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 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? 

Whole30 - Day 26

Happy Monday morning! 

I am sitting here at home, still under the weather. I'm afraid my throat is still sore, but I don't feel the soreness as much because 1) I have gotten used to it and/or 2) My throat is coated with a layer of mucus. Yes, I know, too much information. I feel like my chest is heavy, yet I don't feel stuffiness when I take deep breaths. I'm not sure what the deal is. I've done a sinus rinse two days in a row now. Yes, I took the plunge. I was hesitant, even though my allergy doctor gave me one to test out. Looks like I'll need to go to the drug store to buy more of the saline packets. I did the saline rinse last night before bed. Bad idea! I was lying in bed and could barely breathe because of the drainage. It was going down my throat and into my nostrils. That's fun. I lied there for over an hour trying to sleep. Thank goodness for giant handkerchiefs to get you through the night. I'm certain it's my sinuses at this point. My head and ears are definitely feeling clogged. I really hope this improves today. 

So, it seems like when a woman is sick, she still does chores/cooks. I had food prep that needed to get done, so I spent time in the kitchen in the morning. I accomplished a lot, but it definitely didn't help the cause. I probably tired myself out even more. I cleaned and chopped veggies, made a breakfast casserole for the week and cooked a whole chicken in the Crock Pot. The chicken was so easy. I sliced one onion for the bottom. Next time, I will include carrots and celery too. I put the whole chicken on the onions and seasoned it with sea salt, pepper, garlic powder and dried onions. It cooked for 5 hours on high. The chicken just fell off the bones when I took it out. I saved the bones and cooking liquid to make chicken broth for the chicken minestrone soup (last night's dinner). Yum! 

Midday, I took a break to run with my husband. I read online that running can sometimes be a positive thing. I actually ended up running really slowly and only did 3.6 miles (my husband did 10.8!). I had very little energy in my body. I was happy to finish one neighborhood loop. Unfortunately, I don't have a lot of time before my half marathon, so I feel like I'm up against a wall. It looks like my weekend long runs will be longer than scheduled, just to get myself ready in time. I've run nine (maybe more) stand-alone half marathons and two half marathons as part of Ironman 70.3 races. My body will remember when race day comes, but I would prefer to be conditioned properly. 

Wow, I'm exhausted just reading that. By spending a few extra minutes on the weekend to prep for the week, it saves a huge amount of time when getting home from work and trying to get dinner on the table at a reasonable time. 

Breakfast: Scrambled eggs with sliced beef hot dogs, zucchini, mushrooms and red bell peppers with diced avocado on top and a Pure Wrap on the side. I love making little breakfast tacos out of the Pure Wraps. I sipped on some Cranberry Kombucha throughout the morning. I was hoping the probiotics would help me. 

Lunch: I'm so happy for leftovers. We had beef stew from a few days ago. I did cook up some cauliflower (very small pieces) in a bit of coconut oil. I got distracted, so it didn't get stirred enough and burned a bit. It still tasted fine, but that's the black specks you see in the beef stew. We also ate our leftover Paleo "Corn" Bread. 

Dinner: I put together some chicken minestrone soup. It was inspired by Mmm...Coffee's minestrone soup that we ate on Thursday. I've made vegetarian minestrone (with beans) in my Pre-Paleo days and loved it. After the inspiration from Jami at Mmm...Coffee, I knew it couldn't be hard to put together a Paleo version. Recipe will be posted later (post-Whole30). While the soup was cooking, I made another batch of Paleo crackers. We ate a bit of freshly-cut pineapple on the side (they were on sale for $1 each last week!). The pineapple was quite sweet and a perfect ending to the meal. 

I'm hoping to get back on track and post today's meals before going to bed tonight. Hope you're all having a good start to your week. 

Question: Can you believe it's almost February?! Where did the time go? 

