Day 30...

I did it!! I knew I could, but I honestly thought it was going to be really tough and that I'd have some moments of wanting to quit. Truthfully, I never had one moment where I thought "forget this, I'm having a cookie." In the challenge I was competing in I scored a perfect score - never missing a workout (that means a total of 26 workouts in those 30 days) always getting enough sleep, drinking enough water (probably more) never cheating on the food aspect and successfully doing away with fruit for the last 16 days - now that part was tough and if I was going to cheat it was going to be with a blueberry as I was making blueberry pancakes for my son. 

The results aren't in on the competition side yet - but the results that matter are the ones I see when looking in the mirror and the results I feel. 

Breakfast - another spicy tuna cake, half an avocado and black coffee. Note to self - always have at least two of those tuna cakes leftover for breakfast - great start to the day! 

Lunch - spinach salad topped with cauliflower, chicken, cucumber, zucchini, hard boiled egg, and slivered almonds. Prior to making lunch I went to Trader Joes to stock up on dates, pomegranate seeds, grapefruits, bananas, blueberries, and pears - fruit strike ends at midnight - my salads are about to get a lot prettier and tastier! 

Dinner - Drumsticks with a spicy green sauce and cauliflower rice. We roasted the drumsticks with just a little salt, pepper and garlic and then whipped up a green sauce to toss them in right when they came out of the oven. We tossed cilantro, half an onion, three garlic cloves, basil, mint, jalapeno, and fish sauce into our Ninja (the real hero of the Whole30 challenge). It was pretty, flavorful and made what could be a boring chicken night, exactly the opposite. On the side we stir fried some cauliflower rice with some onions, scallions and scrambled egg. Love this guilt free side dish. 

Workout - 4 Tabatas: Round 1 - Jump rope & butt kicks; Round 2 - static squat w/ tricep kick-backs & crescent pose w/ weighted lateral arm raises; Round 3 - bicycle crunches & sit ups w/ weighted lat pull downs; Round 4 - air squats and jump rope. 

A lifetime to go...

Day 26...

So much for those nice temps - wind was howling today! How much longer until spring? 

Breakfast - buffalo chicken patty & half an avocado w/ black coffee on the side. My husband laughed at me for having this for breakfast - but it was honestly what I woke up craving. Filling, healthy, & satisfying. 

Lunch - mixed green salad topped with shredded carrots (leftover from the patties), zucchini, cucumber, and you guessed it - the last buffalo chicken patty chopped up on top. So good. 

Dinner - meatloaf and sweet potato/cauliflower mash. I was inspired by our chicken and zucchini poppers to add shredded zucchini to my meatloaf - ads moisture, flavor, and bonus - hides the veggies from my 5 year old (still trying to ease him into this healthier lifestyle). I also had read about using chopped mushrooms as a substitute for bread crumbs so I chopped up some portobellos to add in as well. Did a combo of ground beef and ground pork and put an egg and a little coconut flour in as well. It turned out really well and you can't go wrong with cauliflower/sweet potato mash (just a little bit of sweet potato for the texture and sweetness). 

Workout - If I had a rest day to use, I would have cashed it in today - but alas, I didn't so I pushed through and got in two 21-15-9's. Round 1 - 21 push ups, 21 seconds of plank, 21 mountain climbers - then 15, then 9. Round 2 - 21 scissor crunches, 21 bicycle crunches, 21 sit ups, then 15 then 9. Not the most intense workout, but I got it done. 

4 more to go...

Day 25...

Today the weather was in the mid 50's and it got me realizing how close we are to a new season. I am very excited for Spring to arrive and bring with it longer days and warmer weather. There's nothing quite as motivating to get up and get moving than nice weather to walk your dog in. Which is exactly what I did today. Of course tomorrow the temps are supposed to plummet, but I soaked up what I could while it lasted.

Breakfast - Slice of frittata, half an avocado and some of the avocado/cucumber sauce & black coffee of course. 

Lunch - mixed green salad topped with smoked salmon, hard boiled egg, half an avocado, cucumbers, zucchini and slivered almonds. 

