Day 10 Whole30

Day 10 Wednesday, September 21, 2016

Woke up at 5 am. I need to get to bed earlier! I am exhausted. My body feel great but I am tired.

Breakfast I had leftover spaghetti squash and egg again :) and a banana. Today has been so hard to get going. I was working on some homework and I fell asleep and slept for 2 hours. Lunch was leftover chicken, potatoes and coleslaw. I did not get a meal made for the evening, so we all had leftovers. Today was a leftover kind of day. Went to bed around 1 am.

Day 9 Whole30

Day 9 Tuesday, September 20, 2016
Woke up at 5 am. I had such a hard time waking up today! I could barely keep my eyes open to drive the big kids to school. Breakfast was intimidating when I read what I would be eating... Leftover spaghetti squash with the meat and tomato sauce WITH a fried egg on top!

It was so GOOD!! lol
I did make it to the Y and had a good workout, where I felt some energy.
Lunch was the rest of the chicken chowder. I really want a nap!
After school pick up I enlisted the help of Michaela and Anthony in trying to make mayonnaise again. This time I had researched and bought the right tool. Immersion (stick) blender. We made Mayo!! It was such a high point for me, I had 3 mayo fails before this. It turned out so creamy and tasted pretty darn delicious! I used sunflower seed oil so our mayo has a nice nutty flavor to it.

It took forever to blend because you have to pour the oil in VERY slowly. All three us took turns pouring and blending and our arms got tired. :p
This evening was so rushed with kids activities. I did not get dinner done until 8:15 at night. I fed the kids corn dogs before we ran out the door to football, swimming and mutual. It really would have helped if I would have followed the directions for the the food prep it suggested I do the night before... Anyway We had Perfect seared chicken, Roasted potatoes seasoned with olive oil and fresh rosemary, Green cabbage cole slaw, and a roasted red pepper mayonnaise for dipping our potatoes and chicken in. My family LOVED it all! I did not get to bed until 11:30 pm.

Day 8 Whole30

Day 8-Monday, September 19, 2016

Woke up at 5 am. I ate a banana and had a big drink of water before I went to the gym. After I got back I had a 3-egg scramble, to which I added the rest of the cooked butternut squash that I had in the fridge. It was tasty. For lunch I had the rest of the classic chili and an apple. Dinner was so good!! I cooked a spaghetti squash in the microwave. The tomato sauce in the book is so delicious, I doubled the recipe so that I could freeze some for later. I also added some zucchini to the pot.

Spaghetti Squash with meat and tomato sauce. The sauce had so much flavor, it was amazing!! I wanted to eat more even though I was full. (I didn’t though, I listened to my full signal. :)) I also had a green salad with veggies, fresh salsa and my homemade ranch. My legs have not been as shaky as yesterday. I have been wanting to "Eat all things" today though... LOL Went to bed around 10:45 pm.

Sample Meal Plan for Whole30

This is the sample meal plan that is offered in the book. I thought I would have taken advantage of it my first week, but I am glad I saved it for this week. There are a couple pages dedicated to telling you what to prep each day for the meals the next day. I went grocery shopping this morning and got everything I will need for the week. This morning I did not do the spinach frittata, but I had scrambled eggs with spinach in them. :)
I made this chart to print off and have on hand this week.

B	Spinach Frittata (pg 206), side of fruit, avocado	Leftover ground beef & Spaghetti squash topped with a fried egg (pg 149)	Leftover chicken and roasted potatoes, drizzle of pesto (pg 315)	Scrambl-ed eggs (pg 150) with berries, side of steamed spinach (pg 171) with ghee	Leftover Salmon, butternut squash soup (pg 266)	Kitchen sink scrambl-ed eggs (pg 202, using leftover pork and greens), side of applesauce	Leftover carnitas topped with a fried egg (pg 149) pan-fried plantains
L	Protein Salad (pg 161, using traditional On a bed of baby spinach, ranch dressing (pg 316), side of fruit	Protein Salad in hollow bell pepper, sliced carrots, celery and apple with Ranch dressing for dipping	Mexican Tuna (pg 238) in romaine leaves, leftover slaw, side of fruit	Leftover brisket and butternut squash, drizzle of pesto, side of fruit	Greek Salad (pg 278) with boiled eggs(pg 149), side of fruit	No-fuss Salmon Cakes (pg 346) leftover butternut squash soup, green beans w/onions, mushrooms, and peppers	Leftover salmon cakes, cold thai salad (pg 274) with Sunshine sauce (pg 320)
D	Perfect ground meat (pg 152) w/Italian Seasoning, tomato sauce (pg 324), Roasted spaghetti squash (pg 294)	Perfect seared chicken breast (pg 157) Roasted red pepper mayo (pg 312) roasted potatoes (pg 166) green cabbage slaw (pg 282)	Slow Cooker beef Brisket (pg 214) with the butternut squash make it a meal, garden salad w/dressing greek salad (pg 278)	Perfect oven- baked salmon (pg 160) with Broccoli, mushrooms, yellow squash with red pepper sauce (pg 264)	Pork chops with spiced apple- sauce (pg 258)	Roasted sweet potato (pg296) stuffed w/pulled pork carnitas (pg 254) drizzle of avocado mayo (pg 310)	Chicken sausage, pepper, onion, kale frittata (pg206), drizzle of avocado mayo, fruit salad, cauliflow-er mash (pg 270)

