Meal Plan

Today is my last day of w30.  Wowza.  It was much easier this time around and sometime next week I'll give you the recap of it all, but currently I am trying to catch up on this while the baby is yelling at me from his crib and I have limited time until I leave for church....

Sunday:  Roast..seasonings I use here

Monday:  Cabbage enchiladas

Tuesday:  Hamburgers with sweet potato fries

Wednesday:  A rotisserie chicken from Publix over plantain mash

Thursday:  PIZZA!!!!  FINALLY!!!!!

Friday:   Salad with veggies and shredded chicken

Saturday:  Chili

Meal Plan Review and w30- day 29

Sorry about the delay in the meal plan review....the hubs was working on an awesome promotional video for c7f.  You can check it out on youtube here.  So since he was hogging the computer and my little one was hogging the iPad...I relaxed.  Started to read a new book-  The Book Thief.  Ever read it? Interesting so far.

I also had to get the chickens ready for transfer.  Their new family came to pick them up and wouldn't you know, we knew them.  Their little girl is in the same preschool class as D....small world.  I'm feeling really good about this now because I know they will be treated as pets, not simply as the livestock that they are.

Review:
Sunday:We went to a restaurant and I ordered a bacon mango salad with coconut chicken.  I 86'd the dressing and cheese, but I have a strong feeling the chicken included ingredients that were not w30 approved.  I promise you this was my only questionable choice in the last 29 days.  I didn't even lick my fingers when making dessert for a church function.  Ehh....I tried.

Monday:  Our order of meat didn't go through so we didn't have any ground beef...so instead we had Shredded chicken over mashed plantains.  It was really good.  I used chicken because I don't like pork and didn't use the beef broth because I didn't have any broth that was w30 approved...and I already messed up once.
you
Tuesday:  Taco Salad  (seasoning recipe)

Wednesday:  Steaks with broccoli and brussel sprouts.  I roasted the broccoli; steamed the brussel sprouts then put them in the oven with bacon while the steaks finished cooking.

Thursday:  Stir-fry.  It was gross.  I thought I had stir fry veggies, but instead I only had carrots, cauliflower, and broccoli so that over a bed of mashed cauliflower and chicken.  Plus, my coconut aminos ran out so it didn't have any flavor.  It wasn't good folks...make sure you have plenty of ingredients for stir-fry.  I was tempted to cheat and use tamari sauce, but I already feel guilty....

Friday:  I ended up scrounging around the house.  We did a lot of yard work so I gave the little man chicken nuggets, while the adults ate on our own.

Saturday:  Chili.  So good.



W30- Day 29
Breakfast:  frittata- with eggs, bacon, olive, tomatoes, avocado

Lunch:  larabar...and i forget.

Dinner:  chili

Chicka, chicka, bye bye

I am a terrible chicken mother.  When we first got them a few years ago I really had no expectations of them living this long and so never thought about having them long term.  I have been told our chickens are "a bit of a conundrum" around our area.  They stay in our (and neighbors) yard with no fence and they have lived almost 2 years.  I blame the busy street in our front yard and crazy dog on the other side of the house for the first and our guardian German Shepherd for the second.  So I cannot believe I have just given them away.  How terrible am I?  Terrible, I know.  And, I don't even have a good reason.  They are really good chickens, the kids love them, and they are very low maintenance on a day to day basis.  The thing though, is that they are really, really, really dirty.  Dog poo is one thing in my yard.....it is difficult to miss those piles and they are easily cleaned.  But, chicken poo....let me tell you...it's everywhere.  It's in my garage, it's by my front door, it's by my back door, on the driveway, etc....everywhere.  So that's one reason.  I'm tired of feeling like my house and myself are really dirty.  It's really embarrassing telling guest after guest not to step in the chicken poop as they come to the front door.  The second reason is now that Adam is doing more personal training on his days off it has become increasingly more difficult to find time to clean the coop.  We have a large, poorly designed coop that is a bear to clean....so it takes a lot of time to dedicate to clean.  Time I no longer have.  And my chickens seem to be picky...they don't lay when the coop is dirty.  So, lately, no eggs.   Let me translate:  very few eggs + poop everywhere= relocation.  Sorry, that's the way it is.  I am a little sad about it. I feel like I've failed them.  Especially when I told D and he got really sad and asked me not to give them away because "he loves them."  Then he talked about the new family giving them away or bringing them back.  It's really difficult to explain this type of thing to a 4 year old.  I hope this does not translate in his little mind that if he is really dirty he can switch a family too....or wait?  Maybe this can be good ammunition later in life....just kidding.  I'd never do that.

So off they go later tonight or tomorrow...sorry but they are just livestock.  At least I didn't take them to the butcher.

Breakfast:  2 morning glory muffins

Lunch:  left over stir fry

Dinner:  turkey, sweet potato soup, apple

w30- day 27

My household woke up crabby this morning.  Jesh.  Wish I had some coffee to help me deal.  Luckily, the little one went off to school, my husband and I got in a workout, and the baby (after cutting his first tooth) went to sleep for a long afternoon nap.  Ahh...hear that?  Silence!  It hasn't been that way in a few days.  So after getting some things done around the house, Adam took D to martial arts while I went around and put up flyers for Free Chickens.  We have decided to give away our chickens and I am feeling very torn about this....story to come tomorrow.