Dinner - Buffalo chicken sliders - wow, another winner! Just took ground chicken, shredded carrots, some Franks Hot Sauce, and chopped scallions. Mixed it all together and formed patties (guess they really weren't sliders). Then pan fried them in a little olive oil and served alongside zoodles. These things were so good and packed with flavor. I even commented halfway through that it actually tasted like there was blue cheese in these - probably just a mental thing with the combo of chicken and buffalo sauce. These will be making regular appearances this summer! (Heck, all year long!) 

Workout - Started at the house with 2 21-15-9's. Round 1 - 21 static lunge w/ weighted butterfly raises (not sure how else to describe that - picture hands/weights meeting at belly button then raising up shoulder length), 21 squats & 21 weighted good mornings - then 15, then 9 - arms killing after that one. Round 2 - 21 leg raises w/ weights - right side, 21 leg raises w/ weights - left side, 21 sit ups w/ weighted lat pull downs (picture back on ground and arms outstretched behind you- then pulling them down w/ the sit up) - then 15, then 9. Then I did 10 push-ups, for fun I guess and then it was off to the YMCA with the family. Hit the treadmill for a 7 degree incline 1 mile walk/hike. Then lifted weights for about 20 minutes. After that it was time to walk Liddy - I definitely felt great after all of that on a Wednesday! 

 5 more to go...

Day 24...

Breakfast - It's back...I made another frittata - this time with spinach, vidalia onion, mushrooms and zucchini. The spinach is a great addition - I know I did it in the first one, but felt it needed to make another appearance. Had a slice of this with half an avocado and black coffee. 

Lunch - mixed green salad topped with a hard boiled egg, half an avocado, cucumber, and slivered almonds. I need to hit the store and up my toppings game. (5 more days until dates can make a comeback - hooray!). 

Dinner - Rogan Josh - or as I like to call it Josh Groban. This is from Well Fed and is also on The Clothes Make the Girl blog. I used the book for the recipe but just found it on the blog as well only to find that Melissa also thinks of Josh Groban - and Seth Rogan - when she makes this dish. Speaking of this dish - woah. Talk about flavor overload - and I mean that in a good way. We don't usually make or eat Indian food - so heavy and usually does a number on our stomachs - but this version was the opposite. Served over cauliflower rice this dish tasted nothing like "health" food. I love how out of the box this Whole30 challenge is keeping us. 

This was just the beginning as the lamb and onions browned. The "after" photo wasn't too photogenic, but so tasty.

Workout - 5 Tabatas - Round 1 - squats and pliet squats; Round 2 - scissor crunches and sit ups with lat pull downs; Round 3 - weighted leg raises - 2 minutes on each leg - gotta work that outer thigh; Round 4 - oblique crunches - 2 minutes on each side; Round 5 - chest flies with legs extended and chest press with legs extended - legs, abs, arms, chest - it's all good. 

6 more to go...

Day 15...

We had a very low key weekend - highlights being our weekly trip to Wegmans and a family outing to the YMCA. This was our first time dropping Adam off in the "child watch" program - which he loved and we loved getting to work out together. At the end we gathered Adam up and let him run around the indoor track with us - family fitness for the win! 

As if that was exciting enough (note a hint of sarcasm) we also whipped up our first batch of homemade mayo. I will say, it is pretty cool to see oil and eggs turn into a thick & tasty substance. We used this recipe from "Well Fed." Now that we've got the basics down, we can use this recipe as a starter for Ranch dressing, dips for the upcoming Super Bowl, etc. etc. 

Breakfast - black coffee. I know, not a very good breakfast, but we were out the door early to do our grocery shopping and by the time we finished that we wanted to get to the YMCA and then it was lunch time. I was definitely hungry by then. 

Lunch - arugula and spinach salad with garlic shrimp, cucumbers, slivered almonds, half an avocado and a hard boiled egg. No more dates or pomegranate seeds for this girl (tear). 

Dinner - Chicken Pad Thai - soooooooo good, I can't believe this meal was Whole30 compliant. Again we looked to "Well Fed" for the recipe and while it was a bit hands on (as Pad Thai recipes always are) the outcome is well worth it. I see us varying this up a bit maybe doing shrimp instead of chicken. The photo doesn't really do it justice, but here it is anyhow. 

