End of Whole 30 / Kale Power Bowl

So, I ended whole30 a while ago. I was semi-disappointed because I only lost 4 pounds. My boss lost like 12! However, 4 pounds is still a healthy amount to lose in 1 month. I felt good during whole30. I never had that guilt of regretting what I just ate. Never felt bloated or gross or overly full. However, I don't necessarily agree with all of what whole30 advocates for. I don't think there's anything wrong with quinoa, rice, whole wheat, black beans, greek yogurt, and a few others - at least in moderation. These past couple weeks I haven't been doing great as far as eating healthy, I must confess. It's difficult for me to find a good balance - either I'm all in or I'm not.

Day 28 / Lemon Chicken & Pan-Fried Chicken

Pan-Roasted Chicken Legs

I recently watched Food Inc. I always knew if I saw what really went on with factory farming that I'd probably become a vegetarian. However, part of the movie discussed some farms who are still doing it the right way (i.e. they let their animals eat things like grass, give them enough room to roam around, and don't stuff them with hormones...and actually let them see and feel the sun). It's a really informative documentary if you haven't looked.

Day 27 / Cauliflower & Carrot Soup

I love a good creamy soup. This recipe is also extremely easy. I didn't have beef broth, but my roommates made chicken broth from the roasted chicken I did a few days ago. I think it really enhanced the flavor of the soup!

Golden Cauliflower Soup (from Whole30 Recipes Instagram)
Serves 6-8 | Prep 10 min | 1 hour

Ingredients:

• 1 large head cauliflower (about 3 pounds)
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 large carrots, peeled and diced
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
• 2 cups Whole30 compliant beef broth (like I said, I used chicken broth)
• 1 cup water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup canned coconut milk

Day 25 / Almond-Crusted Chicken & Sweet Ginger-Dijon Dressing

Day 25! The end is near. Chocolate is calling my name.

Almond-crusted chicken, salad, roasted veggies

Last week, I made a delicious meal with almond-crusted chicken, kale salad with bell peppers, avocado, and sweet ginger-dijon dressing, and roasted broccoli and cauliflower.

The almond-crusted chicken tenders recipe is here (thanks for the recommendation, Cristin!) I added some more salt, pepper, and Italian herbs into the almond meal. I sliced my chicken breasts fairly thin, so I should have lowered the cooking time. Otherwise, it's really tasty! I ended up cutting the chicken and tossed it in my salad, and the flavors of avocado, the dressing, and crunchy almond chicken was great.

This dressing is deliiiicious. I wish I had doubled it!

Day 19 / Proscuitto & Breakfast Potatoes

Today is Day 19!

The middle of Whole30 was a bit rougher for me than the beginning. Last week I reallyyyy wanted chocolate and/or drinks (the alcoholic kind). But now that I'm more than half-way down, it's more like a countdown until the end.

This past weekend it snowed in Winston, which means I didn't have to go to work on Friday. It was a really relaxing 3-day weekend...but my whole30 buds and I were a bit bummed we couldn't do snow day the way we've done snow days in the past. Last year, Daniel and I walked to get coffee and then drinks. The year before that, Ashley J. and I walked to get beer and pizza. We tortured ourselves on Saturday by going to a Tex-Mex restaurant and seeing everyone else eat chips and salsa and margaritas...however we made it through and got by with LaCroix (our beverage of choice) and some delicious whole30 friendly snacks.

So I have been missing bacon, and we haven't been able to find a store that sells sugar-free bacon. However, we did find prosciutto at Trader Joe's that is whole30 compliant and that was a game changer for me! On Saturday, I made a big breakfast with a potato hash, crispy prosciutto, paleo pancakes, and fried eggs.

So I am on a quest to find the perfect recipe for breakfast potatoes/hash. I like it pretty crispy on the outside/soft on the inside. It's harder than it sounds! Do you boil potatoes first? Do you roast them in the oven or saute in a skillet? So many options. On Friday, I made a mush of a sweet potato hash, it was more like mashed sweet potatoes with bell peppers and onions...gross...although Daniel and Julie claimed to like it...but on Saturday, I made a pretty good potato hash (didn't really follow a recipe, but here's how I did it):

Breakfast Potatoes

Ingredients: 

• 2.5-3 lbs russet potatoes
• ~2 tbl dried rosemary (I'm sure fresh would taste great as well...I didn't really measure, I just used enough to cover the potatoes)
• ~2-3 tbl ghee (clarified butter)
• salt & pepper to taste
• I'm sure an onion and bell pepper would taste good with this as well! 

Day 5 / Stuffed Avocado with Tuna & Fruit Smoothie

A fear of "diets" or changing eating habits is that it is hard to find the time to cook. Both of these recipes were extremely easy and the tuna makes for great leftovers. I think you can do just about anything with a little bit of planning and organization, including eating healthier. I try not to overwhelm my week by making a complicated/new recipe every day - at most I try 1-2 new recipes a week...and even then I have found the best recipes are simple, and include ingredients I recognize and know I can find.

Here's what I ate:

Breakfast:

• paleo pancakes
• 2 scrambled eggs 

Lunch: 

Stuffed avocado with tuna

• Stuffed avocado with tuna plus a little side of kale (basically it turned into a tuna/kale/avocado salad)

• Banana/strawberry/blueberry/almond milk/almond butter smoothie 

Here is the stuffed avocado recipe. Many people may immediately say they hate tuna because they hate mayo. Fear not! This recipe is not mayonnaise-y at all. Julie was in the tuna-hating-camp but tried this recipe and loved it. It's great to make for leftovers for lunches and dinners throughout your week. This also goes great with salad greens. Also, be sure to look at ingredients when buying tuna! I was surprised that a lot contain soy. I found my tuna at Harris Teeter and Trader Joe's. 

Day 10 / Holy crap my jeans fit again

You know your favorite pair of jeans? Have they ever gotten too small because you gained weight? Some people would say to give those away, sell them, etc. but I had hope... I wasn't going to stay overweight and annoyed with myself that some of my favorite clothes no longer fit...This morning, on day 10, I put on an old favorite pair of jeans AND THEY FIT.