It is 8:24 pm, and I survived Day 27! How crazy! 27 days is a long time....more than my fingers and toes combined. 7 more to be exact! For 27 days I haven't eaten grains, legumes, sugar, artificial sweeteners, dairy, or alcohol. That means I haven't had cheese or peanut butter or soy sauce or bread of any sort, no oatmeal, no chocolate covered donuts, no ranch dressing, no ketchup or mayo (unless I made them myself), no lima beans, no butter, no buttered lima beans (mmm, I love lima beans), no cream in my coffee, and no weird additives like sulfites or MSG.
I don't really have many cravings for all those things, though. I might think of something I want, but after a minute or two, I have forgotten all about it. That's nice. Often when I am craving something, it is because I am hungry. Once I remind myself of that, it helps ignore whatever I had been wanting. I also feel more comfortable ordering out at a restaurant. Of course most of the time I only go out to places I know I will find something I can eat.
I have learned to plan more for meals and snacks. I always have hard boiled eggs, almond butter, and nuts at work. I always have an idea for dinner and most of the time the dinner is actually already cooked. I always have a vegetable I can make to include with breakfast, whether that's spinach, broccoli, zucchini, or some combination of all three.
So that's where I am at Day 27. So far I have survived PMS, lunch meetings, sadness, Tucson day trips, and goodbye parties. Tomorrow is another challenge... the monthly board meeting at my job. We always order in lots of food and dessert for our board, and this month we are having Italian. Correction: This month they are having Italian. I am having grilled chicken and salad with bell peppers and celery.
3 days to go...well, three days +++++++++. Good night.
Monday, August 31, 2015
Sunday, August 30, 2015
Day 25 and Day 26 Combo: Hamburger Can Make or Break You
I survived Day 25 (clearly, or I wouldn't be writing this), and Day 26 has been ok so far. I have come to some important conclusions over the last two days.
1. Freezing a raw hamburger patty, thawing it, and cooking it results in something that is inedible. You know how really gross, cheap hamburger patties taste? Think back to school lunch or prison, if you've had that experience (fortunately I haven't yet...knock on wood). Freezing makes hamburger patties turn into dense, cheap, flavorless meat heaps. Yes, freezing makes that happen to normal ground beef. I thought I was being sooooo clever a few week ago. "Look at me! I'm patting out hamburgers and freezing them so I can thaw them out in a few weeks and cook them." GROSS. Just gross. I actually couldn't eat a whole one because the consistency makes for gagging. The dogs love them, so that's something to fall back on. Dog snacks.
2. Why aren't we all making pecan butter all the time? I started thinking about this really delicious jar of pecan butter I bought a year or so ago. I was so good...roasted pecans, slightly salted, ground up into a butter of happiness. I was bemoaning some raw pecans I had in the cabinet that I needed to use, and I thought, "Why can't I make my own pecan butter? It HAS to be cheaper than the $8million pecan butter in the store." So, I toasted the pecans, put them in a food processor, and VOILA! I used about 2 cups of pecans and ended up with a small mason jar amount of finished product. The only things I added were cinnamon and a touch of salt. For the next batch, I will probably toast the pecans less before grinding because they actually heat up in the food processor, too, and I don't want to over-toast them. I would also leave them in the food processor for a couple of minutes less time, and I would add the cinnamon at the end. While the pecan butter is good, it's a tad too runny for my tastes, and I think the cinnamon got too hot while being ground up.
3. Roasting chicken breasts is so easy and makes for a consistent, delicious protein each and every time. I like to coat the chicken breasts in olive oil, salt, and pepper. I put a whole pack of them on a cookie sheet covered in foil and put them in the oven on 425 degrees for about 35 minutes. If you are buying the long packs of chicken breasts, that's 5 boobies you can eat over the course of 5+ meals/snacks. Not bad.
4. Balsamic vinegar makes happiness. Yum. Always yum.
5. Seriously, why aren't we all making pecan butter right now?!
In other news, I had a cosmic visit from Craig this weekend while I was getting my car serviced in Tucson. That was cool.
I also had an open water swim at Lake Patagonia today. We were supposed to go all around the lake and have a big time learning stuff and swimming. Well, the group organizing the swim decided to do it at 1:00 pm at the lake during monsoon season. Needless to say, we were lightning-ed out of the water in 10 minutes. Major bust! The other bummer is I still need to get in a swim today, and that little excursion took over 2 hours out of my day getting to and from the lake. Not cool.
Some of the new things I will make this week:
Walnut crusted pork loin
Roasted sweet potatoes (I will be subbing butternut squash) and brussel spouts with a balsamic reduction
Shepherds Pie with a sweet potato topping.
