Day 24!

Busy, busy work day - Breakfast was 2 (4 halves) deviled eggs - again :)

I'll switch it up more if/when I get tired of them :)

Lunch was Thai Green Curry

I didn't take a picture, I was shaky hungry by the time I got it made with work and my daughter cooking herself lunch before she had to leave for work

Lots of veggies, homemade chicken stock from the carcass of the chicken I roasted a couple days ago, 2 cans coconut milk, green curry paste, a sliced in half piece of lemongrass, a little lime juice and leftover roasted chicken.

Dinner was something I've made a few times previously and love :)

So glad it's Whole 30 friendly :)

Pork Tenderloin with balsamic thyme cherries - This time I used organic frozen cherries from Costco, so they are much darker, but the dish was still just as delicious - I just think this is a beautiful and elegant enough for company dish :) 

I was very happy with my perfectly cooked, not a bit dry, pork tenderloin :) I just mixed up coarse sea salt, pepper, granulated garlic, crushed garlic, dried rosemary and dried thyme with some avocado oil to make a paste and rubbed that over the tenderloins (2 in a pkg) and roasted at 400 for about 30 minutes, until it reached 150 at the thickest part. We had this with roasted asparagus

Based on this recipe - I've never added the honey and never thought it needed it, cherries are plenty sweet enough --- http://www.nlrockrecipes.com/2009/07/grilled-pork-loin-chops-with-balsamic.html

Happily, I have both leftover curry and the other pork loin tenderloin with the rest of the cherries for tomorrow, typically my busiest workday of the week, so I may not have to cook (though I may save the curry for Friday and have spaghetti squash instead since I set aside some of the ground beef from last night for that and it may need to be cooked up or frozen...)

Anyway, I'm calling it!

Day 24 Success! 

Day 23!

OK, so today was a sort of weird food day...

Breakfast was just 3 boiled eggs, I wasn't feeling great and didn't feel like making them into deviled eggs... 

I didn't even really have lunch, nothing sounded good, so I had a handful of nuts and some olives and a Larabar :o

I need to get some freezer meals prepared as soon as I have some freezer space!

Hubby wanted burgers for dinner - yes, AGAIN!

I didn't take a picture of his (same as before w/ the egg and bacon), just mine....

Back in the day in Michigan there was a cheap, drive thru only burger joint called Hot 'N Now - It's not there any more and hasn't been for many years. One of their burgers was a double olive burger and that was my favorite, so every so often, I decide to do olive and mayo on my burger - yum! 

One package of ground beef wasn't going to be enough for 4 burgers, so I used 2 pkgs, both organic grass fed, but one was 93% lean and the other was 85% lean - I didn't bother with weighing it this time and I set some aside to use in the next couple of days for Spaghetti squash and meat sauce or meatballs.

I also made chicken stock today - It'll most likely be used tomorrow for a Thai Curry for lunch :)

So, Day 23, Semi-Success!

Day 22!

I was glad this morning that I had decided to boil enough eggs last night for Hubby's lunch for today and tomorrow and for me to have deviled eggs today and tomorrow :) It sure made for a quick, easy breakfast this morning - I didn't take a picture since you've seen my deviled eggs a couple of times now.

I packed Hubby's lunch and added a Larabar to make sure it would be enough for him, especially since he typically eats lunch about noon and I knew he'd be home later than usual and it would be 6:30-7 by the time we had dinner.

I finally found a turkey lunch meat that is Whole 30 friendly!  Wegmans Organic Turkey Rolled up with uncured salami in the corners of his salad, some quartered organic grape tomatoes, kalamata olives and sliced boiled egg - top layer has organic blackberries, pepperoncinis, pistachio nuts and then some walnuts and a dried apricot filling in the spaces, plus his Larabar.

BTW, if you eat Larabars and have Stop and Shop grocery stores in your area, they have them for $1 each this week - wish I'd known that before we paid $1.49 each.

