Whole30 Journey, Day 12

Day 12, Friday!! 

Meal 1:

(no photo)

Sweet Potato "Toast" + Turkey + Avocado

(Toast recipe: see day 8)

Meal 2:

Left over Salmon Patties (Recipe: see day 11)

on Kale tossed with oil & vinegar, s&p

Meal 3:

Plantain Tostada 

Recipe adapted from Zen Belly Catering

I made the plantain base from the recipe above then added shredded chicken 

with salsa + cilantro + lime + cumin + s&p.

Lettuce

Guacamole 

Salsa on top

So delicious, I'll definitely make it again!

xoxo

Brittany

Whole30 Journey, Day 11

Day 11, Thursday

Meal 1:

Breakfast Scramble
 (Recipe: see day 2)

Meal 2:

Chicken Salad Wraps

Shredded Chicken + Homemade Mayo (Recipe: see day 4)

Dill + s&p + dash of mustard + green onions

Tomatoes to top + on Bibb lettuce

Meal 3:

Kale Salmon Patties 

Recipe adapted from here

Baked brussel sprouts + onions

tossed in ghee & balsamic vinegar

Yum!

Whole30 Journey, Day 10

Day 10, Wednesday

Meal 1:
Sweet Potato "Toast" + Turkey + Avocado
(Recipe: see day 8)

Meal 2:

Lunch at Souper Jenny

Beet Slaw

This was my best compliant option! Souper Jenny's is usually the best place to go considering 

it is all homemade, fresh and they tell you what is in everything! Unfortunately for some reason today there was less choices (without grains, legumes or diary than usual)

Meal 3:

Taco Salad

Leftover ground turkey + lettuce + avocado + tomatoes

+ salsa + plantain chips on top

Trying to feel better! Eating all this good food is definitely helping me 

stay on the positive side of this bad luck week (and a half)!

xoxo 

Brittany

Whole30 Journey, Day 5

Day 5, Friday: TGIF!! I'm so glad it's almost the weekend! I'm getting a bit better, day by day
so thats good! 

Meal 1:

(no photo)

Scrambled eggs, 1/2 avocado, salsa

easy, quick and yummy!

Meal 2:

I used leftover salmon from last night (see day 4 for recipe)

and mixed it with my homemade mayo (see day 4) 

+ tomatoes on a lettuce wrap.

And a little more tomato soup (see day 2) 

yum!

Meal 3:

I was going to make homemade tomato sauce but was feeling lazy being Friday 

and just used my leftover tomato soup and it worked great!

Stuffed Portobellos:

Ground Turkey 

(spiced w/s&p, garlic, italian seasoning)

^

precook before stuffing

Portobello Mushrooms

^

stuff turkey in & bake for 20 in 400 degree oven

Tomato Sauce (I used left over soup)

^

then topped with sauce

+

Zucchini noodles

Pretty easy and delish! 

But after this week I feel like this...

:)

Whole30 definitely means more time in the kitchen, which is good for me because I need to learn!

xoxo

Brittany

Whole30 Journey, Day 4

Day 4, Thursday: Feeling a bit better as the antibiotics and rest are kicking in. I've maybe have had one headache the past few days but other wise don't feel much of a hangover, just this stupid strep. I'm hoping that means I ate decently well prior to my journey. I also now don't really feel like the "kill all things" maybe just a little on the depressed side as it has been raining here all week.

Meal 1:

Breakfast Scramble again but added avocado- delish!

(Recipe: see day 2)

Meal 2:

Turkey wraps (bibb lettuce+turkey+tomatoes+olives+mustard)

Leftover tomato soup (Recipe: see day 2)

some carrots + strawberries

Meal 3:

Grilled Salmon w/Avocado Salsa 

Recipe via The Cookie Rookie

On a bed of lettuce + tomatoes + salsa

This recipe was SO delicious, I will definitely make it again!

I also made some homemade mayo tonight! 

