Whole30 Past 3 Days

Day 5

Woo Hoo!  It is morning  and once again I do not like eating breakfast, but I am doing it.  I have decided the only way to have vegetables for breakfast is to make enough the night before for leftovers.  Making more at night = less cooking in the morning and I think I would rather just have to nuke a plate than to cook something from scratch. Thank goodness I can still have my coffee!


Breakfast    2 Sausage patties
                   1 scrambled egg (gross)
                   1 cup leftover T'giving dressing
                   1/2 cup pineapple chunks

Lunch        1 Apple, sliced
                  1 Tablespoon almond butter

Supper      1 Bowl paleo chili with butternut squash
                  Shredded lettuce with serving of guacamole

Later          1 cherry pie Lara bar (technically compliant but breaking the spirit of the challenge)


This was a kind of boring food day.  Since I had just eaten the sausage and dressing yesterday, there were no different flavors.  The apple was good, but predictable.  I realized the chili I always make is paleo until beans are added, so I made a large pot of it and separated it into 2 containers. One of them got the added beans and the other got hunks of butternut squash.  I thought the chili flavors might season the butternut squash. Seriously. Bad. Idea. Chili and butternut squash are not really compatible flavors or textures. The squash just made the chili taste like squash. I think I should have just amped up the veggie content using poblano peppers, and additional tomatoes and onions. Live, learn and pass it on?

I had no avocados so I went to Publix to grab one.  Why do they stock only hard unripe avocados.  Surely I can't be the only spontaneous person wanting guacamole tonight. I found one that was about half ripe, so that was what I had to work with.

Guacamole made with 1/2 Avocado

1/2 small avocado
1/2 lime, juiced
2 tablespoons minced onion
1/3-1/4 clove garlic minced
1/2 tomato minced
2 dozen cilantro leaves. half minced and half for garnish

Mash the avocado to the consistency you like ( I love some chunks left).  Immediately stir in the lime juice, making sure it is well blended.  Stir in the remaining ingredients until it is all mixed.  Serve over a bowl of lettuce.  Serves 1 .  I would have taken a picture but I was hungry, so I ate it instead of photographing it, but honestly it looked like all chunky guacamole looks.

Hopefully tomorrow will taste a little better. Oh and for the record you know why no one but you should know you bought roasted salt free cashews?  Because those other people who are eating whatever the heck they want appear out of thin air and eat your only possible late night snack!  Some people like to live dangerously. Oh, the Lara bar tasted better than anything I had eaten for the past week.  Now I know I can't keep them here because they will disappear in my mouth.

Day 6

Today was what my Beloved Sister calls a Mickey Mouse Day.  It basically means anything can happen and it usually does, well at least unexpected things happen all day.  It was a whirlwind day and I had no time for any food prep so I just warmed a plate for breakfast/lunch between weird errands.  Then TheHub decided to come home from work early and wanted to go see a movie. (For the record, "The Judge" was fantastic.) I sat next to him as he devoured popcorn and a coke while I sipped on my water and inhaled the aroma of movie theater popcorn. Wah! ( Martyr Syndrome).  We didn't get out of the theater until nearly 8, I was truly hungry and I was not going to start cooking then.  PUNT!

Breakfast/Lunch  2 slices compliant ham (Boar's Head with no sugar added)
                            1 cup stewed tomatoes, okra and onions

Dinner                (And then the Angels sang) Chipotle's salad with carnitas, pico de gallo, and
                                                                                 guacamole

Snack                 Handful of dry roasted unsalted cashews. (I hid them after I ate some)

Breakfast/Lunch was neither good nor bad, it was just fodder. Dinner, oh my, I am not sure it was so delicious because it tasted that fabulous, or because I didn't have to cook.  Either way, I enjoyed it so much.  I will be back at Chipotle's for this meal ( the only Whole30 approved meal there) weekly.

Day 7         One week completed

Today I was home for the day, so it was a good time to do a little advance food prep.  I baked, packaged and froze spaghetti squash and butternut squash.  While they were baking I threw a sweet potato in the oven for lunch.  Collards were washed and cut for Friday's dinner.  Kale and onions were cooked just because I had them in the refrigerator.

Breakfast   Coffee
                  1 sliced apple with 1 tablespoon almond butter

Lunch        Coffee
                  1 small sweet potato baked with chili on top. (This was fantastic and super filling!)

Dinner       Leftover roasted turkey
                  1 cup cooked kale
                  8 grilled okra pods

Later          Pear and handful of cashews

                                     The chili in the sweet potato was messy.  Use a bowl!

Paleo Chili

1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
1 large onion chopped
1 bell pepper or poblano pepper, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
3 cans petite diced tomatoes
3-4  tablespoons chili powder
1-2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt ( I don't like much salt, you probably need more)
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
pinch of cayenne
1/2 teaspoon Mexican oregano

Brown the ground beef in a large pot until it loses its pink color.  Add the vegetables and cook until they are soft and the beef is light brown.  Drain grease from the pan and add the tomatoes including the liquid in the can.  Add the seasonings and let it cook on low for about 3 hours. Check occasionally and add more liquid if necessary.  Taste and adjust seasonings to your specific taste.

Cut spaghetti squash and butternut squash in half, lengthwise. Place cut halves on a baking sheet and cook at 350 for about 35 minutes.  Remove and let cool until they can be handled.  Scrape the seeds and discard, then scrape the pulp and freeze in 1 cup portions.

With the week over there are a few things I am learning.  Right now I do not want a cookie or candy or really sweets of any kind.  I would love something fizzy to drink (might get seltzer water tomorrow) and I would like something crunchy.  It is more of a tactile thing than a flavor thing. 

 Couple of things I am really thankful for.  (1)  I purchased beautiful produce (2)  I am a decent cook and can experiment with foods  (3) I drink my coffee black all the time so that is one thing that didn't have to change