I had a much simpler and quicker lunch

I couldn't quite finish all the tuna (used a whole 5 oz can)

Wild Planet Line Caught Skipjack tuna, homemade mayo (last of it, need to make more...), onion, dill relish, capers and fresh dill over organic tomato slices :)

Have I mentioned how much I love Roasted Chicken, well, really roasting meat in general :)

I roasted the organic chicken over rutabaga/yellow turnip, carrots and onions - I made a gravy with pan drippings after removing the veggies using coconut flour - I served it on the side, just in case, good thing since Rob didn't care for the texture (a little 'grainy') but I was ok with it and thought the odd texture was barely discernible with the meat 

For the gravy, all I did was remove the chicken to a platter to rest, tented with foil and then scooped the veggies out into a serving bowl. I then poured the dripping into a heavy bottomed skillet (Revere wear - it was a wedding present and I still use it :) ) over medium high heat and whisked in a spoonful of coconut flour, whisking as I sprinkled the coconut flour into the drippings, it wasn't quite thick enough, so I added another spoonful and that thickened it nicely, then I seasoned with salt, pepper, a garlic pepper grinder blend and a little sage - I thought it had pretty darn good flavor :)

I really wish I could find larger organic (or humanely raised) chickens for feeding the 4 adults in this house and still having leftovers to use for my lunch the next day - They just have to eat more sides if it's not enough :P

I also had 1/2 a Larabar and a small palmful of macadamias today :)

Day 22 Success! :)

Day 21!

So, by now you've picked up on my sleeping in/watching TV in bed for a while weekend routine and that I typically have 2 actual meals most weekends... Today was no different :)

Hubby's been wanting sausage and I have yet to find a Whole 30 friendly breakfast sausage, so I picked him up some ground pork and he made sausage patties this morning, we each had one and we froze the rest.

It was pretty tasty :)

I scrambled us up some eggs - hubby likes his scrambled eggs plain, nothing mixed in, so I just topped mine with avocado, Muir Glen Organic Salsa and a few dashes Tabasco sauce. I also grilled some tomato sliced on the griddle with some sausage and added a few of the castelvetrano olives :) 

He used this recipe for the sausage - As always, I thought it needed a bit more salt, but otherwise, pretty darn good:

Be sure to check out the blog - looks pretty useful!

Primal Palate Paleo Breakfast Sausage

Ingredients

• 1 lb 1 lb Ground Pork
• 1 tsp 1 tsp Fennel
• 1 tsp 1 tsp Garlic
• 1 tsp 1 tsp Paprika
• 1/2 tsp 1/2 tsp Black Pepper
• 1/2 tsp 1/2 tsp Sage
• 1/2 tsp 1/2 tsp Salt
• 2 Tbsp 2 Tbsp Coconut Oil, Organic
• 1/4 tsp 1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper
• 1/4 tsp 1/4 tsp White Pepper

Process

Note, these instructions are written assuming the standard serving size, since you have modified the number of servings, these steps may need to be modified for best results

1. Combine pork, garlic, and all spices in a mixing bowl, mixing until it reaches an even consistency.
2. Form pork mixture into 2-ounce patties (approximately 8 patties).
3. Heat a skillet to medium heat with 1 tablespoon of coconut oil per 4 patties.
4. Cook the patties for approximately 3–4 minutes per side.
5. Each side should be golden, and the center of the patties should no longer be pink.

Hubby also made beef jerky today - It isn't grass fed, beef, but at least it's a snack for him that is better than other choices :)

He used coconut aminos instead of soy sauce and only a couple dashes of the bitters since it does have sugar. We also didn't have onion powder, so he put some onion slices in the marinade instead -Next time I say more salt (coconut aminos are not as salty tasting as soy sauce) and maybe a bit more hot sauce -- based on this recipe:

Beef Jerky

I didn't take a picture of dinner as it was basically the same as last night, only my steak was done much better and not overcooked and was DELICIOUS :)  

I think we'll be trying out some Scotch Eggs with homemade sausage very soon - we are big fans of the Scotch Egg  :)

Now, if only we could figure a way to Paleo-fy Haggis ;P  haha  :)

Day 21 Success! :)

Days 19 & 20!

'Brunch' for Day 20 was leftover crab stuffed mushrooms and a fried egg :) Yum! I love crab stuffed mushrooms! :D

We did some shopping at Costco and Wegman's - It was good to have hubby with me to choose things for his lunches etc. He's not following the plan as strictly as I am, but I am proud of him for trying as much as he is :D Since Costco's Organic Ground Beef doesn't say if grass fed or pasture raised, I buy it at Wegman's - they have a 3 pack (1 lb each) 93% lean Organic Grass Fed Ground Beef for $14.99 - I also got their pork tenderloin and a couple different sausages hubby wanted (and a duck one I wanted to try!)

We also ended up deciding to pick up some Lara Bars - I had never had them before and was surprised there really wasn't ANY crap in them! Hubby even opted to buy the 16 pack of the Apple Pie flavor for his lunches - Packing him lunches is probably the hardest and costliest part of this (seriously, I finally found a good organic turkey deli meat at Wegman's - I think the package is only 6 oz and it was $6.49 - I'll split it into 2 lunches and fill it in with other stuff...