Workout - treadmill for a mile, walking uphill - just a good excuse to get moving then I did two 21-15-9's. Round one I did 21 medicine ball passes w/ my husband (not sure what else to call those - we stood back to back and passed the ball side to side - it was a 15 pound ball and we were dying), 21 push-ups, and 21 pliet squats with overhead tricep presses (then 15, then 9) and Round 2 was 21 leg presses - increasing weight each round, 21 shoulder presses and 21 rowing - increasing weight each time (then 15 then 9). I'm feeling all that lifting/sculpting today - and it feels good! 

15 more to go...

Day 10...

Well, I'm a third of the way through this thing. Already week 2 seems to be going by faster than week 1, we'll see if that keeps up. 

Breakfast - turning into Groundhog Day here - slice of frittata, half an avocado, half a grapefruit and black coffee. 

Lunch - spinach and arugula salad (I love arugula - so peppery and flavorful, my favorite) topped today with garlic and herb shrimp, half an avocado, cucumber, dates, roasted sweet potato, and pomegranate seeds. The shrimp are a fun treat from Wegmans. We made sure when we ordered them to find out how they were prepared to be sure they were compliant. They make a great appetizer at night and today they made the perfect topper for my salad. 

Appetizers - we had my folks over for dinner as they are about to head out of town for a few weeks. I loved that we were still able to entertain and serve compliant and tasty apps. We did our smoked salmon & cucumber bites with dill, capers and garlic aioli and bacon (compliant of course) wrapped chorizo (compliant) stuffed dates. Those dates are seriously the best things - if you've never made them, you should. Just butterfly the date, remove pit, put in a chunk of pre-cooked chorizo, then wrap up in half a slice of bacon and secure with toothpick. Pop in oven at 400 for about 15 minutes or so and you have an ooey gooey sweet and savory appetizer. Perfect for Super Bowl menu! 

Dinner - roasted lamb, roasted asparagus and broccoli/cauliflower soup. I made the same soup recipe I made last week only I add in some broccoli as well. It was really good. 

Workout - I cashed in on my rest day as I had lots of prep work to do for our dinner. I'll be back at it tomorrow! :) 

20 more to go...

Day 6...

Wow, Friday already! This week went by pretty fast. Leading into the weekend I was worried that my strength would start to weaken - meaning that I'd be looking forward to some end of week wine and a fun dinner (usually we did pizza night on Fridays) but happily I'm still loving this new eating regiment and the not drinking has felt really good. So onward to the weekend!

Breakfast - slice of my new frittata - loving the new flavors with the brussel sprouts and mushrooms. I think my next one will need some asparagus and maybe green peppers - half an avocado, black coffee and to change it up a bit a half of a grapefruit. I haven't had a grapefruit in so long - I forgot how much I love them. So juicy and sweet - a much needed touch of sweetness I might add.

Lunch - leftover spaghetti pie. I can't even stop eating this thing - it's too good.

Dinner - cauliflower soup, grilled chicken and sweet potato fries. The cauliflower soup came from a fellow challenger, I believe in the "Well Fed" cookbook (just ordered a copy of that for myself). Essentially you cook up cauliflower, carrots, onion and garlic until nice in tender in some water and beef stock (used some more of the homemade stock I had in preparation for the challenge) then you puree all of that and then add in a half can of coconut milk and seasonings. I used some nutmeg, cayenne pepper, ginger and black pepper. We garnished with some compliant bacon and red onions. This was so good. Definitely will make again, maybe with chicken stock instead so it doesn't turn so brownish.

Cocktail - I took the other half of my grapefruit and sliced it up and used that to jazz up my sparkling water. Looked fancy and tasted great!

Workout - I did two 21-15-9's. First set 21 jump squats, 21 air squats, 21 tricep kick-backs - then 15, then 9. For round two I did 21 sit ups, 21 elbow to knee crunches and 21 v-ups with weights - then 15, then 9. 

24 more to go...

Day 5...

Prep work seems to be the name of the game so with some pre-cooking of a spaghetti squash on Day 4 I knew our dinner for Day 5 was already halfway complete. That was a good feeling and we'll continue to work to keep in mind what we can do ahead of time to make meal prep that much easier. I have a feeling where people might find some pitfalls in their Whole30 would be in the lack of convenience. At the end of a long day it used to be easy to just call out for sushi, throw in a microwaveable bag of rice to go along with some chicken, etc. etc. Those aren't options here so I figure my best bet is to stay ahead of the game, have quick snacks and appetizers on hand so there's never a chance to feel like cheating. 

