Whole30 - Day 30!

Yes! The final day is coming to a close! OMG!

Amazing. I made it 30 days without eating sugar. No desserts. While, I did make some banana muffins (without any sugars), I wouldn't consider them dessert. We actually didn't even eat all of them before they went bad.

I will write up an evaluation post tomorrow, including where things will go from here. At the moment, I'm not really sure. Over the next 24 hours, I'll think about my lifestyle moving forward. As part of the summary post, I will include my updated weight and measurements.

Today, I felt about 70%, which is getting better. I was only about 40% on Tuesday, so I've made huge improvements. I was still pretty darn exhausted this morning. I had every intention of waking up with the 5:30 alarm to ride bike on the trainer. That idea went to the wayside when I realized my body and head craved more sleep. I plan on waking up early tomorrow though. I really need to get back into the workout routine. I'd like to run, but that would involve going to the gym, since it's too dark first thing in the morning to run outside. If I run, I have to bring clothes, shower stuff and breakfast to eat at work. Or I could get to work early and workout during lunchtime. Decisions, decisions.

Breakfast: Egg casserole with tomato and avocado (no avocado in the picture because it wasn't very pretty) and the rest of the banana-blueberry pancakes (I cooked all the batter yesterday so the pancakes were already made). I drank the rest of my lemon water from yesterday (heated up).

Lunch: Leftover chicken pot pie from last night's dinner.

Dinner: Mixed green salad with baked salmon, roasted red bell peppers, carrots, celery, tomatoes, avocado, cucumber and roasted cashews. Dressing = lemon juice, Dijon mustard, olive oil, salt and pepper. Simple and delicious. I drank another mug of warm lemon water. I took a picture of my cute kitty mug, because the lemon water was already gone.

Thursday nights are our favorite night of television. Big Bang Theory, Two and a Half Men, Person of Interest, The Office. We have to DVR some of them (usually Person of Interest and The Office). Laughing is fun. I love watching funny shows. It helps take my mind off of everything else. I've had some things on my mind lately and just trying to work through them. I do believe 2013 is going to be an awesome year though. There are lots of cool things to look forward to. I've got to find a healthy balance in life. I'll work on that. I need to be as efficient as possible with my time as well. It'll help me get to where I'd like to be.

Without explaining everything, the above probably doesn't make much sense. In time, it'll make sense. TGIF! See you tomorrow for a Whole30 recap.

Whole30 - Day 29

I'm getting excited! Tomorrow is the 30th and final day. I cannot believe how fast this month has gone by. This last week has been the toughest part of the month since I've been sick. I really need to feel better ASAP. I am feeling better. I am healthy. I'd like to get back to my running and regular routine. I'm a Type-A personality and have a difficult time slowing down. Even when I'm sick, I probably do more than I should. That's just who I am. I like to be productive. I measure productivity in the kitchen by what I make and by checking things off my to-do lists (whether it's work or personal).

I was a little slow moving this morning due to the congestion. I took more medicine (including antibiotic). I opened up the work laptop for a couple hours just to keep on top of things. I have a few reports to run, but will need some assistance from our vendor to get them created. That phone call is on my to-do list tomorrow, along with some User Acceptance Testing in an upgraded system. Hopefully that'll take less than 2 hours, since I have quite a bit to accomplish between tomorrow and Friday. That's what happens when you get sick. It's a part of life. I may have to work a little on Friday night or the weekend to completely catch up. We shall see how productive the next two days are.

Breakfast: Egg casserole with some leftover banana-blueberry pancakes. The main ingredients were bananas, almond flour, coconut flour and eggs. I threw some blueberries into the batter, since there isn't any sugar/sweetener otherwise. I can't say these are the best pancakes in the world, but they tasted good. The blueberries were a good addition.

Lunch: Leftover chicken minestrone soup with crackers. I still need to write up the recipe for the soup.

Dinner: Chicken pot pie with an almond flour crust. I made my own filling with carrots, celery, parsnips, onions, zucchini, mushrooms, spinach and shredded chicken with a cashew-chicken broth sauce. I used this crust recipe and loosely used this sauce, but added my own seasonings to it and used less chicken broth. I need to write up the recipe this weekend. It was fantastic! The crust fell apart a bit when I was transferring it from the counter onto the pot pie mixture, but it still tasted delicious. It would work better in small pieces to top single ramekins.

We are finishing our evening with some frozen bananas blended in the Vitamix. I topped our banana "ice cream" with sliced strawberries and raw cacao nibs. They add a nice crunch. I love my Vitamix.

We're watching the Purdue vs. Indiana basketball game, since Purdue is my alma mater. My beloved Boilermakers aren't looking so hot tonight against the Hoosiers. I still love 'em.

Well, I'm going to relax for a bit longer and then hit the hay early. I'm feeling about 70% tonight, so back to work tomorrow. Here's to hoping I feel 80% or above when I wake up tomorrow.