At Costco we picked up organic whole chickens, organic chicken breast, a fortune's worth of nuts, apple chips etc.

I was so thirsty I went up to get a bottle of water from the machine, next to their cafe and man, I have to admit, the smell of their hot dogs made me salivate :P I've always loved the hot dogs at Sam's and Costco :o

(I don't like to buy bottled water, but I was really thirsty! :P)

We also got strip steaks, though they're not grass fed, but hubby wanted a nice big steak and all the grass fed stuff was tiny. I'm so tempted to look in to buying a 1/4 or 1/2 cow this year...

Hubby bought some salad dressing packets so he could make it with better oils, downfall is they ALL have sugar - he has opted to use them anyway and just use as little dressing as he can stand (that's huge for him, he's used to drowning his salad in dressing!), so while I had sauteed greens and mushrooms with onion & garlic, he had them with organic spring greens as a salad instead.

I was really happy with the crust I got on our steaks, too bad I overcooked them :(  I decided to finish them in the oven, I usually don't do that - I obviously should have either had the oven lower and/or had them in much less time (I like very rare, hubby usually orders medium rare).

Later I tried the Coconut Lara Bar - It's funny, you open it up and really, let's face it, it looks tiny and insufficient if you're hungry (I wasn't particularly hungry as I just wanted a little snack and wanted to try the Lara Bar) - But man, it felt like it took me forever to eat it, it's very compact and requires a good amount of chewing.

Day 20 Success! :D

Day 19 Breakfast was leftover Deviled Eggs and Kiwi again, so no pic...

I decided to order Sashimi for lunch - and here's where I messed up!

No, I did not use the soy sauce - I did, however, use the pickled ginger (I love that stuff!) not even thinking it probably had sugar in it -- I realized this later when my stomach started to hurt a bit; I'm betting it was the sugar in the pickled ginger :o

My favorite sashimi/sushi is Salmon - Raw salmon has the buttery, nutty kind of flavor to it that I just love, so I ordered the sashimi lunch and an a la carte salmon (3 pieces) - I'm sorry, but Coconut Aminos just didn;t cut it for me here; After the 30 days, I will definitely be getting tamari and making that exception to the no soy (tamari is fermented and is gluten free)

Since hubby was coming home this evening, I wanted to make us a nice dinner - I had my daughter pick up wild caught sea scallops that were in the ad for Acme - I was expecting larger, less wet scallops (Had I realized, I would have told her to get the dry sea scallops that were $4 more per pound - after all, I paid for a lot of water in these scallops!). So much for nice seared scallops, even draining for a while and blotting with paper towel, they were still way to full of water for a sear, all they did really was steam/boil :(  I also thought they tasted more like Bay Scallops - I'm not a big fan of Bay Scallops myself...

I had seen a recipe for sea scallops with an apple cider balsamic blaze, so after I removed the scallops, I added apple cider (1/2 c) and balsamic (maybe 3-4 Tbs) and simmered it down into a syrup consistency - I decided to serve it on the side for dipping so we could choose whether or not to use it - I used it...

I also made Crab stuffed mushrooms - yum! 

I'm really wishing I'd had my daughter pick up 2 cans of this crab meat (wild caught) for $9.99 for a 1 lb can - I didn't realize what a great price it was...

To make them, I cleaned and de-stemmed 15 baby bella/cremini mushrooms and used a tiny spoon to scoop out the center of the mushrooms, reserving the stems and what was scooped out - I diced half a small onion and used the chopper attachment to my immersion blender to chop the stems and center bits of the mushrooms and sauteed the onions and mushrooms in bacon grease and garlic olive oil. I let that cool while I measured out 1 c crab meat,  picking through to double check for shells pieces, I added a good spoonful of my homemade mayo, maybe a Tbs or two cashew meal, I added a little paprika, thyme, granulated garlic, sea salt, pepper and some old bay seasoning and mixed that all up. 

I filled the mushrooms in a baking dish and drizzled them with a little melted gee and sprinkled a little cashew meal on top and baked at 375 for about 15-20 min -- SO GOOD! :D

I also roasted organic rainbow carrots and asparagus (the asparagus was overcooked, I should have started the carrots and then added the asparagus after 10-15 min.) - Hubby loved the roasted carrots, I guess I need to roast carrots more often :)

I guess after the pickled ginger, I can't quite call Day 19 a Success... :o

Day 18!

