Whole30: Prepping for Round 2!

I'm doing my second round of Whole30 from January 2 - 31. (Less than a week away!) I think the best thing about doing a second round of Whole30 is the confidence that comes with knowing that I've made it through the 30 days previously. I can do this.

Another great thing about Round 2 is that I know a lot more people doing it this time. A few colleagues, friends, and friends of friends. One of our friends has already coordinated a Whole30 dinner party for mid-way through.

As we near the start of Round 2, I've been in planning mode and I've also noticed that I'm getting more questions from people. I thought I would compile a list of tips/reminders for myself and anyone else embarking on this adventure.

I included some tips in my recap of Round 1. I'm reiterating those, as well as some additional thoughts, here:

Before: Plan. It. Out.

Failing to plan is planning to fail. I know. It's cliche. It's also the truth. Especially for Whole30. With this in mind, you can't possibly plan for everything that will happen over the course of the 30 days. 

• We plan our meals out about a week in advance. I typically do this on Thursday and then my honey or I go grocery shopping on Friday. This allows time for food prepping over the weekend. Meal plan, grocery shop, food prep. Rinse and repeat. 

• Having a few "emergency" meals and snacks on hand is important. Our go-to "fast food" is Chomp Sticks and RX Bars. They sell both at our local Trader Joe's. (Just note that not all RX Bar flavors are compliant. Read your labels.) Also, having compliant sausage, a few potatoes, and a green veggie on hand are great for a quick and easy meal.
• If you find a recipe you like, and it works for leftovers, double the recipe. Here are eight of my honey and my favorites, that have remained in our meal rotation: 
• The Best Chicken You Will Ever Eat. Ever. (Well Fed) This goes great with a chopped cucumber, bell pepper, and tomato salad with Primal Kitchen's Greek Vinaigrette. 
• Classic Beef Stew (Well Fed) 
• Creamy Spinach Sweet Potato Noodles (Pinch of Yum) This is also vegan! If you do want to add protein, compliant bacon or pancetta would be a nice addition. 
• Crock Pot Picadillo (SkinnyTaste) I enjoy this topped with slices of fresh avocado and with a side of steamed broccoli. 
• Jalapeño Turkey Burgers (The Organic Kitchen)
• Madras Chicken Salad (Nom Nom Paleo) This is an amazing make-ahead salad. It is super yummy, and fun to eat, in lettuce cups. 
• Oven Baked Meatballs with Marinara (Noshtastic) Spaghetti squash "noodles" works well with this... and I recently figured out how to make it in the slow cooker. Couldn't be any easier! Here's the how-to. 
• Paleo Pad Thai (Well Fed) Her sunshine sauce is one of the best things I've ever eaten. *drool* 

Lastly, before you start, don't forget to weigh in, take measurements, and snap some before pictures.

During: Trust the process.

That's it. I found the first week to be the most challenging, in that I was so preoccupied with doing the Whole30, what I was eating, what I wasn't eating, what other people were eating, etc. However, once I got through that first week, things got much easier.

Take things one day and one week at a time. It's 30 days. Which is not a lot of days in the whole scheme of things. You can do it.

If you find yourself struggling, or even if you think it is a breeze, I recommend checking out the Whole30 website. There is more information than you will need there, including a forum where you can find frequently asked questions and support from others. Oh, and Googling "Can I eat                on Whole30" is still a frequent Google search for me.

After: Celebrate!

Except not with drinking and eating everything you didn't eat while doing the Whole30. That really isn't the point. While Whole30 is not a Whole365, it is an opportunity to shift your relationship with food. Take your time with reintroduction and if you didn't miss something, don't add it back in just because you are now "allowed" to.

Take measurements and some after photos. Weigh in, if you'd like. Reflect on the last 30 days and how you feel. Hopefully, we feel a whole lot better than day one. I think we will.

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Disclosure: Everything above is my own opinion, I paid for all the products with my own cash money, and I am not receiving any sort of compensation. I'm mentioning specific products because they helped me to be successful, and to me that's worth sharing. 

Whole 30: 10 days down, 20 to go...

Wow. I can't believe we're a third of the way through our first Whole 30! At this point I feel like I've settled into it.

Overall, I feel great -- I'm sleeping well and not feeling an afternoon slump. I haven't had any major cravings. I haven't consumed anything non-compliant... not even close.

A colleague is also doing a Whole30 and we've been checking in most mornings. We had a good laugh when we realized that we both recently had dreams about accidentally eating something non-compliant. Hers was bread and other baked goods. Mine was oatmeal. I think she wins, right? Who dreams about eating oatmeal?! I don't even eat oatmeal all that regularly.