Breakfast:  2 muffins (we ran out of eggs...hence the chickens going away)

Lunch:  leftover chicken and plantain mash

Dinner:  chicken stir-fry

Snack:  carrots and sun-butter

30-day 26

I said my peace in my previous post when I was catching up on yesterday.  We are out of eggs and our chickens are on strike since I haven't cleaned their coop in, well, too long.  So today is going to be a day of random eating.

Breakfast:  2 muffins, some chicken

Lunch: taco salad

Dinner: chicken with plantain mash

w30- day 25

My little man is still recovering from the stomach flu and is home watching movies and playing games again today.  So add that to my husbands crazy work schedule this week and we have one screwed up schedule.  We have been ordering our meat from a local farm store and haven't been able to pick it up yet, so I've had to switch quite a bit of the meal plan around.  If friends come over tonight, despite the house being tainted with the flu virus, we'll have steaks.  If not....leftovers.  Nothing but the best for my fam :)

Here was yesterday's day in food:

Breakfast:  2 muffins, 2 hard boiled eggs

Lunch:  Taco Salad

Dinner:  Chicken with plaintain mash.  Oh boy was that good.  Check back on Saturday for the complete recap.  

Snack:  carrots with sun butter

w30- day 24

Phew....my little four year old has been sick, making it much harder to keep up with things around here.   I'm hoping to pull myself together soon...probably not until he gets back to school.

Breakfast:  2 muffins, turkey

Lunch:  sweet potato soup, chicken, "apple pie"  (recipe coming soon)

Dinner:  taco salad

Snack:  Apple pie

Meal Plan

Sunday:  Heading out to a restaurant with some friends visiting from Indiana...wish me luck :)

Monday:  Buffalo Chicken and Sweet Potato Meatza

Tuesday:  Steaks with broccoli and/or brussel sprouts

Wednesday:  Shredded chicken over mashed plantains  (i know the link is for pork, but i don't like pork so i'll sub chicken)

Thursday:  Taco Salad

Friday:  Stir-fry.  I'll use frozen stir fry mix and instead of soy sauce i'll use coconut aminos and fish sauce. It'll be served over a bed of cauliflower rice. 

Saturday:  Chili

Meal Plan Review

This week was such a blur I don't even remember what happened in my kitchen....  Phew, I hope this week is less chaotic!

Monday:  I was feeling under the weather and we had a bunch of shredded chicken in the fridge so we ate salad with chicken, bacon, mango and veggies

Tuesday:  Curried Coconut Tilapia with cauliflower rice.  I got this recipe from the kaffir lime leaves box.  It was really good!  I do not like fish and this was good.  I only got to eat half my fish though because my 4 year old kept eating off my plate!  Here's the recipe....I assume since they put it in the box for you it is legal to share:

Ingredients:
1 c. coconut milk
4 kaffir lime leaves (i get them at whole foods and store what i don't use in the freezer)
2 tsp. fish sauce
1 1-in. pc fresh ginger, grated
1 tbsp. red curry paste
3 tbsp. olive oil
1 large shallot, sliced
1/2 tsp. curry powder
1 lb. tilapia filets
1/4 c. fresh cilantro, chopped
1/3 c. toasted coconut

Bring milk to a simmer, add lime leaves and continue to simmer for 15 minutes.  Remove from heat, stir in sauce, ginger and paste; set aside.  Heat 2 tbsp. olive oil on medium high, add shallots and sauté 5 minutes.  Toss with curry powder and add 1 more tbsp. olive oil.  Continue to sauté 5 minutes before adding fish filets in a single layer.  Cook filets 2 minutes on each side.  Pour milk blend over filets, top with cilantro and continue to sauté at a minimal boil for 508 minutes.  Serve over rice; top with coconut.

Wednesday:  Sweet Pepper Steak.  It was descent.  Nothing spectacular, but for a quick meal it was perfect.  Here are the changes I made:
          Sub coconut oil or EVOO for vegetable oil
          Sub arrowroot for cornstarch
          Will use tamari sauce instead of regular soy sauce
          Eliminate the sugar.  May use honey, but probably won't.
          Will serve over cauliflower rice or salad

Thursday:  Sweet Potato Lasagna.  This is such a delicious meal.  I double the recipe and instead of making enchiladas I use my slicer thingamabob on my food processor and make a lasagna instead.  Also, instead of frying all those slices I throw them on a pan in the oven to get them soft.  I fried them the first time I made this and it did add flavor, but used up a lot of time.  So, you can decide what you prefer.  Also, I think I am going to try this in the crockpot next time.  Just brown the meat and make the sauce...throw in the crock pot on low 6 hours or so and I bet it'll be perfect.  Without precooking the sweet potatoes.

Friday:  The big boys ended up having a boys night and went to eat and then to a local football game.  That meant it was day 2 of sweet potato lasagna while watching a movie in my quiet house....ahhhh.....

Saturday:  We still had almost an entire pan of lasagna left so we finished it off....

Sunday:  Some friends from Indiana are visiting and we plan to take them out to enjoy some local flare....wish me luck ordering from the menu!  

w30- Day 22

Meal Plan review on it's way...

