June 5, 2014 – Day 5

What did I Eat?

Meal 1

• 2 Leftover Italian Baked Eggs (Oeufs En Cocotte)
• Over leftover ground pork and spinach

Meal 2

• Apple
• Banana
• Larabar
• See below for why

Meal 3

• Roasted chicken leg/thigh
• Mashed Sweet Potato 

  

The Day

Today was the opposite of yesterday in that it started off well and kind of went downhill – food-wise.

In the morning, I took the extras I had of spinach and cooked, seasoned ground pork from last night and put the two leftover Oeufs on top, for breakfast. I got to work and heated it up in the microwave. I try to limit my use of this appliance if you wondered. When I write about leftovers at home, assume I have used an oven or stove top. Sometimes I just chow down on cold food, depending on what it is. I mashed the eggs rounds over the other meat and spinach and it was delicious. I enjoyed a black coffee too. I felt satiated until 12:00.

Fun Fact: Sean accidentally broke our microwave before Christmas and we have not yet replaced it over 6 months later. The only place I really use one now is at work for lack of any other options.

I went for lunch and remembered that Freshii across the street from my work has a new(ish) Green Wrap, where they will Big Collard Greens as a wrap instead of a flour tortilla. I also knew that you can order a pre-made wrap, or customize one. There is no way that can’t be Whole30 friendly right? I used one of their checklists to order my ingredients and hand it to the cashier. I wait patiently for my wrap and am ecstatic when they hand it to me. It must have weighed about 2 lbs. I asked for double chicken, romaine, carrots, cucumber, red onion, tomatoes, beets, olive oil, and Pico de Gallo all wrapped in a big collard green leaf. The extra chicken, and Pico additions brought the wrap to around $12. A little on the expensive side but I don’t know anywhere else near my work that I can get food that fresh and healthy for less. As you can see by the picture, I was hardly ripped off.

I got back to my desk and began to eat. I had three bites across the top that were mostly collard green from the way it’s folded. I looked in the wrap and the sauce appeared to be creamy… I got a plate opened the wrap. There were clear chunks of goat cheese mixed in! I was beyond disappointed. I thought: What do I do? Do I keep eating? Because this is all I have for lunch and I am technically back on the clock. Besides I have already ruined my Whole30 right? I put it aside while I contemplated. 

I remembered seeing a recent post on a Facebook group I follow. It was regarding accidentally being served non-compliant foods and what to do. There are of course hard-core people who are dead-set about starting over for the smallest of breaches. Then there are people who say it depends on what it was and how much and the details. They believe it’s case by case. 

For me personally I feel it really does depend a) on the situation and b) on why you are doing a whole30 to start with. Your reasons are personal and so should your decision to carry on if you slip up be. The important thing that I keep reading is to not stress the small stuff. Your stress levels and mental health are just as important to your health as the food you eat.

For me, I am really early into this, I barely ingested any of the fillings, let alone cheese so I do have a hard time feeling this will be affecting me negatively by day 30. I will also be doing a proper reintroduction this time, unlike the last round, and I will be doing many more Whole30s in life. I decided that for me personally, these few small bites are not going to ruin my round. But I sure as hell was getting a refund. 

I recycled the wrap into the compost bin and ate my fruits and a Larabar instead.

I emailed via their feedback form and explained what happened. I explained that during a Whole30, when one consumes foods they are not supposed to, they have to start at day 1 and asked them to contact me regarding a refund. I got the nicest email back within 24 hours form their director of business development. Here is an excerpt: 

I can only hope that you caught it in time so as not to go back to day one on your eating regiment. This is especially bad as we are supposed to be the restaurant that helps with your diet and doesn’t hinder it.

I’ve let our team at ****** know to be very careful when building our meals so this sort of thing doesn’t happen again.

Rebecca, I’d like to give you a $20 gift card which can be picked up anytime at our ******** location, as our way off apologizing as well as thanking you for taking time out of your busy to write us which helps us improve.