So.... Thursdays are my busiest workday - had I been smart, I would have made something ahead or just done quick fried eggs, but I didn't really feel like fried eggs and wanted deviled eggs, so I get the water boiling and get them all boiled up, but the phone and emails just.won't. stop. for 5 minutes for me to peel and make them real quick. Seriously, it was noon by the time I had them done - So, it became brunch instead...

So, there you have it - boiled eggs and kiwi and I had a few pistachios after this.

I had gotten an offer for free tickets to a comedy show tonight, so I called for those, but then being tax season, last minute and most of friends being a bit too far away for a last minute invite, it wasn't in the cards. My daughter considered going, but is getting ready for the Wicked Faire Con this weekend, so she didn't really want to go and I wasn't going to force her.

So, I decided to make a fairly quick and easy dinner just in case we went (it was ready when she got home) and I wasn't seeing anything I wanted that I could make work on their menu.

I was VERY tempted to order sashimi - maybe for lunch tomorrow...

Organic chicken breast browned in avocado oil, once browned, I moved them over to one half of the large skillet, added garlic olive oil to the other half then sliced mushroom, sauteed for a minute and then stuck it in the oven at 375 for about 15-20 min until the chicken was done. In the meantime I made the tomato basil salad, just organic grape tomatoes, basil, salt, EVOO and balsamic and heated pre-cooked organic beets from Costco

Dinner - Done!

Feeling a bit emotional this evening - lack of sleep, missing hubby (so glad he comes home tomorrow and a bit earlier than planned) and not getting out (who wants to go out alone?!). Working from home can be tough sometimes...

I also had an Ocular Migraine this afternoon - I get them occasionally and we have no idea what causes them... Thankfully, mine rarely come with actual pain, just the vision problems: No peripheral vision, 'shimmery' vision, etc. The first time I had one it freaked me out, I had never heard of Ocular Migraines!

They usually last about 20 min or so.

Day 18 Success?!

Day 17!

Today I decided to mix things up a little :)

For breakfast I had leftover Thai Red Curry (no pic)

Lunch was leftover meatloaf and a salad

The salad is organic greens, organic tomato, a few castelvetrano olives, red wine vinegar, avocado oil and spike seasoning - ate this about 2:30ish and wasn't hungry until 8ish!

I had planned to have kimchi with my dinner, but then I read the ingredients and it contained sugar :(

Deviled organic cage free eggs (homemade Paleo mayo, yellow mustard, salt, paprika, capers) and organic grape tomatoes and this was plenty :)

Hubby is still traveling and trying to be on plan, but he's sure the salad dressings aren't good and he can tell by the way he feels now that they contain sugar... 

Day 17 Success! :)

Day 16!

I still don't usually wake up hungry (unless I sleep in late, like the weekends), so I know I eat a little later than I should...

It was almost 10 (I got up at 8:30) by the time I started making Breakfast.

I decided on scrambled eggs with sauteed mushrooms, organic power greens and onions and then added 1/4 chopped avocado when the eggs were almost done. I had them with a little Organic Muir Glen medium salsa.

Lunch was just leftover Thai Red Curry from last night, so no photo of lunch :)

I love Thai Curry :)

I've been wanting to try making a Paleo/Whole 30 friendly meatloaf, so I decided tonight would be the night - Hubby usually just asks why not just burgers when I want to make a meatloaf, so I figured I'd do it while he was away (I'd rather have him home! :P)

I was a little worried about making a meatloaf that held together, especially since I prefer to use a loaf pan and not a freeform loaf, but it held together well :)

I used 2 packages Organic grass fed ground beef (one 93% lean and one 85%, that's what I had in the fridge) and added 2 eggs, 2 grated organic carrots, a little liquid smoke, granulated garlic, sage, thyme and cashew meal (I didn't measure, so maybe 1/3 cup or so) and then added sautéed onions, chopped mushrooms and organic celery - then for the last 20 min or so in the oven I topped it with a mixture of organic jarred tomato paste that I mixed with some salt, apple cider (real pressed cider from a local orchard, not the stuff that's really apple juice labeled as cider ;P) and hot sauce.

My usual roasted asparagus sprayed with garlic olive oil and sprinkled with salt and granulated garlic 

Even my older daughter ate it and said it was good and she doesn't like mushrooms - I was surprised she even tried it (It's more the 'idea' of them that she doesn't like I think)

And I have leftovers for lunch (or maybe even breakfast!) tomorrow :)

I also had just a few pistachios and a couple olives today also :)

Day 16 Success! :)

Day 15!