Breakfast:  egg stacks

Lunch: sweet potato soup, carrots

Dinner:  sweet potato lasagna (yep, day 3 of it)

Workout:
Squats 75lbs reps:  6,8,8
Shoulder Press 45lbs x8, 3x's  (5 w/o assistance, 4 w/o assistance, 3 w/o assistance)
Deadlift 65lbs x8
Body Rows 3 sets x 8

w30- day 21

I'm falling behind in my posting....this past week has been extremely busy!  I hope that doesn't continue....

Breakfast:  2 hard boiled eggs, muffin, cantaloupe and grapes

Lunch:  turkey, sweet potato soup, cantaloupe

Dinner:  sweet potato lasagna

Snack:  larabar and carrots with sun butter

w30- Day 20

Wholly Guacamole it is day 20!  Only ten days left until....just kidding.  I'm not going to say it.

I have a few friends who know what I'm doing and they often say things like "only 10 days left" and "you can eat anything you want in a little over a week!"  Yes, yes that is true...but if I do go back to what I was doing before, then the last 30 days were pretty much useless.  Except, I did find out coffee and nuts are not the cause of my face irritation.  So that's something.  It's going to be hard to not go crazy when my 30 days are up, but I'm in a habit now so I have a good feeling....

Breakfast:  2 muffins

Lunch:  turkey, carrots and sun butter, and cantaloupe

Dinner:  sweet potato lasagna  (see sat for the recipe link)

w30- Day 19

You know what is pathetic?  The fact that I posted almost the exact same thing two days apart.  Yep, I'm that excited about Starbucks I couldn't remember I had posted about two days before.  That's a shame.

Breakfast:  chili, hard boiled egg

Snack:  larabar, muffin

Lunch:  two hamburgers with onions, avocado, and tomatoes  ( i like stacked things)

Dinner:  sweet pepper steak





Boys lunch for tomorrow.....turkey, mango, carrots w/ sun butter, and a granola bar

w30- Day 18

Wow.  Day 18.

The days are flying by.  The end will be here before I know it.  The first thing I'm going to do....go to Starbucks and get a pumpkin spice late.  Then I will live the w30 lifestyle again as I slowly add in sugar (natural), dairy, and gluten.   I just need to splurge on a really, really delicious coffee.  I'm going to get the big one, too.  Don't judge.

So you may ask why I'm still giving up coffee if I don't technically need to and it's obvious I'm going to go back to drinking it.  Well, I'll tell you.  Drinking black coffee at this point is not worth it.  That's the story.  If I want to drink coffee I want it to be really yummy.  Black coffee does not fit this description.  I wish I could tell you my skin has miraculously healed and I look like an airbrushed model...but it hasn't changed a bit.  I gave up coffee, I gave up nuts (mostly), I dedicated time and effort to making sure I did my face routine, and nothing changed.  I am not going to give up meat or hot showers so sorry face...you're out of luck.

Breakfast:  2 hard boiled eggs, sweet potato soup

Lunch:  veggie salad with chicken

Dinner:  coconut curry tilapia  (yum...stay tuned for the recipe on Sat)

Snack:  morning glory muffin



Little mans lunch:  fish hard boiled egg, dried veggie chips, kiwi, greek yogurt

w30- day 17

Let me tell you what I do not crave...wine, sugar, bread, butter, or cheese.  I did at first, but now I am officially over those.  Once in a while I will get a quick craving for something sweet right after dinner, but it passes quickly.  To help with that feeling of "needing something else" after dinner I sip on a coconut water.  For some reason it really helps.  Maybe the craving for coffee overshadows all the rest....whatever the reason I am grateful that's my only struggle.

Breakfast:  2 muffins, fruit smoothie

Lunch:  salad with veggies and chicken

Dinner:  salad with bacon, mango, and chicken

Snack:  larabar, Naked Green Goodness smoothie

And since I haven't been too good about posting pictures lately, here is one of D's lunch for you....

Peanut butter and jelly elephant shaped sandwich, carrots and cucumber, grapes, and trail mix.  This is his 4th week of school and his first sandwich....hope he doesn't expect them from here on out.

w30- day 16

I cannot believe I am halfway through.  While I am not going to go crazy when I finish this, my husband is planning to drive me to Starbucks first thing Monday morning to get me a pumpkin spice late....ahh....it's gonna be so good.  So after that I think coffee and creamer will be my first step.  I hope to make my own creamer with coconut milk, pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice, and honey.  I'll share that recipe (compliments of pinterest) later.  I say I am not going to dive back into my old habits with reckless abandonment, but I've done this before....I know how quickly it is to fall off the wagon.

For being halfway through I feel pretty good.  I thought I would feel better, but I can't complain.  I hope the next few weeks are better and I have every reason to believe they will be.  I have changed a lot these two weeks so hopefully my body will get out of shock and into recognizing this is the new normal.  By the way, did you watch that show?  I did for about 4 minutes...then promptly shut it off.  Did not appeal to me in the least.  I'm not into offending every race, gender, sexual preference, etc...and thinking its awesome.  It's not.  Stop.