As far as food prep, we do about the same as we did before. Here is a snapshot of what our Whole30 meals look like...

Breakfast: I typically eat a couple hard boiled eggs and fruit for breakfast, so this was probably the easiest food transition. While I could continue with my typical breakfast, I thought this was a great opportunity to try something new. On Sunday, I made the Leek and Prosciutto Frittata recipe from the America's Test Kitchen cookbook, Paleo Perfected. Many of the recipes are not Whole30 compliant (honey, paleo "baked goods," etc.), this was is fine as is. Super fast to make and tastes just as good leftover. Throw in a side of fresh berries and I've been good to go until lunch.

Leek & Prosciutto Frittata + Bluberries & Strawberries

Lunch: This has generally been leftovers from Meal 3 the prior day. My favorite taco salad recipe is compliant, once you omit the tortilla chips and cheese. I barely missed them.

Taco Salad

Dinner: Our third meals of the day have varied. One from last week was beef burgers with avocado mayo and caramelized onions, and sautéed cremini and maitake mushrooms, accompanied by a giant, veggie-filled salad.

Burger w/ avocado mayo & onions, mushrooms, & salad.

And yes, leftovers from this Meal 3 were Meal 2 the following day.

We've definitely enjoyed some quite delicious meals during our Whole30. 

Whole30: 1 day down, 29 to go...

I'm back. 

After a lengthy blog hiatus. 

Blogiatus? 

So, why now?

I'm back to share about my decision to do a Whole30 and bring my honey along for the ride.

We've had friends do it. I follow a bunch of people on Instagram who have done it. I was intrigued. A nutrition reset of sorts sounded good. So I looked into it. I read the books. 

Not familiar with Whole30*? Here are the basic guidelines, from the website: "Eat meat, seafood, eggs, tons of vegetables, some fruit, and plenty of good fats from fruits, oils, nuts and seeds."

The focus is real food. It is straightforward and there is no wiggle room. I like structure and rules, so it works well with my style. 

Now day one is almost in the books. Here's what we ate today:

Meal 1: Bacon, potatoes, bell pepper, and onion hash. (I found compliant bacon at our local Safeway!)

Meal 2: Chicken salad (avocado mayo, lemon juice, green onion, celery), cucumber, bell pepper, and grapes.

Meal 3: Pulled pork carnitas (Whole30 recipe), roasted sweet potatoes, cabbage slaw, and avocado.

How I'm feeling right now... Just fine. I was super tired today late morning. However, I'm not sure I can attribute that to Whole30. Because 1) I got up at 5 am to run 4 miles before my 9-hour work day and 2) I was sitting in a meeting with a lot of talking. Could be those things. Probably.

29 days to go...

*Want to read more about Whole30? Go here. 

2014 Goals Update! Vacation, Running, Grad School??? OH MY!

I wanted to do a quick goals update, since it has been a while since I have posted. For the most part, I've been blogging much more frequently this year. I did take a little break when I went on vacation last week. We went to Disneyland for four days and it was absolutely wonderful. It rained on us nearly the entire time but I'm not complaining because we were having fun at Disneyland!

MONORAIL! This was the view from our hotel room. Love.

Milk & Cookies.

Mickey beignets at Cafe Orleans in Disneyland.

Out there having fun, in the warm cool California sun rain.

In addition to my various goals (see updates below) I found out on Friday that we received a grant award at work for the biggest (money-wise) proposal I have ever written. YAAAAAAY! This is particularly fantastic because it secures resources for critical prevention, intervention and youth development services. A selfish reason that I was keeping my fingers crossed for the grant award is because it means I will most likely not have to submit another proposal of that size until 2016.

Oh, and if that isn't enough excitement for a couple weeks, I hit 'submit' on a graduate school application this morning. It is for an innovative, accelerated program that will allow me to complete my master degree by December of next year, all while maintaining my current full-time job. For now, I wait....

Goal Updates 

Home: 

• Complete January Cure.  
• Blog January Cure and goal progress minimum 1x/week. 

Fitness/Health - Reach Goal Weight & Maintain:

• Hot Chocolate 5K (January); Fight for Air Climb (March); Great Strides 5K (April); Stars & Stripes 5K (July); Fall 5 or 10K TBD.
• Hikes 1x/month minimum
• Schedule and track all fitness. 
• Complete five personal training sessions. 
• Group gym classes 2x/month minimum. 

