#ja9 does whole30

[ja9doeswhole30]

I owe this blog a proper update but in the meantime please enjoy this photo of my breakfast - salad w/ leftover Rosh Hashanah briskest (& yes the white stuff is mayonnaise, we all have our vices 😬).

[ja9doeswhole30]

Whole30, Round 2: Day 17

Getting some slow cooker Thai curry on. Hopefully it comes out okay without the fish sauce & brown sugar.

[ja9doeswhole30]

Whole30, Round 2: Day 21

Polishing off the last of the red curry for breakfast.

[ja9doeswhole30]

Seder Survival Selfie (feat. my messy-ass kitchen & Whole30 cookbook) + my dinner plate. L’chaim!

[ja9doeswhole30]

Post-workout meal. 🍳 🍠 🥕

[ja9doeswhole30]

Whole40, Day 4

Exercise

30 minutes on the elliptical. 

Meals

- postworkout: two mini frittatas, roasted sweet potatoes

- breakfast: brisket, potatoes, zucchini, cantaloupe, olives

- cold brew with almond milk

- lunch: salmon, Israeli salad, Brussels sprouts, avocado, pickles (I took a pic it was so pretty)

dinner: 1/2 avocado, cauliflower rice, asparagus, spaghetti squash, turkey meatball, homemade sauce (just no sugar added crushed tomatoes that I simmered with sauteed diced onion, zucchini, and herbs). 

Thoughts & feelings

- I still need to hold myself back from licking the knife when I spread cream cheese on my kids’ bagels but it’s becoming second nature not to finish their food!

- Keeping busy during the day once again helped me avoid picking, and the fact that I actually ate a proper late lunch meant that I wasn’t a ravenous beast who attacked random fridge food while making dinner. I still munched on some raw zucchini while cooking but it wasn’t like the floodgate opening of 5:30 PM yesterday.

- I set up a jar of kirbies in brine! Can’t wait to have homemade pickles in a few days. And I maybe need to stop buying jarred pickles because even though they’re Whole30 compliant ingredient-wise I seem to be prone to snacking on them when I’m not otherwise hungry. Same with canned black olives.

- I may have eaten too much for dinner. Hopefully the main effect of that is that I stay full through my morning workout. 

Looking ahead

Tomorrow may be a bit challenging. My husband is hosting a fantasy baseball draft at our house so I need to take the kids out for a bit. The 5yo asked to go out for pizza for lunch, so I may work that in to a walk around the neighborhood including stops at the library and/or playground. Because of my new eating schedule it’s likely that I’ll eat breakfast not long before we depart, meaning I won’t necessarily be hungry when I’m at the pizza place. But I’ll need to be prepared with on-the-go foods for my lunch. We may also go visit my parents at some point mid-afternoon, meaning I could bring food to eat at their kitchen table, but it may wind up being a little late for even a late lunch. Plus, I’m not sure what the hell we’re doing for dinner, or when it’ll be, so perhaps it’ll make more sense to do a snack around my new normal lunch time. 

Regardless, I do feel like I’m getting the hang of the lifestyle. In particular, I think eating two protein-packed meals pretty early in the day is keeping me full throughout the day. I’d like to say that I have more energy but we’ve had a rough week over here in the nighttime department so the jury is still out on how Whole30 will affect that for me. 

[ja9doeswhole30]

Hi friends.

After much consideration of ways I can better control my eating habits, I’ve decided to take the plunge & start the Whole 30 program on Monday, February 25th. I definitely don’t need another reason to waste time on this virtual wasteland, but blogging about my experience will 1) give me a place to vent about how hard it is, 2) keep me focused on my goals, & 3) serve as a diary of the experience that I can look back on later. If you care to follow along, please do! I can promise pictures of food (some more visually pleasing than others) & witty, self-deprecating sentiments. 

[ja9doeswhole30]

Whole30, Day 5

Exercise

30 minutes elliptical

Meals

Post-workout: cauliflower rice, sweet potato, egg

Breakfast: brisket, cauliflower rice, Israeli salad, sweet potato, olives.

Cold brew w/almondcoconut milk

Lunch: 2 turkey meatballs, asparagus, Brussels sprouts, sweet potato, 1/2 avocado

Dinner: brisket, sweet potato, eggplant, broccoli, homemade tomato sauce, cantaloupe, almond butter

Thoughts & comments

My son woke us up at 5:30 this morning. Moving the clocks ahead has never sounded so appealing.