Whole30 - Day 23

Am I really finished with Day 23? That felt strange typing '23' and yet it's rewarding knowing I only have one more week. Yesterday was the first day I had a true desire for something outside of the parameters. It may be the cumulative effect of pinning mostly Paleo desserts. Plus, as I grabbed my fresh undipped fruit from the Edible Arrangement a coworker sent to our team, the scent of chocolate was wafting through the air directly into my nose. Seriously, chocolate?! It was easy to resist, but that scent was just so overpowering. It may also be the fact that I looked at the poster hanging up in my office with Big Fat Cupcake's menu. I had the desire to eat something with carbs. Something sweet. Something like cake, cupcakes, brownies and even Paleo granola. I think today may be a good day for a Larabar to curb those feelings.

I slept in until 6:15 yesterday morning. I decided to do my squats, push-ups and half of my sit-ups as I made breakfast. I love multitasking. I left a bit early for work so I could drive my car through the car wash. It seems like the lines are so ridiculously long in the afternoons. I have no interest waiting for 30+ minutes to wash my car. Mornings are nice. No one thinks of washing their car in the morning. I drove right into the bay for the 7-minute super wash. Clean Beemer. She is very happy now.

Yesterday was a productive day at the office. I was busy until midday and only had a chance to take a 10-minute break to soak in some sunshine. Oh, how I missed the sun. Yes, we only had one day of overcast, but that's still unusual for Colorado. I had a 3-hour webinar in the afternoon and was very productive during that time period. I was excited to get some things organized more to my liking. I've been in my position for 7 months now and it has taken me this long to realize I need to change some of the organization. I hate having clutter on my desk, so I'm trying to find ways to file things away into drawers and keep the desk clean.

My husband and I had a date night last night. We went to Mmm...Coffee for dinner before heading to the Avalanche vs. Blue Jackets hockey game. We had some prime seats - Row 15 behind the Avs goal. We did get to see some incredible fights. We were cheering for the Columbus Blue Jackets as we lived in Cbus prior to moving here. The Avs came out too strong and the Blue Jackets just couldn't hang on. Thank you to my husband's work for providing us the tickets!

Breakfast: Leftover biscuit cut in half with a beef hot dog, mushrooms and bell peppers, two eggs and diced avocado on top. I had a little glass of strawberry banana juice/smoothie.

AM Snack: I resisted the temptation of the Edible Arrangement and only ate a few pieces of plain fruit. The pineapple tasted amazing! 

Lunch: Leftover cod fish nuggets with mixed greens, tomato and lemon-olive oil dressing. I also ate some pureed cauliflower and the last of the crackers. 

 Dinner: Bowl of chicken minestrone soup with a kale-apple-sunflower seed salad (simple balsamic and olive oil dressing). Love Mmm...Coffee. They treat us so well.

So that was my Thursday... must get moving so I can eat and head to the office. Happy Friday everyone! TGIF! It's my favorite day of the week again.

Whole30 - Day 22

I'm in the home stretch! I'm looking forward to having a little more flexibility with my Paleo Lifestyle when this is complete. Don't get me wrong, I will still follow a Whole30 concept for a good portion of every month. My husband and I just talked about this yesterday. We will probably do a Whole30 every 6 months or so. It's a great way to cleanse the body.

I woke up to the 5:30 alarm and halfway slept until 6:15. I already planned on running during lunchtime today since it was supposed to be warm. After getting out of bed, I did my squats and push-ups while making breakfast. Work wasn't as hectic today, so I did have the chance to go out and run as planned. I ran about 34 minutes outside. No 67 degrees. No sunshine either. It was maybe 50 or 55 degrees and thick overcast. Good thing I didn't pack a tank top. I did warm up after a few minutes of running though. I decided to go into the fitness room to run some faster spurts on the treadmill. I got in 4.5-5 miles of running in today, which is solid for mid-week. After work, I headed to the allergy specialist to get another set of shots. I'm only going twice per week, so I won't be going back until Monday.

Breakfast: I cooked up a zucchini, mushrooms, tomato and turkey hot dogs with a couple scrambled eggs. I also had a Pure Wrap on the side.

Lunch: Leftover beef stew with avocado, a biscuit and handful of crackers.

