Whole30, we meet again.
Okay, technically this time it’s Whole20: Jan. 4 – Jan. 23.
(Why Jan. 23? That’s the start of my birthday WEEK. Another post for another day.)
I went back and read my blog posts from my last Whole30 and remembered how amazing I felt while I was doing it. As I said in one post, I was a walking infomercial about clean eating – my cravings diminished, I slept better, I had more energy, I lost weight, etc. etc.
So, here we are again. 1 trip to Europe, 2 fattening holidays, and countless cocktails later, I need a cleanse. Meat, veggies, fruit, water, coffee. No grains, no sugars, no dairy, no alcohol.
Tonight I’m making Spaghetti Squash Carbonara for the first time, and can’t wait to try it. (Who knew it took spaghetti squash an hour and a half to cook though?!)
I’m currently on Day 4 and feeling good. I’m not joking when I say I’ve already seen and felt a difference in my body and weight.
The hard part will come tomorrow night, when all I’ll want is a glass of cabernet …
But instead I will drink my Pellegrino and remind myself, nothing tastes as good as skinny feels.
Or some BS like that.
xo xo
Whole30: Week 3 Recap
It gets easier.
Week 3 was far and above easier than week 2, when I felt like I was constantly craving things I couldn’t have. I still want things (like gooey-cheesy-goodness macaroni and cheese from The Tavern, thanks to a friend’s picture on Instagram…), but I’m not obsessing over it or thinking about it as much as I was a week ago. Yeah I still want a cappuccino some mornings, but I’m very content with my black coffee. Yeah I still want some chocolate after dinner, but I’m very content with eating some fruit instead if I’m still hungry.
My relationship with food has changed dramatically. I use to think about every meal almost obsessively and about how I could make it as delicious as possible with cheese and butter and sister schubert’s rolls and more cheese. But now, I’m just thinking about what to eat that will fill me up and give me good nutritional value. Of course I still want it to taste good, but dinner doesn’t have to be phenomenal every single night. I think that will make those cheat days even better, right? (I can’t say because I haven’t had one in 3 weeks, but that’s what I’m thinking…) But it’s not like we’re eating bad food. Last week I shared a recipe we both loved, tonight we’re making steaks, and check out husband’s breakfast from yesterday! It was pretty damn delicious (and healthy!).
I’ve really learned a lot about myself and my body, and I’ve learned to say no. My willpower has shocked the heck out of me. I honestly didn’t know I had it in me. This is our final week of Whole30; however, we’ll be changing what we eat quite a bit even after the 30 days. I’ll share more about that in next week’s recap.
Hope you all have a wonderful week! (Enjoy some mac and cheese for me)
xo xo
You might also enjoy: Whole30: Week 1 Recap, Whole30: Week 2 Recap
Whole30: Week 1 Recap
Whole30: a month-long clean eating program similar to Paleo diet (low carb, high protein), stripping away hormone-unbalancing, gut-disrupting, inflammatory food groups, considered to be grains, sugar, dairy, alcohol, and legumes.
Last night I was tempted by Mellow Mushroom Pizza and two different kinds of homemade cake, and I did not give in! I’ll take a pat on the back now, please.
That being said, this has definitely been the easiest diet I’ve ever done. I’m 7 days in and can honestly say I haven’t been hungry once. I’m eating enough to satisfy my body, but not overindulging which is so easy to do with unhealthy foods. It’s a lot easier to not indulge when your only options to eat are meat, veggies and fruit. They taste great, but I’m not going to eat 3 bowls of salad.
Let me back up for a second – why am I doing this? Husband and I have been talking a lot lately about doing some sort of healthy eating re-start. We are only 2 months out from our European vacation, and I wanted to lose some weight and eat better, so that I can indulge on the trip and feel less guilty about it!
Mom gave me the book It Starts With Food and it was fascinating. After the first chapter I was convinced this is what we needed to do instead of some ridiculous juice cleanse. The program touts higher energy, better sleep, reduction of cravings and even helping with some chronic issues, which for me is headaches, and you’re eating REAL FOOD.