Breakfast:  2 Morning Glory Muffins

Lunch:  Chili, carrots with sun butter

Dinner:  A burnt beef roast and butternut squash.  It was not meant to burn.  Accidents happen.

Snack:  Larabar and an apple with sun butter.

Meal Plan

This is what is on the docket this week:

Monday:  Coconut curried tilapia w/ cauliflower rice (new recipe from the kaffir lime leaves box)  If it's good I'll give you the recipe.

Tuesday:  Sweet Potato Lasagna

Wednesday:  Sweet Pepper Steak
          Sub coconut oil or EVOO for vegetable oil
          Sub arrowroot for cornstarch
          Will use tamari sauce instead of regular soy sauce
          Eliminate the sugar.  May use honey, but probably won't.
          Will serve over cauliflower rice or salad

Thursday: Taco Salad

Friday: Buffalo chicken and sweet potato Meatza

Saturday:  Chili

Sunday:  Roast

Meal Plan Review

Monday:  Pot of Chicken Pie (Paleo Comfort Food cookbook).  This stuff is really good.  I wish I could post the recipe, but I don't thing that's legal...  It is a book I would recommend buying; I make a lot of things from it.  Especially these Morning Glory muffins I'm currently obsessed with.

Tuesday:  Sausage and cabbage noodles with fried apples.  Two things:  1. Don't accidentally buy iceberg lettuce instead of cabbage.  It is not the same.  Not the same at all.  2.  My fried apples turned into chunky applesauce because the apples I bought were of a softer variety.  Because they were getting to this consistency I just added cinnamon and skipped all the rest.  Still yummy.

Wednesday:  Chimichurri w/ sirloin and butternut squash.  If you make this, you really need to make sure you haver enough cilantro.  I accidentally bought more parsley thinking I needed it, but it was cilantro I was lacking.  I had almost one cup and dragging two kids to the grocery store wasn't worth the other 1/2 cup so I just made it.  Not at all the same.  My word...so many mistakes this week on my part.

Thursday:  Leftovers

Friday:  Tom Kha Gai soup and dry, boring salad.  Soup was good- before I spilled 1/2 of it.  My bad.

Saturday:  Chili

Sunday:  Roast with sweet potatoes and carrots.  I already know how this is going to turn out so I can post about it....it's gonna be good.

w30- Day 15

I didn't tell you this yesterday, but last night at church I knocked over the table of soups.  It just collapsed.  Nuts.  Luckily, we only lost one soup and a little bit out of the other two, but still...."Hello, I'm here early to help.  What would you like me to do?  Oh, spoil everything and make a big mess?  Sure.  Right on it."    You know what they did to me for punishment?  Made me divvy out all the desserts to the pedestals for a centerpiece.  It wasn't really a punishment, but they did ask me to do it....so I did.  All I wanted to do was lick my fingers....

Today Adam took me to a park across from the beach for a workout.  He might have broke his toe because of my suggestion.  Someone lock me in my house for the rest of the weekend.  It looks really gnarly.  A little mangled even.  Oops,  my apologies babe.  The rest of the workout was good...

Agility/Movement:
crawling/balancing on beam
pull up techniques
active hang

Combo: (3x's)
8 deadlifts w/25lbs
rock balance
precision jumps (this is where he broke the toe)
bear crawl uphill/crab crawl downhill

Cool down:  dipping my toes in the Atlantic Ocean.

Food:

Breakfast:  egg layers

Lunch:  muffin, carrots and sun butter

Dinner:  chili (early dinner)

Snack:  larabar, more muffins- I'm a little obsessed with these.

w30- day 14

Yesterday was torture.  Plain old torture.  First, I had to make a dessert for a dinner at church tonight.  Have you ever made a dessert you couldn't eat?  Couldn't even lick the stuff off your fingers?  It is terrible!  Then, to make matters worse I had to suffer through making pizza for the little man.  Forget it.

On the bright side, I do feel good.  I don't talk about that much, but this week I've felt really good.  So that makes it all worth it.  Just waiting for my skin to catch on that it's not supposed to get zits or have flare up's anymore....

Breakfast:  3 hard boiled eggs and honeydew melon

Lunch:  Turkey, sunbutter and carrots, morning glory muffin

Dinner:  Tom Kha Gai soup.....and lots of lust stares at the desserts perched upon my table at the ladies event tonight.  Curse you w30, curse you!

The egg drama

Hard boiled eggs are quite the little drama queens.  So temperamental in their peeling.  You begin and get a big chunk off, get excited it's going to be an easy egg to peel, and whamo the rest of the egg is a giant mess.  Full of teeny, tiny, itty bitty, cracked pieces that are nearly impossible to get off.  The egg just lays there...doing nothing to assist.  Or it's the opposite....the entire egg white gets peeled off with the giant shell piece and you're stuck with a ball of yolk.  If only I had a better relationship with the hard boiled eggs relatives (over easy, scrambled, poached...) I wouldn't have to continually endure this fiasco.  I am quite confident after this w30 is over I will have grown out of tolerance with hard boiled eggs.

I mean look at this mess.