I am excited to see how it goes.

Day 7 Whole30

Day 7-Sunday September, 2016

Woke up around 8:45 am Breakfast 3 fried eggs and a banana. We did not make it out of the house all day! Michaela was sick last night and so we stayed home and rested. Greg was called into work. Lunch-leftover chicken chowder. Dinner was crazy, I ended up making 3 meals. I made a pasta and meatball dish for my family because they have been asking for that. (Which I can not eat) Then I made a chicken enchilada dish and brought it over to a friend who needed dinner. Then I cooked some ground beef for me and was hoping to make a tomato sauce so I could have spaghetti squash with meat sauce. But it didn’t come together. I ended up not feeling hungry and probably could have gone to bed without dinner, but figured that was not a good idea. I ended up having a big salad with lots of veggies, 2 hard boiled eggs, salsa and my homemade ranch dressing. It was good. I know I have been eating a lot of eggs, and I am going to try to mix up my protein sources this coming week. I did not take care of myself or my children very well today. I did not drink enough water and was lazy and exhausted! My legs were shaky and tired every time I went up or down a set of stairs, which in my house is a lot! Went to bed around 11 pm.

Day 6 Whole30

Day 6-Saturday, September 17, 2016

Woke up at 7:30 am Breakfast 3-egg scramble with veggies. Lunch chicken and broccoli leftovers. Dinner was super delicious and my whole family enjoyed it. Chicken Chowder I followed the recipe except, I added some butternut squash (Because I had it in the fridge cooked), and I omitted the Jalapeno and the red onion, only because I did not have them on hand. We even squeezed fresh lime juice over it and to our surprise it was just the right touch. I am still amazed at how much the majority us are liking these recipes.

Went to bed around 11:00 pm.

Day 5 of Whole30

Day 5-Friday, September 16, 2016

Woke up around 9 am (No school/seminary for the kids today.) I was in bed way too long! I have a little bit of a headache, but feeling better than yesterday. Breakfast 3-egg scramble with veggies… banana. Lunch was the chicken salad mixture again over the romaine lettuce. It was still yummy today. :) For dinner I grilled some chicken on the grill, I did not do a very good job… It was dry and didn’t have much flavor. I will be trying a different chicken recipe this weekend and I am looking forward to that. I also had some broccoli and butternut squash with dinner. Went to bed around 11:15 pm

Day 4 of Whole30

Day 4-Thursday, September 15, 2016

Woke up at 5 am I woke up feeling dizzy and exhausted, I could not keep my eyes open. I am pretty sure it is a lack of sleep and changing my diet. Breakfast- 3 egg scramble with squash, bell pepper, tomatoes, spinach, salsa, and a banana. I had a bout of diarrhea. Lunch was so satisfying- romaine lettuce, covered in a chicken salad mixture. Canned boneless, skinless chicken breast, with a little bit of my homemade runny mayo, sliced grapes, chunks of granny-smith apples, handful of whole almonds, salt & pepper. It was delicious!

I have had a headache pretty much all day.

Dinner was yummy, We had classic chili and I really liked the flavor.

I survived my first going out to a restaurant with friends. We went to Applebee’s and because I had already eaten a hearty meal I was not (very) tempted to order anything. It was nice to go and visit with friends just for the sake of visiting. Went to bed about 1130 pm.

