- We ate fish (Sonny D loves fish!).
- I made a huge batch of beef stew that we ate for several days, including for my breakfast with a poached egg on top.
- I went to Dubuque to visit my friend Renae. I showed her how easy it is to make homemade mayonnaise and she immediately requested a second batch, which she turned into an awesome tartar sauce.
- We made it through the week without a breakfast egg dish. We ate leftovers for breakfast and made whatever sounded good, but it's a little too much work to have to cook something up to eat every morning.
Whole30 Cleanse/Detox
This is the fourth week of our detox. So far we've- Learned - Jeff loves half an avocado for breakfast and he wants to continue that even after the detox. I think sweet potatoes are great, I rarely ate them prior to the cleanse but I think I'll have them on hand in the future for a simple add-on for a meal. Also, homemade mayo is amazing, I eat it with pretty much everything.
- Noticed - that I need less protein as the day goes on. If I don't eat a big breakfast full of protein and fat I end up hungry by mid-morning, but for dinner I barely need any protein to sustain myself until morning. I've also noticed I have reduced my "love handles" and my tummy is less jiggly.
- Been Frustrated By - not being able to eat a lot of fruit. We're supposed to limit the amount of fruit we eat to break our sugar habit, but fruit is so easy -- it doesn't need much prep (maybe peel it) and doesn't need to be cooked.
- Loved - avocado with as many meals as possible, taco salads. I've cooked up taco meat three of the four weeks, I portion it out into jars so Jeff can grab one and some salad greens and take them to work.
- Had a Hard Time With - different locations. At home things are figured out for us, but our old habits come to the surface when we're somewhere else like the in-laws house for dinner. This weekend I also ate at Renae's house and our friends' Brian & Kristen's house and I feel like I have to be so careful so I don't accidentally eat something I shouldn't.
- Been Surprised By - How we sleep much more soundly. But also surprised by a lack of good side effects. We're supposed to have lots of energy (they call it "tiger blood") and that's not happening yet. Jeff actually reports being tired more often. I'm surprised that I haven't had any dreams about food. I actually don't dream about food when I sleep, but I do think about it all day. :) I was already eating foods that were pretty consistent with the Whole30 way of thinking (less carbs, lean protein, veggies, etc.) so maybe my body didn't really need to do much adjusting.
- Had to Readjust - We were eating WAY too much nut butter and fruit in the beginning. We were eating both of them together to substitute for dessert, which we don't actually have anyway, but we do eat fruit with most meals. I stopped buying so much fruit and I haven't really had nut butter since week 2.
- Been Planning - all of the decadent treats I want to make/eat when we're done with the detox. I listen to the America's Test Kitchen radio podcast and they've mentioned several things that sound great, like chocolate French silk pie and oatmeal fudge bars. It's usually really rare that I even make desserts. Oh, and I'm planning to have a doughnut when I'm done with this whole thing. It's been so hard to be completely denied any sweets/desserts.
Next week will be the end of our detox but I'm definitely going to do the gradual reintroduction of foods to see if I have any reactions to them. I don't think I will have any issues, but you never know unless you try it out.
Meal Plan
I made a breakfast egg casserole for the week, this time taco meat with bell pepper, tomatoes, chiles, and spinach.My lunches are going to be salads this week using my homemade mayo - I've already made chicken salad and will make another batch with the couple of cooked chicken breasts hanging out in the fridge. Then next up will be egg salad because I make a dozen hard-boiled eggs every week. And then tuna salad.
Jeff's lunches will be taco salads, so good and so easy. He found out today that a hard-boiled egg and a can of beets do not equal a lunch. A few hours later he went to the grocery store to buy something more to eat because he didn't have anything else. He found out most snack nuts are roasted with oils we can't eat, but eventually found something. Maybe now he sees the beauty of a well-packed lunch (and appreciates what I do for him!).
- Monday - We had grilled sirloin tip steak, fajita veggies (grilled peppers and onions), and cauliflower rice
- Tuesday - Grandma and grandpa pick up Sonny D and Husband Jeff and I go to Zumba, so no real dinner but hard-boiled eggs and nuts. It's actually the perfect amount of protein and fat before class. After class we'll have some lean protein, last week I cut up chicken breast and we chowed it on the way home to get Sonny D.
- Wednesday - Indian night with butter chicken and a package of Punjab eggplant and more cauliflower rice.
- Thursday - Greek bison kofta (ground meat on a stick) and some veggies.
- Friday - In the morning I'm going to my step-brother's graduation and in the afternoon I'm visiting my online friend Biz (from My Bizzy Kitchen) in real life when she comes to Milwaukee to do the Spartan adventure race. So I'm leaving Husband Jeff and Sonny D for yet another Friday. This time I'm planning they'll have frozen Trader Joe's chile-lime chicken burgers and a bag of steamable broccoli. I'm
- Saturday - Core Fusion exercise class in the morning and Sonny D has swimming after that. I think we'll have lime shrimp avocado salad for lunch and dinner will be Italian meatball soup or Mediterranean chicken skillet.
- Sunday - Northside farmers' market! There still isn't much at the market aside from asparagus, rhubarb, onions, and plants. Oh well, still fun to go. Last week I spent a ton of money on local grass-fed beef and some fish. I think for dinner we'll have a lasagna where instead of noodles it uses zucchini and instead of cheese it's ground cashews. I know it doesn't sound too amazing, but the recipe had a lot of good reviews. It'll be a nice change of pace.