Dinner: I made homemade fish nuggets by cutting up a couple cod fillets, dipping them in egg and then in a seasoned almond meal. I cooked them in a skillet with olive and grapeseed oils. On the side, we ate pureed cauliflower and broccoli slaw mixed with a little Lemonaise.

I'm pretty spent tonight. The allergy shots probably have something to do with my sleepiness. Tomorrow night, I won't be cooking! We're going to eat dinner at Mmm...Coffee and watch a hockey game. It'll be a blast! Mmm...Coffee is a Paleo coffeeshop in Denver. They serve salads, soups, treats and assorted beverages. If you're a coffee drinker, they have coconut milk and almond milk. We love it!

Question: Do you go out during the work week? Or do you wait until the weekends? We typically wait until the weekend since we wake up so early.

Whole30 - Day 21

21 days to break a bad habit or set a good habit. I'm on day 21. I'm not gonna lie - a huge piece of chocolate cake brownie with buttercream frosting sounds pretty good. I'm not craving it, but I have thought about it. What is stopping me? Well, I'm still on Whole30, silly! There are Paleo versions of brownies that are pretty good and I could enjoy following the 30 days. I'm just not sure I want to ruin such a good thing. I've conquered my sugar addiction and know I will end up eating sugar (in the form of honey, maple syrup or coconut sugar) in the future, but want to limit it the best I can. I want to spend my sugar allowance on something really phenomenal.

Today was a rough day. I woke up to the 5:30 alarm and managed to get myself out of bed within a few minutes. I put on my cycling clothes and headed to the basement for an early morning workout. I did 3x15min segments of cycling with jumping rope, squats, sit-ups and push-ups in between. It felt pretty good and was the best part of my day (up until I got home from work). I worked for 8+ hours straight and was on the phone with our payroll service provider for a good portion of my day. I just couldn't figure out a specific issue. At least the customer service rep was a nice girl. We were on the phone for quite a while. Our names are almost identical (first and last) and we are the same age. Good conversation. Everyone needs some conversation. Next time you talk to a customer service rep, ask where they are. They'll usually tell you. You may have a connection with that location and it'll start a conversation while they're helping you. 

Breakfast: 2-egg omelette with mushrooms, green bell peppers, sliced turkey hot dogs and a smear of cashew "alfredo" sauce. There was a little bit of banana pancake batter left, so I cooked those. (I only ate half of them... just wasn't in the mood.) I had a small glass of strawberry-banana juice on the side. I couldn't get a good picture of the juice, but you can find it here. 

Lunch: Leftover pork chop, roasted zucchini/yellow squash and an apple with almond butter. I didn't snap a picture because I was rushed to eat while on hold. It was a crazy day. 

Dinner: Crockpot Beef Stew - my own creation. I chopped all the veggies on Sunday and put everything together this morning. I'll write up the recipe this weekend. Here's a summary of ingredients: onions, garlic, carrots, parsnips, celery, beef roast (grass-fed), tomato paste, combo of veggie and chicken broth, thyme, basil, oregano, sea salt and pepper. I did coat the roast with coconut flour and then browned it in a frying pan with a little coconut oil. I cooked everything on low for 8 hours and then shredded the beef. It would have tasted good with diced tomatoes as well. In addition to the stew, we ate some crackers. I also made these biscuits using coconut oil. We were going to eat the biscuits along with the soup, but ended up saving them for dessert. I pureed some blackberries in my Magic Bullet and poured it over our biscuits. Yum! 

I would have to say the biscuits were the best food I ate today. Perfectly flaky. We have leftovers for lunch tomorrow, so I'm already looking forward to that. 

Question: What was the best thing you ate today? 

Well, I'm ready to hit the hay at 7:30pm. I think it's about time to take my medicine and turn in for the night. By the way, "Big Bang Theory" is probably the funniest show on TV. OMG, I cannot stop laughing. Laughter is good for the soul. Good night!

Whole30 - Day 20

Day 20. This challenge/lifestyle will continue after the 30 days. I may not follow it every single day, but I will definitely follow it regularly and consistently (not sure the frequency yet, but will determine that shortly after the 30 days). I will write an evaluation and determine what the best course of action is moving forward.

Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Many of you had the day off. My previous employer honored 9 holidays, including MLK Jr. Day. My current employer only honors 7 (no MLK Jr. Day or President's Day). Luckily though, my husband and I both slept until 6:30am. It felt wonderful to get extra sleep. My husband had a delayed start to his day, so no 5:30 alarm! I did make us breakfast before we both left for work.

It's another payroll week, so it was a busy day. I took a walking break midday to soak up some Vitamin D. The warmth of the sun felt amazing. I love warmth. I love the sun. Where could I live that's warm and sunny all year? During my walk, I stumbled upon this video: What If Money Was No Object? It was inspiring. It lit a little fire under me. What would you do with you life if money didn't matter? I would prepare Paleo meals for others, do cooking shows (which we're making a reality this year) and be a personal trainer. I want to help others be healthy and fit.

I downloaded the InstaCollage app on my iPhone. Love it. It also happened to be free. I highly recommend it.

Breakfast: Omelette with mushrooms, green bell peppers, Super Natural Turkey Hot Dogs and a smear of cashew "alfredo" sauce to hold it all together. Bowl of grapefruit.

Lunch: Mixed greens w/ leftover tuna salad and Paleo crackers. New employee onboarding had extra guacamole after their lunch, so I added some Chipotle guacamole to my tuna salad. Yum! 

Dinner: Mustard-marinated Pork Chops, roasted zucchini & yellow squash and apples w/ almond butter. The pork chops tasted amazing. I marinated them for 24 hours. The Dijon mustard and garlic really shined through. That marinade would also pair well with chicken. 

Today was a good food day. I actually thought I looked a bit thinner in the mirror tonight, even though my pants don't feel much looser. This challenge isn't about getting thin though. It's about resetting my taste buds and breaking my sugar addiction. I have broken my sugar addiction, which is pretty incredible. I used to think my day wasn't complete until I had a dessert. Growing up, we always had homemade goodies in the house. My mom was such an amazing cook and baker. She baked pies (with homemade crusts), cookies and cakes. At Christmas time, she would make chocolate candies - chocolate-dipped pretzels, chocolate-dipped peanut butter Ritz Crackers, chocolate-dipped nuts, pralines. OMG! It was sugar overload from Thanksgiving to Christmas every year. 

Tonight is "The Biggest Loser" night on TV. It's rather fitting that I'm talking about breaking my sugar addiction as I watch this show. It's actually pretty amazing the strides these contestants make and how quickly they do. They're changing by the day... getting stronger emotionally, physically and mentally. It's a little like a Whole30 challenge for those of us who don't need to lose weight, but need a little boost. I'm strengthening myself each day.

I still have to do my squats, sit-ups and push-ups. Then I'm off to sleep. Waking up early to ride bike on the trainer and do some Crossfit exercises.

Whole30 - Day 19

Oh, how I love weekends. I slept in again this morning until 8:30am. It's so amazing to sleep as late as my body needs. Upon getting out of bed, I prepared some breakfast. We watched TV while our food settled. I also did some pinning on Pinterest while waiting for my husband to get home from his haircut.

We had a 7-mile run on our training plan for That Dam Run Half Marathon. The weather wasn't quite as nice as yesterday, but we had to get it done. Temps were hovering in the mid-40s and it was a bit windy. I still wore shorts and a short-sleeved shirt. We have a 3.6-mile loop around our neighborhood, so we ran that twice. Between loops, we took a brief water break on the porch. I felt pretty good on the first loop. Second loop, I had some trouble with my breathing. When I push my pace too fast, I tend to struggle with breathing. In turn, my heart gets a weird feeling and sometimes my heart rate will spike to about 200bpm. I didn't have that problem today, because I eased back on my pace. I finished the 7.2 miles in 1:04:53. Last year, I was running that route in an hour flat. It'll take some time to condition my body back to that pace.