Day 3 of Whole30

Day 3-Wednesday, September 14, 2016

Woke up at 5 am. Breakfast 3 egg scramble w/yellow squash, bell pepper, tomatoes, and salsa, banana. Lunch-romaine and spinach salad w/ tomatoes, bell pepper, 2 hard boiled egg cilantro, salsa. 2 salmon cakes. I did not get to eat lunch until 2 pm and I was STARVING!! But what I ate was so satisfying. The reason I ate so late was that I was at the grocery store reading labels…

I have had a headache all afternoon. Side note: in the book it has a summary of what you might expect while doing this program every other day or so, based on other peoples reviews. I am supposedly around the time when people go through a stage called “the hangover” I have never had a hangover so I can not compare. But I think that the headache has to do with that. I am pretty sure it is also the fact that I am not getting enough sleep. Anyway, Dinner tonight was leftovers. I needed my family to eat all the non-compliant food, that I can not eat right now, in the refrigerator before it went old and bad. I ate leftover potato and cabbage dish from the night before. Headed to bed 1130 pm. Good night!

Day 2 of Whole30

Day 2-Tuesday, September 13, 2016

Woke up at 5 am. Breakfast 3 egg scramble with bell pepper, zucchini, tomatoes, and fresh salsa Banana. I am hungry! Lunch- romaine lettuce cherry tomatoes, bell pepper, asparagus, cucumber, hard boiled egg (1), leftover salmon cakes (2), salsa. So tasty!! Dinner-Potatoes, cabbage, onions, sausage goulash, seasoned with salt, pepper and garlic.

I realized that finding sausage that is whole30 compliant is hard! I found a package called Chef Bruce Aidells, chicken and apple. It was a little too sweet for the potato dish that my family is used to, but it was ok. Every other sausage package I picked up had some sort of sugar in it plus a bunch of other additives.

I had a small headache off and on today. Went to bed 1130 pm. I am still excited! :)

Day 1 of Whole30 and Salmon Cakes

Day 1-Monday, September 12, 2016

Woke up at 5 am. I hid my scale and won’t bring it out again until I am done with my 30 days minimum. Ate a fried egg 6 am, 2 fried eggs 730 am. Tried to make the homemade mayo, it is really runny, searched online and found some tips… add another egg slowly, put in fridge. We will see if it thickens up… Lunch-romaine lettuce hard boiled egg, diced chicken breast, cherry tomatoes, red bell pepper, cucumber, salsa, apple. Dinner No-Fuss Salmon Cakes, asparagus drizzled with olive oil, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper, handful of cherry tomatoes, sugar snap peas and grapes. The Salmon cakes were pretty easy to make. I will include photos from the Whole30 book.  There were 5 of us at dinner tonight and 3 of us really liked the salmon cakes.
Mayo seems to have thickened up some. It smells good, tastes OK. I ordered a hand mixer, it should be here tomorrow. I will try again then. :)

The recipe calls for canned sweet potatoes. I could not find canned sweet potatoes at Walmart that were compliant with the rules. They all were canned in syrup. I just went ahead and bought 2 sweet potatoes. I peeled and diced them and boiled till soft. Then when I added them to the bowl with the other ingredients I used a fork to mash them up coarsely.

Talena's adventure with The Whole30

Today is the first day of my Whole30. You can read more about the Whole30 here.  I am going to post the basic "rules" and I hope to update daily about my experience. 

The Whole30 Program Rules

100%--no slips, cheats, or special occasions

Basic Guidelines

YES: Eat meat, seafood, eggs, vegetables, fruit, and natural fats.

NO: Do not consume sugar, alcohol, grains, legumes, or dairy. Do not consume baked goods or “treats.” Do not weigh or measure yourself.