Whole30 - Day 28

I'm a little late on the post. My apologies to everyone. I've been under the weather since Saturday and have been resting as much as possible. I've been repeating to myself: "I'm young, healthy and strong. I am starting to feel better." I've never been one who takes being sick very well. I usually spiral into a negative tailspin and it's just not a good experience. My husband helped to give me a different perspective and mindset.

When I went to sleep on Monday night, I thought I was feeling better. I packed my gym bag so I could run at the gym before work. I had everything prepared to leave the house early. Well, that plan came crashing down when I awoke to congestion, fatigue, exhaustion and sinus pressure. My body needs time to recover and get rid of whatever this sickness is. I slept until 6:30, ate breakfast and left for work. I thought I was feeling ok enough to handle a workday. Oh, I was in for a rude awakening. After the slip 'n' slide of a drive to the office (it had snowed an inch or two Monday night and the side roads were a layer of ice), I spent a couple hours working. While sitting in my office, I started feeling nauseated and severe pressure in my head/eyes/ears. I just couldn't focus on anything but the pressure. I was constantly blowing my nose. I went home and rested a while on the couch. I decided to eat lunch, which was not an enjoyable experience. I actually felt like I was suffocating while eating, because I could barely breathe. I called the doctor after lunch, because it was just getting to be too much. Luckily, they were able to fit me in. I had a feeling going to the doctor would be a waste of time, but I was giving her the benefit of the doubt. The only positive things that came out of the visit are: I learned I had a fever, I do NOT have the flu and she wrote a prescription for an antibiotic.

That was my day in a nutshell. Oh, what a glamorous life I live.

Breakfast: I ate some egg casserole topped with a diced Roma tomato and bowl of blackberries on the side.

Lunch: Leftover almond butter & strawberry burger with sweet potato fries. So colorful and delicious. Just wish I could have breathed better as I was eating it.

Dinner: Turkey Tacos on Pure Wraps. I cooked the ground turkey with a couple cloves of garlic and seasoned it with chili powder, paprika, cumin, garlic powder, oregano, dried minced onions, sea salt, pepper and a few sprinkles of red pepper flakes. We topped our tacos with lettuce, tomato, avocado and salsa.

I wanted to blend up frozen bananas in my Vitamix (to make "ice cream") but it didn't happen. We went to pick up my prescription after dinner and by the time we got back, I was feeling completely nauseated. I felt horrible and didn't want to eat anything else at all. I needed to lie down and focus on something other than being sick. We watched an episode of NCIS and it helped get my mind off of things.

I took some medicine last night so I could sleep soundly. I ended up sleeping 9 1/2 to 10 hours. I'm apparently wiped out and needing all of this extra sleep (I typically only sleep 8 hours per night). I might take a short nap in a few minutes.

Hope you're all having a good week!

Whole30 - Day 27

Oh my goodness - I have survived 27 days (technically 28 days) completely sugar free (other than natural sugars found in fruit). That is the longest stretch of time without sugar that I can remember in my 28 years on this planet. I very rarely went a day without sugar. Even on Paleo, I would make dishes with honey or maple syrup (breakfast N'Oatmeals, waffles, pancakes, etc). I've always loved baking, so I would regularly bake Paleo cookies, granolas, cookie bars, etc. I've said it before and I'll say it again - I will bake Paleo goodies after this Whole30 is over. Will I make something sweet every week? No. I might bake something every other week. Even then, I will share with our neighbors and/or coworkers so we don't eat them all (because I will). 

I was home sick from work today, due to the sore throat and sinus issues I've been having since Saturday. This has nothing to do with the Paleo Lifestyle or the Whole30. In fact, this is the first time I've felt sick since converting to Paleo last June. I strongly attribute this to my severe allergies. I've been going through immunotherapy (a.k.a. allergy shots) for the last 5 weeks and haven't been able to take my nasal spray since then. It was a perfect storm inside my sinuses. 

So, my day off was pretty relaxing. I didn't really nap, but I did lie around for a while. I also sat in my recliner for a bit, browsing Pinterest and watching House Hunters International (love that show!). I did log in to my work computer for a few minutes around lunchtime. I wanted to see the damage in my inbox - 53 messages. I got through most of the emails and then logged out for the day. 

Breakfast: Baked egg casserole with a little bit of (not-so-pretty) avocado on top and a grapefruit. Yum! My favorite part was the grapefruit. 

Lunch: Leftover minestrone soup with crackers. 

Dinner: I switched my menu a little and decided to make the almond butter and strawberry burgers tonight, since I had some time to cut up my sweet potatoes (technically, they're yams) for baked fries. I followed this recipe for the burgers minus the green onions on top. I also subbed the Sunbutter for Almond Butter. If you remember, I made this recipe on my first day of Whole30, except with blackberries. I prefer the strawberries, but both are delicious. 

I love burgers. I think they may be one of my favorite foods. Burgers are so versatile. You can use a variety of meats, add mix-ins (such as veggies, garlic, seasonings, chilies, eggs, nutritional yeast, almond flour), cook them in different ways and add various toppings. We don't have a BBQ grill readily available, so I cook my burgers inside on the stove. 

Question: What is your favorite way to eat a burger? Do you have any crazy and delicious combinations?