Day 6: Going out to eat can be tough

Day 6 (yesterday, June 29th, I know my postings never coincide with my actual whole30) was Ben's 21st birthday! Since I am still 20 and can't take him out, the temptation to drink was not there, and no, I didn't even have a sip of his beer. Even that act of choice felt empowering, not because I was bound by a set of rules, but because I could say NO and be fine!

Breakfast

• Cantaloupe
• 3 scrambled eggs with ground turkey, mushrooms, tomato, onion
• coffee

Lunch

I went out to Misty's Steakhouse & Brewery downtown (none of us had ever been) with Ben and his dad! I researched ahead of time (with smartphone's now, I promise, it's really not that much work), and got the Blackened Salmon Salad - just without the dressing!

• 4 oz grilled salmon 
• spring mix 
• roasted grape tomatoes
• red onions

That's another thing I'm finding with all of this...that I really don't need dressing. I used to think this was impossible, and it is when you settle for less than flavorful, but if you add plenty of tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, or any other veggie/meat combo, the salad can truly stand alone!

Mid afternoon snack

• Handful of dates
• Handful of roasted, unsalted sunflower nuts
• Carrots

I was still hungry after the salad since it wasn't as much food as I'm typically used to at a meal. Still a decent sized portion, but not quite as filling. I think next time I'll know to eat a banana or an apple before to help fill me up!

Dinner

I took Ben to Thai Garden because it's where we went on our first official "date." It's an adorable little thai place that does a great job blending a mix of sweet and spicy flavors in whatever dish you order. I had a plate consisting of eggplant, pork, broccoli, and a whole slew of other veggies! I just asked for it without the rice, and again, like with Huhot, I didn't need the grains to feel satisfied with the dish, or full! I was great without it. I thought I took a picture...looks like I didn't!

It did end up being a great day, though! I brought Ben a pain au chocolate from our favorite bakery which was RIDICULOUSLY hard to resist! Bread and pastries...I tell you, they can have their way with me anytime, except the next 23 days! More self-control practice though!

Then I went to his place and brought over phase one: pastry, coffee, and Downton Abbey! We finally caved and are tackling our summer TV shows! I just had to brag about my pinterest-worthy wrapping job. In the spirit of food awareness, I thought I'd incorporate my leftover Trader Joe's bag in wrapping Ben's present!

Manly, right?

Okay, okay, it was because it was all I had. But still, I don't do crafty things. I just don't. So this felt monumental.

Anyway, phase two was dinner and walking around to some of our "spots" around campus (but not being too sentimental, that's just not our style). Then I took him to an on-campus bathroom to change clothes (I informed him to bring a t-shirt, shorts, and flip flops) and watched as he fruitlessly guessed what I had planned (muahahaaaa, channeling evil laugh à la any of these laughs.

We then returned to my house and I made him wait outside for a minute while I ran inside. Then his instructions were to count to 20 and walk inside. I set up an end table with a spotlight on it (the rest of the house was dark and a few pieces of furniture overturned) and it looked something like this:

I also had "Zombieland" in the basket with a note attached informing him that if he's alive after the war, we could watch it.

Then, since we were being mature 20-21 year olds, I obviously thought this elicited fort building!

He ate popcorn, I ate cantaloupe and celery.
It's the seemingly insignificant food choices that matter, people.

Day 5: side effects include: grumpiness, nauesa and a guac craving

Happy Friday, All!

So I've tried not to get too caught up in the whole30 timeline dictating what my moods will be during this 30 day experiment because I believe that if I read it, I will use it as justification instead of truly listening to my body. But after my guac meltdown and slight grumpy-gills attitude, I took a peek, and aha! I'm not alone! Day 4 is labeled "KILL ALL THE THINGS."Yes, yes please do.

"Even experienced Whole30ers (myself included) go through this phase.  Every nerve is lit, temperance is non-existent and the only solution to the problem seems to be to Kill All of the Things."

This brought me comfort waking up today (on day 5, though it won't be posted until day 6) as I not only felt the grump-monster, but also some nausea. I tried to ignore it, drink some water, and down my coffee before I biked to work (brilliant choices here, I know) BUT when I'm determined, and when coffee is a factor, I  tend to ignore all reason and power through. So I went online and found this is a problem for many, and the majority suggested it was their body's way of informing them they were hungry!

I had not considered this because the second I took my food out of their ziplocks, I could not imagine taking a single bite. However, once I took a few bites, I felt much better!