Breakfast - I enjoyed the last slice of frittata, half an avocado, and black coffee. I am not yet tired of frittata and actually made a plan in my head to whip up another one, this time with mushrooms, brussel sprouts, onions, zucchini and a little prosciutto. 

Lunch - Pretty much a repeat of yesterday's salad - spinach & arugula mix topped with a hard boiled egg, shaved sweet potatoes, two chopped dates, half an avocado, slivered almonds, and a squeeze of lemon with some garlic olive oil and a little balsamic on top. I made a mental note to roast some beets and eggplant to jazz up salads for the next few days. 

Appetizer - Andy had said he was hungry when he came home from work so I decided to make a little snack - sliced cucumbers topped with a little of the garlic aioli, smoked salmon, and capers. Light, refreshing, satisfying, and compliant. Score! 

Dinner - Spaghetti Pie! Woah, this was insanely good! We've definitely had spaghetti squash before, even during this challenge, but I've never used it in place of actual pasta and I was so surprised at how it really did feel/taste like we were having a normal spaghetti dinner. Wow. This recipe is a keeper. Here's the one we used. I altered it a bit by using ground turkey and we added mushrooms. I could see lots of variations - maybe even doing a "pasta primevera" version when the temps warm up a bit. 

Workout - I did a 50-40-30-20-10. This was intense. 50 air squats - 1 minute of jumping jacks - 40 sit ups - 1 minute high knees - 30 push-ups - 1 minute of jumping jacks - 20 lunges (on each side so 40 total) - 1 minute high knees - 10 burpees. Woah. It was all I could do to get through those 10 burpees. Ugh. 

25 more to go...

Homemade Condiments...

As I've mentioned before, we are a family of dippers - I'll admit sometimes french fries really just seem like an excuse to have ketchup and don't even get me started on my husband and son's obsession with ranch dressing. So I knew this would be a tricky part of this Whole30 challenge. Alas, I'm not the only one who enjoys these things and thus recipes for compliant ketchup, cocktail sauce, ranch dressing, mayo, aiolis of all shapes and sizes are readily available. For burger night we whipped up some homemade ketchup and my father-in-law's infamous garlic aioli - which happily was already compliant! 

First up - Ketchup. I used a recipe from "The Clothes Make the Girl" - see here. I had to use dates as I didn't have figs on hand, and since I didn't have ground cloves I used pumpkin pie spice instead - next time I think I'll go for less of the cinnamon/nutmeg/clove flavor and maybe do more of the mustard and perhaps ginger. Still, it was pretty good. 

Next we tackled Poppy's Garlic Aioli. So good, pretty easy to make, and oh my I can still taste the garlic, but that's ok. 

Here's the recipe:

• 2 tsp dijon mustard
• 1 cup olive oil
• 1 egg yoke
• 1/2 lemon 
• 8-9 garlic cloves (yup, told ya it was garlicky!) 
• salt & pepper to taste
• 1 tbsp cider vinegar

Combine all ingredients, minus the oil, in a blender until combined. Then very very slowly dribble in the oil until it is all combined. Tip - make sure your ingredients are all at room temperature - especially the egg. 

I read a tip on one site that for these sauces/condiments with raw egg to just look at the expiration date on the egg carton and use that as your guide for when you should finish or toss your sauce. I don't see ours making it to the expiration date. :) 

Next on the to-do list - Ranch Dressing! 

Day 4...

Another successful and cheat free day in the books! Today was the first day I faced temptation - I was giving my son some yogurt with his lunch (snow day - with no snow outside, joy) and got a little on my thumb - almost went to lick it off, but thought better of it and quickly washed it off instead. Phew! Close call ;) 

Breakfast - you guessed it! Slice of frittata, half an avocado, black coffee and today an orange as well. I don't eat oranges enough. I think I've got one more day of frittata left then it will be gone. Will either have to make another - vary of the ingredients - or try something different for breakfast next week. We'll see. 

Lunch - spinach salad with a hard boiled egg, chopped up slice of prosciutto, shaved sweet potato, half of an avocado, two chopped dates, cucumber and a light dijon (compliant of course) and balsalmic dressing. I ate salad for lunch most days before this challenge, so this isn't anything new - only different here is I'm not tossing crumbled feta or goat cheese on it and I'm not having a handful of crackers on the side. I'm still full afterwards. 

