Category Archives: Paleo

prepping ahead for a week of whole30 eats

Now that we’re in the new year, I’m hoping to get back to posting about menus and food prep on a more consistent basis. Until the baby arrives, at least.

Because it’s basically my favorite thing in the world (and because pregnancy heartburn after holiday eats), I’m joining in on the annual January Whole30. I skipped out on starting Jan 1 though as my mom hosted a family baby shower for me in LA this past weekend. Since I’d be traveling and wanted to eat dessert at my own baby shower (a strawberry shortcake bar!), I delayed the start until the 5th.

I’m also doing something a little crazy. Since I’m telling the internet here and now I can’t back down! I totally subscribe to the “make it public, make it happen” philosophy. I’m going until the martian arrives. Aside from wanting to nip the holiday eating in the bud immediately (and the heartburn, oh the heartburn), I know that when eating this way I am the best version of me and frankly, I really rock at life. I’m not grumpy or short with people, I’ve got energy like crazy, I sleep like a rock, and I’m super level headed. Seriously, you may think this is a crazy statement but until you’ve done this or something similar for thirty days you can not understand the difference in how you feel. Yes, that’s a challenge.

Why wouldn’t I want to go into giving birth and the newborn weeks feeling like a rockstar? I can’t think of a reason I wouldn’t, so I’m taking this on. My due date is 2/15; this could really be anything from a Whole30 to a Whole60. Usually I pick a little present to get myself after I finish a Whole30. In the fall it was an InstantPot (which is so awesome). This time, I’m getting a baby!! (And maybe one these fun spiralizer gadgets, too.)

As mentioned, I was in Los Angeles all weekend having fun with my sister and nephew and enjoying the females in my family as they generously showered the baby and I with gifts and well wishes. But I wanted to start first thing Monday morning. I have an incredible ability to justify pretty much anything and knew that if I didn’t start Monday I would somehow come up with a reason to put it off until the following Monday. What can I say, I really like Monday starts.

The first step was to print out a menu plan template. I’ve been feeling less digital lately so I printed and wrote on mine, whereas most of last year I kept my weekly meal plans in a Google doc. Printing also allows me to use a pink highlighter, which is just fun. There’s a meal plan template in my Thriving In The Kitchen guide if you’re looking for some where to start.

I like to figure out the main courses first. I start with any night that I know I won’t have time to cook. Monday we had baby class in the evening and a rotisserie chicken picked on the way home is perfect. Then I raid the freezer to see what sort of leftovers we have – two servings of chocolate chili and several servings of brisket. Score. I plugged these meals in where they fit best on the menu plan. I next looked at what meat we had in the inside freezer that could be used for quick meals: salmon and lamb stew meat. Main courses done.

I didn’t have anything frozen for breakfast, so while making dinner on Friday night I threw together a casserole with whatever I had on hand (sweet potato, ground beef, eggs, and some spices). Once it was cooled I sliced it, wrapped in foil, and tossed in the freezer.

Let’s talk about sides. I was not able to prep any veggies this weekend, so I went the easy route. When I stopped by the store for the chicken, I also picked up a selection of frozen veggies and pre-cut fresh ones. Yes, more expensive, but that’s what’s going to work this week so that’s what I’m doing. For good measure I added eggs, sausages, and hot dogs, which are all easy to quickly make a meal out of in an emergency.

The key for me is filling out the prep and defrost sections of my template. If I don’t do that, I forget what I need to do and the plan quickly falls apart. I also highlight the meals where I need to cook something (meaning not everything is pre-prepped) so I can quickly gauge which evenings I’m going to need to spend time in the kitchen. I’m on day four and happy to report that we’ve stuck to the schedule 100% and are eating better than we have in quite some time.

Here’s a five minute dinner idea: toss a side of salmon on a baking sheet, add a bag of frozen broccoli and pre-cooked beets. Sprinkle your favorite season and fat of choice on everything. Bake. Be happy that you only have one pan to clean.

the post-whole30 thirty

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We were out of town for most of the past week so I didn’t plan a menu or do any cooking really. I did make dinner for the family on Wednesday night in Palm Springs. My dad was not thrilled with my choice of spaghetti squash with meat sauce but I’m happy to report that after actually trying it, he deemed it delicious and said he felt better than if he had eaten actual pasta. Win!

I really wish I could report that the last thirty days post-Whole30 have been full of super nutritious food and me feeling great. But if I’m being honest, they haven’t been. I’ve been doing a little reflecting on where things took a turn. Here’s (roughly) how the last four weeks went.

Week One
Still feeling the Whole30 tiger blood, I kept things really clean and off-roaded smartly. After a month of eating out twice I wanted to try a few of our go-to take-out dishes to see how I’d feel and get a break from the kitchen. I had pho and also tried my favorite lamb gyro salad from a local Greek place. I avoided all the holiday candy and baked goods around the office. Overall, I was feeling pretty good.

