Almond Butter & Jelly Smoothie

This morning, I made a delicious green smoothie (one of the things I’m trying to make more of since… hello, veggies!) and I wanted to share what was in it. A) to remember. B) So others can try it!

• Big handful of spinach
• 4-5 strawberries
• .25 C blueberries
• Handful of ground almonds (ish)
• Almond milk

I think I shall call it the Almond Butter & Jelly Smoothie, like a PBJ version of a smoothie but with almonds. It was delightful! The combination of the blueberries and strawberries had a nice tang.

What’s the most delicious green smoothie you’ve had lately?

Whole30: Round two!

After months and months of putting off doing another Whole30, I’m finally on the bandwagon again, bouncing along in a giddy daze. I’m ready to have my body feel amazing again! Bring it on!

So I guess this is part-journal-part-observations-part-everything-whole30. Kind of like last time.

Unlike last time, however, my diet wasn’t as bad as it was before starting. Thanks to the first Whole30, I found a few different sensitivities I had and limited them wherever I could. So I’m not coming in completely cold turkey… but since I hate wasting food, I have unopened quinoa and a small tub of oats on my counter that I won’t be eating. Anyone want them?

* * *

Day 1 Food

Breakfast: 2 eggs scrambled with EVOO, baby roma tomatoes and butternut squash.
Lunch: 2 uncured-all-beef hot dogs, organic ketchup, blueberries and cashews
Dinner: stir-fry with ground turkey, onions, red peppers, mushrooms, coconut oil and spices (paprika, garlic powder, S&P, dash of red chili powder). Coconut milk to help fight migraine.

* * *

Observations:

EVOO is furthermore evicted from my eggs. That was a major fail for breakfast. As was uncooked butternut squash. And the tomatoes taste nasty alone. Not the best way to start the Whole30, but at least I learned things that won’t work. Bonus: I didn’t get hungry until after noon.

I’m not sure I have a healthy reaction to blueberries… they are so good that I feel like they are an explosion of berry goodness in my mouth (twss?).

Sitting and eating distraction free really does free up your mind and mouth to focus on flavors, on really enjoying your meal. Win.

And I don’t think I will ever get sick of my stir-fry that I made up during my last Whole30. Easy to mix things up with it. It can be sweet or savory or spicy. I’ll share my favorite combo when I end up making it.

Timeline
Day 1: So what’s the big deal?
Breakfast nearly threw me off for the day, but I persevered. Some residual soreness from some activity I did over the past couple of days, but feeling okay other than the migraine that sprung up after work and ailed me through the evening.

* * *

To be honest, I’m aiming to have it go far beyond a Whole30–perhaps even a Whole60 or Whole90. That will be something I will have to decide and feel out as I go through this whole process of eating all the veggies, fruits, meats and healthy fats.

Here’s onto better things and day 2!

How food makes me feel post-Whole30

Since I’ve been done with the Whole30 for roughly two weeks, it’s about time I do an update on how I feel.

First of all, the reintroduction phase was interesting… to say the least. Here’s what I’ve learned about how different foods affect me:

Dairy: Mostly bloating, gassy-ness, and general discomfort in the gut. It’s when I eat dairy that I notice my stomach sticking out a bit further than it should (think preggers). Red Mango didn’t seem to affect me as badly though.

Grains: Feel fuller faster and mild discomfort. Not as much as dairy, but doable. I don’t hate myself after like I do with dairy. But I do get really tired after eating grains.

Legumes: Just grossness that I’d rather not get into. Let’s just say it’s bad.

Soy: Kind of makes me sick to my stomach, hot/cold flashes and I feel like punching someone.

Alcohol: Felt fine for the most part, just couldn’t sleep worth a damn.

Cookies: For the first week, it was OH, THE PAIN! Both in the gut and the brain. After having a few cookies though, it dialed down to discomfort and hot/cold flashes. And it depends on the kind of cookie.

Cookie dough: I felt fine. Weird how that worked. If anyone could explain this to me, that would be awesome.

Chocolate: Didn’t feel a thing. Then again, chocolate is magical. ;)

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Up next is a recap in photos including some of my meals and before/after photos. I’m debating if including Before/After should be debated… haha. There was a difference, but whether or not I want to share me in a photo with a sports bra on and spandex shorts on the internet.

Reintroduction – Aversion Therapy for Cookies

Remember how I talked about how I wanted a cookie throughout much of my Whole30?

Well, today I had my very first cookie. The Neiman Marcus Million Dollar cookie. I had about five minutes of enjoying it’s lusciousness before it happened.

Oh, dear God. If I thought the Whole30 was hard at any point, I take it back. All of it. I take back wanting a cookie for that whole time.