• DO NOT CONSUME ADDED SUGAR OF ANY KIND, REAL OR ARTIFICIAL. No maple syrup, honey, agave nectar, coconut sugar, Splenda, Equal, Nutrasweet, xylitol, stevia, etc. Read your labels, because companies sneak sugar into products in ways you might not recognize.
• DO NOT EAT GRAINS. This includes wheat, rye, barley, oats, corn, rice, millet, bulgur, sorghum, sprouted grains, and all gluten-free psuedo-cereals like amaranth, buckwheat, or quinoa. This also includes all the ways we add wheat, corn, and rice into our foods in the form of bran, germ, starch, and so on. Again, read your labels.
• DO NOT EAT LEGUMES. This includes beans of all kinds (black, red, pinto, navy, white, kidney, lima, fava, etc.), peas, chickpeas, lentils, and peanuts. No peanut butter, either. This also includes all forms of soy – soy sauce, miso, tofu, tempeh, edamame, and all the ways we sneak soy into foods (like lecithin).
• DO NOT EAT DAIRY. This includes cow, goat or sheep’s milk products such as cream, cheese (hard or soft), kefir, yogurt (even Greek), and sour cream… with the exception of clarified butter or ghee. (See below for details.)
• DO NOT CONSUME ALCOHOL IN ANY FORM, NOT EVEN FOR COOKING.  (And it should go without saying, but no tobacco products of any sort, either.)
• DO NOT CONSUME CARRAGEENAN, MSG, OR ADDED SULFITES. If these ingredients appear in any form on the label of your processed food or beverage, it’s out for the Whole30.
• DO NOT RECREATE BAKED GOODS, “TREATS”, OR JUNK FOODS WITH APPROVED INGREDIENTS. Continuing to eat your old, unhealthy foods made with Whole30 ingredients is totally missing the point, and will tank your results faster than you can say “Paleo Pop-Tarts.” Remember, these are the same foods that got you into health-trouble in the first place—and a pancake is still a pancake, regardless of the ingredients.
• DO NOT STEP ON SCALE OR TAKE MEASUREMENTS. This is about so much more than just weight loss, and to focus on your body composition means you’ll miss out on the most dramatic and lifelong benefits this plan has to offer.

*Exceptions to the rule*

• CLARIFIED BUTTER OR GHEE.
• FRUIT JUICE AS A SWEETENER. Products or recipes including orange, apple or other fruit juices are permitted on the program, although we encourage you not to go overboard here.
• GREEN BEANS, SNOW PEAS, AND SUGAR SNAP PEAS.
• VINEGAR. Most forms of vinegar, including white, balsamic, apple cider, red wine, white wine, champagne, and rice, are allowed. The only exceptions are flavored vinegars with added sugar, or malt vinegar, which is thought to contain gluten.

WISH ME LUCK!!!

Crock Pot Teriyaki Chicken, Gluten Free (or not)

I was talking to my sister today about food and told her about the Crock Pot Teriyaki Chicken I made last night for dinner. It was really yummy and super easy. I loosely followed this recipe: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/crock-pot-chicken-teriyaki, but adapted it for us. Here's what I did:

Slow Cooker Teriyaki Chicken

2 Large Chicken Breasts

1/2 cup (gluten free) teriyaki sauce

1 1/2 cups water (or chicken broth if you don't have vegetable broth powder)

1/2 TBS vegetable broth powder

1/3 cup brown sugar (I did loosely packed to try to be slightly healthier)

3 cloves minced garlic cloves

Mix the last 5 ingredients in your crock pot, then add the chicken breasts. (I cut each one in 1/3's because I needed it to cook in time for dinner). I cooked on high for about 4 hours then took the lid off and shredded the chicken. Then I mixed:

1/2 cup cold water and

2 TBS potato starch (only because I was out of corn starch)

And added that to the contents of the crock pot and stirred. It thickened immediately.

I served this over brown rice with asparagus, broccoli and cauliflower on the side (all from my bountiful basket). It was a very satisfying meal!

Anyone else want to share a recipe that has worked for you recently?

Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies: Gluten Free version

I just read over my last post. So much for posting next week. How about next year?! Better late then never I guess. My little guy has officially been gluten free for a year now. Wow, where does the time go? We have had ups and downs but overall he is doing so much better than he was before we cut out gluten.
Over the past year I have learned a lot about different grains for baking and though I don't do as much baking now that my son is gluten free, I have come across some delicious recipes and we are finding our groove. If I talked to someone who is just starting on their gluten free journey, my words of wisdom would be, "be patient. It gets easier!"
So, with that said I wanted to share my first gluten free recipe that I created myself! Well, kind of. I mostly copied an old beloved cookie recipe that my mom used to make and I love. They are my favorite banana chocolate chip cookies and they are just as good wheatless as they were with wheat.
First though, a note about gluten free flour mixes. I like to mix up my own flours, partly because I like to think it might be a bit cheaper, but mostly because I like to think my homemade mixes are a bit more nutritious then what you would find on the shelf in the grocery store. They also have more flavor. My favorite mix for baking cookies I found over at frugalfarmwife.com. Here is a link to her mix.* I like this one because it is 2/3 whole grains to 1/3 starch. Most GF baking recommends using more starch (like 50%starch) for your baking to turn out light and tasty. While that does work out really well for baking so does this mix and it's a bit healthier.
So without further ado, here is the recipe:

Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies: Gluten Free

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup coconut oil

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

1 1/2 cups gluten free flour blend* (1 part corn flour, 1 part brown rice flour, 1 part corn starch)