Week Two
I added a little caffeine back into my morning (why do we do things we know won’t end well?) and ended up messing up my sleep for a few days. Yes, I’m that sensitive to a cup of coffee in the morning. And yes, it sucks. What happened next is not pretty but I learned a valuable lesson. When I get tired, my ability to make good food choices is amazingly low. I think I always realized this, but watching it happen this week made me realize just how much a lack of sleep impacts me.

This poor sleep week happened to coincide with a rough week at work and conference room tables full of leftover Halloween candy. I couldn’t resist. In one meeting, my coworkers, used to me turning down candy and baked goods, were openly gawking (and probably silently cheering) as I took down mini candy after mini candy.

Week Three
I was full on in the bad food leading to bad sleep leading to more bad food choices cycle. It’s a real fun one. My candy binging led me to having “just one” eggnog latte. I’ll let you guess if I stuck to my just one or not. Hint: I did not. Lots of other poor choices were made and I started to feel gross. There’s not really any other word for it.

Week Four
I knew things needed to change but I was struggling to find motivation. Then I went to my 28 week appointment. And while I don’t put a lot of faith in scales as a good metric of health, they do tell a part of the story. This scale was brutally honest and my midwife was not happy. Week four happened to be Thanksgiving and a trip to Palm Springs to celebrate the holiday with my family. I tried to make good choices, but I didn’t succeed as often as I would have liked. There was pie for breakfast.

What Went Wrong
I hate that I was feeling so damn good a month ago and now I am on the verge of a cold and feel like I could and need to sleep for days. First and foremost, a lack of sleep combined with stress happened. Some of the stress was out of my control (work) and some was totally under my control (making a way too large to-do list for November that I put before health priorities). I also am at the end of last year’s meat, which means I only have a few cuts left and they are not my favorites. It became really easy to justify eating out or junk instead of making good food.

Going Forward
I’m not beating myself up about any of this. I’m not letting myself go to the “how can I be a good nutritional therapist if I can’t take my own advice” place. If anything, I’m using it as a lesson about myself and something to keep in mind with future clients. I am reflecting and making a plan to get back on track. I have no desire or plans to let myself slide down this slope through the rest of the holiday. It would be really easy to say that I’ll pick things back up in January, but that’s not fair to me, to the baby, or to those that get to spend ample time with me. Have I mentioned I’m much more pleasant when I’ve slept and don’t feel on the verge of a cold? It’s time to just do it. To start now. Here are four things I plan to do over the next few weeks to get myself back on track.

Prioritize food and exercise. As usual, I have a set of goals for December, but I am changing up how I think about them after going a little crazy in November. My goals will be getting 30 minutes of exercise every day (midwife’s orders) and committing to having real food prepped for every meal. After, and only after, those are met I will work on other things like my website and December Daily.

Don’t get fancy. I went to the store on Sunday to do my weekly shopping. When I planned my menu, I was careful to make it reasonable. Real food doesn’t have to be fancy or time consuming to be nourishing, filling, and delicious. I added a few recipes and then stocked up on easy foods like frozen veggies and sausages. And I bribed myself a little with prepared guac and salsa and totally out of season mango. While I try to eat seasonally, these favorites will keep me looking forward to lunch salads. Not everything is Whole30 compliant. I have no probably staying on a Whole30, I am ridiculously good at following rules. It’s the post-rules time that I struggle with and am trying to work through.

Sleep. This means sticking to my bedtime routine that helps me wind down and staying off the caffeine-sauce. It also means being really, really selective about when I chose to eat sugar. I’m not trying to be a saint through the holidays, but sugar makes me more wired than caffeine so anything I decide to eat needs to be 100% worth it and 100% intentional.

Surround myself with real food talk. This might sound silly and hippie-dippie, but I’ve realized that the more engrossed I am in the real food world the easier it is for me to stay on track. All it takes is listening to podcasts while I drive and exercise and I’m back in my happy place.

So that’s my story and my plan. I hope to report at the end of December that I have a log full of exercise, a belly full of good food, and a few holiday treats that were totally worth it but didn’t sent me spiraling out of control.

spicy

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Back in February I started a project that I left half finished until two weeks ago. I am not always great at judging how much should be on my plate. But, it’s finished and awesome and I’m even getting around to sharing it.

Back in 2010, when I first started to explore the real food movement, I discovered a love of spices. Once of the first blogs I started following was The Clothes Make the Girl and Melissa is well known for her use of spices. She has a few great posts on spices you can find here and here, which are great starting points if you are looking to include more spice in your life.

When we moved into our house I picked a spice cupboard and tossed everything in there without a lot of thought. Finding a spice typically involved several minutes of searching and often dropping at least one or two others in the process.

After a moment of serious frustrating, I went in search of a solution. Thanks to Amazon, eight months later I have an awesome spice drawer. Isn’t it pretty? The jars are 4.5 oz each with an opening wide enough for all my tablespoons.

The labels are technically chalkboard, but I highly doubt that they are reusable. I haven’t actually tried so maybe I’d be pleasantly surprised.

