Well, I made it halfway! Two weeks down, I've noticed my complexion is clearer, I have more energy, and my workouts have been more efficient. I still crave sugar A LOT so I'm going to try to be mindful of my natural sugar intake during snack time (i.e. fruit, lara bars, etc.) this upcoming week.
For this week, lunch was always leftovers from the night before. My breakfasts were either paleo granola or variations of this: eggs, aidell's chicken and apple sausage, fruit, avocado and/or sweet potato.
This is what was on the dinner menu this week:
Week 2 dinner Menu:
The recipes with a * in the name denote a recipe that is a fan favorite in the Fossier house and makes the rounds on our regular weekly menus. "LO" means leftovers.
Lemon-Ginger Pork Meatballs* with garlic roasted broccoli and Trader Joe's organic cauliflower rice. These meatballs are a staple in our house and every time I make them I have to resist the urge to eat the entire pan. They are really moist and flavorful, and the herbs give it a nice lightness to your meal. For the cauliflower rice, I just sprinkled some olive oil, salt and pepper, ginger, parsley, and garlic and heated it over a stove until it was warm.
One Pan Greek Chicken (no feta) with Cucumbers. YUM.
Crockpot Cranberry Pork* (I typically sub cranberries for blueberries in the spring and summer) with sweet potato and Lemon Slaw* (Whole 30 cookbook). The slaw is actually one of my favorite side items to throw together because it's so easy to make, it keeps well in the fridge for leftovers, and it tastes good with pretty much anything. It's light, flavorful, and has a great crunchy texture.
Pear & Pesto Bacon Wrapped Chicken breasts with LO slaw and cauliflower rice. This was definitely one of the fancier meals, but it looked so good I couldn't resist making it! And it turned out as yummy as I thought it would.
Whole 30 Burgers with tomatoes, red onion, and avocado, served with sweet potato "buns". I also used the LO pesto from the night before as a condiment!
Week 2 Snacks:
Olives - I've been loving olives lately! Actually, this is nothing new...I've loved olives my whole life. When I was little, I would ask for olives as a snack, which I'm sure was weird to most people but NOT TO ME!!!!
Bone broth - I've been battling on and off sinus trouble the past week, and I really enjoy a mug of bone broth in the morning. It makes me feel so good!
Rx Bars- I know these are like whole 30 "candy" but I was curious to see what they tasted like so I ordered some. I'm a fan! I actually like them better than LARA bars. These bars are a LOT chewier than a lara bar, so be forewarned that it sticks to your teeth. So far, my favorite flavor is the chocolate espresso. I love the added protein of egg whites and the big chunks of chocolate you get in each bite.
whole 30-ing on the road
As promised, here is a re-cap of what I ate when traveling to St. Louis. For snacks in the car, I snacked on Rx bars, apples, coconut chips, avocado, baby food, and applesauce. I also packed a little Tony's seasoning and this salad dressing in case I was in a pinch when eating out. The whole 30 website has a useful travel guide for easy to access snack ideas that you can find here.
When we arrived in St. Louis, I did some research on where to find good Paleo-eats and made sure to ask my servers questions when I needed to know exactly what was used in making my meal. We ate dinner our first night at a grass fed burger place down the street from our hotel. I got a sirloin burger without the bun, served over lettuce with tomato and onion. I kinda felt like this girl (minus the crossfit) but whatever.
We ate breakfast at this adorable coffee shop next to SLU. I got hibiscus tea, an egg over brussels sprouts and mushrooms, and paleo sausage.
The last place we ate was THIS PLACE. It made all my whole 30 dreams come true. They even had a separate menu just for whole 30 approved food! I got the chicken bowl with veggies over zucchini noodles and bone broth. It's not the prettiest picture but I just felt it was something that needed to be documented.
Whole 30 Tip of the Week:
Herbs are expensive if you buy them at the supermarket (in a dream world I would be growing them myself, but since I have a brown thumb instead of green, I tend to err on the side of convenience in this situation). If you decide to make a dish like the Asian Pork meatballs listed above, then I have a few solutions for your herb excess.
- Basil -- The best thing you can do with your left over basil is either make a pesto or use it right away. Basil is good in pretty much anything. I like to pair it with tomatoes and egg whites the next morning and it instantly gives my regular ol' eggs a face lift!
- Mint -- alcohol is a no-no on Whole 30, but mint is super refreshing in drinks. Use it in your afternoon tea, or put it in your La Croix and pretend it's a cocktail ;). Another favorite of mine is chopping a few leaves over a bowl of fresh raspberries...delicious!
- Thyme // Rosemary -- Freeze it!! These herbs freeze well and it's been a life saver to have these on hand when I run out of one of these ingredients for a dish.
Missed past weeks? Find them here:
Week 1
Week 3
Week 4