I followed this recipe by A Transparent Life

*be sure to use the light olive oil, extra-virgin is too intense flavor wise

It was so good! I used my immersion blender to make it. My chef husband even said I did an amazing job making aioli for the first time! Now thats a win! :)

xoxo

Brittany

Whole30 Journey, Day 3

Day 3, Wednesday: today is my husbands birthday! I was feeling pretty crummy still and he was off work so lots of rest and netflix we're in order as we rarely get to do that! I managed to get all my compliant meals in and even survived taking my hubby out to birthday dinner. Success!

Meal 1:

(no photo) 

Left over Breakfast Scramble (Recipe: see day 2)

Meal 2:

Leftover Tomato basil soup 

(Recipe: see day 2)

Meal 3:

(no photo)

The first out to eat dinner…

We went out to Kimball House, a nice restaurant here in Decatur. Most of the places we like to go are pretty fresh, farm to table type restaurants. I got a trout dish with kale, mushrooms, fingerling poatoes and farro <–which I kindly asked them to remove since it is non-compliant! 

The hardest part was not being able to get a glass of red wine! But alas I survived with some sparkling water with lime, my new go to. 

It is possible to survive but definitely harder when going out to eat!

xoxo

Brittany

Whole30 Journey, Day 2

Day two is here, Tuesday. I didn't wake up with a hangover per say but last night and this morning I had the WORST sore throat I think I've ever had. It was terrible. No other symptoms really, just a badddd sore throat. Not very good for my second day, all I could think of was juice (bad for you juice like crangrape, ice cream, soup, etc.). I forged on hoping it was just allergies and would go away. 

Meal 1: 

I made this Breakfast Scramble...

Eggs, sweet potatoes, onions + peppers, turkey sausage + spices

Saute on the stove and voila!

By this point I was really struggling and left work, called the doctor for an appointment.

Meal 2:

(no photo)

 I forced myself to eat something good and had a salad with the leftover chicken from last night (see Whole30 Day 1).

Mixed lettuce + chicken + baba ganoush + olives + oil&vinegar

I went to the doctor, strep throat on my whole30 journey! Joy! I'm determined to forge through with antibiotics a little more compliant fruit juice than normal, eating well, sleep and some soup...

Meal 3:

I wanted soup so badly and nothing was really compliant, so I made my own! 

Tomato Basil..yum!

I made it based off this recipe from Paleo Comfort Foods and it was super easy.

My immersion blender worked perfectly for this!

It was so delicious and just what the doctor ordered! I really wanted ice cream but I made a choice to do this journey and I am not giving up, sick or not! :)

 I read over this article too that helped and this is a great quote!

"Remember that bad food made me feel bad when I was healthy, so bad food while I’m feeling bad is a recipe for disaster."

Whole30 Journey, Day 1

Day one, Monday and I'm feeling pretty good and motivated! Sunday's and Monday's will definitely be my hardest days cause my chef husband is off and those days used to be our go out or order in food type of days. He is supporting me in doing the Whole30 though and is "trying" himself to do it (at least at home/around me) which I am grateful for. 

Whole30 principles tell you to think of meals instead of breakfast, lunch, and dinner to meal 1, meal 2, meal 3. That'll take some getting used to! 

Meal 1: 

(no photo)

I had an Acai bowl, some hazelnuts, cashews and coconut strips. Whole30 prefers you to not to start out your day with fruit as the basis but...

 I didn't have time Sunday after going to the grocery store late after coming back in town from a weekend vacation. I plan on prepping some more hearty breakfasts tonight!

Meal 2:

Kale salad with olive oil + vinegar, s&p olives and avocado

^ that is what was in my turkey wrap too 

plantain chips 

Meal 3:

(no photo)

We made this Baked Mustard Lime Chicken recipe, from Pain Free Kitchen, for dinner. 

I replaced the dijon mustard with a spicy brown mustard as none of the dijon mustards I saw were compliant, be sure to check those ingredients! There's a lot of added sugars to things you wouldn't think of. It was really delicious! We baked some brussel sprouts and baby colored potatoes to round out the meal! (Yes, potatoes are allowed! I just try not to have them too much!)

So far, so good! It doesn't seem too bad! Apparently this is what's to come though… 

xoxo

Brittany

Whole30 Journey

I decided to start my own Whole30 journey after a lot of research. I also read "It Starts with Food" which I highly recommend before starting your own journey.