Along the side I’ve stored spices that don’t fit in the jars (bay leaves, red peppers) and spice mixes that I’m trying out. I like to try different blends but don’t plan to keep them on hand all the time; storing them in snack bags works better than using a jar.

My spice refills and various salts and cooking fats are now much easier to find in the old cupboard. Unfortunately though I displaced our coffee and tea collection for this project and this new layout isn’t working all that well. Instead of dropping spices while cooking dinner I now drop tea boxes in the morning. Once I find a better spot for the coffee and tea this will become bottle storage. Seriously, a baby changes everything. Apparently even kitchen storage!

menu monday: breakfasts on the go

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Last week I had a bit of a blogging epiphany. When I post my menu, it’s before the week is over and often times I don’t have many pictures or haven’t tried all the recipes. I realized (after two years of posting menus), if I skip a week, I can start posting my menu after I’ve made every meal. That means pictures and not sharing recipes that don’t turn out well. Sometimes I’m brilliant (or really dense?).

Instead today, I thought I’d tackle one of the common questions I get from my co-workers. My co-workers were incredibly supportive as I went through my studies and have turned out to be a great source of inspiration as I think about building my practice. A conversation about breakfast earlier this week gave me an idea for today’s post.

A co-worker mentioned that she feels better and has more energy when she eats a good breakfast (yay!) but is having trouble managing to do that consistently while also getting herself ready for work, helping her kids on their way to school, and commuting. We talked about prepping breakfast for the week so that she always has something ready to grab from the fridge.

While I’ve mentioned all of these before, I thought it might be helpful to include my list of cook ahead, portable breakfasts in one post. There are tons of ideas out there if you search, but these are the ones I go to week after week. I think it’s important to have a few options in your rotation. I know from experience that if you get stuck in a rut, breakfast burn out can happen!

Breakfast Casseroles. Casseroles are probably the most common breakfast in our rotation, especially in fall and winter when I want a hot breakfast. I’ve shared both these recipes countless times, but in case you’ve missed them I highly recommend Southwest Frittata and Chorizo Breakfast Casserole.

Once baked and cooled, slice your casserole into the number of desired servings (I slice each of the recipes I’ve linked to into six servings). I then wrap in aluminum foil, tossing a few in the fridge for upcoming days and the rest in the freezer. I use the microwave at work to reheat. If frozen, they taste better when thawed overnight in the fridge rather than nuked from frozen. I usually top with avocado slices for a little extra fat to get through the morning.

Prosciutto Egg Cups. I stumbled across this idea on Instagram a few months ago, but I’m unable to remember who shared the picture and give them credit. This has to be the easiest breakfast ever. Line the cups of a muffin tin with slices of prosciutto. I usually use half a slice per cup, making sure to press the slice together so there are no holes in the bottom or sides. Crack an egg into each cup and add a touch of paprika. Bake in the oven at 350 for about 15 minutes or until the eggs are cooked to your liking.

I usually enjoy two or three for breakfast. I make a dozen at a time and store them in individual serving sizes. So easy to grab in the morning and you can even eat them without a fork.

Egg Salad. I love egg salad over baby spinach, especially in the summer when I’m not looking for a warm breakfast. I make a big batch of hardboiled eggs on Sunday and a batch of homemade mayo. I like to peel all the eggs at once and make my egg salad, portioning it into daily servings. Having it already made and ready to go helps when I’m lazy in the latter part of the week. If I’m feeling fancy, I’ll chop my baby spinach. What is it about a chopped salad that just seems better?

I typically top my egg salad with spicy sauerkraut. If we’re out of sauerkraut, I’ll add a healthy dose of hot sauce. We love Horsetooth Hot Sauce.

Salmon cakes. Weird? Maybe. Delicious? Definitely. Sometimes I don’t want an egg dish for breakfast, but I still want something I can make a batch of over the weekend. I follow the salmon cakes recipe from Well Fed 2, which is not available online. A similar recipe for mackerel cakes is available though, if you’re curious to try. They make for a great summer breakfast because I like to eat them cold and topped with a dab of homemade mayo. This is another recipe you can make on Sunday, portion into your daily containers, and not think about again.

Next week I’ll share the “recipe” I’ve been using to make a breakfast casserole with whatever leftovers are in the fridge on Sunday.

menu monday: my whole30 recap

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This week we’re eating from the freezer again and it’s really simple.

Breakfasts: Salmon Cakes w/ mayo from Well Fed 2. I’m finally feeling like eating fish again for breakfast. I know this may sound weird, but if you’re looking for something less traditional for breakfast these are delicious.

Lunches: I found a casserole dish of bolognese in the freezer! I was so excited, no prep for lunches this week aside from squash to go with it.

Dinners: On Saturday I tried a new recipe for steak and potatoes in the crockpot. I love finding new uses for my crockpot and figured why not when I came across this post. It isn’t much of a recipe, but more a method. Sadly, we ended up with four very dry steaks. The potatoes cooked well (we skipped the corn), but I won’t be risking my good meat with this method again. For the rest of the week we’ll be eating salmon, the very last (finally) of the PreMade Paleo meals, and balsamic short ribs (another slow cooker recipe).

