Whole 30 Food Diary Week 3

Week 3 saw some good days as well as a few bad days! On Thursday I succumbed to my desire for something a little different (i.e., not a fruit, veggie and/or meat product) and had a bowl of cereal. Gasp! I know; and the funny thing is that I have not eaten a bowl of cereal in so long, but it was oh so delicious. Granted I had a bowl of Cracklin' Oat Bran, and not Captain Crunch!

I forgot to mention last week that I have allowed myself a glass of wine (ok, 2) once a week. This is not too different than my pre-Whole 30 Challenge philosophy. But, prior to the challenge I had been allowing myself to have a glass of wine 1-3 days/week, so I have cut back to my preferred weekly intake.

We all know my desires to nick my coffee habit have simply been sidelined. In some of the pictures below you will see the evidence of my coffee habit!

And I finally ate my last Cookies & Cream Quest bar in hopes of preventing myself from snacking on this instead of a Whole 30-approved snack. On Tuesday, I actually ate a Quest bar and apple for lunch, which was not the best decision on any eating plan (only because it is more of a snack than a meal replacement). Which directly leads me to meal planning! I have been really good at planning dinners every week, but not so good with lunches. Because of this, I started planning my lunches as well as dinners. Confession - this began on Friday, lol. I am hoping this will start working in my favor. I figure breakfast can still be thrown together, but my lunches need to be a little more thought out, or I go for the Quest + Apple combo or apple + nut butter combo; both of which are better options, but not perfect.

Paleo Chicken Fried Steak & Cauliflower Mash

We have been eating cauliflower mash as a replacement for masked potatoes for some time now! Typically, I paired the mash with my fresh pesto, which contains parmesan cheese. So last week was our first attempt of making cauliflower mash without pesto, and it was delicious. On a whim, we added one bad of frozen cauliflower with a fresh head of cauliflower, and it was a game changer!!!!

Veggie Salad w/ Bacon And Sweet Potato w/ Almond Nut Butter & Pecans

2 Whole Egg Scramble, The Best Homemade Guacamole (Coach Kemp's Recipe), Applegate Farms Sausage, Salad Mix with Salsa & Fruit Mix

Paleo Chicken Fried Steak with Scrambled Eggs & Guacamole, Side Salad And Watermelon and Berry Mix

Side Salad, Cauliflower Mash And Sausage

Sweet Potato Hot Dog Bun

McDonal's had free coffee in our area, and how could we not take the offer for free coffee! Please tell me I am not the only person that thinks McDonald's has some pretty good coffee! I also like Dunkin Donuts, but not their actual donuts, ha. Coach Kemp thinks I am weird because I don't like their donuts; I prefer Krispy Kreme.

So anyways, I felt kind of odd being that lame person to request free coffee without making a purchase. My order, therefore, was two free coffees and two hash browns :) I figure they are potatoes, lol!

2 Scrambled Eggs w/ Guacamole, Bacon, Green Mix And Hash Brown

Sausage, Two Scrambled Eggs w. Sirachi and Spinach

Coach Kemp's Snacks for the road!

Grilled Chicken, Green Beans with Walnuts, And Grilled Eggplant

Salad with Homemade Taco Seasoning And Guacamole

Athens Farmers Market Haul 9/20/2014 for $15!

Week 2: Whole 30 Food Diary
Week 1: Whole 30 Food Diary

Michelyn

Whole 30 Food Diary Week 2

Week 2 in the Whole 30 Challenge did not go as stellar as I would have liked. I did not completely fall off the wagon, but I hoped to adhere to the guidelines a little better than I did.

I believe on three occasions I had one of my beloved Quest bars. You can my full review of all 16 bars, HERE. Now, I do not think that a few Quest bars is the worst thing, but it's not really on the Whole 30 plan.

And you remember my desires to ween myself of morning cup of joe! Yeah, I was successful on Sunday morning! Work has been extremely stressful, and I am not sure why my iced coffee is so darn good that I am not ready to kick the habit. Like I said, I had tried plain coconut milk, but I much prefer the SoDelicious coconut creamer.

So let's see what Team Kemp ate this week. Again, the following food is not specific the breakfast, lunch, or dinner; simply food in your tummy!