Dinner - hamburgers on lettuce "buns" with homemade garlic aioli (recipe to follow in another post) sliced onion and compliant bacon with homemade sweet potato fries on the side with homemade ketchup for dipping (again will post recipe later). Before the challenge I was probably a 50% of the time bun user anyhow, so this wasn't a big swap out for me - cheese was the thing I missed, but that garlic aioli sure made up for that missing topping! Hubs missed his bun, but he was still pretty satisfied. 

Workout - I did another set of 21-15-9's. For my first set I did 21 wood chopper lunges on the right, then 21 wood chopper lunges on the left, then 21 bicycle crunches. Then 15, then 9 of each. For round two I did 21 push-ups, 21 box jumps and 21 sit-ups. Then 15, then 9 of each. Let me tell you, the push-ups were hard to get through as my arms and chest were so sore, but I had the help of my little work-out buddy cheering me on. 

26 more to go...

Day 3...

Another great night of sleep though I woke up feeling a tad bit sore from the workout the day before. Felt great otherwise and ready to tackle another day. 

Breakfast - same as the day before - another slice of frittata and half of an avocado, black coffee on the side. 

Lunch - leftovers from the night before - that chicken was just too good! To freshen it up I squeezed some more lemon juice over it which really brightened it up. Note to self - squeeze lemon on food more often. 

Dinner - NY strip steak (shared between the three of us - I like steak, but a few bites and I'm fine), cauliflower mash (with some roasted garlic & eggplant caviar blended in), and roasted asparagus. Husband approved for sure! 

Cocktail - Sparking grapefruit water in a red wine glass - we were having steak after all! ;) 

Workout - I did two 21-15-9's. First set 21 jump squats, 21 air squats, 21 high knees - then 15, then 9. For round two I did 21 sit ups, 21 elbow to knee crunches and 21 v-ups with weights - then 15, then 9. I'm telling you, these 21-15-9's don't take much time to complete, but wow they are painful! 

Side notes - At lunch I ran out to MOMS Organic Market (only 3 miles away) and have officially found a new favorite store. The produce was reasonably priced and the variety was fantastic. I found the biggest beets I've ever seen and bonus - they had already trimmed all the stems/leaves off of them. I also found compliant bacon - victory! And not a bad price at $4.99 a pack. Nitrate free and most importantly - sugar free! I also was able to find coconut aminos there which I have seen in a ton of recipes so I'm looking forward to being able to cook Asian style recipes. 

27 more to go...

Day 2...

For starters, I woke up on Day 2 after having one of the best night's sleep I've had in a long time. Never woke up once in the middle of the night, which was so nice. I know after just one day it's probably not 100% related, but heck, if this is a side effect of following the Whole30 - I'll take it! 

Breakfast was a slice of frittata that I had made the day before, half of an avocado, Tabasco and of course coffee. I just sauteed red onion, zucchini, broccoli, cherry tomatoes and spinach then covered them with 8 whisked up eggs seasoned with a little salt, pepper and nutmeg. 

Lunch was a mixed green salad topped with one hard boiled egg, the other half of my avocado, cucumbers, eggplant and a can of albacore tuna. Drizzled a little garlic olive oil and white balsamic vinegar for my dressing. 

Dinner was inspired by my favorite blogger, Iowa Girl Eats, but adapted to be Whole30 compliant. I took organic boneless, skinless chicken thighs tossed lightly in coconut flower then browned in a skillet with a little ghee. Then I removed the chicken and sauteed leeks, garlic and portobello mushrooms. I then added some homemade turkey stock, a squeeze of lemon and tarragon and then put the chicken back in until it was cooked through an the sauce thickened. I then served it over a little bit of spaghetti squash. It was so good and filling. Next time I'd add an extra squeeze of lemon after plating. Loved that I was still able to utilize recipes from Iowa Girl. 

Cocktail - ginger apple sparkling water with a slice of lime - in a wine glass of course. Tasted like a sour apple martini. 

Workout - I did two 21-15-9's. First set 21 push ups, 21 sit ups, 21 box jumps - then 15, then 9. For round two I did 21 jump lunges, 21 air squats and 21 jumping jacks - then 15, then 9. Afterwards I did some chest flys and bench presses. Nothing too crazy, but after quite the workout hiatus, I was feeling it. 

28 more to go...