4th Meal: Since I made the switch back to eating a very clean diet, I eat A LOT. Instead of snacking all day, I’ve just incorporated a fourth meal into my diet. This week it will be egg salad with hard boiled eggs, mayo, and hot sauce.

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The Whole30 Recap

On Wednesday I finished what I think is my 3rd complete Whole30. I’ve done several other Whole14s, give or take a few days, when I’ve felt the need to really get back on track, but this was a full on, 30 days of squeaky clean eating.

So how did it go? In a nutshell – fantastic. At the beginning I had set out five reasons for taking this on, which I’ve recapped below in addition to a few other insights and results from my thirty days. I believe how we nourish ourselves is of huge importance to our health but I also recognize that there are other factors. Where I made changes in addition to good food changes I’ve also included them.

Sleep. I am consistently falling asleep within ten minutes of getting in bed. This is big for me, who usually tosses and turns and has a very hard time getting to sleep. I do still wake up once (or sometimes even twice) to use the restroom, but I think we can blame that on Martian. I’ve also committed to getting of my computer by 9pm every night, no excuses. I spend about half hour straightening the house up and getting ready for bed, then get in bed at 9:30 and read until 10ish.

Digestive issues. About two weeks in I declared myself digestive issues free. No need for details, but it’s a good thing! And nightly heartburn is gone! I got heartburn a handful of time during the Whole30 and each time it was after eating a piece of fruit on it’s own. Easy fix is to stop eating fruit alone. I added apple cider vinegar to my herbal tea almost every night. I love the tangy taste and it helps improve the acidity in my stomach.

Eczema. My wrist is almost clear. Eczema takes a long time to heal and it’s super frustrating. I have about a one inch by one inch patch left that is very dry and no longer inflamed or itchy. I wish I knew exactly what caused it. My best guess is dairy, but I have no real desire to test that out. After being very stubborn for months, I finally took my Fitbit off my arm to allow the eczema to heal. I don’t think it was the cause, but I do think it was irritating the broken skin and making the healing slower.

Lethargy. My energy is awesome. I’m waking up ready to go, working all day at my full time job, then coming home and building out my little business in the evening. I’m sure having something I’m incredibly excited about helps keep me motivated and focused, but there was no way I had this energy in the early part of my second trimester, before the Whole30.

Mama guilt. Greatly diminished! I have felt guilty for moving a heavy box, not caring about reading the million books every expectant mother is expected to read, and other such things. But I know that every single meal I ate over those 30 days provided Martian with the nutrients he or she needs to grow and that is a great feeling.

What I wasn’t looking for, but (happily) found:

One thing that I noticed is how even-keeled I became over the thirty days. I’m not a highly emotional person, but I am very easily annoyed. My typical response is silence. I don’t want to deal with you, but I want you to know I’m annoyed with you. When things came up that would usually put me in this mood I just shook them off and moved on. Either there was no point in wasting my energy or there was a bright side to be found.
Stress didn’t get to me like it normally does. I work very well under certain stressful conditions, like deadlines. However, once I get to the point where I feel like things are out of my control I get very cranky and not nice to be around. October was insane. Between coming out of September where we were gone three out of four weekends, Greg working round the clock many nights, our entire interior of the house being painted, finishing my NTP program, and work getting busy, history states that I should have lost it. But I never did. I didn’t have a single “I can’t do this moment”. I just made a to-do list everyday of what needed to get done and did it. I credit the better sleep (nothing makes me more cranky than being tired), the increased energy, and the general even-keeled mentality.

The Whole30 and Pregnancy

Several people have asked me if the Whole30 is safe while pregnant. I’m honestly not sure how to respond to that because the only thing I did was eat real food for thirty days. I know that we live in a world of extreme diets and I can see why anyone, without knowing the details of the Whole30, might think this is just another crazy fad. But I get so discouraged when people ask me what I’m eating now that I’m pregnant, waiting for and expecting the juicy details of nightly ice cream binges, then look at me crazy when I describe the Whole30 and ask if that’s something I should be doing. My response is usually something along the lines of “I can’t think of anything healthier I could be doing.” Here’s a few reasons why:

I’m probably going to make a few people angry with this one, but I’m starting to question a lot the of the conventional symptoms of pregnancy that we’re just told are part of experience and that we need to deal with. Yes, my body is changing like crazy and that may result in a few aches and pains. But heartburn? Gone. Leg cramps? Gone. Back pain? Gone. Crappy sleep? Gone. Wrist pain? Gone. I mentioned all five of these to my midwife and my prenatal yoga instructor who both sympathetically nodded and said something like “oh, pregnancy”. Maybe the changes in my body made me more susceptible to the conditions but I just proved that (for me, only talking about my situation here) eating a nutrient dense diet fixed every single ailment. I’m getting close to soapbox territory here, which is not my intent, but I wish that pregnancy was handled very differently in our culture.
I’m about six months pregnant and my engagement ring is twisting around my finger. One of the (way too many) pregnancy emails this week told me that it might be time to take my rings off before they get stuck and wear them around my neck. Also, my boots are easier to zip up than they were a month ago. Real food wins, non-scale victories.
My twenty week appointment was on Day 2, followed by my 24 week appointment on Day 28. Between those two dates I lost one pound and Martian grew the exact number of centimeters that they want to see.

