My Whole30: Days 11 through 20

These days were rough on me. All ten of them. The food was amazing, but I just felt... slow. Like I was walking through cottage cheese. And irritable. I'm sure it didn't help that I had a special ladies only visitor for a portion of these ten days. The timeline said days 11-14 would be hard. All ten of these days were hard on me, which just emphasized the fact that this process is unique and different for everyone. And with that, here is the food from the very middle of my Whole30. 

Day 11: By this point I was finally getting the hang of the food. I was also SUPER bloated. Which was hard to take considering I was working so hard on all this food and washing so many dishes. But I kept on..

Breakfast Day 11: Mixed greens topped with leftover sweet potato
cauliflower mash, and a fried egg.

Lunch Day 11: Apple, yellow bell pepper, & Tuna Salad.

Dinner Day 11: Leftover Chili with avocado and a baby kale salad

 Day 12: The Friday before Memorial Day weekend. This was the first day I had a burst of amazing energy. After breakfast I weeded and mulched the entire back yard. I wasn't even hungry, but when I noticed it was 2pm I forced myself to eat lunch. Then went back out and finished. I felt really great this day.

Breakfast Day 12: fresh baby kale topped with leftover lettuce wrap
filling, scrambled eggs and avocado.

Lunch Day 12: Leftover sweet potato/cauli mash, baby kale salad,
last bit of leftover tuna salad, and celery stuffed with almond butter
and topped with chunks of dates.

Dinner Day 12: Baby spinach and kale tossed with evoo and aged balsamic,
chicken and mushroom sausage on top of chunky tomato sauce.

 Later this night I did some memorial weekend prep. We left town for two nights and so I packed some stuff for meals and for extras.

Included above - Greek salad ingredients, slaw ingredients, thai
zoodles ingredients, and even more tuna salad.

Day 13: was a travel day for us. We woke up, ate breakfast, packed up the kids and the car and headed out. It was a busy day, but a fun one. It was also a really tough day as far as resisting temptations. I ate A LOT of dates and almond butter this day. Without regrets.

Breakfast Day 13: pretty self explanatory.

Lunch Day 13: I had a big greek salad and a hard boiled egg. I was hungry
and didn't take a pic.

Dinner Day 13: Leftover Greek Salad, my whole30 slaw, and corkscrew
bbq brisket and ribs. I am fairly certain these were not compliant. So there's
my confession. There was something in the rub that gave me a headache.

But look at this brisket... I had no choice.

 Day 14: Busy day with the kids in and out of the pool. Still not as convenient being away from home, but I managed just fine. 

Breakfast Day 14: papaya with lime and tuna salad topped with
grapes on a bed of spinach.

Lunch Day 14: Cantaloupe, San Daniele Proscuitto & sauteed spinach

Dinner Day 14: Strip steak, roasted green beans, roasted broccoli &
leftover slaw.

Day 15: Memorial day was a little fast and furious. Quick morning and then loaded up the kids to head back home for lunch with my in laws. I was still feeling the cravings and feeling bloated.. and feeling over it.

Breakfast Day 15: fried eggs over easy, leftover roasted broccoli and
green beans, and a bowl of papaya.

Lunch Day 15: Was not photo worthy. It was leftover slaw, fruit salad and two
hard boiled eggs.

Dinner Day 15: Grilled chicken breast smothered in Whole30 Tomato
Sauce, steamed broccoli with lemon & even more leftover slaw.

 Day 16: This day was a mess. The night of Memorial Day we got 11 inches of rain overnight. We live half a mile from a bayou that came way out of it's banks. We were up all night with the kids (who don't like thunder) and then couldn't go to work the following day because the roads were still flooded. I do remember having lots of energy on this day. And not really being too concerned with feeling sorry for myself because I couldn't have bread.

Breakfast Day 16: Tuna salad with grapes & fresh baby kale and
spinach salad.

Lunch Day 16: Chili with avocado and an apple.

Dinner Day 16: This was one of my absolute favorite dinners so far.
The shrimp is from the Whole30 cookbook. It is tossed in pesto at the
end and is fantastic. With roasted mushrooms and sweet peppers.

 Day 17: Back to work. I was busy and irritable and still bloated. I was actually getting a little fed up with the program on this day. I almost got out the scale, but didn't. I really had to power through. 

Breakfast Day 17: Fried eggs over sauteed spinach. A banana.

Lunch Day 17: At work. We grilled extra chicken Monday and mixed
it up with chicken salad. Exciting, I know. On top of butter lettuce with
avocado and green pepper.

Dinner Day 17: Trying to meet weird cravings. Leftover Chili,
prosciutto and melon.

 Day 18: I was feeling more optimistic. I decided to try and drink 100oz of water a day. It was a game changer. Definitely got me over some kind of invisible hump.

Breakfast Day18: scrambled eggs topped with leftover pesto, tomato
and aged balsamic, watermelon and cantaloupe.

Lunch Day 18: Zoodles topped with chicken sausage and
tomato sauce. This was amaze.

Dinner Day 18: Salmon sweet potato cakes with a mayo based
sauce (with dill, lemon juice, capers, pesto and fresh pepper) and
green onion. roasted green beans and baby bellos. This was AMAZING.

 Day 19: 100oz of water a day was making me a happier person with lots of energy. And so was the Whole30. On this day I noticed my clothes were fitting better. Great fuel for the weekend ahead.

Breakfast Day 19: Chicken and sweet potato hash from the Whole30
cookbook. A great egg alternative for breakfast.

Lunch Day 19: I threw together a spinach salad and topped it with
whatever  I could find. That included sweet potatoes, cherry tomatoes
and a hard boiled egg.

Dinner Day 19: Grilled NY Strip, roasted sweet potatoes and more
spinach salad with a dressing that was made even more awesome with
toasted prosciutto and sauteed green onion.

 Day 20: I threw myself a pity party on Day 20. We had to cancel plans to leave town due to storms and an ear infection. And I also threw a pity party for all of the dishes. I felt like the dishes were never ending. And I wanted them to end. But it was Saturday, I was feeling leaner, and I made my breakfast all in the same pan. Sometimes it's the little things.

Breakfast Day20: fried eggs over sauteed spinach, bacon & blueberries

Lunch Day 20: Chicken salad, apple slices & dates with almond butter.

Dinner Day 20: Grilled fajita steak, homemade guacamole, mashed
sweet potato & roasted sweet peppers.

 These were rough days for me. I was overall pretty over the whole thing and had to talk myself in to "trusting the process". It was a huge game changer for me mood and energy wise when I started drinking more water and added in more starchy vegetables. It's like a little mystery body formula I had to figure out.

It is currently day 30 for me, so I'm hoping to post meals from days 21-30 tomorrow. Then a recap. Haven't decided if I'll actually display before and after pics. Because I love the internet and things... but seeing my midsection on it is a bit much. Maybe. Who knows.

Greetings from a converted Whole30 cult member! 

B