Whole30 Challenge Days 7 & 8

So these past two days have been interesting in terms of my Challenge...

Day 7

9:00am Breakfast: I had class today so it was 3 hardboiled eggs and 1 1/2 cups of baby carrots. Wah wah. Nothing exciting here folks.

Lunch: I actually wasn't hungry all day...

7:00pm Dinner: James invited me to meet his family from out of town, and they all wanted to go to Buffalo Wild Wings. SERIOUSLY??? I practically lived at that place before my Challenge. I am happy to report however, that I stuck with my plan and ordered the grilled chicken salad, without crutons or cheese, no dressing (boring), and plain old water. James however, did not do as well. He caved and ordered fried wings and a beer. Sigh...

Day 8: SNOW DAY

Breakfast: I didn't wake up until 11:30am this morning because of the "snow day" my boss had called early this morning. So I wasn't actually hungry when I woke up, but I grabbed 2 hardboiled eggs and a banana anyways.

Lunch: Once again, I wasn't hungry, but I did wake up almost around lunch time today...But I did grab an apple around 4:00pm.

7:30pm Dinner: This is really the only meal these past two days that I've cooked. Ha! I went with the Sweet Potato Hash (It Starts With Food), chopped sweet potato chunks, 1 green pepper, cinnamon, paprika, and ground beef, with a few additions of my own. I added 1 large red pepper, parsley, and substituted the ground beef for ground turkey. Oh, and I noticed that once it was all cooked, it was a little dry, so I splashed on some Coconut Aminos (The Whole30 friendly version of soy sauce) and it was perfect. I also even have some left over for lunch tomorrow. The book does suggest using this recipe in cahoots with fried or scrambled eggs for a nice morning treat.


Week 1 Analysis:

I've been sleeping through most of the night, my stomach looks and feels smaller (not bloated anymore due to gluten, grains, and dairy), and I feel I have a little more energy throughout the day. I have noticed on the con side, however, my face is breaking out (getting rid of all the bad toxins in it from before), it's a little hard for me to get out of bed in the mornings because I haven't had this much sleep in a long time, and the first couple of days I got some pretty bad headaches which some turned into migraines (because of the detox and "withdrawl" symptoms from the bad food). Overall, my sweets cravings are pretty much gone, and fast food doesn't even sound good right now. Yay!

I hope you all are having fun too!

Signing off,

The brightest crayon in the box

Whole30 Challenge, Day 6

10:30am Breakfast: James had his soccer game this morning and I went to cheer him on so I grabbed 3 hard boiled eggs an half a package of baby carrots. I wasn't actually all that hungry this morning but I knew I had to eat!




3:00pm Lunch: I made Mexican Chicken (It Starts With Food) with a few substitutions such as hot green chili peppers instead of the cane green chilies the recipe calls for. I also added cucumbers for some added veggies. This was a spicy dish! With the chilies and chili pepper that was called for, I think this is an every once in a while dish. But still very tasty! Also a small side of fresh raspberries :]

9:00pm Dinner: Faux Pho (It Starts With Food). It's Pho minus the rice noodles, but same taste and smell! I tweaked the recipe a little to add chopped celery in the soup because it looked a little bare with just chicken and peppers. A side of steamed green beans with 1Tbsp of clarified butter melted on top. The soup was delicious! At first it doesn't look like a lot to eat, but then as you eat it, you begin to get full fast. But I would definitely recommend this if you're absolutely craving pho. Like I said before, with the spices you add in, it tastes and smells almost exactly like it!

I can feel my body start to feel lighter, but I'm still craving Snickers and Reese's. Oh and wine... Yeah. I'll be doing a more well rounded evaluation tomorrow seeing as how it will be the end of my first week. Hope you're enjoying it so far! Please leave any questions or comments below!

Signing off,

The brightest crayon in the box

Whole30 Challenge, Day 5

10:30am Breakfast: Seeing as how it was a Saturday, I'm surprised I was up in time for breakfast! Scrambled eggs with spinach and red peppers for me! I made my boyfriend, James, the same but subsituted the red peppers for tomatoes. If you find that your food is starting to taste bland, experiment with different spices. I added parsley and cilantro to mine.