So what’s next….

I’ve started to eat out a little. I tried rice noodles in Pho on Friday night (felt fine). I don’t plan to reintroduce dairy or gluten at this time, but I will try a little sugar to see how I feel, mostly in preparation for the holiday season. I’ll probably try corn chips as well. Our marriage is built on Mexican food people, there’s only so much I can ask of Greg and giving up dinner at Rosita’s isn’t on the table.

The one thing I want to improve on is asking myself “is it worth it” when I want to eat something that I know isn’t going to make me feel great. It’s totally okay if the answer is yes sometimes, the part that’s not okay is not thinking about it and absent-mindeldly popping whatever in my mouth. I couldn’t find an article to link to, but I love the idea below (from the creators of the Whole30 program). Stop thinking about cheats and start thinking about choices. Own what you put in your body.

Whole30 results are always better with photos, so here’s a little comparison. On the left is Greg and I at a wedding the weekend before I started my Whole30. On the right we are in our Halloween costumes this past Saturday, four days after finishing my Whole30. It is not a dramatic transformation (I am growing a human being, after all), but I can see the difference in my face. It is way less puffy, especially in my cheeks and around my eyes. Even my butt chin is back! #nonscalevictory

If you’re interested in the Whole30, I’m more than happy to answer any questions in the comments. There is also a wealth of information on the website, including the rules and great articles on the blog. I highly recommend picking up a copy of It Starts With Food, which explains both the how and the why of the Whole30 in detail.

pumpkin puree in less than ten steps

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I made my own pumpkin puree this weekend for the first time. It was so easy, I had to share.
1. Preheat the oven to 375. 2. Get your sugar pumpkin. Mine was gifted to me from a sweet co-worker’s garden. 3. Cut in half and remove the seeds. 4. For faster bake time, cut into pumpkin wedges. 5. Brush melted coconut oil on the pumpkin wedges. 6. Bake, starting to check for doneness around 45 minutes. Let the wedges cool. 7. Scrape out the pumpkin / remove the peel. 8. Toss in a food processor, about two minutes total in 30 second increments. 9. Put the puree in cute jars (yields just under 4 cups).

We enjoyed ours in pumpkin spaghetti squash and pumpkin chili.

menu monday: eating from the freezer

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This week’s menu is all over the place as I’m trying to clean out our inside freezer. Our new meat shares will be ready shortly and I want to clean out the chest freezer and defrost it before adding our 2015 meat. We don’t have much left from 2014, but I need a little room inside to store what is left.

When I plan an ‘eat from the freezer’ week (usually once every few months) my goal is to clear out as much as I can and shop for as little as possible. I create a list of what I have and look for recipes that will use the ingredients, or just make them up.

One jar of chicken broth and a bag of frozen cauliflower is in the fridge, turned into one of my favorite fall soups, Golden Cauliflower Soup. One of the few bonuses to rainy, cold season is that I start making and consuming a lot of broth.

For Sunday dinner we enjoyed this recipe for beef shank. A friend at work gave me a sugar pumpkin and I made my own puree with it for the first time. As a side to the beef shank we had pumpkin spaghetti squash, featuring the puree. With the rest of the pumpkin and a big chuck steak (not pictured) that I ground up, I’m making pumpkin chili for dinner tonight and lunches the rest of the week.

I made an egg casserole with the shredded sweet potatoes and cubed pork for our weekday breakfasts. Greg is now eating breakfast (yay! my first NTP success!), but that means I have to have ten servings of breakfast ready to go each week. Two big casseroles is usually the easiest way to make that happen and we end up with a two extra serving bonus for the next week. I cleaned out my spice cupboard on Saturday (a project I started back in March and maybe will get around to sharing on the blog before the new year) and found a few spice blends that need to be used. I added one of the mixes and extra veggies from the weekend. Casserole done.

For weekend breakfasts we had sugar-free bacon, eggs, sauerkraut, and potatoes. I don’t have them pictured above, but the remaining PreMade Paleo meals are defrosting in the fridge for any time one of us is eating alone or needs a quick meal. I’m on a four meal a day plan some days (finally gave into four meals versus a ton of snacking) and I defrosted a bit of carne asada that can top a salad. I also defrosted what appears to be meatballs (in the jar on the right). I didn’t do a great job of labeling so I’m not positive what they are, but hopefully they are tasty.

Towards the end of the week I’ll defrost salmon and pork chops for dinners. And we don’t eat all meat around here, there is plenty of veg in the fridge from my CSA box. We have lots of winter squash, beets, potatoes, and salad and spinach for greens. The freezer is looking better, though I’ll probably need to do a second week to make enough space for the chest freezer contents. Oh the trials of an urbanite who likes to pretend she’s a homesteader…

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I’m going into the final few days of my Whole30. This has been by far the fastest one has ever gone by. Between the craziness of the month and dietary restrictions due to pregnancy anyway (i.e. no booze), it seems like I just started. I’ll be doing a big recap post next week once I’m done.