My thoughts so far …
PROS:
– Since it’s super strict, you know what you can and can’t eat. There’s no guessing, which makes it easier.
– The food is delicious! There are some amazing recipes on Pinterest.
– I can honestly say I’m already starting to feel better, and eating healthier makes me want to exercise more, which gives me more energy.
– It’s harder to eat out, so we’re saving money by staying in.
CONS:
– You have to plan, and cook a LOT, so it’s very time-consuming.
– You don’t get any cheat days. It’s only 30 days so you shouldn’t need to cheat. (I AM allowing myself alcohol once/week, but no cheating on the food – see first sentence about what I didn’t eat last night!!)
– Did I mention you have to really plan? And cook every night?
What I’ve been eating so far …
Breakfast: I’ve been eating fruit and almond butter, Husband’s been eating eggs and sometimes canadian bacon, and we’re drinking (black) coffee. There’s no way I could give that up. Saturday we tried a new recipe with this Breakfast Pizza Quiche I found on Pinterest. The site claimed it would take away your pizza cravings – HA, not exactly, but it was pretty good. We’ll definitely make it again with a few ingredient changes.
Lunch: I pretty much eat salad every day, which gets kind of boring, but it’s not bad. My mason jar salads make it a little more fun.
Dinner: Dinner is the hardest since by the end of the day the last thing I want to do is to cook. We’re still building up our easy Whole30 compliant recipe collection. My favorite thing we made this week was these lettuce wraps with ground turkey, spices, and salsa. Also, huge shoutout to our friends the Hotarys who had us over for dinner and made an amazing Whole30 meal!
Well onward we go into the second week! Keep us in your thoughts, share your recipes and pleeease don’t offer me any chocolate.
xo xo
Make-Ahead Meals: Breakfast Burritos + Mason Jar Salads
Typical New Year’s Resolution: Go on a diet. Lose Weight.
My New Year’s Resolution: Be more conscious of what goes in my body. (And hopefully losing weight will happen more naturally)
I’ve started making small changes in my diet. The biggest one being no more diet cokes every day. I’m not saying no more diet cokes forever, because I think having one every now and then is fine (like with mexican food – yummm) but definitely not one every day. I’ve only had 2 in the last month and I’m feeling just fine. Granted, I am drinking more coffee now because I still haven’t crossed that no caffeine hurdle BUT I’ve started drinking black coffee – no milk, no sugar, just black. Without those coke chemicals like aspartame, I already feel better about what I’m putting in my body – water and coffee.
The food is harder. Figuring out what to eat 3 times a day is hard enough, but then trying to make it healthy?? Ugh. I honestly have no clue what I’m going to do when I have kids. Feeding two is enough.
Lately though I’ve been inspired to eat healthier (and easier) with make-ahead meals.
B R E A K F A S T : E G G, S A U S A G E + P O T A T O B U R R I T O S
I have been vowing for months to make these make-ahead breakfast burritos via momadvice.com. Husband and I are not good at eating a solid breakfast. I typically just grab a Kind bar and maybe some fruit, maaaybe, if I eat anything at all. He sometimes eats yogurt. Then by lunch I’m so hungry I’m ready to eat anything and everything in my path. Not a good start to the day.
I needed something quick to grab, filling and fairly healthy. I’m not an egg eater at all (hard boiled eggs make me want to vomit), but when mixed with a bunch of different flavors (specifically mexican flavors, like huevos rancheros) I like them enough. I know they’re a good source of protein so I found this recipe great for breakfast. We’ve already gone through two rounds of these in just a few weeks. They’ve become our staple breakfast or sometimes lunch, and they are delicious. You can also change them up however you like!
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 large russet potatoes, peeled and diced
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- salt & pepper
- 1 lb Italian Turkey Sausage — if you haven’t tried this, it’s what totally makes the recipe!