Breakfast:  2 morning glory muffins, coconut water

Snack:  2 hard boiled eggs

Lunch:  Turkey, sunbutter with carrots and apples

Dinner:  Left over chicken pot pie







Want to know the best way to hard boil an egg?   (yeah, like you're going to trust me after looking at that picture....)  Here's the advice of experts at The Incredible Edible Egg:

Here’s How

1. PLACE eggs in saucepan large enough to hold them in single layer. ADD cold water to cover eggs by 1 inch. HEAT over high heat just to boiling. REMOVEfrom burner. COVER pan.
2. LET EGGS STAND in hot water about 12 minutes for large eggs (9 minutes for medium eggs; 15 minutes for extra large).
3. DRAIN immediately and serve warm. OR, cool completely under cold running water or in bowl of ice water, then REFRIGERATE

They have some pretty great "insider tips" on there too.  I should have checked them out before hard boiling....

w30- day 12

Boring day.  My apologies.

Breakfast:  egg with tomatoes, green goodness smoothie, half a hard boiled egg (leftover from the boy)

Lunch:  leftover pot of chicken

Dinner:  chimichurri with sirloin steak and butternut squash

Snack:  muffin

Things that are not worth it in my mind.

There are a few things in my life I have decided are not worth the trouble.

One being macaroni and cheese.  I like a good mac and cheese, but you will never find me making it.  Kraft does a great job of making it and I will leave it to the experts.  No thank you.

The next is spaghetti sauce.  If I'm making something with spaghetti sauce it usually means I am in a rush and therefore do not want to bother with time consuming preparation and such.  Those jars are just fine to me.  Okay, you people who love you're own...great.  I'm so glad you do.  I just don't.

The last (that comes to mind at this moment) is "stock."  Beef, chicken, vegetable...you name it.  I think it's troublesome.  So much chopping and simmering and splashing my stove top.  Then there's the de-boning and straining and jarring....it's too much.  Just too much.  Unfortunately, on whole30 you'll be hard pressed to find a store brand stock that doesn't include some sort of sweetener- so homemade it is.  Goodness dear reader, I was up until after 11:30 (shh...I have two young ones that wear me out) waiting for that broth to cool enough so the bowls wouldn't crack when I put them in the fridge (learned that one the hard way).  I'd much rather pop open a container and use within 7 days....

In case you're adventurous and think it is worth it to make your own here is the recipe I used.  It is from my friend and I think she got it from a Barefoot Contessa....  This makes a TON.  Really....a lot.

Chicken Stock:

2 (5 pound) raw chickens....I get them at Costco in a pack of 2 for $8-$9-ish (cheaper than Publix)
3 yellow onions, unpeeled & quartered
6 carrots, unpeeled & halved
4 celery stalks with leaves, cut into thirds
20 fresh parsley sprigs.....I use one bushel from Publix, I don't count them
15 fresh thyme sprigs.....I get the package of organic ones at Publix & use half of them
20 fresh dill sprigs.....I get the organic package at Publix & use all of them
1 head of garlic, unpeeled & cut in half crosswise
2 tablespoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons whole black peppercorns.....I've just used regular ground pepper & it works fine

Directions:
Place the chickens in the bottom of a 16- or 20- quart stockpot, then pile all the other ingredients on top. Add 7 quarts of water & bring to a boil. Then, lower the heat to simmer & let cook for 4 hours uncovered. (I put the lid on & leave it a little cracked to vent.)

Strain the entire contents through a strainer, discarding the solids. (I use tongs & put all the chicken & veggies/herbs on a platter & let them cool; then use a soup ladle to get the broth out to the strainer. The chicken will probably take a few minutes to cool enough to handle. I keep the chicken & toss the veggie/herbs.) Store in tupperware containers. Leave to top off, let cool & skim the fat off; then you can refrigerate (good for 5 days) or freeze ( good for 6 months).

I finally did it!

I finally made my own creation and it tasted good!  Adam had a bite and then after his workout made his own.  Thank you (bow), thank you (bow).  It was an egg layer.  That's what I'm going to call it anyway.  1st layer sliced tomato.  2nd layer sliced avocado.  3rd layer fried egg.  4th layer bacon.  5th layer sliced black olives.  Good people...good.  So with that under my belt I decided to continue on with a day of firsts and I pulled myself up onto this (what seems to be) a really high bar MovNat style.  I'm in week #2 of w30 and working out and I can climb.  My child self would be so proud of me.  Check out c7f for a video of my climb.  It doesn't look as impressive as what it is.  Whatever...you do it.

So with that, my day in food:

Breakfast:  may I present to you....Egg layers:

Snack:  Morning glory muffin and carrots with sun butter.

Lunch:  leftover cabbage and noodles.

Dinner:  Pot of chicken pie.

Dessert:  'nother muffin probably.


Those two first almost make up for not getting to drink coffee today....almost.

Here's what I put in the boys lunch....
Homemade applesauce, hardboiled egg, raspberries, and sweet potato soup.  He ate it all...well except for the yolk ball of the egg.


And for the finale of the post...my workout:
Squats:  65lbs 3x8
Shoulder Press:  45lbs 3x8 (with assistance)
Deadlift (working on form):  45lb 3x8

Leg swing up x2  (MovNat lingo)

10 for 10 and w30- day 10

Today is the 10th of September, meaning it's the 10th day of w30, and I have been to the grocery store 10 times.  Yep.  10 for 10.  One day I was at two different grocery stores three times.  Good grief.