Halfway through! :)

I really really didn't feel like eating this morning, but finally forced myself to fry up 2 Organic Cage Free eggs and had those for breakfast.

Lunch was my last serving of Beef & Sweet Potato Chili that I topped with 1/4 avocado cubed :)

Hubby is out of town again :(

The only slight plus of that is that I can make whatever I want for dinner...

Thai Red Curry for dinner tonight 

A frozen mix of broccoli, water chestnuts and snow peas, then I added organic cauliflower, organic eggplant, half an onion sliced, red and yellow organic bell pepper, asparagus, bamboo shoots and a good large handful of broccoli slaw, 2 cans coconut milk, homemade chicken stock from the carcass of the organic chicken I roasted a few days ago, red curry paste, a squeeze of lime juice, cilantro and basil and the meat picked off the chicken before making the stock

My daughter made the stock and picked the meat off the carcass for me :)

I also had some pistachios here and there.

Day 15 Success!

Day 14!

So, after last night's fun, we slept in and then watched some TV in bed before dragging our sorry butts outta bed to get ready to go home. It was too late to grab breakfast and I felt fine until we got to the train station - I considered the egg white options at Dunkin Donuts, but quickly decided there were too many unknowns of the preparation for my taste. I then considered a fruit salad bowl at one of the shops in Penn Station, but decided against that as well. Then I saw the packages of nuts and another little deli shop and settled on nuts to tide me over until we got home. The cashews had peanut oil, so they were out. I ended up with pistachios and almonds and ate just enough to feel like I would be ok until we got home and I made us something healthy to eat :)

At dinner last night, Hubby liked the kale and commented that he thought it might be good in an omelette - I had purchased the big bag or organic power greens (baby kale, chard and spinach) at Costco last week, so I decided to go for the omelette idea as a quick meal (plus bacon for hubby)

I sauteed the power greens in bacon fat with garlic, salt and pepper and set them aside while I started on the eggs, I also used bacon grease to cook the omelette. Made for a decent little 'brunch'

I didn't really have a plan for dinner and hubby suggested I use the 2 organic chicken breasts I had in the fridge for blackened chicken - I have cajun seasoning in the spice cabinet, so why not :)

First I prepped the brussels sprouts and coated them in garlic olive oil and seasoned them with granulated garlic, salt and pepper and put them in the oven. Then I coated the chicken in the cajun seasoning and browned them in pistachio oil on each side and put them in the oven to finish cooking. After about 20 minutes, I sauteed organic power greens and organic beets (also purchased pre-cooked at Costco) in walnut oil with garlic and seasoned with salt and pepper.

Pretty easy dinner :)

Hubby goes out of town again tomorrow and doesn't get back until Friday :(  I hate these longer trips and am not as used to him travelling as I was years ago (I have trouble sleeping when he's gone, especially the first night), but he took on a client in MI, requiring more travel than he's done in a while... I am still very proud of him for sticking to plan as best he can while travelling - I'm a lucky woman :)

Day 14 Success!  :)

Day 13!

So last night was our big night out in the city - Hubby had gotten tickets to something that he wouldn't tell me what it was - Got us a hotel room and all :)  <3

The weather was HORRIBLE and the meanie made me walk from Penn Station to the hotel, about 3/4 mile away - the exercise is good, but in that weather and prior to a show and all, I was not a happy camper by the time we got there - We took a cab this morning, though the weather was nicer, but the sidewalks in that area were pretty bad...

So the show... It was Sleep no More :)

http://sleepnomorenyc.com/

And there was a lot more walking throughout that as well

So anyway...

Since I slept in, got ready and packed before even coming downstairs, I didn't have breakfast - Lunch was my beef and sweet potato chili again.

Dinner was at the hotel restaurant La Piscine - I think we were overall pretty successful :)

We started with the crab tartine appetizer (we didn't eat the bread) - My only concern here was the aioli, I didn't get to ask if it was made with a commercial mayo or if it was homemade as Hubby ordered it as a last second decision, but we'll let that slide... It was delicious and I think I may try to replicate it at home soon :)

Our entree was the grass fed New York strip steak with kale - it was supposed to come with pommes frites and a Bearnaise sauce, so we asked to leave those off and maybe more kale - asked to have the kale sautéed in olive oil rather than butter - they were very accommodating and the waiter asked about the plan...

I'm pretty sure our steaks were revered and hubby got my rare and I got his medium rare, but it was still yummy :)

We won't talk about the drinks last night ;P  lol

Overall, I'm calling Day 13 Success!

Day 12!