Today my husband hosted his annual fantasy baseball auction draft. This meant that from 11 AM til 5 PM there were a dozen nerdy guys, plus my very lovely (and very pregnant, btw) sister-in-law, sitting in my dining room eating all sorts of snacks and takeout food while calling out players’ names and monetary values from behind their laptops. Thankfully, I’m acclimating to the idea that a whole room full of people eating a bunch of stuff doesn’t mean I need to do the same. My role during this event is mostly to shepherd the children around and amidst the drafting activities, so that meant I had something to do besides dwell on how good the burritos looked.

Preparing the kids’ food continues to present a challenge, though, because I need to remember not to partake in even a morsel of anything verboten. If I stray from the Whole30 food guidelines it won’t be willful; it’ll be because I absentmindedly lick cream cheese off my finger. Today I almost finished three of 5-year-old’s cashews, but remembered that they’re roasted in peanut oil so I couldn’t. (For this reason, I have my own stash of raw cashews.) This has made me painfully aware of how often I used to finish their scraps or sample bits of whatever I was serving them.

I was also able to limit mindless grazing today, with my only offense on that front being a few pieces of veggies I was preparing for dinner.

Tomorrow we don’t really have any plans, which is good in that I’ll be able to meal plan for the week and cook some stuff ahead. Might be a good day to make the cashew-crusted chicken I planned to try.

[ja9doeswhole30]

Whole30 Hurdles

Welp. I’m up to the part in the Whole30 book where they suggest that you write down any events or special occasions that will occur during the 30 days and present a challenge to staying on the plan. So here’s my list:

3/6: Cookie-making fundraiser event at my son’s school. It’s baking and decorating the cookies, and not necessarily eating them, but there will inevitably be snacks and booze off to the side for the before-and-after socializing sessions. Then again, it’s in the evening, so I will have eaten dinner and won’t be hungry. And if I feel like partaking in the snacks they usually have a vegetable tray, and I can bring something compliant just in case.  

3/9: Hubs’s fantasy baseball draft at our house, during which the guys will inevitably order Turkish food. But, it’s at our house, so I’ll have my own food available. I’ll make sure to have something super tasty ready 

3/21: Purim (Jewish holiday involving carnivals for kids, debauchery for adults, & cookies for all). My kids will inevitably want to make hamantaschen, and I’m going to have to help them do so without eating the finished product. There really isn’t a Whole30-based substitute for a soft sugar cookie shaped like a triangle with jelly in the middle, but that’s also kind of the point. And at least I’ll get to spend time with them doing something they enjoy, and get to experience the deliciousness of the cookies vicariously. 

3/22: My sister-in-law is due to give birth to my niece sometime around this date, which will likely lead to meals out with the rest of the family after going to see the baby. I know there’s a section of the Whole30 book about eating in restaurants, so I’ll apply some advice from there once I read it. 

That’s not so bad, right? Still, I’m less worried about the “special occasions” challenges so much as the “frantic pace of every day” challenges. Unfortunately, the more I read about Whole30 the more I realize that it’s destined to be more challenging for people with small children. 

Allow me to explain my household in particular. 

I am a one-woman kitchen brigade. I’ve always been a grazer, but this is exacerbated out the wazoo because 90% of the time I’m home, I’m in the kitchen. The kids can’t even reach the snack cabinet or produce shelf in the fridge, much less cook for themselves. On any given day, I make breakfast for at least 2 people, lunch for 3 people, and dinner for 4 people... and everyone is usually eating something slightly different.

On the one hand, doing Whole30 won’t be that much of a departure from usual. For breakfast, the kids get cereal with milk (or sometimes a scrambled egg for the 5-year-old) while I make something more balanced for myself. For lunches, I’ll still pack their slew of cut fruit and crackers and cheese and mini bagels and make mine out of leftovers and other pre-cooked, Whole30-compliant ingredients. And for dinner, I’ll still be making one set of “healthy grown-up food” for me and another of “passably nutritious kids’ food” (with Hubs partaking in each menu).