The only noteworthy moments from this week are that I finally ate out after 25 days of only cooking my own food. Not sure that I’ve ever gone 25 days without eating out. I can say that it felt great AND our credit card bill notices the difference! I had a little meat at a friend’s on Saturday and Greg and I had Chipotle for lunch on Sunday while car seat shopping. Things are just getting crazy around here.

Have a great week!

menu monday: premade paleo

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Last week I had our food delivered from Pre-Made Paleo. Painters were in the house for the week, transforming our colorful walls to a lovely neutral shade. I wasn’t sure what sort of access I would have to the kitchen and, not wanting to deviate from my Whole30, I decided to order five days of prepared, frozen, Whole30 compliant food. My one qualm was cost, but a few quick calculations showed that ordering the meals was equivalent to the cost of eating them all out. Sold.

The order. The most cost effective way to order is to select one of the current menus. Each menu comes with 5 meals for two people. A meal consists of a protein and a veggie side or a combo of the two (a chili or soup where the veggies are included with the protein). I picked up one menu for our dinners and added five breakfasts for each of us, chicken sweet potato hash for me and pork skillet for Greg. Greg eats lunch at work everyday but I needed something for me. I went with five different chili/soup options as they seemed like the easiest items to reheat at work. I added a few more items to save in the freezer for food emergencies to get to the free shipping minimum ($250).

These pictures are terrible as it was late when I got home. First is the menu, where I grouped our proteins and veggies together into dinners. The second photo is lunches and breakfasts. Also, these are the last photos EVER of the purple kitchen walls. Because they are no longer purple. Hallelujah.

The ordering. I ordered at the last minute for getting the food by the time we needed it. When I emailed Pre-Made Paleo to make sure they’d be able to ship in time, they responded very quickly and were helpful. It was painless to order and everything arrived solidly frozen.

The cooking. Or I should say, the “cooking”. I woke up each morning and cut open my breakfast pouch and tossed the contents into a hot pan with a little ghee. While it reheated I transferred Greg’s breakfast from the plastic pouch to a glass container for transporting and reheating and did the same with my lunch. Dinners went much the same way. Heat skillet, add cooking fat (or water), reheat protein for a few minutes then throw in veg. It was beyond easy and no mess minus washing out the pan. The food tastes significantly better if you allow it to defrost in the fridge before cooking. This requires a little bit of planning, but worth it.

The quality. The quality of the food is fantastic. All vegetables are organic and the meat used is all grass fed and pastured. Nothing but good things to say about where they source their products from.

The taste. Hit or miss. Some of the flavors I really enjoyed, some were not so enjoyable. Buffalo chicken was delicious as were most of my chili and soup dishes for lunch. Greg’s breakfast was tastier than mine (I ate his instead of mine one morning when he had a work breakfast).

The texture. Proteins heated really well on the stove top but became rubbery when heated in the microwave (they do not recommend heating in the microwave, by the way). Chili and soup dishes tasted great out of the microwave, which is my only option at work for heating food. The veggies were where I struggled the most. It is really hard to have good texture when you are reheating cooked, frozen veggies.

The filling factor. This is hard for me to judge because my appetite is off the hook right now. Greg seemed to do just fine with the dinner servings but I typically ended up needing something extra after. I also added a hard boiled egg to my breakfast each morning and a side salad to my lunches.

The value. It is not cheap but it is quality. I was able to put real food on the table in less than five minutes for every meal last week and not question whether or not I was staying Whole30 compliant. It was the cost of a week of combined take-out and eating in restaurants, though since I did add more to each meal I suppose you could say this route was slightly more expensive.

The verdict. Though it’s more cost effective, I probably won’t order a menu again. I just can’t get past the veggies. I should add that there are very few tastes I don’t like, but textures do bother me. I only started eating watermelon about two years ago because it feels like a sponge on my tongue. The veggies are probably perfectly fine for most, I’m just texture weird. I am, however, thinking hard about doing a big order of breakfasts and chili and soup dishes to have on hand for when the martian arrives. I’ll wait until we get closer to see how much food I’m able to prepare and put away and see how much freezer space we have. If you have a time period where you need extra help in the kitchen for whatever reason, I do recommend giving it a try.

Greg’s review. “It was good. I enjoyed it.”

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As for my Whole30, I’m going strong and on day 14 today. I didn’t keep up with my nightly journal entries because I am trying to get off the computer and get to bed at a reasonable time. Staying up later than necessary to blog about my good nutrition seems silly. I’m just about halfway through and thought I’d revisit the five reasons I decided to take this on at a less than opportune time.

Sleep. This was so rough the first week. But now I’m sleeping as well as I can considering the volleyball-sized growth on my abdomen. I am falling asleep easily and not waking up at 4am. I do wake up when I find myself in an uncomfortable position, but I’m falling right back to sleep.