The hiking goal has been one that I have really enjoyed accomplishing and we have easily exceeded it. My big hike this month will be with a childhood friend. We don't see each other all that often and she is a lover of the great outdoors and will be a wonderful hiking mentor.

I recently restarted my Couch-to-5K training -- mainly because I wanted to get back in the habit of running every other day and work up my running stamina. This past week I ran every other day. So far, so good!

Woot.

My first personal training session is scheduled for this Friday! I will report back on how that, and any future personal training sessions, goes.

Cooking/Health:

• Track all food and pay attention to portion sizes. 
• New recipes 8x/month. 
• Meatless lunches/dinners 4x/week minimum. 

The new recipes goal has been especially easy...and fun! I use Paprika which makes finding, importing and organizing recipes super duper easy. I also use it for our weekly meal planning and grocery lists. Meatless meals have also been easy and fun. Keeping it up at much as possible! I will post some of our favorite new recipes soon. 

Fun: 

• Read 12+ books. 
• Dates with friends 2x/month minimum. (May be combined with fitness fun.)
• Daily Challenge by me you health. (Overall well being.) 

I'm still working my way through the two books I started this year, A Confederacy of Dunces and Tattoos on the Heart. Both are very good but I honestly haven't been making reading a priority. I do want to work on that, even if it means just a little bit each evening. 

We have been having a lot of fun with friends so far this year -- next up is a dinner and game night at our house this Saturday. We'll be making a vegan paella. Mmm... 

Last, but not least... I've completed all of the Daily Challenge assignments since January 1...68 days and counting! 

Recipe: Chicken Caesar Salad Bites

I hope that everyone is having a wonderful holiday season! Like many people, I am starting to think ahead a week to 2014 (YES, 2014 is in a week!) and my goals for the new year. One of them will definitely be to blog more and in an effort to get started now, I wanted to share a recipe! This recipe was recently approved by the 30+ of our framily* who gathered at my parents' house yesterday to eat, drink and be merry.

Chicken Caesar Salad Bites on Parmesan Crisps

These Chicken Caesar Salad Bites are an easy prep-ahead appetizer, and only require four ingredients. The most difficult part is neatly topping the parmesan crisps with the chicken/arugula/dressing mix.

Makes: 5 dozen

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces shredded parmesan or an Italian cheese blend
• 16 ounces cooked chicken breast, diced fine
• 1 cup arugula, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup caesar dressing** (more or less to taste)

Directions:
Make the cheese crisps: 

1. Preheat your oven to 350º and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. 
2. Spoon rounded teaspoons of cheese onto the baking sheet, about an inch apart. I generally do 12 little cheese piles on each baking sheet. 
3. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until the cheese is melted and nicely browned. 
4. Remove from oven and let cool slightly before transferring to wire racks to cool completely. Repeat this process to make all of the crisps. 
5. If you are not using them right away after cooling, place in a paper towel-lined, air-tight container. 

Assembling the bites:

1. When ready to serve, stir together the chicken and arugula. 
2. Stir in the dressing a bit at a time, until it is to your liking. 
3. Gently top each cheese crisp with a spoonful of salad and serve immediately.

*Framily = friends who are our family.
**We really like Ken's Light Caesar Dressing. It isn't creamy but has good flavor and works well in this particular recipe.

The Imposter Syndrome

Now that I have lost almost 40 pounds (!!!), I am getting a lot of comments from people regarding my weight loss. The number one question has got to be: "How did you do it?!" I generally respond with, "oh, you know, just trying to eat better and be more active." Yep, I tend to completely minimize the amount of work I have put into becoming healthier. My response should be, "I'm working my ass* off! Literally."

I recently read Sheryl Sandberg's book Lean In. First of all, I highly recommend reading it. Second, one of the things that stuck with me is the idea of the "Imposter Sydrome."

Sheryl shares:

This phenomenon of capable people being plagued by self-doubt has a name -- the imposter syndrome. Both men and women are susceptible to the imposter syndrome, but women tend to experience it more intensely and be more limited by it. 

Instead of feeling worthy of recognition, they feel undeserving and guilty, as if a mistake has been made... 

She goes on to talk about how multiple studies have shown that women tend to judge their own performance as worse than it is, and are also more likely to attribute success to luck or "being in the right place at the right time." On the other hand, men tend to judge their performance as better than it actually is, and based on skill. This issue is both internal and external...women tend to be judged by what they have already accomplished while men are judged on their potential to be successful. Reading Lean In made me much more aware of how often I dismiss my skills and successes and struggle, like many women, to internalize my accomplishments. Hello, self-fulfilling prophecy!