Breakfast:  Fruit smoothie, hard boiled eggs.

Lunch:  Sweet potato soup, morning glory muffins (Paleo Comfort Foods cookbook)

Dinner:  Sausage and cabbage noodles and homemade applesauce.  Except I grabbed the wrong pre-cut lettuce so instead of cabbage it was iceburg lettuce....not at all the same thing.

Snack:  muffin and a larabar

Also made chicken stock today for the many recipes needed for this week.  I'm not sure the whole process is worth it.....

My new favorite thing for my child

A few weeks ago I ordered smoothie pops for D's lunch and I didn't know what to expect.  Well, I LOVE them!  Hit your head?  Smoothie pop will help....  Had a bad day?  Smoothie pop will help.  Won't stop bugging me?  Have a smoothie pop!  These things are amazing.  They give the feeling of having a special treat, but I couldn't care less how many he has since they are healthy!  And by healthy I mean healthy....  I have this pet peeve (that began when browsing pinterest) when people call food healthy and it is truly terrible for you.  Darn those marketing companies for skewing your perception of what is healthy.  You've been had.  Don't worry....we all had been.  These are the pops...I highly recommend them.

w30- day 9

Breakfast:  strawberries, banana, and coconut milk.  2 hard boiled eggs.

Lunch:  huge bowl of chili.  

Dinner:  chicken parmesan with sweet potatoes

Snack:  larabar

Meal Plan

Monday:  Pot of Chicken Pie (Paleo Comfort Food cookbook)   Closest thing to that homey chicken casserole of your childhood.

Tuesday:  Sausage and cabbage noodles with fried apples.  Are you looking for a really quick meal?  This is it.

Wednesday:  Chimichurri w/ sirloin and butternut squash.  Told you the husband liked this a lot!

Thursday:  Leftovers

Friday:  I have a woman's night at church and I volunteered to make a dessert.  Then I thought about it and also volunteered to make a soup so I know there will be something I can eat.  So I'll leave that chocolate eclair cake for others to enjoy while I dine on Tom Kha Gai soup and salad.  I am going to make the recipe from Paleo Comfort Foods, but this one looks similar.  The boys are on their own.

Saturday: Hamburgers

Sunday:  Roast with sweet potatoes and carrots


Kind of boring this week....sorry 'bout that.

Meal Plan Review

Sunday:  Steak with Brussel Sprouts.  If you would have told me I would voluntarily make brussel sprouts a few years ago I would have laughed in your face.  Who makes brussel sprouts?  Well, if you fry them with bacon I do!  They are really yummy.  What wasn't yummy was the steaks.  I got organic grassfed Ribeye's from Whole Foods and they were so chewy!  I was really disappointed.

Monday:  Did a little switch up.  Seems I forgot it was Labor Day in the original meal planning so I traded this day with Saturday and had some burgers, sweet potato fries, and asparagus.  You also know by now I served them with sauteed mushrooms and onions and made some "cave ketchup" to accompany it.  It wasn't Heinz, but it was a condiment and for that I was grateful!  Here is the recipe...

Cave Ketchup (Paleo Comfort Food cookbook)

Ingredients:

6 ounces of tomato paste
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 tsp of mustard powder
1/2 C of water
1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 pinch of allspice
1 pinch of salt
1/8 teaspoon paprika (optional)
1 clove of garlic
1 bay leaf

1. Combine all ingredients (except garlic and bay leaf) in a medium sized sauce pan
2. bring to a boil stirring frequently
3. add in garlic clove and bay leaf whole. Reduce heat and allow the mixture to simmer for 20 to 30 minutes stirring occasionally
4. Watch for desired consistency, add water as necessary b/c it will thicken quickly at the end
5. Remove bay leaf and garlic clove, allow to cool. 

Tuesday:  Sundried Tomato Pesto Pasta:  All I have to say to this is...I'm a  moron.  For some reason I thought I made this before on w30 with jarred sundried tomato pesto so without thinking I did it again.  Only as an afterthought did I look at the ingredients and there it was- Parmesan Cheese.  Balls.  So I was able to salvage some spaghetti squash not tainted with the pesto and served it up with some artichokes, chicken, and sundried tomatoes.  It wasn't too bad.  

Wednesday:  Chimichurri with Sirloin Steak and Butternut Squash.  Adam loved it.   I liked it, but not as much as he did.  I'll definitely keep it on the list because it was really simple to make.  Perfect for those busy days.

Thursday:  Taco Salad.  Best comfort food on this diet.

Friday:  Veggie salad with shredded chicken.

Saturday:  Chili.  It's college game day....of course we had chili.

Sunday:  Chicken Parmesan.  This was the first time I have made something from this site and I was pleasantly surprised.  This dish was full of flavor.  Next time I'll pair it with some spaghetti squash...I meant to this time, but I forgot to buy it.  

w30- day 8

Pinterest is getting very difficult to peruse...all that food!  I do okay with cravings until someone mentions it or I spend time on pinterest lusting over all those desserts!  I should just add that site to the w30 programs "not to have" list for the next three weeks.