Over the past two years I have struggled with endometriosis, after a year or so of pain I decided to go through with the surgery. In August will mark a year since, as I haven't had near the amount of pain as previously I do still have some symptoms. My husband and I are hoping to start our family soon and I am nervous at the fact that with my condition I could also be struggling with infertility. On top of those things I have always struggled with some form of IBS as well as random breakouts into hives on different parts of my body. I went to the doctor, was testing for everything, pricked for all allergies and nothing. There was nothing there, no celiac, no lactose intolerance. It's so frustrating when doctors can't find a diagnosis for all my symptoms, I was just given medicine and sent on my way. I've gone through phases on clean eating and removing diary from my diet but the ice cream always snuck back in! I've heard things about Whole30 in passing but never looked into it. Deciding I want to start family brought me to read the book and decide for myself to get healthy and relieve me of my symptoms, no doctor visits required. If you have any symptoms of disease or conditions I would highly recommend reading the book. It really opened my eyes to how what I've been eating has had an affect on my body in more way than weight.

There is a lot of information given in the book about how the things we feed our bodies effect conditions such as mine. You can read here about testimonials on different diseases/conditions that have been diminished by doing the Whole30 and sticking with its principles.
"The foods you eat exert, a powerful psychological influence, stronger than any act of willpower. They influence your hormones, silently directing your metabolism. They affect your digestive tract, your body's first line of defense. And they impact your immune system and your risk for any number of diseases and conditions." -It Starts With Food

Another reason I decided to do a Whole30 journey myself is my strong and ever persistent sweet tooth. I blame my grandfather :) I literally want ice cream every. single. day. As well as chocolate! I've decided I'm fed up with the "sugar demon" that has a hold on me. I want to be able to squash that prior to pregnancy. I want to be in charge of myself and decide with a lot of thought when I want to have these treats. Instead of feeling like I "need" them on a daily basis.

My Whole30 Journey is running from April 13th–May 12th. I hope to come back with a report of more energy, better sleep, reduction in my symptoms and of course a little weight loss!

Whole30 is based on…

NO–> dairy, grains, legumes, sugars, & alcohol

YES–> veggies, fruits, meats & healthy fats

Again read the book, it will allow to see WHY these items are eliminated for the 30 days.

Now for a while now I have been eating pretty much a vegetarian/vegan diet. I'm not a huge meat eater, because of taste preferences and some animal-cruetly reasons. I do sometimes eat chicken, turkey and fish. So I decide for 30 days to try incorporating those things back into my diet as the principles of Whole30 prefer you to eat meat. I may go back to some vegetarian things post-Whole30, but time will tell. I am planning on trying to stick with a paleo based diet after the 30 days and try first reincorporating food groups to see how it affects me (like the book states to do). 

Below is a Whole30 shopping list to get you started on what to buy. I'd recommend going to a local farmers market or health food store if you have one in your area. I live by the Dekalb Farmers Market and its the best place to search for produce and responsibly sourced meat. Plus it is definitely less tempting than walking through Kroger or Publix and seeing all the process snacks and things that you can't have. 

There a ton of recipes on Pinterest to help you find yummy things to eat. Planning is key here and really is what I have been worst at in the past. But I am determined this time to feel better once and for all! Follow blogs, Facebook groups, Instagram accounts, all those social sites will definitely help you stay on track and accountable during your 30 days. 

I wrote out a meal plan for the week focusing on 3 meals to make plus some lunch/breakfast items. Which I will share as the week goes on! Breakfast is hard for me so I had to plan for that in advanced and cook something for the week. As much as I'd like to think I'd get up earlier to cook myself breakfast every morning, that just probably wouldn't be the case. I know myself too well! Although they prefer you to eat hearty at each meal and not snack, I also recommend bringing fruits, raw veggies, nuts/olives, something to have on hand at work in case of a hunger strike. Being unprepared will lead to cheating and there is none of that for 30 days!

Here's to feeling better in the next 30 days! I hope you enjoy following me on my journey and maybe consider doing a Whole30 journey yourself! :) 

xoxo

Brittany