I have come to better realize that while I may not have control over all of the external stuff, I can gain better control over myself. In mid-May, I made the decision to change, to gain more control over my health. I began erring on the side of lean meat, fruit and veggies, some dairy, and very little breads and such. Our grocery lists now consist of mostly unprocessed, whole foods. I also pay attention to serving sizes and track everything. With regards to fitness, I park farther away. I take the stairs. I schedule workouts, even if I can only fit in 20-30 minutes. I enlisted my honey and now we sometimes do a lap around our neighborhood after dinner. We make "fitness dates" with friends...

So...how did I do it? I worked hard for this. I continue to work hard. I am not an imposter.

*Sorry, mom.

Recipe: BLT Egg Muffins

I like making things in muffin tins. (Exhibit A) I also like easy/healthy/filling breakfasts that I can eat on the go (Exhibit B). So when a friend posted a drool-inducing Facebook post about bacon and egg muffins, I quickly decided that I wanted to create a bacon, lettuce and tomato (BLT) version.

These are good on their own but I think these would be even better topped with fresh avocado slices and a few drops of your favorite hot sauce. I think that avocado and hot sauce make most things better.

Oh, and while you could use regular bacon, I opted for turkey bacon and still found them to be delicious. According to my calculations, each egg muffin, without toppings, is approximately 115 calories. Two of these are a perfect, substantial workday breakfast for me.

Makes: 8 muffins

Ingredients:
8 slices turkey or regular* bacon
8 whole eggs or egg whites
A handful of arugula, chopped
2 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
Garlic powder
Avocado and hot sauce for topping (optional)

Nonstick spray

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Spray muffin tin with nonstick spray. 
3. Wrap a piece of bacon around the inside of each cup of the muffin tin. Divide the chopped arugula and diced tomatoes between the cups. 
4. Crack an egg into each cup (or pour in egg whites) and top with a pinch of garlic powder. 
5. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until eggs are set. Let cool slightly and then pop out muffins to eat immediately or pack up and refrigerate for a future grab-and-go meal. 

* If you use regular bacon, you will probably want to transfer the cooked muffins to paper towels to soak up some of the grease.

Cuba, te quiero!

Since I last posted, I went to Cuba! It was amazing.

Let me repeat that. It. Was. AMAZING.

Sunset over Old Havana. View from one of the rooftop bars at our hotel.

I have been asked a lot of questions but I find it challenging to put how incredible the entire experience was into words. Hence the reason for the delay in this post as well. Since words can't quite capture the trip, I decided to share a selection of my favorite photos and I am including captions to provide at least some level of detail.

If you find yourself thinking of specific questions, please please please feel free to post a question (or ten) in a comment section and I will respond as I am able. If I don't know the answer, I'll try my best to point you in the right direction.

Our hotel. SO fancy.
Yes, there are old American cars all over the place.

Life in Old Havana.

Perfume shop. Old Havana.

Strolling down Obispo Street in Old Havana.

Patty-cake and bananas. Old Havana.

One of the restaurants where we consumed mass amounts of rum and food.

All of the food we ate was DELICIOUS.
Pictured above: cheese plate,
chicken with sour orange sauce, black beans and rice,
and a grilled lobster tail. 

Visiting an organic farm.
While 75% of the food consumed in Cuba is imported,
about 65% of the produce is grown within the country.
This farm provides the produce for our hotel.

"Papa Hemingway" daiquiris at Floridita and the bell at his house.
(If he liked you, he would ring the bell and let you in.
If he didn't like you, he would hide.)

Cretin's Corner at the Revolution Museum.
Our tour guide: "We didn't really like Bush."
Us, in unison: "Neither did we!"

Lunch in Piñar del Rio, one of the most beautiful places.

The "Mural de Prehistoria" in Piñar del Rio. Got to love the 1950s.

Visiting with a tobacco farmer.
Piñar del Rio is the "Napa Valley" of tobacco.

Our childfree family enjoyed this sign.
Hotel Nacional, Havana.

Project 365: 148 | Beignet | 11.15.12

Project 365: 148 | Beignet | 11.15.12

We arrived in New Orleans early last Thursday morning, checked in at our hotel, and made our way to Cafe Du Monde for lattes and beignets. It was the perfect start to our first day in the big easy.

