June 7, 2014 – Day 7

What Did I Eat?

Love my purple plates!!

Meal 1

Scrambled Eggs

Spinach

Avocado

Meal 2

Turkey Sausage Pieces

Cucumber

Meal 3

Turkey Sausage Appies

Veggies from a platter

The Day

Sean and I had hair appointments with my good friend Dora today. Can I just say how talented she is for a minute? I have been friends with this lady since she was a receptionist in a non-hair-related industry. She found her passion, went to school, and has been cutting and styling hair for a few years now. I won’t go to anyone else. 

Needless to say I woke up in a good mood, stoked to see my friend and of course to get pampered. Sean needed a haircut before the big day next week, and for the summer, and I just needed to add some layers. I made myself some scrambled eggs, about 4, with a side of spinach sautéed in ghee and half an avocado and we headed out to get our hair did. I was not disappointed and was so excited that, for once, I had plans after. I usually end up having great hair and no where to go. 

Then I had to head to the store to get some ingredients for a potluck/housewarming party at another friend’s new place. This potluck, I was determined to do better than the veggie bowl I brought to the last one. I didn’t have a plan really though so I wandered Whole Foods for inspiration, reading labels and thinking of ideas. There were some good looking wings but of course they were coated with bread crumbs and I did not see any plain ones available. I sort of had the idea of toothpick appies before I got there and I found some compliant turkey sausage in the deli. I grabbed two packs of 4 and wandered to produce. I looked for veggies that could be cut up and easily stuck on a toothpick and came up with cherry tomatoes of varying colours and cucumbers.

Whole30 Appies!

When I got home, I popped the sausages in the oven and applied my makeup. I cut up the cucumbers and cherry tomatoes and methodically put them on toothpicks. I ended up with about 45-50 little toothpick appies when I ran out of tomatoes. I ate the leftover cucumbers and sausage (about ½ of one and the ends of the others) as 2^nd meal. On top of me eating them, they were a hit! They were gone within an hour of me getting there. 

When I got to the potluck, the only other thing I could have was veggies from a platter so I made a plate of veggies and some of my appies and was completely happy with that. It was so nice to chat and catch up with friends. It was a beautiful almost summer evening. There was live music, kids running around the back yard. It could not have been more perfect. Of course all good things come to an end and we all headed home.

How Do I Feel Today?

Woke up in a good mood. Was satiated all day long. 

June 1, 2014 - Day 1

What did I Eat?

Meal 1

2 Eggs Scrambled, no milk or butter

Wilted Spinach, approx. 2 cups raw

Mandarin Orange

Black Coffee

Meal 2

Hearty Meat Sauce

Spaghetti Squash, riced & blanched

Meal 3

3 oz. Steak, seasoned & grilled

Green Beans, steamed

Yashbrowns

1 Nectarine

The Day

I woke up at my sister’s house today. She lives a significant distance from me considering I do not drive, and I had committed to her product party before committing to Whole30, then she also committed to Whole30 for June 1 and we thought it would be a fun idea if I slept over and we could shop for her first week together and start on June 1 together. It only costs $8 one way to greyhound as they are two towns over. Sean and I normally drive, and it takes just over an hour, but he was not coming for this visit. I find Greyhound relaxing anyway and I was able to get further in It Starts With Food so it was a good trip.

My sister and I had some coolers last night and stayed up late chatting only to be woken up by my 18 month old nephew crying for mommy around 5:30 am. My sister did not want him to wake me so early, so she ran to grab him right away and took him to her room. He was pretty awake and wanting to play so she asked my brother-in-law (BIL) to take him to play in in the living room and invited me to come sleep in their bed a little longer with her.