Breakfast (no pic today, was in a rush, but it looks basically the same as before)

• Monkey salad
• cantaloupe
• 1 tomato slice (He looked sad and rejected from yesterday, so I brought him)
• 1 hardboiled egg

Lunch

Apparently I have become an avocado addict. I know it is considered a "good" fat, but I don't know how sane my guac craving is...all I know is it is being satisfied because today, I went to chipotle with a friend!

We were going to eat at panera (I agreed, thinking I could find a suitable option), but when pickings looked slim after some online research, I figured chipotle would be more satisfying for both of us anyway. I love panera, but I'm never that thrilled trading the cashier my $9.50 for a soft apple, a small bowl of soup, and half of, what I wish was a whole, panini. It's a good, fairly healthy option, but it's just not done that well (says the girl who used to settle for panera almost every week).

Anyway!

• Burrito bowl with:
• carnitas (not cooked in soybean oil, yay!)
• lettuce
• guac (I'm tellin' ya, it's becoming my crack)
• tomato salsa

Dinner

Ben took me to HuHot Mongolian Grill! It was the perfect place to go out because I could eat delicious stirfry, just without the noodles! It was great!

I had a couple of what you see here, since my first go around was rather small. It was incredibly filling, and I tried my best to figure out which oils are whole30 approved beforehand, so once I got there, It proved to be incredibly easy!

Day 4: Glad containers are my life now

And ziplocks! Don't forget the ziplocks

Mmm, such an artsy photo. I call this: rush hour in ziplocks

Breakfast

• 1 banana
• handful of cashews/coconut chips
• 2 hardboiled eggs
• 2 mushrooms (sliced)
• 2 and 1/2 slices of tomato (didn't eat one)

This felt like a big breakfast - it is! So I got to work and ate most of it, but I left 1/2 of a hardboiled egg, some of my monkey salad, and 1 tomato slice. I was incredibly full, but again, about an hour and 1/2 later, I was ready to finish it off, and I did, except for the lone tomato slice. I don't know if this is considered "snacking." I just saw it as finishing my breakfast. I work at 8, so it's just kind of early to eat so much.

Lunch

The guacamole melt-down of 2013.

Well, not really, but kind of. 

I have watched, and even functioned as an excellent avocado assistant, as Ben has made guac before, but doing it on my own for the first time after working all morning and coming home pretty hungry was not the best idea. I face-timed him, spouting on about my frustration with garlic and the consistency of avocados and just all around anger at myself, poor guy. He's a champ, he really is.

However, he told me which part of the garlic to chop off and just take a deep breath. After that, it actually turned out pretty great! I could tell it was not as good as his, but instead of discouraging me, that just spurred me on to make it even better next time!

• Leftover turkey burger from yesterday
• lots of guac
• 4 strawberries (though only three are pictured)
• a couple of over-cooked green beans
• some leftover veggies from the other day

Mid-afternoon snack

Cashews and almonds (I used to snack heavily on almonds, so this was a good way to still incorporate a few without having that endless tub of them I buy from Target and just pick from when I'm bored)

Dinner

• Leftover salad from the other day (chicken included)
• the rest of the guac (a delicious edition. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't thinking about scarfing it all afternoon, but I resisted until dinner!)
• 1 apple

Evening Snack (I know, I know)

• Carrots

Pretty successful day! And the guac concoctions even made it on the insta! (if you couldn't already tell from the tinted coloring and artsy blur), does that mean I'm really doing this? Accountability anyone?

Day 3: Hydration is a thing now

I have been SO thirsty the past three days and have begun keeping a water bottle on hand. That was one of my goals when I started this, to drink more water! Luckily, this hasn't been hard so far because a high-fiber diet makes you thirsty!

Breakfast

• 1 fried egg (it is now my goal to make the perfect one)
• small cup of ground turkey (heated up)
• 1 tomato slice
• 1 mushroom (sliced)
• 2 slices of orange
• 4 strawberries
• coffee

I definitely notice how hungry I am between breakfast and lunch. This is the time of day I'd go to a granola bar, or just a handful of whatever was around. I stay full for longer since I have so much nutritious food right away in the morning, but my snacker stomach has been gnawing at me!

Lunch

• Homemade coleslaw! We finally did it! Well, we didn't cut up our own cabbage, but we did homemake the mayo! (recipe at the bottom) We ate it ALL.
• 1 Jenni-O turkey burger I'd had in my freezer since last August (did I mention I've never really cooked before this? Because I don't know what else I could do to hammer in that point)
• 2 orange slices (cut in half)
• cataloupe
• 1/2 of a banana

Seriously, all Ben and I feel like we do is eat, or think about eating, or google recipes....or like this particular day, after lunch, we ran out to Scheels at SouthPointe to get the security tag off of his new Patagonia raincoat (Boooo Scheels, we were up-set). 

