Day 3

Breakfast: I think I skipped it.. not a great idea, but it happens.

Lunch: Made these Swedish Meatballs! They were soooo good!

Dinner: leftovers

Dessert: Banana Pudding. I may have cheated a little, but at least it was still compliant. :)

Day 1

Breakfast: I totes forgot I was doing this today. I don't know how I forgot; probably just half asleep since I had to take husband to work this morning. If anything, at least it was an Organic cereal. ;) With farm fresh milk.

Lunch: My friend posted a picture of her zucchini lasagna the other day and it made me want some! It looked really good, so I searched for a recipe and I found this on Pinterest.  Kid #1 and #3 ate it with  me, but Kid #2 wanted his white rice and steak. I'll battle him once I get feeling better. Also had a slice or 2 of a peach. I really should omit all sugar, but maybe once the fruit is gone I'll take a break.

Dinner: Leftovers from lunch. I had to take husband to work and pick him up, so I didn't have time to prepare anything... because I had a nap, too, this afternoon. >.<

Sorry, no pictures! Just pretend. I'll take some when it actually looks appetizing.

Main Symptoms: Sore throat, brain fog, low functioning thyroid (fatigue, hair loss).

Day 1

Last night for "date night" we went to Wegman's. I wouldn't really call it a date because Jimmy stayed in the van with the boys while I went in to get groceries. I had to go FAST because it was just minutes before I would get the text saying, "Joey says potty."

I left a lot of groceries out because my brain is scattered and even though I had a list, I had to omit some stuff and then I forgot some of the good stuff. Blah. At least it's Saturday and I can get more things at Giant.

Bfast: I made some random mixture. I was supposed to use ground pork, but I didn't see any in my rush in Wegman's, so I got ground turkey. (Gross. Never again! I hate the way it smells and tastes and the tiny crunchy things I bit into.) There's mushrooms, onions, zucchini, and ground turkey with some seasoning like salt, pepper, garlic powder, and basil. I added avocado on the side and cooked Jimmy 2 fried eggs. The plate is supposed to be full of veggies around the meat, but I didn't. I was already terrified of what everyone was going to pick at and say, why put MORE veggies on? Baby steps, guys.

Jimmy ate breakfast with me and it was awesome and I'm so happy (and amazed and proud) that he ate everything on his plate! He liked the turkey, but hated the zucchini. I asked him if I could take a picture of that face he's making. "What face?" "The this-is-disgusting-and-I-want-to-throw-up face." Ah, what a trooper. :) I hated the turkey, but loved the zucchini. Jae had a couple zucchini "moons" too. 

It's going to be worth having a better diet. And, yep, I'm going to be one of those mothers who will buy mostly organic produce, grass-fed meats, and not let my kids have sugar. I bought a spiral veggie slicer, so hopefully we can have fun making meals together! And not chop off fingers!

Lunch: I bought one of these spiral slicer contraptions:

I thought it'd be a good idea to use up leftovers. Leftover mix from bfast with homemade spaghetti sauce that was sittin' in the fridge and I put it over zucchini noodles. 

It was horrible. 

Hor-ri-ble.

I apologized to him for making such crappy meals so far. In my head it sounded good. That turkey really is awful, though. Jimmy really hates zucchini. So, he suggested getting the leftover breaded pork loin  that was in the fridge. He scraped off as much breading as he could. And then I got the pistachios out and we ate a bunch of those. Guys, I'm no chef, obviously, so hopefully I can improve. This was much easier last year when it was just me on the diet. I stress about pleasing the crowd and failed today as Jimmy starved at work. In my defense, I did tell him he should take some pistachios to snack on while he was there. He chose not to.

Dinner: Made a whole chicken in the crockpot after I fed the boys Annie's Mac & Cheese at 10:30AM. It wasn't as tasty as I was hoping. My cooking skills will never go above Level 1. Where's Cooking Mama when you need her? Anyway, we had avocado with the chicken, I had more zucchini, and sweet potato fries. The best part of dinner was the sweet potato fries! How have I been missing out my entire life!? I just used olive oil and Mediterranean sea salt. They were divine! Jimmy gave them a 7. (He'd rather have a Russet.) 

Spiritually Fed:

I was invited via FB to join my friend in a March reading of The Book of Mormon. Start of finish. She does this yearly and I've always declined because I am the world's slowest reader and never felt that I could take it on. I figured since I was starting Whole30, I could tackle it as well. How slow I am to remember the detox stage. LOL! My head hurts, I'm so tired. But, I finished the rest of my 17 pages tonight. Earlier I read to Jae while Joey was napping and Joss on his playmat. It was fun to talk about the scriptures with Jae. I read him 6 pages and would discuss little things here and there. I told him that Lehi's family had to leave their home because Jerusalem was going to be destroyed. All they took was food, water, a tent, and they left with his family. I asked him what he would bring with him if we were asked to leave our home. He said, "Um, my truck blanket! It will keep me warm in case it gets cooooold!" :)

Symptoms:

Jimmy: Brain fog, lethargic, tired 

Me: Tired, lack of motivation, and see ADD tab for everything else LOL!