Breakfast:  sweet potatoes, hamburger, fruit smoothie, and bunny shaped hard boiled egg

Snack: carrots with sun butter, larabar

Lunch: mixed green salad with carrots, peppers, chicken, and avocado

Dinner: Chili

Dessert:  Pumpkin Mug Cake  Okay, so I really like a whole lot of what this girl makes, but this wasn't one of them.  I don't blame her though, I blame me.  When will I learn making Paleo desserts is not worth it.


Workout:
agility/movement warm up
deadlift/ clean and jerk technique with log
Combo:  3x
front log throw
clean and jerk with log
log carry (20M)
pull ups (5)
log balance
side rock throw

W30- day 7

Let's see...what was my favorite thing to get me through today?  Got to be Maranathan sun butter.  Delicious treat with carrots today.  I was tired this afternoon, but the jury's still out on whether that was because of whole30 or because I didn't sleep well.  Probably both.  It was nothing out of the ordinary, just trying to keep track of how I feel so in case I get the urge to do this again I'll remember what I went through.  Looking back on my previous experience I must have been going hog wild eating whatever was in site before because I was in rough shape more than halfway through.  Grateful to not be feeling that way this time....just one day of misery and a few headaches.  And those were probably from caffiene withdrawal.  And since my face isn't looking any better I may never give up coffee again.  I'll tough it out the whole time though just to be sure.

Beakfast:  two hard boiled eggs, leftover breakfast casserole without the eggs...so basically just meat and sweet potatoes.

Lunch:  taco salad and a peach

Dinner:  salad with shredded chicken and tons of veggies.

Snack:  larabar, mango, carrots with sunbutter

w30- day 6

If given the choice between coffee and pizza I think I'd choose pizza.  Or at least at this moment, as I serve my 4 year old his delicious looking tiny personal pizza I would.  Ask me tomorrow morning and I might have a different answer.

Breakfast:  Breakfast lasagna.  That looks pretty gross actually....don't let that deter you.  It's really yummy.

Post workout snack:  sweet potato soup, hard boiled egg, raspberries.  Coconut Water straight from the source!

Lunch: I kind of snacked...see above...plus a larabar, a peach, some carrots with w30 approved sunbutter.


Dinner:  Taco Salad...and a lot of it to keep me from eating the boys pizza!


Workout:  MovNat workout
Warm Up
- ground transitions
- step over/ duck under

Technique
- balancing (kneel, 180 turn)
- lateral swing from dead hang

Combo (3 rounds)
- balance length of 2x4 down and back
          -2 kneel downs in each direction
- rope climb (modified)
- lunges x10 on each leg...bearing weight with rock apron 10lbs
- crawling 20 M (prone and supine)

w30- day 5

Let me tell you what the two things I miss the most are:  coffee and protein powder.  I really miss my smoothies and yummy cream filled coffee.  My morning are not the same without them.  Now, let me tell you what my two staples have been:  hard boiled eggs and coconut water.  For some reason I don't want to barf every time I eat a hard boiled egg and they are quick...win.  The coconut water is so helpful when I just want something 'else' to drink.

Breakfast:  raspberries, sweet potato soup, 3 hard boiled eggs.

Lunch: turkey slices, brussel sprouts, peach

Snack: larabar

Dinner: chimmichurri, sirloin steak, and butternut squash

Desert: mango...chowed it like it was chocolate

w30- day 4

Readers,  let me tell you what life is like on whole30 with no cable and no coffee.   I get up, take a few minutes to gather my wayward thoughts that make a beeline straight for the coffee maker.  Wander around for a few minutes to waste the time I would normally take to prepare that pot of heaven.  Then I get down to business....read my Bible, drink my delicious cup of water, get my little boys breakfast and off to school.   Then life continues as normal until after dinner.  See, dinner is when I would occasionally pour myself a glass of wine while cooking and if I didn't drink a glass while cooking I would after the kids are in bed.  So what do I do now?  Especially since I don't watch anything on TV but Hells Kitchen and MasterChef?  I don't mind doing the dishes and drag out the process, I take a long time to make my boys lunches, then I read for a few minutes....maybe shower to pass the time until it is acceptable to go to bed.  Before w30 I would hurry up with the kitchen and lunches so I could plop on the couch with a glass of wine and one piece of dove chocolate whilst reading a book or watching something not worth it.  What is it about wine and chocolate that make the same life a little bit better?  Or at least make it worthwhile to stay up past 9:30.....



Breakfast:  Bolthouse Farms Green Goodness smoothie and 2 hard boiled eggs.

Lunch:  Leftover hamburger with sauteed onions and "cave ketchup"  but lets call it what it really is....tomato paste with some spices in it.  I will not complain though, it serves as a condiment.

Snack:  handful of mixed nuts (I caved momentarily...so what); larabar; bowl of strawberries,blueberries and banana with coconut milk

Dinner:  spaghetti squash with sun-dried tomatoes, chicken, and artichokes.

Sidenote:  you'd think since my husband can climb coconut trees I wouldn't have to buy coconut water....but I do.  Hmmm....

w30- day 3

Let me show you what two people on whole30 looks like.....