Steamed Asparagus & Sweet Potato with Justin's Almond Butter and raw almonds

Two-egg Scramble, Applegate Farm Sausages, Avocado & Spinach Salad with Tomatoes

Paleo Shrimp Fried Rice

Mediterranean Rub Grilled Chicken with Steamed Broccoli 

Salt + Pepper Grilled Chicken, Green Beans with Bacon And Potatoes (Olive Oil & Seasoning)

Breakfast Scramble (Onions, Spinach, & Tomatoes), Applegate Sausage, Breakfast Potatoes & Watermelon

Turkey & Spinach Sweet Potato Hash

3 Egg Omelette, Bacon, Spinach with Salsa And Potatoes

Omelette with Onions and Squash with Mushrooms And Organic Raspberries

Curry Tilapia, Steamed Broccoli And Sweet Potato (Same as Above)

Turkey Mish-mash (with Tomatoes, Carrots & Squash)

I too frequented a local Mediterranean restaurant, Salaam, on two occasions this week - once for lunch and other time for dinner. I did not take pictures as the first time I went for a lunch with a newly acquainted friend in Athens, and did not want to seem "strange" taking a picture of my food! For lunch I ordered their house salad with shawarma; and then on Friday with Coach Kemp I ordered their chicken kabobs with no rice, and extra veggies.

Athens Farmers Market Goods 9/13/2014

Week 1: Whole 30 Food Diary

Michelyn

Whole 30 Food Diary Week 1

On September 1st, Coach Kemp and I embarked on the Whole30 Challenge. It may be more fair to say that I coerced Coach Kemp into the program because he was not that excited about it at first. I convinced him to join me for two reasons (a) I would not be preparing non Whole30 meals for dinner and (b) he should want to support me by joining me! You know the saying - Happy Wife = Happy Life.

He did have a few slip ups, for example, the few alcoholic beverages consumed, and the last of the goat feta cheese from the Athens Farmers Market. I am sure there have been a few other "small" cheats, but in all; Coach has been doing well with the program.

I too have not been perfect. On day 1, I mistakenly put dairy-free cheese in my eggs. Who knew that the GoVeggie lactose-free cheese slices do have trace amount of dairy and soy. On Tuesday morning something triggered me to take a closer look at the ingredient list. Then on Tuesday I had a cup of coffee with So Delicious Coconut Creamer, and realized after taking a few sips that it most likely had sweetener it in. On Thursday I had my coffee with plain coconut milk (the canned version), and I am not so sure if I am a fan. Part of me desires to rid my small habit of coffee drinking entirely, so I plan to make it a priority for week #2.

At this point, I can't say that I feel much different. To be honest, Coach and I ate pretty healthy overall, but I do believe that a cleanse is good for everyone. Prior to the Whole30 Challenge I purchased about 75 % organic and local foods; now I am closer to 90%. Some of the main changes have been to organic eggs, butter, bacon, seasoning + herbs, and more produce. I first purchase any fresh produce from the Athens Farmers Market, and then hit up the local Kroeger for their organic section. If neither has something that I need, then I purchase non-organic produce. Like today, I am planning to make a paleo-friendly shrimp stir-fry with cauliflower rice. I did not see any at the market or Kroeger, so I purchased the regular cauliflower. "It Starts with Food" recommends to buy frozen, but I don't think cauliflower rice would turn out too great with frozen, organic cauliflower.

Here are a few eats that I had this week. The following are not in order of Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner because as the Hartwigs explain, you must re-think these overall. What they mean is that you may not always eat eggs for breakfast. In my case, on Friday night I had a "breakfast" type of meal with left-over Tilapia for breakfast. I did have my infamous turkey mash for lunch almost everyday except for Friday when Coach Kemp and I got steaks at a local eatery. This is why I ended up eating a breakfast for dinner, I was kind of over meat by the evening.

3 Whole Eggs, Handful Spinach, Petite Klondike Potatoes (with olive oil, pepper & seasoning) And Organic Berry Mix

Cinnamon Apple & Carrot Turkey Mash (Recipe Coming Soon!) & Organic Green Mix

Paleo Chicken Curry &Spaghetti Squash

Bacon Wrapped Asparagus (Recipe Coming Soon!) & 3 Whole Eggs 

3 Whole Eggs w/ Avocado Slices, Mixed Organic Berries And Petite Klondike Potatoes (with olive oil, pepper & seasoning)  

3 Whole Eggs, Sauteed Mushrooms (in H20), Mixed Berries And Petite Klondike Potatoes (with olive oil, pepper & seasoning) 

Organic Corn & Steak

Pecan Paprika Tilapia on Bacon Brussel Sprouts (minus maple syrup)

Breakfast Frittata with Spinach, Tomatoes, Peppers & Onions And Mixed Berries (This is 2 servings)

This morning I went to crossfit, then hit up Wal-Mart for a few necessities, and ended my Saturday morning shopping with the Athens Farmers Market & Kroeger. The picture below shows the goodies I got this Saturday; all for $20! In the left hand corner that is a squash of some kind; don't ask what I plan to do with that! The lady was short on dollar bills, and my total was $4; I simply grabbed the first thing that was $1.

Athens Farmers Market 9.6.2014

Michelyn