Jae: **Whiny/Meltdowns over the small things, runs around in circles

Joe: **Tantrums. Tantrums. Tantrums.

Joss: Overly adorable. This cannot be cured I'm sure!

**I realize they are just toddlers, but I can almost guarantee by taking out the sugar that there will be a LOT less whining and tantrums.

Day 3

Bfast: Sausage, mango salsa
Lunch: Deli turkey salad with all the fixins with ranch.
Dinner: Peach Chicken, salad

{recipe here}

The chicken doesn't look cooked, does it? I wonder if it was the grapeseed oil that made it look like that! I cooked it WAY too long because I was waiting for it to get done! It was in the oven for a while, ha ha! But, this was the tastiest meal I have had in a .long. time! And, obviously I used chicken breasts instead of a whole chicken. Don't compare my picture to Elana's Pantry. She's pro!

P.S. I had a salad with it, too!

And, FYI:

This is the sausage I buy...

Symptoms: BHC (Braxton-Hicks Contractions), but I haven't kept track of how many. Out of breath. Tired. Dehydrated.

Seasonal Allergies: No more itchy eyes!

Day 2

Trying to play catch-up... this will be short!

Bfast: sausage, mango salsa
Snack: pistachios
Lunch: burger, salad (peppers, cukes, tomatoes), and mango salsa
Dinn: Deli turkey, salad, ranch dressing

Made paleo banana bread (fail), mayo, dreamy avocado dressing, and ranch (from "ISWF").

Symptoms: Fatigued. Heart palps. BHC 13x/1hr. Called doctor's office, doctor was paged, and called me back. She said to drink a GALLON of water. (That's a lot!) And to take a warm bath. I took an Epsom Salt bath and drank about 16oz of water.
Seasonal Allergies: nose not as stuffy, but still a lot of snot!

Day 29: Best Meal Ever!

Wow, one full day left of Whole30. And then what will I do with myself!? Probably eat the same ol' paleo stuff. :) I like love eating healthy... pretty challenging and fun and... healthy! I never worried about reading labels, but this diet has helped me to see all the weird things they put in food.

Meal 1: Sausage, spaghetti squash with spaghetti sauce
Meal 2: Chicken (a bite or two; gave the rest to Jimmy), then cooked myself a hamburger with riced cauli.
Meal 3: Grilled chicken with mango salsa. And Beanitos bean chips... which I probably shouldn't have had, but hey, we'll know what made me sick tomorrow. ;)

Just been snacking throughout the day... and, I know, my veggies have been lacking... I noticed that. There could be worse things. >.<

Finally went to Giant and bought more groceries. I brought Jae with me not realizing the time. Brought him during dinner time and he was starving and sleepy LOL! He was laying his head on the handle to the cart, so bored and so tired and so hungry. Poor! Joey wasn't fed when I got home, so Jimmy cooked a pizza for the boys and himself. Jimmy must have been having withdrawals and put a bunch of JUNK food on the list. I was bummed it actually all fit in the freezer(s) lol. Oh, well. He will never eat the way I do, but at least my kids can eat like me someday! :) Still working on Joey!

{mango salsa}

I have been wanting mango salsa for the past 24 hours. I'm glad I was able to go to the store today and buy a mango. Oh, my... this was DIVINE! I ate and ate and overate! SO good!
{recipe here}
I didn't add avocado because we didn't have any ripe ones. I did not add jalapeño. I did not add red onion, just used a yellow onion.

BTW, if you saw on the interwebz about eating raw onion leftover in the fridge is bad to eat... it's not. "Don't believe everything you read on the internet." --Abraham Lincoln

These are the Beanitos chips that Bonnie told me about. I once was at the health foods store and asked her if she needed anything. She wanted a bag of these black bean chips, but there weren't any on the shelf! Anyway, they are made of: Whole Black Beans, Whole Grain Rice (Brown and/or Long Grain White), Pure Sunflower Oil, Guar Bean Gum, Sea Salt. I don't think the Guar Bean Gum is Whole30 approved and I know the Rice isn't either. Oops. But, Jimmy even liked them! YES!

They also have Pinto Bean Beanitos. The Chipotle BBQ kind has sugar in it, but I probably wouldn't have bought those ones anyway. ;)

Good meal. I'm so satisfied! Nom nom nom!

Day 28: Boring

While I was taking a shower, the boys pushed a chair to the freezer, got the bag of chocolate chips (only 1/4 bag left), and ate the rest of them. Joey was caught with a brown goatee:

Meal 1: I don't remember! Hamburger maybe?
Meal 2: Hamburger with riced cauliflower. I got the recipe from Amber!
Meal 3: I don't remember, hamburger or chicken?

It did all consist of either hamburger or chicken, riced cauliflower or spaghetti squash, spaghetti sauce or salad.

The end.