I felt spoiled when I woke up again a couple hours later. I woke up in a big king sized bed, with my sister bringing me my first Whole30 meal of this round. Plus her and her husband aren’t coffee drinkers so BIL went out to get me a black coffee from Starbucks specifically. On top of feeling spoiled, I was overcome with excitement and pride for her too. After revealing there were 2 eggs in the breakfast meal, I assured her she can add more next time. I had just read about general portions in ISWF on my way to their place. If eggs are your only protein, you can use as many whole eggs as will fit in your hand without dropping any.

My sister revealed that they were opting to give me the dehydrator and meat slicer that I wanted to buy from them previously as part of my birthday and Christmas presents this year. I was not able to buy them due to finances at the time, so it is more than generous that they were willing to give them to me as gifts. I can’t wait to make some compliant jerky and dry some of my herbs that are now growing like weeds in their planter box.

I played with my nephew and then I made lunch for all of us. It was an adventure. I made a compliant meat tomato sauce of my own recipe and we gutted a spaghetti squash for all of us. It was my first attempt at subbing squash for pasta and I had no clue what to do. BIL says he has baked it, then scraped it out with a fork but this takes about an hour total. I had heard that you can scrape it, then blanche the noodled flesh and it seemed faster. 

I started scraping and the squash did not make nice long noodles whatsoever! It was short and coarse like long grains of rice instead. I went with it, and we blanched it, strained it, then poured the meat sauce over top. It turned out to be not so bad but perhaps next time I will try the baking method. Overall the taste and texture was good and the meal itself was quite satiating. Though there was not enough for everyone (disaster #2 of this meal) and BIL had to make regular pasta for him. (He is not doing a Whole30, but is supporting my sis)

We had the product party which was lots of fun. It was a quick demo of the product and ordering, so no food was served and once everyone left we made dinner, and then my sister and I had sweet moments with my nephew while he drank his bottle before bedtime. We sat on a loveseat with his feet on her lap and his head in mine and I savoured that moment. He is really just the cutest.

Once he was in bed, my sister drove me home with my new gadgets and we said goodbye. Overall, it was a great weekend of bonding with my sister and I cannot say enough how happy I am that my family is doing this with me this time.

How do I feel today?

I started the day feeling off from the coolers last night and the aforementioned junk food eating in the last few weeks. I was tired and foggy for the first half of the day, from lack of sleep. By the end of Day One, I was feeling more alert, but I went to bed early since it is a work night. I am regretful that on day one, I have not exercised. Hopefully I can get out to the pool tomorrow.  

Days 13 & 14 - 2nd Weekend

This weekend I spent a night away from home and then had company.

On Saturday I got up early because I had very special plans – babysitting my one year old nephew!  I had made Scotch Eggs the night before so I heated up two in the oven while I got ready. These were easy to make, easy to reheat, good cold, and a good breakfast on the go. Oh and so so yummy!

I planned to take the Greyhound bus and stay the night in Abbotsford so I had transferred all my purse stuff to my backpack, just as the city bus arrived and I suddenly doubted that I put my bus pass in my backpack too and I couldn’t find it so I missed the bus and cabbed to the Greyhound bus station. I checked the bus schedule and had I waiting for the next one, I would have missed the Greyhound one so I called a cab. Because of this, I had some time so I grabbed a coffee, which I promptly spilled on the bus as I was getting settled. I put my stuff down on the seat and bolted to the bathroom at the back and pulled the door. I pulled and pulled and it wouldn’t budge! So I pushed and the door flew open and crashed loudly into the toilet seat. I propped it open with my foot and frantically looked for paper towel – no dice! I grabbed toilet paper and it was that super cheap kind that rips after every square or two. I grabbed as much as I could and sopped up my mess just as the bus was pulling out. Phew! What an ordeal, typical me.

After I finally got settled, I read some ISWF on my Kindle. I am not skipping over the chapters about why we eat the way we eat (an option they give at the start) and I find it all so very interesting. This book has really made me re-think about how I think about food. But they didn’t over complicate it. I have always know that I could achieve better health if I could just arm myself with the knowledge of a nutritionist, but every time I tried to read articles and/or books, I would find it overwhelming or dry or just too much information to cram into my brain.  The way ISWF is written is down to earth, easy to understand, and quite humorous and entertaining as well. It’s a good read in its own right and I can’t wait to read more of it. If you have not read it yet, please consider I as it can only add to and enhance the whole Whole30 experience.