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. Xantham gum

1 tsp. Salt

1 tsp. Cinnamon

1/4 tsp. all spice (or nutmeg)

1 3/4 cup gluten free rolled oats (I used Bob's Red Mill)

1 cup mashed ripe bananas (I use 1-3 large ones, depending on how many are going bad on my counter)

1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375. Cream together the butter, oil, sugar, and egg with a hand mixer. Add the flour, soda, xantham gum, salt, cinnamon, all spice, and oats (I don't do this in a separate bowl. I don't like washing dishes. I just dump it all in and it's always worked out fine). Mix again with hand mixer until blended fairly well. Peel the bananas and throw them on top and then mix once again with the hand mixer. This should give you the consistency of thick banana bread type stuff. You could probably bake it in a loaf pan and call it banana bread, but who would want to do that when you could now add the chocolate chips and make cookies? After mixing in the chocolate chips, drop by spoonfuls on to a lightly greased cookie sheet (I do 24 per sheet) and bake for about 12 min. or until the bottoms are light brown and slightly crispy.

Enjoy!

Our Next Big Food Adventure!

I've been wanting to blog about this for awhile now, but haven't gotten around to it yet. Well, here it goes.

We are stepping into the slightly overwhelming world of going gluten free for a couple of our kids who look like they have celiacs disease. If you don't believe celiacs is a real disease, I don't want to hear about it! I finally found out why my almost six year old son has not been gaining any weight (he only weighs about 30 lbs) and has no energy, constant tummy pain and almost constant leg aches. He has been gluten free for about 3 weeks now and I am seeing a world of difference in him! He is starting to regain energy, his face doesn't look so pale, and he is not doubled over in constant tummy pain anymore. I used to have to beg him and drag him out the door for any kind of exercise. Contrast that with yesterday when he was bouncing around on the couch jumping on me wanting to wrestle while I was cuddling his little sister who woke up grumpy from her nap. Finally in exasperation I suggested a walk/bike ride and he was thrilled. He ran and got his own shoes and jacket on, jumped on his bike and we went. Basically he acted like a normal 5 year old boy and it almost made me cry because he feels good! I did not realize he has felt so crummy his whole life. I thought he just had a mellow personality. I mean, I knew he had a lot of tummy aches, but he would just mention it a couple times a day and then go on with life.

So, my sister asked me the other day, "how do you even start with the gluten free life?" I am lucky that for him, it actually hasn't been too difficult. One of his favorite foods was already rice. Popcorn also makes a great snack. He also likes apples, corn, peas, carrots, and will even eat green salad. The only thing he really likes that we have had to cut out is graham crackers. He used to eat them dipped in milk every night before bed, but now he eats Kix or Chex instead. One of his favorite breakfasts was Puffy Pancakes (or German pancakes, or whatever you call them!) and those have been easy to duplicate.

Here's the super simple recipe I use for those:

Gluten Free Puffy Pancakes

3 TBS butter, melted in 8x8 glass dish in 400 degree oven

3 eggs

1/2 cup gluten free all purpose flour (I've been using the Pillsbury brand)

1/2 cup milk

Put all the ingredients in the blender (except the butter melting in the oven) and blend really well. Then dump the batter into the hot glass dish in the oven and bake at 400 for about 15 min.

These don't puff nearly as well as puffy pancakes with wheat flour, but they still taste good. I have also found this gluten free cooking for dummies crepe recipe that he really likes. Again, I just use the Pillsbury GF all purpose flour and leave out the vanilla and almond flavorings and cut the sugar in half, and these taste almost like the ones we are used to, and not bad by any means.

Despite all these things that he will eat, he is still hungry a lot. This caused me a minor panic attack one Sunday when we got home from church at 2 and he told me he was starving and I couldn't think of anything to feed him! So I am now venturing into the world of gluten free baking in the hopes that we can have bread and other foods on hand for those situations.

My challenge now is that the pre-made GF all purpose flour mixtures aren't really all that nutritious. In fact I'm finding that a lot of things being marketed and sold as GF are full of lots of starches and not much whole grain.

One of the exciting things I've learned is that there are so many grains out there! We limit ourselves so much by just eating wheat all the time. So, next week I'll post about some of our adventures trying other types of grains. I still have tons to learn but thank goodness there are many bloggers and others out there who have done a lot of the experimentation and are sharing their knowledge.

So, armed with the internet and my brand new Blendtec Kitchen Mill grinder, we're going to meet this new challenge head on and try new things!