But since we were already out there...we thought a trip to Trader Joe's would be appropriate, and not just because of the whole30 thing, but because we are weird and have always walked around grocery stores together.

He bought me flowers. 

I bought coconut spray.

Romantic!

Dinner

• Small bowl of applesauce
• Chicken breast (all of these chicken breasts are actually half-breasts already, very thin)
• asparagus 
• sweet potato fries (OM NOM NOM)

(And yes, Ben may have made most of this while I was working...but I'm still learning each and every step he does so I can fly solo one of these days!)

After dinner snack

AHH, this habit is a hard one to kick! Though instead of eating "snacky" foods to satiate my need for something to nibble on like some coconut chips/cashews combo, I stick to fruits or vegetables if I am ACTUALLY hungry. Tonight, it was a combo.

• Carrots, celery, grape tomatoes (that I got for free from Nancy cleaning out her fridge! Score!)

Also, I have watched Ben eat popcorn the last 2 nights. Not only is this excruciating, but empowering! Saying NO to popcorn more than once? Hello self control. Nice to meet you, I did not realize you had such a sympathetic face.

Homemade Mayo Recipe from the Food Network!

**A couple of notes:

• We used white balsamic vinegar instead of red wine vinegar
• Ben didn't know I owned dijon mustard so that was not included (though would have been a good edition)
• we used canola oil. 
• We also added lots of dill to our coleslaw, definitely add this for a more tangy flavor. 

Also important to recognize that we did not have a food processor, so Ben was a champ and continued to stir the persnickety emulsion as I ever so slowly drizzled in the canola oil bit by arm-cramping bit. This went on for 15 sweaty minutes. Okay, maybe not sweaty, but there was a little perspiration happening. That counts as a workout, right?

Day 2: I guess cooking chicken breasts ahead of time isn't so tortuous

This was a morning of scrambling, only this time, it was not my eggs being scrambled, it was me.

HA! Terrible joke, but I just had to.

But really, I woke up late for work (20 minutes after I was already supposed to be there) thinking I was scheduled for noon, so in believing this, the night before I dreamt up a breakfast of many sauteed mushrooms...2 fried eggs...sliced bananas and strawberries....a workout to follow...oh the time the kitchen and I would have had.

Alas! I received a call and groggily stumbled out of bed, I mean mattress (box spring/frame still in the works) and headed for the coffee maker (which I had miraculously prepared the night before) and thanks to meal preparation on Sunday, I was able to pull together a nutritious, filling breakfast!

Breakfast:

• A concoction called monkey salad! It is simple and consists of 1 whole banana, 1 handful of cashews, and 1 handful of coconut chips. It was SO good, definitely going to make it again, and by "make" I mean put the three ingredients back together in a bowl. 
• cantaloupe
• 2 hardboiled eggs (thank goodness Ben brought 8 of those over last night...are you seeing a pattern in my success, here?)

Lunch:

This began as an attempt from Ben and I go to the store and make our own coleslaw (3 bags of lettuce for $.68 each at HyVee!) and then our own mayo since I can't have the real stuff, but unfortunately, we got home and vaguely remembered Sunny saying we had a food processor and put too much of our coleslaw fate in it's incapable hands. It did not work and we were bummed, and I also do not currently own a whisk, so all really was lost. We begrudgingly stuck to summer salad.

• Spinach salad with diced tomato, chopped mushroom, 1 hardboiled egg broken up, onion, and carrot!
• 2 chicken breasts were placed in the salad, so I probably ate about 3/4 of one
• carrots
• celery
• applesauce

Dinner:

• Sauteed sweet potatoes and spinach recipe I found from Martha Stewart (she's crazy, but dang can she make a sweet potato taste tender). Definitely going to make it again! Ben told me once you find a couple of dishes you like, stick with them and perfect it to make it apart of your go-to list and then experiment from there. I would highly recommend it!
• 3/4 of a chicken breast (could not eat all that was pictured)
• cantaloupe!

After-Dinner Snack:

• Apple

My goal is eventually to wean off of snacks, it really is, but it's all a process.

I have learned loads in just the past two days about cooking, finding recipes, and what it means to take ownership of your kitchen and it's utensils. For example, my knives are terrible. The dull, can't-cut-through-a-pb-sandwich kind of terrible. It's dangerous! And it's been a year-long joke that I finally decided to buy a punchline for, a punchline that can cut through a can if I so desired.