The difference, obviously, is that I won’t be allowed to so much as lick errant cream cheese off my finger when spreading it on their bagels. The Whole30 materials make a big deal about “no slips or cheats!” and uses the analogy of falling face-first into a pizza as the only true “accidental” way one could fall off the wagon. But what about the distracted mom who’s doing a million things at once and forgets that she’s not supposed to lick the peanut butter off the knife after making her kid a sandwich? I’ve been trying to train myself not to take these little liberties, to break the habit before Whole30 starts, but it’s not easy when it’s been so automatic and (seemingly) innocuous for so long. 

There are also certain other practicalities. What if we’re not sure if the milk is still good, and smelling alone isn’t enough to determine that? Hubs doesn’t drink milk so he isn’t a reliable taste-tester, so I may need to explain it to 5yo  and have her take a small sip to check it out. I realize that there’s always some solution to these sorts of obstacles, but my point is that with food in our house the buck always stops with me, and it’ll be a struggle to sidestep these usual incidental tastes of food for 30 days. 

Someone is always eating. The Whole30 meal plan says simply “try not to snack”. Good luck to me with all the constant temptations. 

Most afternoons, starting at about 3 PM, I’m home with the kids and their constant stream of requests for snacks. By the time I negotiate a compromise whereby they can each have a serving of Awful Processed Snack Food if they also have fruit, and produce said items for one of them, the other one changes his/her mind and I quickly prepare something else, at which point the first eater has finished and wants additional food. Sometimes I’m able to get out in front of it and produce a slew of things that they share with minimal fuss, but they inevitably find something to fuss over. Yesterday I scored a huge victory when my daughter had a friend over and they each had a yogurt, some cashews, and craisins. 

Anyway, during these intervals it’s hard not to pick at whatever it is they’re snacking on - popcorn or cheesy corn puffs and sliced apples/oranges/pears. During particularly tense or stressful moments I indulge in spoonfuls of peanut butter or other nonsense we happen to have around. 

But at least the afternoons are only a few hours long. The real killer is the weekends, when the kids wake up at 6 AM, eat two breakfasts (one at 6:30-7ish and another around 8:30-9) and then around 10:30 ask if it’s almost lunchtime. My instinct thus far has been to leave the weekends free of organized extracurricular activities, so that we can enjoy the free time together and/or make plans with extended family and friends, but I’m starting to understand the appeal of getting the kids out of the damn house and to an activity of some kind so they stop asking for food. 

Hopefully the weather will warm up a big so I can engage Spring Play Outside mode more often than the Winter Hibernation setting. 

Four meals? Sitting down? I know I’m not the only person in the world with this problem, but a related part of the equation is that it’s hard for me to sit down to eat a meal without being completely distracted. Lately I find I’ll nibble on some fruit while getting the kids ready, then eat a larger “real” breakfast later in the morning once they’re off at school. Most days lunch is easier, and I’ll sit down to something at home or at my desk at work. Still, during these meals I’m usually checking emails, reading a document, or writing something. 

Dinner, though, is a totally different situation. I’m usually the last to sit down, on account of scrambling to get everything cooked and warmed up and prepared according to everyone’s specifications. And, of course, as soon as I do get my butt in a chair and start eating, someone 

Something I didn’t think about until reading up on Whole30 is the logic that if you eat wholesome, appropriately sized meals, you don’t need to snack. There’s no reason I can’t have my post-workout meal around 7-8 AM, breakfast at 10-11ish, lunch around 2, and then dinner at 6:30. That lunchtime may be tricky on some days given when I need to pick up my kids, but regardless I can see now how snacking will be easier to avoid if I make meals a calm and fulfilling eating experience. 

[ja9doeswhole30]

Whole30, Day 1

Having a rather eventful (& further delayed) start to my Whole30.

I had every intention of starting yesterday, and prepared accordingly. I had my post-workout meal in one container, my frittata & some potatoes ready for breakfast, lunch packed to bring to work, and had a main dish ready for dinner.

Then I proceeded to wake up at 5 AM and puke my brains out on and off for nearly five hours.

In addition to feeling horrible, praying that I wouldn’t barf again, and worrying that I was experiencing appendicitis or a gall bladder issue instead of a simple stomach bug, I also started to panic about how this development would affect starting Whole30. In a desperate attempt to feel better, I’d had some soda, so I knew I’d be delaying my start by at least one day. But what if I needed longer than that? What about all the food in my fridge?! Thankfully, I started to feel okay by evening. I ate some white rice for dinner, resolving that I’d definitely start Whole30 today.

