Whole 30 Part 2: the next 10 days

By the second 10 days, we were a little more into our groove, and grocery trips and meal preps got easier. The Hartwigs (Whole30 Creators) say that day10-11 is when people are tempted to quit because they are thinking about all the food they can't have. Day 10 and 11 were definitely big hurtles for us, but we managed.

Instead of logging every meal that we ate, I am going to share new things we tried and recipes to go along with them. I've gotten accustomed to having several go-to's for breakfast and lunch--egg scrambles with veggies and apple chicken sausage and fruit for breakfast and variations of applegate lunch meats (ham, turkey, pepperonis, hot dogs, or roast beef or a combination of the two), fresh fruit, and veggies with almond butter or guacamole. My in-a-pinch snacks are mixed (compliant) nuts and lara bars (coconut cream pie and apple pie are my favorites). At night when I usually in the past have craved a little snack, I'm making hot tea or a really small amount of hot cider.

One of our breakfast attempts was this sweet potato squash.

Sweet Potato Quiche

• 1 sweet potato, peeled and sliced thin (this is your crust)
• 1 lb pork sausage, cooked
• 2 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped
• 1/4 red pepper, chopped
• 1/4 orange pepper, chopped
• cup of spinach
• 10 eggs, whisked
• 1/4 cup of coconut milk
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper

• Grease pie plate with coconut oil. Line the bottom and the sides with sweet potatoes. Overlap in circular layers until the bottom is covered.
• Spread cooked sausage over the "crust;" sprinkle with 1 tsp rosemary; bake for 10 minutes at 350.
• Mix eggs, peppers, spinach, coconut milk, salt, and pepper, and pour over sausage. 
• Sprinkle 1 tsp rosemary over the top
• Bake an additional 25 minutes or until the knife comes out clean from the center.

The next night we had chicken tenders, mashed cauli, and roasted broccoli, and we were so starved I forgot to take a photograph.

Chicken Fingers

• Cut chicken breast into 3-4 chicken strips; season with salt and pepper.
• Whisk an egg into a prep bowl; pour almond meal into a prep bowl.
• Dip each finger into egg and roll in almond meal.
• Cook up to 8 strips on a skillet for 3-4 minutes each side.

Mashed Cauliflower

• Prepare one head of cauliflower by removing it from stem and breaking into small pieces.
• Steam cauliflower until tender.
• Use food processor or immersion blender to puree cauliflower.
• Add a little coconut milk, salt and pepper, and minced garlic.

The next night, I made barbecue nachos, and this was Patrick's absolute favorite meal of this whole process. I had to improvise some because there is a shortage of compliant pork right now, and I didn't have time to go the crock pot route but it was soooooo delicious.

Barbeque Nachos

• Pulled Pork: Rub 1.5 pound of pork butt in 
• 1 T cumin, 
• 3 T chili powder, 
• 1 tsp onion powder, 
• 1 tsp each salt and pepper
• 1 tsp coriander
• Chop 1 pepper and 1/4 cup onion
• In Crock Pot, lay pork over chopped onion and pepper. Roast on high for 4 hours and low for 2
• Slice zucchini and sweet potatoes into chip size pieces. Lightly toss in olive oil, salt, and pepper, and cook at 250 for 40 minutes; then flip chips and cook for 40 minutes.
• (I then broiled mine to make them crispier.)
• Layer chips, pork, fresh salsa, and guacamole for a delicious feast. My mouth is watering even as I type this.

Those nachos were so delicious, but the next night, we needed something much easier, so we grilled Trader Joe's turkey burgers, loaded them up with guac and tomatoes and enclosed in a lettuce bun. We served leftover roasted veggies and fruit.

For my birthday, Patrick got me this Spiralizer.

I am a perfectionist-procrastinator, so when something intimidates me and I don't know if I can do it properly, I put off using it (oh like my new sewing machine and silhouette that have permanent residence in my craft closet... in.their.boxes. Shame...) Surprisingly it was easy to use, and I tried my hand at making zucchini noodles.

Zucchini Noodles

• Use spiralizer or cheese grater to make zucchini into noodle shapes.
• Toss with olive oil, salt, pepper, and lemon juice.
• Saute in a skillet on medium heat for 3-4 minutes or until tender.