Cooking is all about prep, and if you don't look forward to the prep because it's a lengthy, curse-inducing, joke of a knife, then you'll be less inclined to do it. So I went for it! I invested in my future cooking prospects because this is not just about whole30, it's about my relationship with food, and apparently, my relationship with the kitchen needed work, too!

I also bought a whisk (what kitchen doesn't have a whisk?!), measuring spoons (again, didn't own those), and a beautiful bamboo cutting board that can withstand my new Wusthof knife. OXO brand is great quality stuff if you're looking!

It has to be fun! You have to enjoy yourself, or there's no point. A man who owns a couple of Wusthofs of his own and makes a mean chicken breast told me that. 

We then decided to cook chicken for the week because we use so dang much of it! Plus, like I mentioned before, we have an endless supply of free chicken thanks to Ben's uncle! Such a win.

Day 1 Meals: eggs are my best friend

I didn't mention in my last post, but Ben helped me prep last night for almost 2 hours! Well, it wasn't just prepping, it was also instructing, giving me cooking tips, and finding glad containers that could withstand my massive amounts of vegetables.

Really, this guy can slice a tomato, let me tell ya.

So anyway, with day 1 over, it's gone about as I expected as far as stomach reactions. Definitely feel really full after I eat because it's so much (again, this is the adjustment from the life of a snacker to a meal-eater. Foreign, less crumbly, territory here).

It was also one of my goals to slow down and not watch tv/go on the computer while I'm eating. I have a terrible habit of practically swallowing my food because I am either too distracted to realize I'm eating, or wait too long to eat a substantial amount of nutrients so I gorge on carb-y snacks to fill me up. So I ate both meals at my kitchen table with a large glass of water and silence. It was hard not to watch my netflix que of grey's anatomy, but this whole 30 challenge is about more than just the food intake. It's about building healthy habits!

Breakfast: Woke up VERY late today, around 11, so I just started with a lunch at 12:30. That happens so rarely that I'm just going to write it out as a one-time occurrence  I just treated my lunch like a breakfast/brunch thing. Works for me.

• Coffee (Black. This is not an adjustment, I always drink black coffee)
• 3 Scrambled eggs, handful of spinach, diced tomatoes, diced mushroom, and ground turkey (all of this was prepped last night, making it much easier/faster)
• 2 slices of orange (cut in half)
• 3 strawberries
• cantaloup

Dinner: I worked late, until about 8, so I was starving, but I resisted the urge to ravenously attack my fruit/other snacks. That is HUGE for me. Usually, I don't have the self-control to even wait 15 minutes to make something, but I'm trying to reinforce this new habit. I mean, it's day one, it's going to be easy, but it felt like a good way to start off!

• 1 slice of tomato, cut in half (there were 2, but I couldn't finish the other one)
• 3/4 cup applesauce
• frozen broccoli/cauliflour/ carrots, about half of the bag
• ground turkey (leftover)
• handful of cashews
• 4 slices of mushroom
• 1 fried egg (seems basic, but this is asmall way I tried something new! I've never done it before, but I like it!)

After dinner snack (I know this typically isn't allowed, but I was hungry from no breakfast):

• 1/2 of a hardboiled egg and an apple

Day 00: Challenge Accepted

I did not write up a post for yesterday, so I will proceed to do that now, because it was one of the most vital days!

I began with gutting out (a term Ben dislikes me to use in any context other than fish, but hey, it makes sense to me!) my cupboards and fridge of all grain, dairy, sugar, legumes. I came out with the fourth picture.

Nothing like a can of green beans and apricots to get you goin'! Since I cannot survive on one apple and "produce" à la can, Ben and I set out for the grocery store!  

I picked several simple things off of the Whole30 Shopping list, and went from there. My final list looked like this:

Coconut Flakes (never tried them, but I'm intrigued)

2 avocados

2 whole tomatoes

2 packages of mushrooms

1 jar of unsweetened applesauce
1 package of strawberries

4 bananas

1 cantalope

1 bag of dole spinach
1 bunch of asparagus

1 bag of whole carrots (which I chopped into babies later)

1 bag of celery (same deal as the carrots)

1 dozen eggs

1 package of ground turkey 

**(I should also mention that Ben has endless free chicken 

from his uncle, so I never have to pay for chicken! Score!)

