausage & Cabbage Delight

Dinner: Any Leftovers

Sunday

Breakfast: Eggs w/ Sweet Potato Hash

Lunch: Crispy Chicken Legs

Dinner: Stuffed Poblano Peppers w/ Cauliflower Rice

So it looks like we'll be going through a lot of eggs! Maybe we do need chickens....

I made a big batch of the chicken salad yesterday and am planning on eating that for lunch until it's gone. Same thing with the Apple Bumbkin Bake for breakfast.

And, my mom gave me a big bag of local grown apples (from her friend) and some rhubarb so I made rhubarb applesauce (no sugar!) and I figure that it will be a good, healthy snack. 

Normally, I don't like meatloaf but I am looking forward to trying a new recipe. I'll let you know what we think. :)

Whole 30 Challenge!

What is Whole 30 you ask? 

I am hesitant to call it a diet, it's more of a life style. It's pretty close to a paleo diet, but a few more restrictions. You can go here to learn more about it. 

My favorite quote, and the reason why I am doing this challenge, is, 

"Certain food groups (like sugar, grains, dairy and legumes) could be having a negative impact on your health and fitness without you even realizing it. Are your energy levels inconsistent or non-existent? Do you have aches and pains that can’t be explained by over-use or injury? Are you having a hard time losing weight no matter how hard you try? Do you have some sort of condition (like skin issues, digestive ailments, seasonal allergies or fertility issues) that medication hasn’t helped? These symptoms may be directly related to the foods you eat—even the “healthy” stuff.

So how do you know if (and how) these foods are affecting you? Strip them from your diet completely. Cut out all the psychologically unhealthy, hormone-unbalancing, gut-disrupting, inflammatory food groups for a full 30 days. Let your body heal and recover from whatever effects those foods may be causing. Push the “reset” button with your metabolism, systemic inflammation, and the downstream effects of the food choices you’ve been making. Learn once and for all how the foods you’ve been eating are actually affecting your day to day life, and your long term health."

A reset button, just what I need! Lately I have had no energy, my skin (and hair!) is a mess, I always seem to be fighting a cold, and I cannot seem to get rid of a little bit of fat hanging around my midsection. I am hoping that by following Whole 30 for a month I can fix some of these issues, and learn some tips to eat and cook healthy meals for my family. 

Now that my reasons are stated, I would like to ask you to encourage me in this goal! Ask me how my week is going, what my favorite recipe is so far, or any questions you have about this Whole 30 thing. 

I was pretty nervous at first. No sugar (real or artificial), no alcohol in any form, no grains, no legumes, no processed food, and no dairy. How in the world do you survive without bread? without yogurt? without hummus? But I thankfully found a family blog that has a menu all planned out and the meals all look delicious! We already tested the Chicken Salad (made with homemade mayo) and it was great! 

My goal is to blog at least once a week (hopefully more) and give you an update on how it's going. Already today, Day 1, I found myself throwing a handful of Baby L's cereal in my mouth before I remembered I wasn't suppose to eat grains! Don't worry, I spit it out right away! 

I will post our menu for the week later today. I am really excited, these recipes all sound yummy and look easy to make. 

Thanks for reading, and please, remember to leave some encouragement! I have a terrible sweet tooth so this could be difficult. :/