I found some compliant spaghetti sauce at Trader Joe's and mixed it with some cooked ground beef and served it up. Patrick and I were so surprised at how this really did fulfill our spaghetti fix. We started thinking about how noodles don't really have a strong taste--it's the texture that is so comforting. And the taste of zucchini is not strong enough to be offensive.  It was a win/win for us. Comfort food with an extra serving of veggies!

Patrick went to Las Vegas for a few days in this stretch, so I ate a lot of salads with lunch meat and things that didn't require too much prep since I was mostly cooking for 1.

I did make this for me and the girls one night:

Lemon Roasted Chicken and Asparagus

• In a gallon size bag put 
• 4 chicken breasts, 
• one pound of asparagus, 
• 1/4 cup of olive oil,
• 1 tsp of oregano
• 1 tsp of thyme
• salt and pepper
• juice from one lime
• After the mixture has marinated, put in a cooking dish; garnish with lemon slices; and bake at 375 for 45 minutes or until chicken juices run clear.

While Patrick was gone, my girlfriends from high school came over for an appetizer potluck. I made roasted sweet potato wedges and these turkey zucchini fritters (that I also ate for breakfast for a few days afterward).

Turkey Zucchini Fritters

• Grate zucchini with a cheese grater (about 1.5 cups)
• Chop cilantro (about 1/4 cup
• Mix zucchini, cilantro, and turkey with salt and pepper and whatever spices you desire. I chose minced garlic and rosemary.
• Roll into balls and flatten into patties on skillet.
• Cook up to 8 at a time for 5-6 minutes on each side.

This compliant cinnamon apple cider got me through my week alone. ;)

Patrick was soon home with these beautiful hydrangeas for me!!! 

We spent our weekend cooking, junking, and birthday party prepping. 

I love entertaining, but it's intimidating when there are limited menu items. The weekend before we'd had my sister's family over and served butternut squash soup with sauteed shrimp. For my mom's birthday, we decided we would do spaghetti--since we could make it our way and a way that would please everyone.

Especially the kids! My Addison even ate some zucchini noodles!

And dessert was off limits for me and Patrick, but my sister made a yummy devil's food cake for my beautiful mom.

And Patrick and I matched--unintentially. ;)

We just have a few days left on our first Whole30!

By the second 10 days, we were a little more into our groove, and grocery trips and meal preps got easier. The Hartwigs (Whole30 Creators) say that day10-11 is when people are tempted to quit because they are thinking about all the food they can't have. Day 10 and 11 were definitely big hurtles for us, but we managed.

Instead of logging every meal that we ate, I am going to share new things we tried and recipes to go along with them. I've gotten accustomed to having several go-to's for breakfast and lunch--egg scrambles with veggies and apple chicken sausage and fruit for breakfast and variations of applegate lunch meats (ham, turkey, pepperonis, hot dogs, or roast beef or a combination of the two), fresh fruit, and veggies with almond butter or guacamole. My in-a-pinch snacks are mixed (compliant) nuts and lara bars (coconut cream pie and apple pie are my favorites). At night when I usually in the past have craved a little snack, I'm making hot tea or a really small amount of hot cider.

One of our breakfast attempts was this sweet potato squash.

Sweet Potato Quiche

• 1 sweet potato, peeled and sliced thin (this is your crust)
• 1 lb pork sausage, cooked
• 2 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped
• 1/4 red pepper, chopped
• 1/4 orange pepper, chopped
• cup of spinach
• 10 eggs, whisked
• 1/4 cup of coconut milk
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper

• Grease pie plate with coconut oil. Line the bottom and the sides with sweet potatoes. Overlap in circular layers until the bottom is covered.
• Spread cooked sausage over the "crust;" sprinkle with 1 tsp rosemary; bake for 10 minutes at 350.
• Mix eggs, peppers, spinach, coconut milk, salt, and pepper, and pour over sausage. 
• Sprinkle 1 tsp rosemary over the top
• Bake an additional 25 minutes or until the knife comes out clean from the center.

The next night we had chicken tenders, mashed cauli, and roasted broccoli, and we were so starved I forgot to take a photograph.

Chicken Fingers

• Cut chicken breast into 3-4 chicken strips; season with salt and pepper.
• Whisk an egg into a prep bowl; pour almond meal into a prep bowl.
• Dip each finger into egg and roll in almond meal.
• Cook up to 8 strips on a skillet for 3-4 minutes each side.