Camera: Canon Rebel T1i

Project 365: 104 | Oatmeal | 10.01.12

Project 365: 104 | Oatmeal | 10.01.12

I recently tried an overnight oatmeal recipe and was pleasantly surprised that it works and it is really tasty. Perfect for during the work week. This was the simplest version -- 1/4 cup quick oats, 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk, and 1 teaspoon chia seeds. Shake all that up in a jar and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, take out, microwave and add toppings.

Camera: iPhone

Project 365: 103 | Brunch | 09.30.12

Project 365: 103 | Brunch | 09.30.12

A friend invited me over for a girls' brunch on Sunday. When I arrived, I helped her with these smoked salmon and chive cream cheese crostinis. It turns out she doesn't even like smoked salmon but she said that it she wouldn't be a good jew if she didn't serve something "jewy." They were delicious and so was everything else she prepared.

Camera: iPhone

Project 365: 97 | SkinnyTaste | 09.24.12

Project 365: 97 | SkinnyTaste | 09.24.12

On Monday, we cooked two new dishes from one of my favorite food blogs, SkinnyTaste, and they were a success. My honey cooked the grilled Asian chicken and I made the edamame fried rice. We threw in some steamed broccoli and we had delicious and healthy rice bowls. I had done a little prep work the day before, including marinating the chicken and cooking the brown rice. So far, all of the recipes we have cooked from SkinnyTaste have been keepers!

Camera: iPhone

Project 365: 37 | Sushi | 07.26.12

Project 365: 37 | Sushi | 07.26.12

Thursday night sushi.

Camera: iPhone

Project 365: 31 | Baking | 07.20.12

Project 365: 31 | Baking | 07.20.12

Although I do not consider myself a baker, I did whip up a batch of these whole wheat zucchini chocolate chip muffins in preparation for friends visiting over the weekend. They turned out quite tasty and I was happy to be able to use some of the frozen zucchini leftover from the surplus in our garden last season.

Camera: iPhone

Project 365: 28 | Rural | 07.17.12

Project 365: 28 | Rural | 07.17.12

We live in a county that is quite diverse. Much of the county would be classified as suburban, but we also have some urban areas and other communities that are rather isolated, with teeny populations. I am lucky to have a career where I get to work countywide and yesterday I was in one of our most rural communities -- complete with an abundance of roadside farm stands selling fresh, locally grown produce. 

Camera: iPhone

Project 365: 26 | Sandwich | 07.15.12

Project 365: 26 | Sandwich | 07.15.12

A must stop when in the San Luis Obispo area is at Firestone Grill for tri tip sandwiches. I stuffed this in my face and it was delicious.

Camera: iPhone

Project 365: 14 | Packed | 07.03.12

Project 365: 14 | Packed | 07.03.12

I took this photo bright and early on Tuesday morning, as I was leaving for work. For the past few months, I have been trying to eat healthier and drink lots of water. These are two of the tools that are helping me with my goal. I generally drink 2-3 liters of water each day, mostly from this water bottle. My honey and I also usually pack up lunches and snacks to take with us to work. The result is healthier eating and less money spent on eating out.

Camera: iPhone

Photos: Brunch

A group of girlfriends and I get together for regular brunches, cocktail parties, etc.  Most of the parties have become tradition, including theme and time of year.  These are a few of my favorite photos from yesterday's brunch.

French cheese plate.

Cheers!

Pastries, mimosa, and an egg bake.

Pastries.

Flowers.

All you really need for a delicious brunch.

I thought the lighting in the kitchen made for some great photos.

It would be weird if the day didn't end with handstands.

Our next brunch will be in December, between Christmas and New Years, and I will be hosting.  I have already been brainstorming ideas for food and beverages including a bloody mary bar and a fruit, yogurt, and granola bar.  What can I say, I love a good "build your own                  " bar.

To Do: Find Ideas and Inspiration

These are three of my current favorite websites and are filled to the brim with ideas and inspiration.

Daily Challenge sends e-mails every morning with a to-do item that in some way improves your mental, physical and/or emotional health.  Today's challenge is to identify a local place that serves healthy food and to save the information on paper or in your phone.  Easy peasy. 

Foodgawker is exactly what it sounds like -- a place to gawk at (and often drool over) delicious looking dishes and find the associated recipes. I submitted by first photo yesterday so fingers crossed by zucchini & goat cheese rolls make the cut. 

Pinterest is a visual pin board where you can store and share all sorts of fabulous ideas and images from all over the interwebs.  This site warms my organization and list-loving heart.

To Do: Laugh

Any other Parks & Rec fans out there?

Enjoy.

TomHaverFoods.com



Happy Thursday!