My breakfast was simply 2 fried eggs today, I wasn't really hungry and could easily have only had one, but that just didn't seem like enough.

Lunch for me was the same sweet potato and beef chili with guacamole I had on Wednesday.

Rob, however needed a lunch packed for him so here's his lunch from today

Tuna w/ dill pickle, onion and homemade mayo, organic tomato slices, pepperoncinis, organic blackberries, almonds and Boston lettuce leaves for the tuna.

I got a bit too much tuna in it and with the tomato, it got a little watery, but he said it was good :)

This may not be a fancy dinner for Valentine's Day, but it definitely is a meal after hubby's heart - he could eat steaks and burgers every night!

I didn't think to take a picture of Rob's with his fried egg and bacon, but it looked pretty much the same as last time, as does mine 

My Whole 30 friendly bunless burger - Shredded organic iceberg lettuce, organic tomato slices, a smaller 4.83 oz (raw weight) 93% organic grass fed ground beef this time, spicy aioli using my homemade mayo (new batch, used lime juice this time and less an...d used garlic olive, avocado and walnut oils), tabasco sauce, cayenne, cumin and smoked paprika, then finally sautéed mushrooms and onions with uncured bacon mixed in --- 

I made a seasoning for the burgers since my Montreal Steak seasoning is not Whole 30 compliant - I mixed up course sea salt, celery salt, pepper and granulated garlic - it added just the right amount of seasoning 

This was friggin DELICIOUS again! I did not miss the bun in the least! The smaller serving was better for me, I was stuffed last time, this time, it feels about right 

Last night/this morning, I had a dream that I was sipping a Guinness - I might be missing that - lol ;)

I'm not feeling the muscle fatigue so much now, thankfully and seem to feel a little better each day.

Though I'm really not hungry at mealtimes...

Tomorrow we spend the night in the city and will have dinner out; the first time for me since starting - I hope it isn't too challenging (no idea where we'll end up for dinner...) - then we're going to a show (a surprise for me, I have no idea what it is, but it's not until midnight! :o)

You may remember if you've been reading that I do still drink vodka and whiskey while doing the Whole 30 and I know drinks will be flowing tomorrow night - just sayin' ;)

Day 12 Success! :)

Day 11!

Pretty good day :)

Breakfast was the same as yesterday, so no pic...

Hubby was home today due to the snowstorm, so he made us lunch - it looks a lot like breakfast :P  lol

He made us omelets with the sausage, organic peppers, onions, mushrooms and organic grape tomatoes

Dinner was yummy and easy

I seared and then roasted a grass fed beef tenderloin rubbed with my salt blend (well, half of it) and then roasted at 450 for 20 minutes - perfect! 

I also roasted broccoli and parsnips and threw in some pine nuts during the last few minutes - it was drizzled with garlic olive oil and sprinkled with granulated garlic and salt before roasting

Just a quick post today as it was a busy and tiring workday :)

Day 11 Success!

Day 10!

Today was a good day :)

So yeah, I did indeed make deviled eggs for breakfast :)

I just love them 

:)

They're pretty much just your basic deviled eggs - Egg yolks mixed with my homemade mayo, mustard and some salt, then the eggs sprinkled with smoked paprika and a few capers :) I also had a little of my usual guacamole and a few of those yummy castelvetrano olives :)

Yesterday I made a batch of chili to have for lunches this week (should help when it gets busy and I need lunch quick) :) I decided to add sweet potatoes to it - they're not bad at all in chili - who knew?! :)

I sautéed a chopped onion, poblano pepper, 1/3 yellow bell pepper and a jalapeño in walnut oil, then removed the veggies and added free range stew meat (Trader Joe's) to the pot to brown, added veggies back in w/ a chopped organic tomato and added chili powder, granulated garlic, cayenne, cumin, smoked paprika, celery salt, a little cocoa powder, pink Himalayan sea salt and pepper (I think that's everything :P) and then added 2 cups organic veggie stock, a couple Tbs organic tomato paste and a chopped sweet potato - let it simmer a few hours and yum . Topped w/ a bit of my guacamole 

I think a little chipotles in adobo would have been good in it had I thought to add some - next time! :)

Dinner was roasted organic chicken - hubby was disappointed I didn't do the tenderloin - If he had his way, we'd have steaks and burgers every night; preferably with no veggies :P

If you didn't know already, parsnips are DELICIOUS roasted - I didn't! I've added them to stews and such often enough, but never just roasted them, they take on a very nice caramelized sweetness roasted :)

I know, that looks like a very small piece of chicken, but this is a full sized dinner plate and when I cut it up, it was definitely more than it looks like there! (It is half a breast)

When I roast chicken (or turkey), I always make a sort of paste with oil (I used avocado this time), garlic, parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper and spread it under the skin, then rub the outside just with what's left on my hands (I usually put on food service gloves when I do this).