1. Freezing a raw hamburger patty, thawing it, and cooking it results in something that is inedible. You know how really gross, cheap hamburger patties taste? Think back to school lunch or prison, if you've had that experience (fortunately I haven't yet...knock on wood). Freezing makes hamburger patties turn into dense, cheap, flavorless meat heaps. Yes, freezing makes that happen to normal ground beef. I thought I was being sooooo clever a few week ago. "Look at me! I'm patting out hamburgers and freezing them so I can thaw them out in a few weeks and cook them." GROSS. Just gross. I actually couldn't eat a whole one because the consistency makes for gagging. The dogs love them, so that's something to fall back on. Dog snacks.
2. Why aren't we all making pecan butter all the time? I started thinking about this really delicious jar of pecan butter I bought a year or so ago. I was so good...roasted pecans, slightly salted, ground up into a butter of happiness. I was bemoaning some raw pecans I had in the cabinet that I needed to use, and I thought, "Why can't I make my own pecan butter? It HAS to be cheaper than the $8million pecan butter in the store." So, I toasted the pecans, put them in a food processor, and VOILA! I used about 2 cups of pecans and ended up with a small mason jar amount of finished product. The only things I added were cinnamon and a touch of salt. For the next batch, I will probably toast the pecans less before grinding because they actually heat up in the food processor, too, and I don't want to over-toast them. I would also leave them in the food processor for a couple of minutes less time, and I would add the cinnamon at the end. While the pecan butter is good, it's a tad too runny for my tastes, and I think the cinnamon got too hot while being ground up.
3. Roasting chicken breasts is so easy and makes for a consistent, delicious protein each and every time. I like to coat the chicken breasts in olive oil, salt, and pepper. I put a whole pack of them on a cookie sheet covered in foil and put them in the oven on 425 degrees for about 35 minutes. If you are buying the long packs of chicken breasts, that's 5 boobies you can eat over the course of 5+ meals/snacks. Not bad.
4. Balsamic vinegar makes happiness. Yum. Always yum.
5. Seriously, why aren't we all making pecan butter right now?!
In other news, I had a cosmic visit from Craig this weekend while I was getting my car serviced in Tucson. That was cool.
I also had an open water swim at Lake Patagonia today. We were supposed to go all around the lake and have a big time learning stuff and swimming. Well, the group organizing the swim decided to do it at 1:00 pm at the lake during monsoon season. Needless to say, we were lightning-ed out of the water in 10 minutes. Major bust! The other bummer is I still need to get in a swim today, and that little excursion took over 2 hours out of my day getting to and from the lake. Not cool.
Some of the new things I will make this week:
Walnut crusted pork loin
Roasted sweet potatoes (I will be subbing butternut squash) and brussel spouts with a balsamic reduction
Shepherds Pie with a sweet potato topping.
Friday, August 28, 2015
Day 24 of the Whole30: Stop Bringing Me Cheese Already!
It is 9:09 pm, and I survived Day 24 of the Whole30 Challenge. Today for breakfast I almost couldn't force myself to eat eggs....again. A trick I find, though, is that if you have been eating fried eggs, you don't think you can egg again, and you want to cry, switch to a scramble. It's like a totally different egg experience, or eggsperience as they say. This morning was brought to you by scrambled eggs and the letter "B" for broccoli and berries.
After a brief field trip that involved me climbing on my roof with the repair man to inspect the roof leaking disaster, I headed out for the grocery store for some supplies for the day and then to work. I found myself wanting.....something...not sure what but something that tasted like something good. When I have that feeling, I often think to have a coffee or a tea. I'm not exactly sure where that feeling comes from, but it is usually the mid-morning or mid-afternoon time frame....the eating wasteland.
I choose to have coffee or tea because they have flavor but no calories. It isn't giving in to a craving for sweets, but it does give me something with flavor. I'm not sure how else to describe that. Gimme flavor! I stopped at the chain coffee shop in the grocery store to get a coffee, and they had a bunch of cups out with samples of some sweet treat. Really! "Here...try me! I"m sweet and free and oh so delicious." I stood there for a few minutes waiting on them to finish a drink for someone else and take my order. As I stared at the baked good samples and also stared at the menu and the price for an iced coffee, I reached my limit for silliness. I simply turned around and walked away. I saved myself $3 and just had a coffee at work.
Lunch was a side salad, a potato with a bunch of vegetables on top, and part of a roasted chicken. All in all, it was a pretty nice lunch. Thankfully there were no free samples of baked items floating around and there was no cheese on my salad.