Digestive issues. Few and far between. I’ve had heart burn once that I can remember since starting and it was very short lived.

Eczema. At the beginning of week two my wrist flared like crazy. I would have been frustrated, but thanks to my NTP class I know about common reactions to nutritional protocols. One is a healing reaction, which looks just like the symptom you’re trying to fix. If it’s not severe, the best thing to do is push through it. (I am not a doctor and this is not medical advice.) The flare lasted a day or two and now my wrist is almost entirely clear.

Lethargy. I’ve got energy! Don’t get me wrong, I’m tired as hell. Work is crazy, Greg has been working around the clock, I’m trying to study for my final in the hours before and after my time in the office, and we’ve dealt with home repairs and changing renters in the condo all in the last ten days. I’m beat. But I wake up well rested and have enough energy to get through all of the above without feeling completely worn down and unable to deal. At the moment I’m only making it to my weekly yoga class, though I’m very much looking forward to working out more once class is over next week.

Mama guilt. I’m feeling really good. The martian is kicking around like crazy which is a constant reminder that my choices are no longer just for myself. While I assume I will always think I can be doing more when it comes to motherhood, right now I feel like I’m doing a good job.

Maybe it’s because I’m too busy to think about food, maybe it’s because the reason I can’t have a glass of wine is bigger than the Whole30, or maybe it’s because it’s my fourth (?) Whole30. For whatever reason, I just am not that focused on it. That’s not to say I’m not being completely compliant and absolutely feeling the benefits. It just doesn’t feel like that big of a deal. I eat something that makes me healthier when I feel hungry. It’s that simple. I can do that for thirty days. But maybe I should pretend it’s harder for me than it really is this time around so I can pick a Whole30 reward.

I really don’t mean to trivialize taking on a Whole30. It is a big undertaking and I applaud anyone’s efforts to do so. The other Whole30s I’ve done have felt much more intense, for lack of a better word. I don’t know why this one isn’t the same, but I’m grateful. If it felt more trying than it does, maybe I wouldn’t be able to continue given what else is on my plate. I’m actually finding that it feels like something has been taken off my plate during this crazy month rather than the other way around. My food choices are very black and white, one less thing to deal with three times a day. This is just my experience of this specific Whole30. Whatever your experience is is totally legitimate and real as well.

menu monday: super simple whole30 tips

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This morning starts day seven of my Whole30. I started last Tuesday and because we were out of town the weekend before I didn’t have much time for prep. I thought I’d share today how I put together a simple plan for a week of Whole30 eats.

Make a plan. Even if you have really limited time to prepare, taking a second to make a plan is key. When I don’t make a plan, I find that I never end up with enough food. Not having enough food on hand is one of the reasons I’ve ended up not completing a Whole30 in the past, or in general picked a less healthy meal option. The plan doesn’t need to be fancy, but getting down what you’re going to eat for each of your 21 meals that week is the only way you’ll have an idea of what you need to have available. Here’s the quick menu I put together in about five minutes while timing friends on an exercise at study group. I’m not sure it can get more simple than this.

Eat and repeat. If you don’t like repetition this might be hard, but I don’t mind eating the same foods for my breakfasts and lunches all week. The key here is to make meals you know you like. Don’t try a new recipe for a week’s worth of lunches. Been there, done that, thrown it out, and picked up other food. I only go with favorites if I’m going to be eating one meal all week. Breakfast this week was hard boiled eggs mixed with homemade mayo over baby spinach and topped with sauerkraut. Lunch was chocolate chili over spaghetti squash and a side salad. One of my favorite meals ever.

I had one hour to prep food on Sunday night and made the most of it. I got the chili together and simmering then put the squash in the oven to roast. Once those were both going I hard boiled the eggs and made the mayo. Finally, I used my “convenience foods” to put together salads for each day of the week.

Mix protein, fat, and veggies. I didn’t have time on Sunday to prep meals for dinner so I went another easy option, creating super simple meals to make each night. When I need to cook on weeknights, I follow the formula of a quick cooking protein and veggies with a good fat. Greg ended up working late in the office most nights this week and my food went further than expected. Boo for no hubby, yay for less cooking. I made cracklin’ chicken that lasted several evenings and finished off the week with salmon on Friday night (living large here, people). The key to the formula working is making a plan to ensure that you have purchased or defrosted your proteins. Not having anything defrosted makes it very difficult to put together a ten minute meal.

This salmon dish took less than 15 minutes. I melted ghee in one pan, tossed the salmon with Old Bay seasoning, and pan seared it until done. At the same time I had bacon fat in another pan and let cherry tomatoes cook down (I recently read about this but can’t remember where). Once the tomatoes were done I sautéed spinach for a minute or two with a shake or two of sea salt. Dinner.