The brussels sprouts and parsnips are coated in garlic olive oil and sprinkled with granulated garlic, salt and pepper and then roasted - yummy!

The beets are pre-cooked organic beets - another Costco find :)

Day 10 Success!

Day 9!

Very tired today - Didn't sleep well with hubby gone last night, I think I last looked at the clock around 3:30ish... I hated my alarm clock this morning :P

Breakfast was my go to, 2 fried eggs and guacamole - I'll change it up on days I feel tired of it, but that's quick and easy and I love it :)

I waited too long for lunch - time got away with me for work (I work from home at least) and I was shaky by the time I made my lunch. A pretty simple, fast lunch was in order...

Wild Planet Pole Caught Skipjack Tuna, my homemade mayo, chopped dill pickle, tomato, fresh dill and capers and a sliced kiwi

After work I had an eye appt (no changes in my script, yay!) and then went to Costco - I could swear I'd read they had organic chicken and beef stock that was compliant, but their chicken stock still had sweetener in it - and there was no beef stock :(  I was also disappointed that their organic beef does not say how they were fed, so I assume corn and grain fed, so I didn't buy that either. I did get some awesome olives, a good sized bottle of avocado oil, sea salt, more organic, cage free eggs (is it bad that now I have 4 dozen on hand :P  lol - I plan to make deviled eggs, maybe for breakfast tomorrow), bananas, some nuts etc...

By the time I got home (oh and a quick liquor store stop for a bottle of Glenlivet for the hubby) it was just about 7:30, so another late dinner, but since lunch was late... Thankfully I had already planned steaks and had dinner ready within a half hour.

I cut a piece off of my steak and gave it to hubby, I didn't need the whole thing and I knew he'd want more. Mixed up the same seasoning mix I used the other day on the burgers for the steaks and seared them on the griddle, sautéed some mushrooms in bacon grease, roasted some asparagus sprayed with garlic olive oil and sprinkled with granulated garlic and salt and added a couple of the Castelvetrano olives I found at Costco tonight - they are yummy  

You better believe I'm having a drink :P 

a Scotch or Vodka Seltzer is the only question :)

Day 9 Success!

Day 8!

So breakfast was once again guacamole and 2 fried eggs, so I didn't bother with a photo - and lunch was leftovers from last night's dinner, so no photo of my lunch either.

I do however have a photo of the lunch I packed for the hubby.

I had bought a package of those Paleo wraps when we started and finally decided to use one in his lunch - His wrap is roast beef, organic iceberg lettuce, tomato and my homemade mayo.

He was not a fan, the wrap is made from coconut and he didn't like the coconut flavor with the rest :(  Plus I guess the tomatoes made it a little soggy :(

He also had pepperoncinis, a sliced kiwi, pecans and pistachios.

I wasn't very hungry for dinner and ate a bit late, but it was tasty :)

I needed something quick and easy - just cooking for myself tonight as hubby is gone for the night on business - He is still sticking to it and ordered a grilled chicken salad and grilled asparagus from room service :) 

I seasoned (pink himalayan sea salt, pepper and garlic pepper blend) and cooked up some organic chicken breast, made a salad of organic greens tossed w/ red wine vinegar, garlic olive oil and spike seasoning (my Grandmother Nancy always made salads dressed this way - It's been forever since I've made it that way ). Then I toasted up some almond slivers and voila! :)

I had a few bites of guacamole while I was cooking also.

Day 8 - Success!

Day 7!

Even better today - no headache and not so much of that muscle fatigue feeling - Yay! :)

Hubby got home yesterday late afternoon - Another Yay! Maybe that contributed to today being a better day! :)

As I mentioned before, I'm a night owl, but we did actually make it to bed by 12:30 last night, woke up and watched TV in bed for a bit, showered and came down to him starting Brunch for us - I know, I know, we're supposed to have 3 meals on the Whole 30 - weekdays I do - weekends, I'm more likely to just have 2 meals since we sleep in and tend to watch TV in bed for an hour or so :)

He made us a sort of Paleo Eggs Benedict :)

He made Paleo cauliflower 'hash browns', sliced and fried a couple organic bilinski's organic chicken sausages, fried eggs incstead of poached and made a Paleo coconut oil hollandaise w/ capers :)