Dinner was a new challenge....eating out with friends and an untested restaurant. I ordered the burger, no bun, and the side salad without cheese. It is my standby out to eat meal. Of course the salad came with all kinds of cheese on top, so I got to send it back. Yep. I was that person, and I can only hope that they didn't rub their hands up their butt crack and then through my salad just to exact revenge.
I went through the Whole30 book tonight for a couple of new recipes which I will make this weekend. I'm trying to add some variety and to keep things simple. I'll keep you posted.
After a brief field trip that involved me climbing on my roof with the repair man to inspect the roof leaking disaster, I headed out for the grocery store for some supplies for the day and then to work. I found myself wanting.....something...not sure what but something that tasted like something good. When I have that feeling, I often think to have a coffee or a tea. I'm not exactly sure where that feeling comes from, but it is usually the mid-morning or mid-afternoon time frame....the eating wasteland.
I choose to have coffee or tea because they have flavor but no calories. It isn't giving in to a craving for sweets, but it does give me something with flavor. I'm not sure how else to describe that. Gimme flavor! I stopped at the chain coffee shop in the grocery store to get a coffee, and they had a bunch of cups out with samples of some sweet treat. Really! "Here...try me! I"m sweet and free and oh so delicious." I stood there for a few minutes waiting on them to finish a drink for someone else and take my order. As I stared at the baked good samples and also stared at the menu and the price for an iced coffee, I reached my limit for silliness. I simply turned around and walked away. I saved myself $3 and just had a coffee at work.
Lunch was a side salad, a potato with a bunch of vegetables on top, and part of a roasted chicken. All in all, it was a pretty nice lunch. Thankfully there were no free samples of baked items floating around and there was no cheese on my salad.
Dinner was a new challenge....eating out with friends and an untested restaurant. I ordered the burger, no bun, and the side salad without cheese. It is my standby out to eat meal. Of course the salad came with all kinds of cheese on top, so I got to send it back. Yep. I was that person, and I can only hope that they didn't rub their hands up their butt crack and then through my salad just to exact revenge.
I went through the Whole30 book tonight for a couple of new recipes which I will make this weekend. I'm trying to add some variety and to keep things simple. I'll keep you posted.
Thursday, August 27, 2015
Day 23: Go To Hell, Donut! And Your Chocolate Croissant Friend, Too!
It is 8:59 pm, and I survived Day 23 of the Whole30....barely. I barely survived.
We had a big meeting at the office this morning, which involved donuts. Lots and lots of donuts.
We also had pecan cinnamon rolls, cream cheese cinnamon rolls, danish, and chocolate croissants. I knew we were having this meeting and also knew it involved all things baked and chocolate covered and sweet and wonderful, so I made sure to choke down a granny smith apple and almond butter at 10:00 am, right before the meeting. That helped for the morning.
For lunch I went to Nickel's and ordered my usual burger, side salad, friend egg combo and forgot to say "No cheese!" It arrived with shredded cheese sprinkled on the side salad. I spent a few minutes picking it off to the side until I ultimately decided to just not eat the salad and focus on the burger and eggs. Definitely a rookie mistake on my part today.
Fast forward to late afternoon, and all those daggone leftover donuts were sitting in our office. Meanwhile, I was suffering from PMS and wanted a baked good in the worst way. I was going to crack!!! It was very difficult to say no at the office today. I had another snack at 4:15 pm to tide me over through swimming at 5:30 pm. I had a 1.3 miles swim and then finished up the day with sweet potato, broccoli, and canned tuna....yum? uhm, maybe yum. Partial yum. I went from wanting to eat everything at around 3:30 to wanting to eat almost nothing after the swim.
So, all in all this day had some difficult spots in the mid-morning and mid-afternoon hours. I just need to keep up with planning and remember that I only have 7 more days to go.
We had a big meeting at the office this morning, which involved donuts. Lots and lots of donuts.
 |
| AAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!! |
We also had pecan cinnamon rolls, cream cheese cinnamon rolls, danish, and chocolate croissants. I knew we were having this meeting and also knew it involved all things baked and chocolate covered and sweet and wonderful, so I made sure to choke down a granny smith apple and almond butter at 10:00 am, right before the meeting. That helped for the morning.
For lunch I went to Nickel's and ordered my usual burger, side salad, friend egg combo and forgot to say "No cheese!" It arrived with shredded cheese sprinkled on the side salad. I spent a few minutes picking it off to the side until I ultimately decided to just not eat the salad and focus on the burger and eggs. Definitely a rookie mistake on my part today.