- 9 eggs
- 2 tablespoons milk
- jalapenos
- ½ pound shredded cheese of your choice
- 18 tortillas, soft-taco size (8-inch)
- To roast potatoes, preheat your oven to 475 degrees. Drizzle diced potatoes with oil and season with salt, pepper, paprika, and garlic powder. Toss the potatoes together to evenly coat in oil and seasonings, and spread out into a single layer on the parchment. Roast until browned on the bottom and tender, about 20-25 minutes.
- Brown your sausage. Once it is cooked through, set aside in a large bowl.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs with the cream (or milk substitute) and pour into the sausage skillet. Cook over medium heat until just set, stirring as needed. Season with salt and pepper and stir to combine, and transfer to the bowl with sausage.
- Make an assembly line – tortilla, cheese, followed by a small handful of potatoes and a scoop of the egg/sausage mixture. Roll the tortilla up.
- For freezing, place burritos on a wax- or parchment-lined baking sheet and place in the freezer until firm, at least an hour. Transfer to large freezer bags and keep frozen for up to one month.
- For reheating, place a frozen burrito in microwave for 35 seconds on each side.
L U N C H : M A S O N J A R S A L A D S
I had been seeing this trend for a while now and thought it looked amazing, but it wasn’t until a friend posted on Instagram pictures of her salads for the week that I decided I had to try it. It is SO simple and so customizable. There are literally thousands of ideas for different salads on Pinterest. I decided to make mine with no meat, but you could easily add in canned chicken if you wanted.
What’s so great about the salads is that the dressing is in the mason jar. You don’t have to have a separate container for dressing. You just grab the jar and go.
Tips for layering:
Start with the dressing of your choice.
Add the hard veggies that you don’t mine getting soaked, like tomatoes, peppers, carrots.
Add the second layer of veggies or protein, like beans, cucumbers, artichokes, olives.
Add the meat here if you want.
Add the cheese, I like feta or a little gorgonzola.
Add the lettuce, my preference is spring mix.
Voila!
I keep a bowl and fork at my desk at work, so then all I have to do is pour it out, mix it up a little and it’s a great lunch full of veggies!
What are your favorite make-ahead meals?
xo xo
just a few things.
After a whirlwind Vegas weekend two weeks ago, this week I headed to West Palm Beach, FL to experience my first ever commercial shoot. It was challenging, but interesting and always fun to do something different. Next month I’m off to Cleveland!
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During my travels, I found this via Lauren Conrad. What a great idea to give up something different every month?? I wish I’d found this sooner, but nevertheless I’m starting No-Fried February! So look forward to the aches, pains (and hopefully positives) that come out of this experience. Husband and I are also working on an exercise plan I’m going to share with you and see if you will join us in our journey. More to come on that.
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Books, books, books. I’m trying to read more because when I do read and finish a really good book, it is just so gratifying. I recently finished Where We Belong and Where’d You Go Bernadette, both of which I’d recommend. However, I made an impulse buy in the West Palm Beach airport knowing I had a 2 1/2 hour flight ahead – Bossypants. I finished it on the plane and absolutely loved it. Every page was hilarious, and if I hadn’t been on a plane I would have been laughing out loud the entire book. Tina Fey does a tremendous job of providing hilarity, wit and advice. As if I didn’t already love her before thanks to Mean Girls, SNL and 30 Rock, now I adoooore her.
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The second book is one I just picked up that husband and I will be reading together as part of our new couples Bible study. 7 – An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess is a challenge to cut down areas of excess in life: food. clothes. spending. media. possessions. waste. stress. I hope to share our challenges with you and inspire you to do the same.
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Oh, and if you don’t follow me on instagram, (first, you should: @milledavis) here’s another tidbit you missed…
Adorable Adam Brody from The O.C. meets fashionista beauty Leighton Meester from Gossip Girl = cutest new couple ever!
xo xo
m.davis xoxo 