I arrived in Abby, and my sister tells me she has to go to a kid’s birthday party and I was welcome to join. I could have stayed at her place and caught up on my blog, but I wanted to see my nephew as much as possible and it was lots of fun! It was a rec centre gym, rented out with gym activities for kids (scooters, parachute, etc) and bouncy castles. I was hungry by the time I was done running around with my nephew but disappointed when I suddenly remembered kid party food of my era. But then I was all the more happy to see a fruit platter and veggie tray rather than chips and candy. Kids had to eat veggies if they wanted cake! Go moms!!!

My sister was nice enough to take me grocery shopping while nephew napped. I picked out some foods for dinner and breakfast on Sunday. We got to my sister’s and she gave me the rundown and her and her husband left. I fed my nephew per my sister’s directions and he signed that he was done just as I started cooking. I let him out of his chair to go play with toys but he wanted me to come too. I followed him and took out some toys to distract and ran back to the kitchen to finish chopping my yams. I pan fried chicken breasts in olive oil and seasonings, boiled the yam cubes with brussel sprouts in the steamer above. All in all my first meal cooked with a baby afoot was pretty good!! 

My nephew and I played with toys and had a dance party in his bedroom before evening bottle/snuggle time and going to bed. We got up on Sunday, and I made myself boiled eggs instead of fried since they only had margarine, with Yashbrowns. Mandi and Jeremy like the term yashbrowns. We all played with my nephew some more, then I packed up my backpack and went home on the bus. I had such a fun weekend and it felt really good to not have to be worried about leaving my house and having compliant food.

When I got home, I had 2 Scotch Eggs for lunch and some leftover Simple Salad. Sean and I cleaned up in prep for company since we had invited Sean’s twin, Scott and his friend Christine over for a visit. I was feeling confident that I could make something Whole30 compliant that everyone would enjoy. I went with Salmon and Asparagus with a lemon, caper dressing. It turned out fantastic. I will make this again, W30 or not. We all played a game and visited but it was a work night and eventually bedtime came.

Overall I had a great weekend, stuck to my Whole30 despite being out and having people over, and went to bed feeling great.

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… 

Days 6-7 – First W30 Weekend

My first weekend on Whole30 just happened to be the Easter Long weekend.
 
Amazingly enough, no one planned a dinner so maybe I lucked out in that sense. Much like the potluck this past week, Easter should be more about family than the food anyway. And there was family time, but this post is about the weekend before that.

Saturday was low key. Sean and I didn't really have plans and stayed in. Which is probably good because this was a really tired day. I did just want to nap like the timeline said. 

 
 We woke up late and finished off the last of the leftover breakfast meatloaf with eggs and Yashbrowns, my yammy take on hashbrowns. I may not be able to take credit for inventing them, but I am coining this term here and now. (I just added it to my MS Word Dictionary)



I chopped up the last of the steak we had and stir-fried it with coconut oil, red onion, green and red peppers, and leftover yashbrowns for lunch. Sean gobbled his up! Must have been good!

For dinner, I marinated some chicken and pan fried it. I wanted to grill it but my barbeque didn't seem to want to heat up past the half way mark, so I gave up on the bbq and pan fried it. The marinade had balsamic vinegar which came off strong in the pan. It wasn't amazing but it wasn't bad. I served up with some baked yam fries. If it's not obvious, I. Love. Yams.

I caught up on some of my shows that Sean doesn't care for and went to bed after falling asleep on the couch partway through Once Upon a Time.

Sunday 

Scramblettes is a word I wish I could coin also. I mean I came up with it on my own, but it turns out a lot of other people have too. 