Fast forward to late afternoon, and all those daggone leftover donuts were sitting in our office. Meanwhile, I was suffering from PMS and wanted a baked good in the worst way. I was going to crack!!! It was very difficult to say no at the office today. I had another snack at 4:15 pm to tide me over through swimming at 5:30 pm. I had a 1.3 miles swim and then finished up the day with sweet potato, broccoli, and canned tuna....yum? uhm, maybe yum. Partial yum. I went from wanting to eat everything at around 3:30 to wanting to eat almost nothing after the swim.
So, all in all this day had some difficult spots in the mid-morning and mid-afternoon hours. I just need to keep up with planning and remember that I only have 7 more days to go.
Wednesday, August 26, 2015
Day 22 or It Has Been So Long That I Almost Forgot How Many Days It Has Been
It is 9:01 pm, and I survived Day 22 of the Whole30 Challenge. I had to go back and double check the blog to make sure I was on the right day. I find it's getting easier and easier and more normal to eat this way. I don't count the seconds since my last doughnut, and I'm not really hankering for a hunk of cheese. I don't really miss bread, but sometimes I do miss the convenience of a sandwich. I don't miss milk, and I have learned to live without the half-n-half I used in my coffee. I had to give up milk in the past year because we don't agree and because I mainly used it as a vehicle for eating Captain Crunch....I loved the Cap'n. I also loved Rice Crispies and Frosted Flakes and all Multi-grain Cheerios. Whoops! Was I drooling?
I had two green curry meals today and will need to eat it for lunch again tomorrow. I'm on the verge of being sick of green curry for a while, just like I was sick of meatballs. The convenience of making food with leftovers does have a down side....leftover fatigue. My next meal plan might need to consider something I can have for multiple meals and that I can perhaps change up or customize with each meal by adding a different vegetable or something. I'm not quite sure what that is yet, but it might be something like plain oven-roasted chicken breasts with a couple of vegetables to rotate through and maybe some salad stuff. That way it's easy but not all necessarily the exact same meal each day. Suggestions are welcome!
In other news, my stand-up desk for work was installed today. You can move it up and down depending on if you want to sit or stand. Georgina in the office already has one. Evidently sitting makes you die faster, so I'm willing to give standing a shot for part of the day. So far I like it, but it has only been one day.
On that note, I'm going to stand up and go get ready for bed. It is 16 minutes past my bedtime.
I had two green curry meals today and will need to eat it for lunch again tomorrow. I'm on the verge of being sick of green curry for a while, just like I was sick of meatballs. The convenience of making food with leftovers does have a down side....leftover fatigue. My next meal plan might need to consider something I can have for multiple meals and that I can perhaps change up or customize with each meal by adding a different vegetable or something. I'm not quite sure what that is yet, but it might be something like plain oven-roasted chicken breasts with a couple of vegetables to rotate through and maybe some salad stuff. That way it's easy but not all necessarily the exact same meal each day. Suggestions are welcome!
In other news, my stand-up desk for work was installed today. You can move it up and down depending on if you want to sit or stand. Georgina in the office already has one. Evidently sitting makes you die faster, so I'm willing to give standing a shot for part of the day. So far I like it, but it has only been one day.
On that note, I'm going to stand up and go get ready for bed. It is 16 minutes past my bedtime.
Tuesday, August 25, 2015
Day 21 of the Whole30. Packing Heat...or Packing Chicken.
It is 8:55 pm, and I survived Day 21 of the Whole30 Challenge. I had some of the delicious Oldie's Green Curry for dinner. I started calculating food I have left and how long I feel like it stays good before I have to throw it out. The unexpected Hub lunch and a breakfast at Nickels this week means I need to get busy eating stuff.
I froze 8 of the remaining meatballs. I will have the last of the unfrozen ones in the morning for breakfast with the last of the red sauce and a zucchini.
I froze 2 helpings of sweet potatoes and left one more out for tomorrow night after swimming.
I am having green curry for lunch at the office and for dinner tomorrow, which might leave one additional service for Thursday. I cooked it on Sunday...Thursday is my cut-off to eat it date. Anything beyond that would weird me out.
So for the first time, I had enough meals to really carry me through approximately 6 days without additional emergency cooking. I was even able to freeze a few things. Frozen things are difficult for me to deal with sometimes because I don't have a microwave. I have to remember to take something out to thaw it or I lose time. I haven't had a microwave in about 16 years, and I don't really miss it except for certain thawing times.
So, I need to make a decision about what I am going to cook for protein and vegetables to get me into the weekend. I have the big bag or broccoli to steam still, but what kind of meat/seafood? I can mix up a can of tuna for Friday lunch. Maybe I fall back to my old faithful...hamburgers no buns. Any suggestions?