Why? I legitimately feel like I swallowed a million dollars. My stomach is painfully churning, and is super bloated, and because of that my head is really fuzzy. After ONE cookie! In short, I feel like absolute shit. That’s a contender for the Understatement of the Year.

I think it was the butter. Or the shavings of Hershey chocolate bar. Or the chocolate chips. Either way, my stomach is totally hating right now.

So what do I do with these amazing cookies that my mom made me?

I’M GIVING THEM AWAY. As good as they are, I do not want to feel like this. I don’t know who ever would!

Because, even though this was the delicious Million Dollar recipe, the nasty side effects are a witch with a capital B.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to track down some Tums. And cry. :(

Days 28 – 30 of the Whole30 & Reintroduction

If I didn’t have to pull late nights this week, I imagine it would be easier. But alas, I’m done with the Whole30.

The last couple days got to be hard, but a lot of that was because of an intense daily schedule, not enough sleep and not a lot of time to prepare meals. So I ate out quite a bit. Luckily, there are a couple restaurants that are easy for me to eat at. Except I did resort to eating the veggies and chicken breast off of a Burger King grilled chicken sandwich one night, bun left untouched. That’s between you and me though… shhhh!

I was in a rush, okay?!

Onto other things…

It’s now time for me to start reintroducing foods into my diet to see how they affect me. Today I’ve been doing grains/breads/starches. They are virtually all the same food group.

First observation: I’m sticking with eggs for breakfast. Cereal in almond milk doesn’t cut it and it leaves me hungry 90 minutes later. Eggs keep me covered for 3-4 hours.

Second: I think I need to keep up mostly a Whole30 mentality and meal plan with just the addition rather than the full substitution of a meal, like with the cereal. That equals a very satisfied girl.

Third: I’m not feeling bloated per say, but I can tell my stomach feels different with grains in my system again. More of a full that doesn’t go away.

And fourth: my energy was shot to hell at 9. Don’t know if that was because of 6 hours of sleep last night or the grains… Either way, I can’t function like that.

Onto day 2 of reintroduction tomorrow!

Day 25 – 27 of #Whole30 ~ Is it over yet?

One thing that the Whole30 timeline doesn’t mention is the couple of days near the end where the only thing on your mind is, “When will this be over?”

I don’t know if I’m just one out of a million, but I’m ready for the Whole30 to be finished. I’m feeling good, eating well, sleeping better, and my clothes are either fitting much better or falling off my behind… but now the pressure of cooking every meal is just getting tiresome. While it’s been awesome, I’m going to need some more convenience in the next month because of an insane work and rehearsal schedule. When you only have an hour between getting home and having to leave for rehearsal, it’s hard to put together a meal that isn’t simple with short prep time. My variety is in short supply… that’s not exactly a recipe for long term success. I’m not saying I want to resort to processed foods (ew!), but I’d like to be able to eat things that don’t require a whole shebang to prepare. Like an almond butter and jelly sandwich.

The thing is, I still want to eat well! If this month has taught me anything, it’s this: you really are what you eat. And in that, if you’re eating wholesome, fresh and non-processed foods, your body works in top notch form without much effort. That’s basically the whole premise of It Starts With Food. PS: That book is definitely worth a read.

I did try cooking my eggs another way today and those turned out to be tasty. Finally feel safe enough in my cooking skills that I can experiment more!

Only a couple more days!

Day 22 – 24 of Whole30 ~ Getting there…

Oh, goodness. I can’t believe I have less than a week left of this.

I think that stomach thing from the other day has thrown me off. I haven’t quite been the same since. I’ve still been doing well on the food (nailed making the perfect tender chicken last night), feel like I’m eating eggs far too often (every morning), and getting different kinds of veggies to try making (brussel sprouts are next on my list). But my energy has been iffy, no thanks to a jacked up sleep schedule.

One good thing: that big batch of food I bought last week is still around! I still have a little chicken left, the steak, sweet potatoes, onions and part of a pepper still around. Maybe I went out to eat too much… haha. That could be it.

Interesting though, I don’t find myself missing a lot of foods. It’s more of a “Oh, that’s right in front of me at this very moment. It looks kind of good, but I don’t need it. I’m eating delicious foods that I know are good for me.”

Now I’m not going to go crazy when this is over, but there are a few things that are must-haves. Red Mango is one for my dairy re-introduction day, and cookies. Must have cookies.

My mom has promised me Neiman Marcus million dollar cookies when I finish. I know I shouldn’t “reward” myself with food, but if I’m indulging in a cookie when I’m done with the Whole30, I want a damn good cookie. Neiman Marcus fits the bill perfectly. Have you tried these cookies? They are seriously amazing.

Okay, enough about tantalizing foods…

The Whole30 email today dealt with going green when it comes to things we use to clean the house and put on our bodies. It’s definitely given me something to think about. It could be a fun project when I move into my own place in a little over a month. :)

Day 20 – 21 of #Whole30 – What the preggers?!