I blocked out the location name for my own privacy (as I have said it’s across from my workplace) and because I am not here to call shed a negative light on this company. They beyond exceeded my expectations for rectification and I will consider going back there again, though I may just be very clear about no dairy. Perhaps I can even go so far as to say I have an allergy to ensure it’s not mixed in from tools, or the assembly boards. I knew previously and full believe that they intend to be accommodating for all diet types, be it paleo, allergies and sensitivities, vegetarian, vegan, or whatever else. I will take them up on their offer to give me a gift card, order lunch or dinner, and see how it goes. If another mistake happens, then maybe I can’t rely on them during Whole30, but for now, I will view this mistake as just that.

When I got home, I put a chicken in the oven and boiled some sweet potatoes. I thought I would try making them mashed instead of frying them up like I always do. After scanning a few recipes on how to do this, I set out without any one recipe in particular and began mashing and adding things. I added coconut milk and ghee and used my hand mixer to mix it all up. It turned out a bit liquidy while at the same time stringy. So I tossed it in the blender to smooth it out. This resulted in baby food for lack of a better description. I re-read a recipe after that recommended only 1 tablespoon of coconut milk. I didn’t measure but I would estimate that I put closer to ¼ of a cup in mine (based on the milk I would add to mashed potatoes – so not the same!). For me, the nuttiness of the milk and sweetness of the potatoes did not complement each other. Between the texture and the flavour, I was gagging on it. I forced some big bites down since lunch was so sparse. I saved the chicken and a big glass of water to chase it down and called it a day. 

These mistakes are important to share so that we all learn. I have now learned to specify how important it is for me to not have dairy in restaurants, and how not to make mashed sweet potatoes.

How do I feel today?

Disappointed in my food situations, but overall cleaner, clearer headed, and positive.

Day 8 - Easter Monday

Easter Monday was the highlight of the weekend!

Sean and I woke up decently early to receive a delivery of new fish for our aquarium. His work buddy couldn’t care for them anymore, knew we had an aquarium, and made plans with Sean to swing by to drop them off. There were some real beauties in the bunch and that made me happy.

While Sean dealt with that situation, I was getting ready for our planned day. We had plans to go to Abbotsford to visit my family. My sister, Mandi lives out there with her husband, Jeremy and my little nephew, Zane. My dad and his fiancée Anna would be there also.  

When I was made-up and ready, I whipped up a double batch of Scramblettes for Sean and me. I love that they are so quick to make, it doesn’t take much to make a big batch, and they are quick to eat.

We drove from West Vancouver to Abbotsford in just over an hour. Everyone was already there and waiting. Since my sister knew I am doing the Whole30, she offered to look at the grocery list and try to accommodate Sean and I. I had offered to bring our own food, but she insisted. Jeremy presented us with Chicken breasts, grilled with just olive oil and salt and pepper. They were simple as per my request but tasty. There was an array of raw veggies on the table as well, and I loaded my plate with carrots.

We all went for a walk around a large park in Abby. We played with Zaney Pants (what I call him – it’s catching on…) at the playground, walked on a path around Mill Lake, saw some turtles, geese, and other waterfowl, talked, told stories, caught up. The sun was shining and everyone was in great moods.

We got back to my sister’s place and Zane was ready for a nap. My dad and Anna had to head out but Sean and I opted to stay for dinner and go out with Mandi and Jeremy. I perused some local menus to see what we could have. I settled on Cactus Club for their 4 mushroom steak dish, figuring I could swap out the potatoes that come with it, for extra veggies. They were more than accommodating. In fact I was blown away by the server’s knowledge and willingness to accommodate my needs.  

She came by to ask if we had questions. I asked what the “Seasonal Veggies” were, and she said asparagus. I then asked if I swap out the potatoes, could I get extra asparagus. She said of course. Or I could get a different type of veggie, or anything I want. I asked if there is flour or butter in the demi-glace. She gave me a confident “no”. I asked if the yam fries are fried or baked. Maybe I could get yam fries instead of potatoes. She said “they are fried…. But I can have some baked for you – no problem!” I baked out and thought that is just too much to ask and ordered the steak with asparagus and broccoli in place of potatoes. She wrote down that I may have a wheat allergy and a butter allergy to ensure those would not be added to my plate. Needless to say,  I was more than happy with this service. And the meal was delicious!

Sean and I hit the highway right from the restaurant after we said our goodbyes and headed home. It was back to work the next day and we had to stop for groceries and I had breakfast and lunch foods to make…