I would say I'm a pretty healthy eater to begin with. I'm already lactose intolerant with a weak-sauce stomach (though it is a rare day when I can turn down a new, international cuisine no matter the morning-after repercussions), so buying things like a lot of produce and ground turkey is not abnormal for me. I am not the person addicted to pop, sugary sweets, and eats fast food a lot. I DO, however, consume a lot of snacks. I will eat handfuls of cereal/nuts/granola and just munch on whatever is around and then give myself a flimsy meal with not a whole lot of nutrition. Plus, I adore carbs. I never consider telling a warm piece of bread to take it's soft middle and flaky outside somewhere else (my stomach just growled at that. Super.), and I always have popcorn on hand. I'm excited (and slightly terrified) to watch as my body adjusts, tells me what I've been feeding it too much of over the last 20 years, and gives me a better understanding of my relationship to food.

 

[I still have leftover oranges from Noahs grad party! YESSSS.]

PS Ben made me a final carbo meal of spaghetti and meatballs (plus I had all of the ingredients we needed in those bags, which I am storing at his house for his use/so I'm not tempted having them around).

Goodbye sweet, sweet noodles. I will miss you dearly.

Y'all ready for this?

Corny-beginning-self-reflective-I-can-do-this-post!

Here we go!
What is the whole30?

If you don't feel inclined to read the website-more-than-five-lines-version of what the whole30 really is, I'll summarize:

It is self-control torture that might just kill me.

HA! Okay, only sort of.

It's 30 days of learning how to eat with meat, seafood, eggs, tons of vegetables, some fruit, and plenty of good fats from fruits, oils, nuts and seeds. It's all about foods with very few ingredients, all pronounceable ingredients, or no ingredients listed at all because they’re totally natural and unprocessed.

Did I mention...NO GRAINS *cue the horror music and salivation at picture below*

But really, if you know me, you know I do not cook, I do not meal plan very well, and I would rather "re-pin" travel destinations than recipes any day (side note: pinterest WILL waste away my life, but that's a whole other addiction to be dealt with at a later date).

However, I do enjoy new foods, I love trying different things, but I've never been that interested in cooking. My priorities have shifted as I've gotten older, and since Ben is an excellent (not to mention patient) chef, I've felt more capable to provide for myself, and he's incredibly supportive, so don't worry people, I won't starve with him around.

I've never attempted anything quite like this before. My motivation is not purely weight loss. It has been a long (not always finished) process at loving the way I look. Plus, this program does not allow you to weigh yourself because that's not what this is about! I want to learn my lessons about food now and not when I'm 30 and still heating up a can of beans and nibbling on carrots and granola at 11pm because I can't bring myself to turn on the oven.

Not that this is based on a true story...

(Writers should not be able to blog, we ramble too dang much)

Anyway, I see this as a way to challenge myself. I am living in Lincoln this summer, and a solid amount of that time is soon to be spent by myself since my roommate is jetting off on a European adventure (something I can reminisce about here). *le sigh*

But I am 20 (almost 21!) years old. I do not have my own family to feed, my money can be dispersed however I see fit since the loan police have not stolen my soul just yet, and I care about my health. All antics aside, that's what this is about. My relationship with food could use some attention and care, and I see now as a time to do it. This blog is accountability for myself to keep going. I want to challenge myself, and I know myself too well. I will not just "try to cut back" on sugary, processed, carbo-loaded foods, I need a heavier dose of motivation. This is not for anyone else but myself and my body.

I hope to:
1. Learn more about the food I eat and how it can fuel my body. Knowledge is power!
2. Watch my uber-sensitive stomach for reactions to the foods I'm eating (good and bad). I am already lactose intolerant (apart from yogurt) and I've been told to log my food for quite some time, so this is a perfect opportunity!
3. I do want to learn how to cook, I really do, but I say that knowing that desire is not after working all day with a ravenous hunger for anything easy and in plain sight, or after a horrible night's sleep and all I want is instant oatmeal and maybe some peanut butter. This is to prove to myself that I CAN cook and I can do it creatively!
4. I want to recognize where my emotional and phycological attachments to food surface once I eliminate a lot of my usual snack routines. Not so excited for this one, but it's the most necessary.
5. Self-control, my friends. I have, how do you say? None. Well, I've never been into sweets, so it's not a "I'll just have a bite of this cake" problem, but lock me in a room full of bread and I will go at it.

Ahhh, the lengthy intro post, I know it well.

Here's to learning more about the food I eat and becoming a healthier version of myself! T-minus 4 days until I begin!

-Madeline

Okay, just one more picture of bread, just for kicks.

The French really do have it goin' on.