I am not a fan of traditional omelettes. I find the folder omelette to be too dense and heavy, so I sauté my veggies, add eggs, and then work everything around in the pan to a big fluffy veggie scramble. (When not doing a Whole30, I totally add cheese too)

Sean was still at Scott's so I made myself tuna with some of my homemade mayo for lunch and popped some grape tomatoes. It was lazy but I struggle cooking for one and I was tired. It was satisfying in that it made my lunchtime hunger go away. And I enjoy that I am now listening to my body to tell me when to eat. But it was unsatisfying in the flavour department. I have a much better tuna or salmon recipe in my head that is mayo-less, which I will be sure to share with you somewhere along my journey.

Scott and Sean finally came home around 2:00 pm. I felt this was late because we had planned to watch the Walking Dead. And we missed most of the first season because we all made a pact to watch it together since Scott doesn't get AMC and we do. Due to scheduling conflicts, we couldn't find a mutual time and eventually it just got away from us. So needless to say we had a lot to watch. 

Part way thought the marathon, we all got hungry so we ordered sushi. The only thing I could have was assorted sashimi, but it was one more item then I could have had from anywhere else. It was good quality but I wished I could have soy sauce in the moment.

We continued with the show, but could not get up to speed as Scott had to leave. Oh well, we will do it again next weekend! Scott is bringing a friend so I have plans to make something yummy for dinner. My best meals really do come out when I am entertaining.

Day 5 – Good Friday

Today was a good Good Friday.

Sean and I both had the day off and I was looking forward to sleeping in. But of course the cat woke me up early, so I fed her the wet food she so desperately craved, and went back to bed. I woke up a couple hours later and I was really hungry. 

I made breakfast right away and it was the best W30 breakfast yet! If you have been following along, you know I made something on Wednesday night. We had it for breakfast yesterday, but my post was too long already so I decided to wait until today to share it since I knew there would still be left overs. I made Slow Cooker Breakfast Meatloaf from Meatified.com on Wednesday night. I sliced off a couple slices this morning and pan seared them in coconut oil, then plated them topped with tomatoes, and a fried egg, sunny side up and a side of diced yam has browns, as well as a small bowl of mixed berries. This was a really satisfying way to start the day!



After watching a late morning movie, we had lunch which was medium rare steak leftovers on salad drizzled with my homemade dressing. The dressing is simply olive oil, apple cider vinegar, and Litehouse Freeze dried herbs. They have many kinds that instantly rehydrated in liquid, but I used the Instantly Fresh Salad Herb Blend. I love the Red Onion and Garlic ones as well.





Then I suggested we go outside and run errands, before it gets rainy for the rest of the weekend. I have been wanting an herb filled planter box on the balcony for a while so I made that our mission. We went to Rona and found planter boxes for balconies, a spade, and some potted herbs. Sean picked out some perennials too since he has been talking about having some on the balcony for some time also. We got home and I instantly started transplanting my herbs to the new planter. I got chives, rosemary, oregano, basil, sage, cilantro and more. They look pretty, smell amazing and I can't wait to use them in my daily cooking. The planter's holders are made for squared balcony rails however and ours is cylindrical, so for now the planter sits atop out mini fridge that we have out there. 

Since Sean grew up in a Catholic household, that meant that fish was always served on Good Friday. His family made it something to look forward to by having fish and chips from C-Lovers, which became a tradition. He was feeling bummed out about having to miss out this year since beer battered, deep fried fish, fried potatoes, and tartar sauce are definitely off the menu for us right now, so I thought it would be a good time to make fish and chips Whole30 style. I peeled and cut up a yam to make yam fries from this recipe, seared some Ahi Tuna, and then tried my hand, successfully I might add, at homemade mayonnaise avec garlic. It felt like we were being really naughty but everything met the Whole30 standards.

It was really nice to get out, learn more new recipes, and do some gardening on this beautiful spring day. Perhaps tomorrow I will be motivated to start my spring cleaning…