And I'll probably have to go to the grocery store in two days.  We have three dozen eggs, one dozen being hard boiled as we speak, and this does not include what the chickens will continue to lay.  The kid that rang up my groceries this morning asked if I was a vegetarian.  He wasn't at Whole Foods yesterday when I spent my kids college fund on meat....

Breakfast- Naked Green Goodness smoothie

After workout meal/lunch- hard boiled eggs, sweet potato soup

Dinner-  Hamburger with avocado, mushrooms, onions, and "cave ketchup."  Asparagus and sweet potato fries as sides.

Snacks- Peach, celery with w30 approved sunbutter


Workout-
Agility/movement exercises and stretches
Dumbbell squats- 3x12 w/ 15lbs
Shoulder press with 45lb barbell- 3x8 with assistance
Dead lifts with 45 lb barbell- 3x12

Meal Plan

Sunday:  Steak with Brussel Sprouts

Monday: Sundried Tomato Pesto Pasta

Tuesday:  Chimichurri with Sirloin and butternut squash in the crock pot.  The link is to the chimichurri recipe, but she suggests combining it with steak and squash.  I've made it like that before and it was good, but I learned to buy a good cut of steak so it's not oily.

Wednesday:  Paleo Chicken Parmesan  This is my first meal from this guy's site so we'll see.

Thursday:  A tear for no more pizza and Taco Salad

Friday:  Flex Day

Saturday:  Hamburgers and sweet potato something.  I'll probably try my hand at paleo ketchup a recipe found in Paleo Comfort Food cookbook.


In addition to these meals, I'll also have to make breakfasts.  My protein powder has blacklisted ingredients and juice isn't allowed so I have to settle for eggs.  Meh.

Here are a few recipes I'll make over the next few weeks....
Frittata  (many variations of the same meal)
Breakfast Pizza
Breakfast Lasagna

w30- day 2

Breakfast:  Sweet potato soup and strawberries
          sweet potato soup- three cooked sweet potatoes, 1 can coconut milk, aprox. 1 tsp allspice/cinnamon

Lunch:  Chili with avocado

Snack:  Larabar, cucumbers, coconut water, mango

Dinner:  Ribeye steak with garlic "butter" (aka melted ghee w/ garlic salt and minced garlic) and bacon brussel sprouts.

w30- day 1

Breakfast:  Frittata with onions, bacon, and spinach

Snack:  smoothie- mixed fruit, kale, carrots, banana, coconut milk

Lunch:  shredded chicken with sundried tomatoes, apples, and sliced almonds on spinach

Dinner:  IN BED!  The effects of the sugar/caffeine withdrawal have hit.

I am extremely sensitive to food and I get sick all the time.  Specifically the stomach flu...  So why wouldn't those be the symptoms I feel while detoxing?  Last night as I was bathing the kids the headache that I had became really bad- I began shaking, had chills, and even vomited.  Needless to say, I was in bed for the rest of the night.

Here are some links to sugar and caffeine withdrawal.  It's no joke.
Most symptoms include:
cravings
poor energy
depression
flu-like symptoms
headache
sleepiness
irritability
constipation
muscle pain/stiffness
lack of concentration
insomnia


I can't tell you how much sugar I eat a day, but it's not unreasonable and it's usual natural-  honey, cane juice, agave, fruit juices, etc....  As for coffee, I usually drink 4-5 cups of half caffeine a day.  I am really shocked I felt those effects.  Hopefully those have passed and I'm on the up and up.

Workout:
movement/agility/warmup moves
squats 3x12 w/ 45lbs
shoulder press 3x12 w/ 15lbs
single leg deadliest 3x8 w/ 15lbs
pullups 2x4
messed around on pull up bar.  got holes in my hands.

My hands have holes...and a Meal Plan Review.

Day two of no coffee; day one of no sugar, grains, etc; and my first workout is complete.

I've had a dull headache yesterday and today, but otherwise I am feeling good.  Well, except for the multiple holes I now have in my hands because my personal trainer (who happens to be my good lookin husband) made me do pull ups on a branch in our backyard.  I tried to tell him I was delicate and he needed to treat me as such, but he only laughed at me.

As a punishment our 4 year old created a workout for him that involves sprinting a lot, bear crawls, pushups, football, and some swimming.  What type of 4 year old has my husband created?  Yesterday he had his friends doing a workout too....oh boy.

So listen lambs, here is how the meals went last week.

Monday we had leftovers.  The husband's flight was able to land, but it was really late so dinner was leftover hamburger and chili on the couch after the kids went to bed.

Tuesday: Sweet Steak Salad- nothing to report.  Terrific as usual.  Except, really try to use fresh blackberries.  At $5.09 a tiny container I passed and dethawed some I had frozen....not the same.

Wednesday:  I, for the life of me, cannot remember what we had.

Thursday:  My last pizza night for a while.  And we splurged....Pizza Hut!  Yum!

Friday:  We went to dinner at Guanabana's and I got a most delicious avocado bacon mango salad with coconut chicken.  It is so good.  I may try to recreate this at home, but you all know how my own creations go.  Better not risk it.

Saturday:  Sweet Potato Lasagna.  This stuff is time consuming, but oh-so-good!


We didn't get to the Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto Pasta....that'll be this week.