I froze 8 of the remaining meatballs. I will have the last of the unfrozen ones in the morning for breakfast with the last of the red sauce and a zucchini.
I froze 2 helpings of sweet potatoes and left one more out for tomorrow night after swimming.
I am having green curry for lunch at the office and for dinner tomorrow, which might leave one additional service for Thursday. I cooked it on Sunday...Thursday is my cut-off to eat it date. Anything beyond that would weird me out.
So for the first time, I had enough meals to really carry me through approximately 6 days without additional emergency cooking. I was even able to freeze a few things. Frozen things are difficult for me to deal with sometimes because I don't have a microwave. I have to remember to take something out to thaw it or I lose time. I haven't had a microwave in about 16 years, and I don't really miss it except for certain thawing times.
So, I need to make a decision about what I am going to cook for protein and vegetables to get me into the weekend. I have the big bag or broccoli to steam still, but what kind of meat/seafood? I can mix up a can of tuna for Friday lunch. Maybe I fall back to my old faithful...hamburgers no buns. Any suggestions?
Monday, August 24, 2015
Day 20 of the Whole 30. Back to Hub and their Corn-Tainted Salad
It is 8:33 pm, and I survived Day 20 of the Whole30 Challenge. I'm two thirds of the way through this month, which is pretty amazing. I feel good, and I haven't had a lot of meltdowns recently about stuff I can't eat but I REALLY, REALLY want to eat. There aren't things I really, really want to eat so much. I might think of something for a second, but then I am over it. Mmmmm, fried chicken. mmmmmm, donut. Fleeting thoughts of formerly favorite foods....
Today I had another meeting in Tucson followed by lunch at Hub, the trendy hipster place downtown. This is the place with corn on the salads, artisan bacon on everything, and the decadent homemade ice cream. I knew the drill....burger, no bun/cheese/bacon, salad no corn, balsamic vinaigrette on the side, and this time, wisely, add avocado! No fuss, no worry. We have been down this hipster road before.
Dinner was the delicious meatball, zoodle, and red sauce combo, which made me happy. Tomorrow I finish off the shawarma during an all-day staff retreat where everyone else is ordering sandwiches, but I'm opting for my packed lunch as well as a garden salad I requested. It's not so hard planning ahead, even on meeting/order-in-food days. Everyone wants to be really helpful saying stuff like, "Oh, I'm sure there's something you can order. What about the sandwich without the bread? What about the X? the Y? Well certainly the Z is fine, yes?" No. No X, Y, Z or sandwich meats or making things hard. Just get me the garden salad, and I'll gladly eat my packed lunch as well. Yes, I mean it. I'm sure. I'm really, really sure. (You have to repeat yourself sometimes because people really want to be helpful. It's ok. Just repeat yourself.)
So, that's my not-so-exciting recap of the day. Oh, I had one of the RX bars that are Whole30 approved. It tasted fine, not too sweet, not too weird tasting. It did stick to my teeth like the dickens! It must have been the dates. I had it as a late-afternoon snack and felt plenty full afterwards.
Today I had another meeting in Tucson followed by lunch at Hub, the trendy hipster place downtown. This is the place with corn on the salads, artisan bacon on everything, and the decadent homemade ice cream. I knew the drill....burger, no bun/cheese/bacon, salad no corn, balsamic vinaigrette on the side, and this time, wisely, add avocado! No fuss, no worry. We have been down this hipster road before.
Dinner was the delicious meatball, zoodle, and red sauce combo, which made me happy. Tomorrow I finish off the shawarma during an all-day staff retreat where everyone else is ordering sandwiches, but I'm opting for my packed lunch as well as a garden salad I requested. It's not so hard planning ahead, even on meeting/order-in-food days. Everyone wants to be really helpful saying stuff like, "Oh, I'm sure there's something you can order. What about the sandwich without the bread? What about the X? the Y? Well certainly the Z is fine, yes?" No. No X, Y, Z or sandwich meats or making things hard. Just get me the garden salad, and I'll gladly eat my packed lunch as well. Yes, I mean it. I'm sure. I'm really, really sure. (You have to repeat yourself sometimes because people really want to be helpful. It's ok. Just repeat yourself.)
So, that's my not-so-exciting recap of the day. Oh, I had one of the RX bars that are Whole30 approved. It tasted fine, not too sweet, not too weird tasting. It did stick to my teeth like the dickens! It must have been the dates. I had it as a late-afternoon snack and felt plenty full afterwards.
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