{Recipe here}

Doesn't it look yummy!? It tasted yummy! I cooked mine in coconut oil and left out the spice.

Yes, I took that picture... I did a fantastic job! :)

Day 19: More Energy

Meal 1: Kalua Pork?
Meal 2: Pumpkin pancakes w/ coconut oil and crushed pecans, banana
Meal 3: Kalua Pork, Romaine lettuce, tomato, and spaghetti squash

I seriously can't remember what I ate. I should start writing it down. Although, I don't know if it would be relative since it's Whole30 compliant! Minus the veggies I can't believe I only have 11 more days to go! Then I can start adding in dairy, one day, and wait a couple of days to see if there are any allergies. I want to just keep going on this because I feel great the way things are!

So, the pumpkin pancakes weren't as good as I was hoping! Probably because there's no sugar in it, ha ha! I just can't stand the texture and ALL those eggs! 4 eggs and 4 egg whites!? I should have found a different recipe, but now I know not to make any recipe with too many eggs. I hate eggs!! It tasted like egg powder or something. Coconut flour isn't all that awesome, ha ha! But, it's better than flour.

That pork sure was amazing, though! Obviously.. I ate it for 2 days straight! And that spaghetti squash.. mmm! I need more! And I need to figure out how to cook it in the crockpot first and THEN slice it open!

Amber and I went to Wegman's about dinnertime. I got more sausage! Yesss! That is exactly what my panned cakes needed.

I love being off of sugar. I think that's the majority of what's making me feel so energized. Well, I could just be pulling that out of a hat, but I don't miss it. Honey has always been sweet for me, but even more so now. I can live without the sugar added into food, processed food now disgusts me, and not having dairy hasn't been too difficult for me either. It'd be nice to have cheese once in a while, but I don't get cravings for it. Amber and I were discussing the top 4 foods that we miss. Like, fast food chains.. McD's fries sure are good! But, I can totally give those up!

Anyway, I love this diet... if you want a challenge, try Whole30! (Read "It Starts With Food" first.) I never cared to read labels, but holy cow... some of the things they put in food really are just added grossness. ;)

On that note, I am past my bedtime AGAIN... goodnight!

Day 1: With A Little Help From My Friend[s]

So, I felt miserable this morning with a sore throat and feeling very tired. I didn't eat breakfast, but I will start tomorrow! Bonnie came by this morning and cooked up a storm! I am so grateful for her service to me! I just hope she had energy herself to continue her day.

She brought over a yummy Crockpot Chicken Curry dinner that cooked for a few hours and in the meantime, she cooked a delicious Whole Greek Chicken with Roasted Garlic in the oven (this is seriously the best chicken I've ever had. I will post the recipe below), chicken broth/soup, and a couple burgers (one to save for tomorrow; but Jimmy ended up eating it because I told him how good it was). She had broth going and we added chicken juices; it was so yummy! I bagged up the broth so I can have it for breakfast or whatever meal. (In the book they call it Meal 1, Meal 2, Meal 3; so you don't limit what you eat for mealtimes.) After Bonnie left, I was going to boil the chicken bones, etc. I was too wiped out (probably from watching her cook!), so that will be a project for me tomorrow. I still need to get more chicken off the bones, too.

Meal 1: Skipped.
Meal 2: Bonnie cooked me a hamburger with sauteed mushrooms and onions served on lettuce. It was great! Seriously, I owe her!
Meal 3: Crockpot Chicken Curry. The chicken was so tender, the curry was mild, and the carrots, onions, and celery were amazing! I cooked a pot of rice for the boys, and I just ate mine plain. Jimmy isn't a fan of curry, but he ate it with no complaints.

I bought the boys coconut milk and wasn't sure if they'd drink it or not. (A straw is always an incentive!) Jae loves it and even Joey will drink it. I, myself, have not had more than a taste and Jimmy tasted it, but not enough to "taste" it. (If that makes sense.)

Not only did Bonnie feed me today, but she gave me some food for my spirit as well! Some good reads to strengthen my spirit and some good cookbooks with recipes to cook to strengthen my body.

(picture wouldn't rotate)

Thank you, Bonnie! I'm so grateful to know you and meet you! It's just what I needed today; to talk, start figuring out a system, get meal ideas, and motivation. Of course, there is always the interwebs... my Aunt Sheila told me about http://www.elanaspantry.com.  One of the books in the photo I posted is by Elana Amsterdam.

I'm not supposed to create "desserts" with the food allowed in this diet. I don't have a sweet tooth anyway, so it's easy to pass on desserts. I did, however, sneak 3 almonds in when I was getting the boys to bed.

It was a {great} day... tiring, but great to get things rolling! I pray for strength, health, and energy every day. I hope it comes within this month. Even if it's not 100% by the end, I know there will be SOME improvement during all this.

And, of course I can't post this without thinking of The Beatles (see blog title). :)
Recipe for Whole Greek Chicken with Roasted Garlic

The skin gets so crunchy and so full of flavor. SO good! Make it.. right now!