After running, I showered and ate a late lunch. I definitely needed a refueling. As I was sitting on the couch, I started to feel awfully sleepy. I could have fallen asleep at 4pm. I had some food prep to do, so I got myself off the couch. I made a double batch of Paleo Crackers to eat with our tuna salad tonight and with our Crock Pot Beef Stew later this week. I also chopped onions, carrots, parsnips and celery for our beef stew. I chopped some carrots, celery and red bell pepper for our tuna salad. I was a busy little bee in the kitchen. I still need to marinate some pork chops for dinner tomorrow.

Breakfast: Omelette with yellow squash, grass-fed all-beef hot dogs, spinach and cashew "alfredo" sauce to hold it all together. Sweet potato slices on the side.

Lunch: Spaghetti Squash with a handful of spinach, leftover meat sauce and cashew "alfredo" sauce. I couldn't finish my plate... my stomach just didn't feel right after running, even though I felt hungry. I did drink a glass of Berry Juice alongside my food. 

 Dinner: Homemade tuna salad atop mixed greens with diced avocado and cucumbers. Paleo crackers on the side. My tuna salad - canned tuna, diced carrots, diced celery, diced red bell pepper, Lemonaise, Dijon mustard, sea salt and pepper. I drank a few sips of Gingerberry Kombucha with dinner.

All that's left for today is marinating the pork chops. Then it's bedtime for this girl. Weekends go by way too quickly. Here's to a great week!

Whole30 - Day 14

If I could sum up today in one word, it would be: heavy. Why? My eyes have been itchy and heavy all day long. I was on a webinar all morning and could barely keep my eyes open. All I wanted to do was put pressure on my eyeballs and keep them closed. That's how I feel about today.

I did my squats, sit-ups and push-ups while watching the rest of last night's "Biggest Loser" episode. I'm shocked at how poorly Dolvett's team fared on the scale. A two pound loss is still a loss, but you'll be voted off that show faster than you can say 'chocolate'. I put together crockpot meatballs before eating a quick breakfast and heading out the door.

I didn't work out today. I packed my workout bag with intentions to originally workout during lunchtime. On my way to work, I thought it would be better if I ran my errands during lunch and go to the gym after work. So, I went to Target and Vitamin Cottage. Target... what can I say about you? I had a list: Purex, Ziploc Snack Bags, Ice Cube Trays, Avocados. I walked out with the first three items (no avocados) + two packages of socks. If they had had a better stock of socks, I may have bought more. I even found myself looking at the slippers and boots. Then I looked at Valentine's Day gifts. Seriously?

At Vitamin Cottage, I found avocados on sale for $.75 each! Then I grabbed more unsweetened banana chips, Kombucha (I will brew my own... maybe that'll be next month's project) and Larabars. At this point, I felt extremely hungry. I made lunch immediately upon getting back to work.

Breakfast: I didn't eat a lot. Just some Banana Nut Porridge with unsweetened shredded coconut, blueberries and blackberries.

AM Snack: 3 pieces of dried mango
Lunch: Leftover cauliflower soup w/ gremolata, chicken sausage, avocado and crackers. I ate a couple pieces of cantaloupe to round out the meal. May not be very pretty, but it was sure tasty.

Dinner: Spaghetti Squash and Crockpot Meatballs drizzled with some cashew "alfredo" sauce with roasted zucchini and yellow squash on the side. I've made these meatballs quite a few times already. They're delicious and easy to put together. I even made them for my non-Paleo parents when they visited over Thanksgiving weekend. They enjoyed them too.

I'm relaxing for the rest of the evening. I'll try to go to sleep early tonight. I've had a tough time falling asleep lately, even though I feel tired. 8pm sounds awfully desirable. Even if I don't fall asleep, it feels good to lie in bed. May you all sleep well and have sweet dreams!

Questions for the Night: Do you ever remember your dreams? Did you ever have a recurring dream when you were younger? I frequently have both lucid (where you can control your actions in your dream) and vivid dreams. One of my recurring childhood dreams was going down into the basement at my childhood home to find the ceiling and walls coated with yellow jackets (wasps). I would freak out, run back upstairs to my bedroom, jump into bed and would wake up.