2:00pm Lunch: We were out and about running errands all afternoon which really made the time fly. It also left us hungry, miles from our apartment, and there was no way his grumbling tummy would make it. We stopped at Old Blinking Light in the Highlands Ranch Town Center. I want that giant blue antler chandilier they have when you first walk in... Anyways, James had to "break the code" he called it, and opted for a small 4 piece pizza. He claimed it was because he needed to carbo-load for his soccer game tomorrow. Yeah yeah. ;] Granted he is a 6'3" soccer player and MMA fighter, so his addition to the plan may have been warrented. I scoured over the menu to try to find something I could eat, and it was NOT easy. I ended up with the bowl of butternut squash bisque, with the gluten free option. It was a huge bowl, so I do have some left over.

6:00pm Snack: We split a container of fresh raspberries, which is about a small closed handfull each. Just enough to tide us over until dinner.

8:00pm Dinner: James liked the California Style Chicken (It Starts With Food) so much he all but begged me to make it again. And I'm glad I did: Delicious! A full head of broccoloi, steamed, with around 1 Tbsp of clarified butter was the perfect side.

9:00pm Snack Attack: By this time our sweet tooths kicked in. Luckily we went grocery shopping earlier in our errand run, so we were stocked on fresh, organic fruit. Around a cup of grapes each and our sweet tooth was actually curbed.

I think because we did a lot more running around and keeping busy today, our apetites were a bit more ravenous than usualy. Overall it was a productive day and good food choices were made all around!

Signing off,

The brightest crayon in the box

Whole30 Challenge, Day 4

9:00am Breakfast: I took three hardboiled eggs and a large tomatoe to work. Split the eggs in half and stuck the tomato in the pan with 1Tbsp of clarified butter just to warm it up and grill it a little. Can I just say right now that I hate tomatoes with a passion unless they're chopped up and added into something else. It was so difficult for me to try and gulp down a large tomato on its own. Yuck! Next time I'll stick with spinach or cucumbers...

1:00pm Lunch: I had planned on making chicken for lunch, but I realized that I still had a ton of pork and green beans left over from dinner the night before. Thank goodness for tupperware! That made my lunch super easy.

8:30pm Dinner: It was my brother's birthday today so we all went out to Papadeux's. It's a very eclectic restaraunt with lots on the menu. I was able to find a delicious grilled half chicken with spinach and red potatoes. I substitued the potatoes for apsaragus because I just wasn't in the mood for something that heavy. I stuck with water and lemon which was REALLY difficult since everyone was having beer, fruity rum mixed drinks, and long island ice teas! Man, I sure do miss my wine....

Someone asked me yesterday how I can wait 9 hours in between meals sometimes. Truth is my meals acutally make feel more satiated so I don't feel hungry. Sometimes I'll get the munchies, that's when I'll reach for a handful of good fat containing nuts like cashews, or a small handful of fruit. But everyone is different, some people's need an extra meal or snack in between, and that's completely fine. Read the book and you'll see what I mean. They make is super easy to understand and suggest that if you get confused or just don't want to read about all the "science-y" stuff, you can skip those chapters! I just found those chapters truely helpful to understand why my body reacts the way it does with certain foods. Even if you don't do the Whole30 Challenge, at least you can have a better understanding of the way your body works.

Signing off,

The brightest crayon in the box

Whole30 Challenge, Day 3

9:00am Breakfast: I was running late for work so I grabbed 4 hardboiled eggs and a medium cucumber to slice up. I need to wake up a little earlier so I can make some delicious omelets again!

12:00pm Snack: 1 1/2 cups raw whole cashews (actually quite filling)

1:00pm Lunch: Grilled chicken breast with 1 medium red pepper. I almost couldn't finish lunch it was so good though! Who would have thought that I would actually like healthy food. There's just something about the smell of a chargrilled seasoned chicken breast that really gets my stomach grumbling!

One thing I really like about these receipes is how easy they are to make. I never thought I'd be cooking something so healthy and tasty! :]



9:00pm Dinner: Taste of Greece Skillet (It Starts With Food). Ground pork, tomatoes, basil, cilantro, and parsley, green beans, and added chopped fresh spinach leaves. I also made the Classic Pantry Viniagar, cooked in a little when cooking the pork, also made some on the side to drizzle on top.