Mashed Cauliflower

• Prepare one head of cauliflower by removing it from stem and breaking into small pieces.
• Steam cauliflower until tender.
• Use food processor or immersion blender to puree cauliflower.
• Add a little coconut milk, salt and pepper, and minced garlic.

The next night, I made barbecue nachos, and this was Patrick's absolute favorite meal of this whole process. I had to improvise some because there is a shortage of compliant pork right now, and I didn't have time to go the crock pot route but it was soooooo delicious.

Barbeque Nachos

• Pulled Pork: Rub 1.5 pound of pork butt in 
• 1 T cumin, 
• 3 T chili powder, 
• 1 tsp onion powder, 
• 1 tsp each salt and pepper
• 1 tsp coriander
• Chop 1 pepper and 1/4 cup onion
• In Crock Pot, lay pork over chopped onion and pepper. Roast on high for 4 hours and low for 2
• Slice zucchini and sweet potatoes into chip size pieces. Lightly toss in olive oil, salt, and pepper, and cook at 250 for 40 minutes; then flip chips and cook for 40 minutes.
• (I then broiled mine to make them crispier.)
• Layer chips, pork, fresh salsa, and guacamole for a delicious feast. My mouth is watering even as I type this.

Those nachos were so delicious, but the next night, we needed something much easier, so we grilled Trader Joe's turkey burgers, loaded them up with guac and tomatoes and enclosed in a lettuce bun. We served leftover roasted veggies and fruit.

For my birthday, Patrick got me this Spiralizer.

I am a perfectionist-procrastinator, so when something intimidates me and I don't know if I can do it properly, I put off using it (oh like my new sewing machine and silhouette that have permanent residence in my craft closet... in.their.boxes. Shame...) Surprisingly it was easy to use, and I tried my hand at making zucchini noodles.

Zucchini Noodles

• Use spiralizer or cheese grater to make zucchini into noodle shapes.
• Toss with olive oil, salt, pepper, and lemon juice.
• Saute in a skillet on medium heat for 3-4 minutes or until tender.

I found some compliant spaghetti sauce at Trader Joe's and mixed it with some cooked ground beef and served it up. Patrick and I were so surprised at how this really did fulfill our spaghetti fix. We started thinking about how noodles don't really have a strong taste--it's the texture that is so comforting. And the taste of zucchini is not strong enough to be offensive.  It was a win/win for us. Comfort food with an extra serving of veggies!

Patrick went to Las Vegas for a few days in this stretch, so I ate a lot of salads with lunch meat and things that didn't require too much prep since I was mostly cooking for 1.

I did make this for me and the girls one night:

Lemon Roasted Chicken and Asparagus

• In a gallon size bag put 
• 4 chicken breasts, 
• one pound of asparagus, 
• 1/4 cup of olive oil,
• 1 tsp of oregano
• 1 tsp of thyme
• salt and pepper
• juice from one lime
• After the mixture has marinated, put in a cooking dish; garnish with lemon slices; and bake at 375 for 45 minutes or until chicken juices run clear.

While Patrick was gone, my girlfriends from high school came over for an appetizer potluck. I made roasted sweet potato wedges and these turkey zucchini fritters (that I also ate for breakfast for a few days afterward).

Turkey Zucchini Fritters

• Grate zucchini with a cheese grater (about 1.5 cups)
• Chop cilantro (about 1/4 cup
• Mix zucchini, cilantro, and turkey with salt and pepper and whatever spices you desire. I chose minced garlic and rosemary.
• Roll into balls and flatten into patties on skillet.
• Cook up to 8 at a time for 5-6 minutes on each side.

This compliant cinnamon apple cider got me through my week alone. ;)

Patrick was soon home with these beautiful hydrangeas for me!!! 

We spent our weekend cooking, junking, and birthday party prepping. 

I love entertaining, but it's intimidating when there are limited menu items. The weekend before we'd had my sister's family over and served butternut squash soup with sauteed shrimp. For my mom's birthday, we decided we would do spaghetti--since we could make it our way and a way that would please everyone.

Especially the kids! My Addison even ate some zucchini noodles!

And dessert was off limits for me and Patrick, but my sister made a yummy devil's food cake for my beautiful mom.

And Patrick and I matched--unintentially. ;)

We just have a few days left on our first Whole30!