Whole30 - Day 12

Morning

I took some allergy medicine again last night to ensure I slept well, since I've been missing a lot of sleep lately. Boy, did I sleep! I slept nearly 10 hours last night. My body is feeling a bit worn out today, even with a day of rest yesterday from working out. I really need to get in a long run today and it'll have to be on the treadmill. Breakfast first. I made Against All Grain's Banana Nut Porridge.

After eating, my stomach was a little uneasy so I relaxed for a bit to allow my stomach to calm down. I laid in bed and watched Home Alone. I've watched this movie so many times. It's definitely a childhood classic. I made the executive decision to postpone my long(ish) run until tomorrow or Tuesday. I can probably squeeze in a 5-mile run in the morning or during lunch. Instead, I set up the bike trainer in the living room and did 3x20 minutes on the bike with squats, sit-ups and push-ups in between sets. I watched the Ohio State vs. Michigan basketball game while riding, so it made the time go by quickly.

Afternoon
I heated up some leftovers for lunch and watched football. After eating, I prepped a couple small spaghetti squashes to roast in the oven while I showered. When those came out, I made Banana Muffins. Use all baking soda with some Cream of Tartar instead of baking powder to make it 100% Paleo. I needed something different for breakfasts this week and thought these would do the trick. They're wholesome and healthy without any added sugars (other than the sweetness from the bananas).

There may be some controversy over making muffins while on Whole30. I strongly believe that Whole30 can be a sustainable lifestyle with some flexibility in how foods are prepared. Who cares what form the ingredients take? I could eat a handful of cashews and a banana with an egg for breakfast and it would be Whole30, but I can't turn those ingredients into a muffin with additional spices? Really? Why be so strict? Honestly, it makes me not want to associate with Whole30 when you are so anal about the form of foods. Yes, I did just say anal. This is directed towards specific individuals in the Whole30 community who live and breathe Whole30. I just wanted to clear the air on the muffins so others don't have to critique my food choices. The benefits I'm reaping from Whole30 so far are immense. I no longer feel the need or desire to have a "dessert" or "treat" everyday. I have broken away from my sugar addiction. My taste buds are definitely resetting from just cutting out the honey, maple syrup and coconut sugar that I used in/on my foods previously. Isn't that the point of Whole30? I have a healthier relationship with the food I eat. I understand the decisions I make are going to impact the way I feel. Food can be a poison, but it can also be a powerful medicine and fuel. It's all about the choices you make everyday. Do I really want to eat that Paleo doughnut or cookie knowing it's not the best nutrition? Most likely not. Every once in a while, it's ok to indulge. Moderation and variety are the keys to any lifestyle.

Moving on... While the muffins were baking, I prepared cauliflower "rice" for a meal later this week. When the muffins came out of the oven, I threw some red bell peppers into the oven to roast for a soup later this week as well. I also made some Herb Crackers to eat with our soup. They're so easy to make and taste amazing. I had to taste a few to make sure they were good. I used a combination of herbs: minced dried onion, garlic powder, basil, oregano, parsley, rosemary, thyme and sea salt. Incredible!

All in all, I'd say it was a productive day in the kitchen.

Breakfast: As I mentioned above, I made Against All Grain's Banana Nut Porridge. I topped mine with a little bit of unsweetened shredded coconut and berries (combo of blueberries and blackberries).
Lunch: Leftover portobello mushroom casserole after my workout. It did the trick.
Snack: Handful (or two?) of roasted unsalted cashews, one fresh-out-of-the-oven banana muffin and about half a Kombucha.
Dinner: We ate a salad of mixed greens, tomato, avocado and chicken with a simple dressing of olive oil, lemon juice, sea salt and pepper. For the chicken, I made nuggets out of antibiotic- and hormone-free chicken breast. I dipped them in egg and seasoned almond flour. Cooked them in a pan with olive and grapeseed oil. So good.

I'd have to say today was a day of delicious food. My taste buds have been dancing with all the flavors.

What was the best part of your weekend? Did you eat something really amazing? Do something fun or extraordinary? My favorite part of the weekend was my little shopping excursion yesterday where I took my time and enjoyed the moment. A close second was sleeping in both days.

Off to bed. Work comes way too fast. Good night everyone!