Whole30: Week 2 {Recipes, Pictures, and Teamwork}

Well, we've been living life on the edge for the past few days. On the edge of giving up, calling it quits, throwing in the towel. I read that most people who give up on a Whole30 do so between days 11-12. The newness wears off and the reality of 18 more days is staring you in the face. It's tough. 

We've mostly gotten through it by team work. 

Me: Hey honey, let's go get donuts!
Husband: Do you think they have some without sugar and flour?

Me: I really want pizza.
Husband: You can have it! In 18 more days...

Me: If you loved me you would go get me a diet coke.  
Husband: (Quietly starts humming and pretends he didn't hear me)

We balance each other out beautifully!

After much whining prayer we've decided to keep at it. We've made it through the worst parts already, and "they" promise me that sometime around Day 17 I'll have boundless energy, my skin will be glowing, and I'll spend all day craving vegetables. I'm hoping we don't prove "they" wrong! I could use some boundless energy. 

What We Ate:

Sausage and Vegetable Hash with Fried Eggs
Sugar Free BBQ Beef with Carrots
Spicy Shred
Avocado Tuna Salad with Cucumbers and Apples
Meat & Veggie Chili
Garden Vegetable Hash with Bacon
Taco Salad (Lettuce, Taco Meat, and Pico de Gallo)
Scrambled Eggs with Bacon
Turkey Sausage and Frozen Stir-fry Vegetables

Highlights

1. The Garden Vegetable Hash was just as awesome the second time around! I used sweet potatoes instead of white potatoes and it definitely changed the flavor, but it was still really good. I think after the Whole30 I'll go back to using white potatoes, but sweet potatoes are acceptable for now.

2. I was dreading trying the Avocado Tuna Salad, but it is such a quick meal I decided to give it a go for lunch one day. I was really surprised I like it! We ate it on top of the cucumber slices and that really helped to balance out the fishy flavor. Of course, if you like the fishy flavor then this is a great recipe! Super healthy and really easy. (I know it looks gross! Don't judge a recipe by my pictures. Check out the original recipe.)

3. I had a meltdown moment on Monday afternoon when I realized that I had nothing planned for dinner. I'd had a busy afternoon and just forgot about dinner. Usually on those evenings we'd just load up and go out to eat, but that's not an option for us this month. So I got in the kitchen and worked a little magic! One pound frozen turkey sausage, one frozen bag of stir-fry veggies, a pinch of garlic salt, and 15 mins later we were rocking it! In fact, I have the very same ingredient sitting in my freezer right now just waiting for my next meltdown moment, which I'm sure will be any day now!

4. I love going grocery shopping while on a Whole30. There is some ridiculously satisfying when the cashier looks down the belt and realizes that nothing has a barcode on it. Yes, that's right. We're those crazy people who eat lots of real fruits and vegetables. Now please, gently place them in my reusable shopping bags and just call me crunchy (minus the granola because that's not Whole30 approved).

5. I picked up two pounds of fresh bacon from the butcher this week. It's like Whole30 approved candy. I've honestly always been a little scared of bacon. All that fat seems really unhealthy. We always opted for oatmeal instead of bacon and eggs, but not this month! We can have bacon and eggs every day if we want, and I want!  (P.S. I know bacon and eggs aren't healthy to eat every day, but really nothing is healthy to eat every day. You need balance. Plus, this is only a month and we did drastically reduce our egg consumption this week, so give me a break!)

Lowlights

1. BBQ Beef with Carrots...this was pretty good when we first ate it out of the crock-pot, but the leftovers have been very disappointing. I was really excited because this BBQ recipe calls for pineapple instead of sugar, but overall it was too tart for my taste. I definitely will try this recipe or something similar again, but I'm going to need to up the sweetner and go easy on the paprika. It was way to pungent for me! 

2. Day 13 was pretty much the worst day yet. I found $5 in my pocket which is usually something to celebrate, but not this month. There I was holding a free, un-budgeted $5 and I had NOTHING good to spend it on. Usually that money goes straight to Sonic or Subway or Dairy Queen for one of our little indulgences.  Those pick-me ups really make my day! It's now been two weeks since we've had any "treats" at all. This is the hardest part of the Whole30 for me.  Just lots and lots of healthy food. I know, sounds miserable, right?

3. Our budget is getting tight. We're not quite half-way through the month, but I am way more than half-way through my grocery budget.  Good meat is expensive, and we're eating a lot of it! I've been making an effort to serve vegetables with every meal, but it's still expensive. I can definitely tell you now that regardless of the health benefits we will be adding beans and rice back into our diets when this is all over. We like to eat cheap!

4. Pintrest is killing me! Dear everybody, please stop posting pictures of ridiculously rich, decadent, and wonderful desserts! They are beautiful, tasty, and NOT Whole30 approved. On the other hand if anyone finds a grain free, sweetener free, organic chocolate cake, please send it my way! (And don't tell anyone because I'm pretty sure that's not Whole30 approved either!)

Goals for Next Week:

Eat more eggs (meat is expensive) 
Try some new fish recipes
Find new things to look at on Pintrest

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