Still feeling run down this morning, I knew that exercise was out of the question, so my first meal of the day would be breakfast. Given my ongoing recovery from the stomach bug, I erred on the side of caution and had a half-portion of the frittata, along with a plain baked potato. 

Meanwhile, both of my kids came down with the same thing, so all three of us were home today. Ordinarily, being at home for an entire day would inevitably mean rather liberal snacking, I kept this tendency at bay for most of the day. For lunch I had another half-portion of frittata, some chopped romaine with a Whole30-compliant ranch dressing, some seasoned potatoes I made the other night, and some black olives. Mid-afternoon I felt like I needed a snack so I had an apple and some almond butter. My weakest moment was just before dinner, when I picked at some cantaloupe and a few more olives. Finally, dinner was some balsamic chicken, seasoned potatoes, roasted zucchini, and some more romaine with ranch dressing. 

Oh, and a particularly strong moment occurred when my son left over several pieces of his hot dog, and I resisted the temptation to eat them. Googling led me to determine that the hot dog was, in fact, compliant with Whole30, but if the spirit of the plan is to break bad habits involving food, finishing my kids’ plates is pretty high up on the list. 

Wednesdays I’m usually at work most of the day, but it’s looking like at least one of my kids will need to stay home and thus so will I. This is likely for the best, considering I’m still recovering myself and welcome to excuse to rest. But I’ll throw my brisket in the slowcooker in the morning, and I’ll cook some veggies at some point as well since I didn’t get to cook any yesterday or today.  

Otherwise, I’m prepared with a post-workout meal, frittata and potatoes for breakfast, and balsamic chicken for lunch. Hopefully enough of a Plan™️ to get me through the day. 

[justcravingattention]

It ain’t all bad, I guess.

I’ve backslid a little bit lately due to being busy and traveling and having a whole debacle with our refrigerator and it’s left me feeling like I’ve lost ground. As in, I haven’t even weighed myself in a week or so & I just feel heftier again.

But then this morning the nursery school director said “Wow you lost a ton of weight! You look amazing!” ...so I guess it’s all going okay still?

[justcravingattention]

In happier news I am halfway through this isht!!!!

Whole30, Day 15

Exercise

20 mins elliptical, abs challenges Day 9

Meals

Post-workout/breakfast: veggie frittata, beef roast, Brussels sprout, kale, 1/3 banana, a few cashews

Cold brew w/almond coconut milk

Lunch: chicken tikka masala, cauliflower rice, Brussels sprouts, eggplant, ½ avocado, ½ banana, ½ apple

Dinner: salad w/avocado, mango, roasted peppers, tomatoes; almond butter & apple

Notes

Today’s eating schedule got kind of messed up because I slept late, so I didn’t get to exercise right away, & by the time I ate something I needed it to be both post-workout meal AND breakfast. Then I had a long-ish stretch between that meal & lunch, but I pushed through without much issue. Dinner probably wasn’t enough protein but we ordered Italian food at my husband’s grandparents’ house & the salad seemed the safest Whole30 option. I could have added grilled chicken to it but felt awkward asking how it’d be prepared, if there’d be any butter or grains in the vicinity, etc. And now I’m too tired to worry about it as I look ahead to tomorrow.

….halfway there!

[justcravingattention]

There’s an entire stand mixer bowl full of icing & I am hanging on by a thread grilling pineapple & scarfing cherry tomatoes.

At a small child’s birthday party where marshmallows are being roasted & I started a trend of roasting chunks of pineapple instead.

[justcravingattention]

Someone, anyone, tell me what to do. 😬

Homemade mayo?

Whole30 & foodie friends:

Can I really make my own mayonnaise with a room-temperature egg & not die?

Hoping that someone will talk me off the ledge as I am very much looking forward to having an approved version of my favorite condiment during the Whole30.

[justcravingattention]

The only thing getting me through this gongshow of a day.

Whole30, Round 2: Day 17

Getting some slow cooker Thai curry on. Hopefully it comes out okay without the fish sauce & brown sugar.