Signing off,

The brightest crayon in the box

Whole30 Challenge, Day 2

8:00am Breakfast: 4 hardboiled eggs, 1 1/2 cups of baby carrots. I had class this morning so it was nice to have the eggs boiled the night before and just be able to grab them on my way out the door. Sorry, they weren't decorated in streamers and glitter, so not very picture worthy!

12:00pm snack: 1 cup salted peanuts

4:00pm lunch: Asian Broccoli and Beef (It Starts With Food) on top a cup of baby
spinach leaves. This was really tasty! I added a tad more cinnamon than the 1/8 tsp the recipe calls for, which made the beef a little sweet. Yum! I also had Arrowhead seltzer water with lemon. A great alternative if you're already bored with plain old water!





Dinner: I won't even tell you what time I ate dinner because it was far too late to eat anything... So I originally set out to make Butternut Squash Puree (It Starts With Food) however, it was at the exact moment that I was putting my ingredients in the mixer, that my mixer decided to break. So I mashed and mixed it all by hand. It still came out pretty good, more like chunky mashed potatoes than a puree, but hey, it's delicious! I also added a pinch more cinnamon than the recipe calls for again, but didn't change anything else. Three hardboiled eggs for protein, and a plain Arrowhead seltzer water.


Today was a hard day for cravings. Especially since in one of my classes, they had a staff party and magically had leftover cake, cupcakes, and candy. REALLY?? It HAD to be today... sigh. This end result better be worth it, that's all I can say...

If you're wondering why I'm not writing the full recipes on my blog, it's because you can get them all HERE ;]

Questions? Comments?

Signing off,

The brightest crayon in the box

Whole30 Challenge, Day 1

"Whole9’s original program designed to change your life in 30 days. Think of it as a short-term nutritional reset, designed to help you restore a healthy metabolism, heal your digestive tract, calm systemic inflammation and put an end to unhealthy cravings, habits, and relationships with food. Since 2009, thousands of people have used our program as a jump-start to changing the way they eat for the rest of their lives." (http://whole9life.com/category/whole-30/)

I found this nutrition plan through my Crossfit Gym (www.crossfitarsenal.com), and I thought it sounded interesting. I've been diagnosed with Gluten Intolerance, Depression, and Fibromyalgia. I also get regular migraines which can be debilitating. I constantly have stomach pains, popping feelings in my gut, and extreme fatigue and lack of motivation. I bought this book (It Starts With Food) on Amazon for around $18, at the suggestion of my trainer at the Gym. The main point of this book is that most diseases and conditions are caused by a lack of nutrition an lifelong poor eating habits. Dallas and Melissa (the authors) are out to change that! These following 30 days my boyfriend and I will follow this nutrition plan, cook the recipes supplied in the book, and reset my body. I'll be tracking my progress here, and hopefully inspire you to look into this new way of eating and living.

In the book, they tell you once you start your Whole30 program, you're not to step on the scale, AT ALL. Well, I'll do it the first day, in the middle, and at the end of the program, just to see how I'm doing. Starting weight: 142 (not excited about that...)

Day 1:

8:30am Breakfast: 4 eggs, half a tomato, 1/2 cup of spinach leaves, salt and pepper, cooked in a skillet with 2 Tbsp of EVOO (extra virgin olive oil). Also a handful of raspberries to curb my sugar craving.









1:00pm Lunch: Ground beef, half a tomato, half a green pepper, 1/8 tsp paprika, salt and pepper, 1 large head of broccoli, cooked in a skillet with 2 Tbsp of EVOO. 1 cup mixed raspberries and strawberries.
By lunch time, I could tell I was getting hungry, my stomach was just starting to gurgle, but I wasn't famished from breakfast like I normally am.








9:00pm Dinner: Chicken breast, seasoned with  organic balsamic vinegar, sundried tomatoes in oil, salt and pepper, and basil. Side of steamed asparagus topped with melted clarified butter. By dinner I was pretty hungry, maybe I won't wait so long to eat next time...ha! Dinner left me full, but not stuffed, which, if you read the book, they say is a good thing!

(California Style Chicken, It Starts With Food)




I'm excited about this nutrition plan. Not only will I eat better, but I learn how to cook delicious meals. It's easy! Thanks for taking this journey with me! I hope that I can inspire you to change your life, not just for 30 days, but for the rest of your life! Feel free to leave your comments and questions! :]

Signing off,

The brightest crayon in the box