The 'hash browns' were from the My Little Jar of Spices blog - he also added a little coconut flour because he thought the 'batter' seemed thin - Here is a link to the original blog post with the recipe (he made half):

http://mylittlejarofspices.com/2013/05/12/cauliflower-hash-browns/

We both would have liked more Hollandaise, so next time we would double it - and maybe use Ghee instead (Hubby didn't realize I had gotten Ghee)

It's kind of an interesting method using a blender that's been warmed with boiling water

See the recipe and instructions here:

http://www.againstallgrain.com/2012/02/21/paleo-coconut-oil-hollandaise-sauce/

Then he made us dinner too! I was a little amused he chose to make a meal that was almost what I made while he was out of town

Spaghetti Squash and Meatballs

 

He made meatballs w/ 93% organic grass fed ground beef, onion, parsley, an organic cage free egg, garlic and salt & pepper, browned them in olive oil, then sautéed the mushrooms with the meatballs, added a jar of Two Guys Jersey Tomato sauce, let it simmer a bit and served over spaghetti squash he roasted whole in the oven . Delicious!

Day 7 Success! :)

Day 6!

I definitely felt better today - Yay!

Still some of that muscle fatigue feeling but not as bad - and NO headache - whew!!

I also did sleep better last night, but part of that was being able to sleep in (I am a night owl! Being the weekend, I didn't go to bed until a little after 2). Once I got to sleep, I actually stayed asleep until about 10am :) Then I watched TV in bed for a while - The Taste on demand :)

Since it was noon by the time I came downstairs, I decided to do brunch rather than breakfast and just had leftover lamb chops and neeps from last night :) Works for me!  :)

I had a small palmful of macadamia nuts later in the afternoon, just to make sure I'd make it to dinner :)

Then this happened:

Yep, that is homemade Paleo Mayo you see there :D

Errr, ummm, I mean lemon aioli ;P (because I got too much lemon in it lol) - Super easy!!!! I like this version because 1- it uses a whole egg and 2- it's super easy using an immersion blender, no drizzling!

I used 1/4 cup garlic olive oil, a tiny bit meyer lemon olive oil (likely contributed to it being too much lemon) and the rest Walnut oil

It is seriously just an egg, lemon or lime juice (I guess my lemon half was large since it was too lemony), salt and 1 cup oil, blended up with an immersion blender!

Thanks to The Healthy Foodie for the post!

See the full post and method here:
http://thehealthyfoodie.com/fail-proof-home-made-paleo-mayo-whole30-compliant/

As I mentioned, my hubby was out of town on business since Wed - he just came home today - YAY!

I am super proud of him for staying nearly 100% on plan while traveling and eating out etc :)

He's been wanting a bunless burger since we started the plan, so today was the day.

I didn't miss the bun - OMG was this tasty!!

We used to often order from a local burger joint called 25 Burger; they have a burger called a Burger Royal that has the usual lettuce, tomato, onion, mayo, cheese and then bacon and a fried egg - that is what hubby orders EVERY time - Obviously cheese was out, but everything else was certainly doable as a bunless burger.

So.... Here we have his burger!

Whole 30 friendly bunless burger - Shredded organic iceberg lettuce, organic tomato slices, a whopping 8 oz (raw weight) 85% Clayton's Organic ground beef, the homemade lemon aioli ;P, uncured applewood smoked bacon and a fried egg (fried in bacon grease)  

While that's what he always orders, I usually get a Bleu Cheese Burger - can't really mimic that one...

My Whole 30 friendly bunless burger - Shredded organic iceberg lettuce, organic tomato slices, a whopping 8 oz (raw weight) 93% organic grass fed ground beef, spicy aioli using my homemade mayo, tabasco sauce, cayenne, cumin and smoked paprika, then finally sautéed mushrooms and onions with uncured applewood smoked bacon mixed in ---

I made a seasoning for the burgers since my Montreal Steak seasoning is not Whole 30 compliant - I mixed up course sea salt, celery salt, pepper and granulated garlic - it added just the right amount of seasoning

This was friggin DELICIOUS! I did not miss the bun in the least!

Jealous?  You should be :P  lol

And yes, I did have a Bloody Mary last night:

Organic Veggie Juice

Vodka

Prepared Horseradish

Tabasco

Celery Salt

Bay Seasoning

Salt & Pepper

Olives were out - they had disodium sulfite (I removed the olive after I read the label)  :(

Still -Yum!

And yes, that does say Senior Prom 1988 - haha!

Day 6 Success!  :)