You know how last time I talked about how eating well generally makes you feel good?

Well, I don’t know what was in my dinner last night, but somehow I ended up with a distended stomach. I seriously got home, looked in the mirror, and thought I looked like I could be near the end of the first trimester of pregnancy. It was terrifying! I didn’t feel ill or anything; no bloating feelings, nothing. This morning I woke up and my belly was back to normal–even flatter than usual since I got in my Pole workout this week (yay!). Strange? You bet your bottom.

My friend and I went out to dinner last night to one of my favorite restaurants in Salt Lake City–The Copper Onion. The food is local, fresh and it’s all delicious. I eyeballed their Cast Iron Mary’s Chicken, which came with sweet potatoes, olives and kale. Our server informed us that the chicken is organic, free range, no antibiotics, and basically everything that makes it a gold star food when it comes to the Whole30. I requested that they cook it without butter and wine, and they happily obliged (though the guy who brought us the food made a little joke saying “extra butter and extra wine”… I wanted to slap him because that’s so not funny right now). And it was divine! The chicken was absolutely perfect, even the bones didn’t bother me. And the sweet potatoes tasted really nice (wish they gave me more of those!). Any restaurant that can get me to eat olives is definitely a good one. The mushroom side we ordered was good too, but there was nothing in it that could have triggered the stomach to bloat that bad.

Now I don’t know what caused the whole pregger stomach and what I should avoid to have that not happen again. Weird right? What did I do wrong? :S

Other than that little mishap, things are great! I’m feeling good, though my sleep is lacking since I haven’t been getting to bed until midnight. Early night for me tonight for sure. I’m also sore from my workouts that I was able to get in on Sunday and Monday. I haven’t been able to workout as much as I would like since rehearsal and work take up so much time, so it was nice. Now I just hurt, haha. It’s a good ouch, but it still hurts!

What’s the strangest reaction you’ve ever had to food? Do you know what caused it? 

Day 17 – 19 of the Whole30 – Sticking with it!

This weekend, there seems to have been a shift in my experience with the Whole30. Things have been a roller coaster, for sure. First couple of days were good, then a week was awful because of exhaustion, and this last week was going great (until Friday, that is).

Now… I feel like I could eat this well for a lot longer than 30 days, and that I want to. I’m feeling good, eating delicious foods that I know are good for me, my energy and focus is getting better, my body feels awesome (not to mention, trimmer)… things are just good all around!

The only place I’m running into trouble is when I go out with friends. Last night, I went to see a concert with one of my great friends and one of his other friends. They wanted to go get a treat after the show. And of course, they all wanted ice cream. And for reasons beyond me, I just happened to be hungry. It sucked because my friend was my ride, and I couldn’t just leave. I couldn’t eat anything at the diner. All of it, and I mean all of it, was not fit for my Whole30 experience. So I guzzled water, the odd man out.

So when I can re-introduce foods I’m curious to see how each different food group makes me feel. I’ll need to document that well, so I know what affects me adversely.

No meal rundown today… but I’m making turkey again tonight with red bell peppers, onions and magical-ness. ;)

Have you noticed how different foods make you feel? Do you not eat certain things because of it? 

Day 16 of the #Whole30 – Focus!

Focus on the door, Otis, focus on the door!

I feel like no one ever gets my Bill Engvall reference whenever I say that. But then again, I’m not entirely sure what he’s supposed to be referencing there…

Anyways! I just realized that in the past week, when I really focus on something, I am like Edward Scissorhands chopping up those bushes into animals. I get stuff done fast! Well, it’s not like I don’t usually get stuff done, but now I just whiz right through my tasks. I’m finishing books faster, my work projects quicker, picking up choreography at play practice super fast. So when the time comes when I have nothing to focus on, I actually feel my brain fly the coop until the next thing comes along. It’s weird… Positive side effect of the Whole30? No idea. And I’m not sure how I feel about it. Good thing on the productivity side though.

• Breakfast: 2 egg omelet with pico de gallo, coffee with almond milk
• Lunch: spinach, shredded carrots, canned pre-cooked chicken, strawberry balsamic (soooo good!)
• Snack: almonds
• Dinner: Zupas nuts about berries salad, no dressing, with a small bit of chicken… Such a rip off, btw

How I feel:
Over all, very well! Feeling good for the most part. My sinus infection is practically gone; I just have the phlegmy cough left to fight off and my voice is workable so I can be ready for my Les Mis audition tomorrow! So excited. Skin is dry since I’ve been walking outside more the past couple days though. It’s too stinking cold and dry. Looking forward to cooking a meal for two tomorrow! :)

Nighty night!