Buy convenience food. Typically when I’m going to do a Whole30 I have a lot more prep time and make more than normal from scratch. Since that wasn’t the case last week I needed to rely more on prepared and convenient foods. I like to think of this as my own version of don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good (commonly attributed to Voltaire). Sure, homemade everything is best, but you know what’s a lot better than eating pizza for lunch? Eating salad dressing on my salad that someone else made out of good, clean ingredients. Be practical and be realistic with yourself.

For my lunch salads I purchased pre-washed lettuce, cherry tomatoes, sliced mushrooms, cooked beets (I did have to chop these), and my favorite Tessemae’s dressing. I also picked up ghee, which I’ve only ever made in the past. Butter is off limits, but ghee (butter in which all milk proteins have been removed to make a pure fat) is okay. Knowing I would need options for sautéing, I picked it up and moved on. I also bought a package of prosciutto, bananas, and the no-sugar added version of Sunbutter for snacks.

This coming week we’re trying something new with PreMade Paleo. Painters will be in our home all week, turning our walls into one, neutral color (you don’t even understand how excited I am). I have five days worth of meals being delivered on Monday because I don’t know how much access we’ll have to the kitchen during the week and I’m not willing to compromise on these thirty days. I will report back next week on how we feel about the service.

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I’ve been taking a few minutes to jot down my thoughts every night, mostly out of my own curiosity to understand what I get out of the experience. If you’re curious on the musings of someone on a Whole30, here you go. Everyone’s experience is different, but the Whole30 creators put together a general timeline as well that I find to be pretty accurate.

Day 1 Sleep deprived and had to get up earlier than normal for our 6:30am ultrasound. Glad I had the guidelines or I would have snacked all day because that’s what I do when I’m tired. Planned for big enough meals I didn’t get too snacky. Did have a banana with sun butter in the afternoon. Going to try to get 8+ hours tonight. Fingers crossed.

Day 2 I woke up wanting donuts, which is funny because donuts are not a go to vice of mine. Though maple bars are delicious. Mmm, maple bars. I digress. Fall tea (my favorite: Tazo Baked Cinnamon Apple) with a splash of apple cider vinegar is the perfect evening treat. I’m hoping a little ACV in the morning and evening will help with my heart burn. Slept okay last night, better than lately but still running very behind and need to catch up. Eating the same meals over and over actually reduces stress on busy weeks. I don’t have to think about it, I just eat what’s in the fridge when I’m hungry and move on.

Day 3 I slept last night! So happy. Woke up once with a terrible leg cramp (pregnancy fun?) but immediately went back to sleep. It’s amazing what a different outlook on life I have when I actually get more than a couple hours of fitful sleep. Made it back to prenatal yoga after two weeks off, too. Was much needed. Starving all day and ate a ton of fruit around the office. Hardest thing about doing Whole30 while being pregnant is not knowing when I’m going to have starving days. I guess I just need to prepare more food.

Day 4 I slept poorly last night, waking up at 4am and not really getting back to sleep after that. It’s frustrating, but I also understand I can’t expect 72 hours to fix a few months worth of bad habits. On a positive note, I’m not having any cravings for any off limits food. I’m so happy to be eating home cooked food after weeks of take out that I’m feeling really satisfied (and digestively good) with what I’m making myself. Ready for the weekend and some more sleep!

Day 5 Another crappy night of sleep and a headache that has lasted most of the day. I get why on the timeline these are called the “kill all the things” days. I’m exhausted and grouchy, but at least I know it’s just my body making sense of the changes. And I know WAY better days are just around the corner. So I’ll keep sipping my fall flavored tea and studying my notecards. 15 days to go with school, 25 with the whole30. Martian and I have got this covered.

Day 6 I slept so much better last night and feel really good today. Tons of energy. I have only eaten homemade food these six days and there’s such a difference. Wondering if I can go the full thirty days without eating out? Best part of today – finding sugar free bacon and having a $20 off coupon at our local co-op. FREE sugar free bacon.

pumpkin spice lattes

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Early every Fall, I decide to jump on the bandwagon and try a Starbuck’s pumpkin spice latte. Every year I realize it’s gross, has a weird fake taste, and is so sweet it makes my teeth hurt. Thanks to the Food Babe article that came out a few weeks ago detailing just what exactly is in a PSL, I’m officially done with the official PSL.

After the Food Babe post went viral I saw a lot of talk about the Whole Foods PSL made with almond milk as a healthier alternative. Please don’t confuse healthier with healthy. This is a treat, not a daily beverage to start your morning. Verdict: No thanks. The first sip was okay, but still too sweet for my tastes. And the aftertaste, while better than chemical, was almost medicinal.

I still wanted a little taste of Fall and decided to try making my own, which lead me to finding four recipes and my favorite word ever: challenge! I had grand plans to conduct my own PSL taste test challenge with all four recipes. Unfortunately I ran out of weekend mornings to get through all four with our crazy travel this month. And since I decided to jump on a Whole30, I won’t be able to try anymore until November. Here’s my opinion on the two I did try, as well as links to the others I had planned on trying.

IMG_8213_edited-1 Stupid Easy Paleo’s Pumpkin Spice Latte: Yes! It tasted like fall in my cup without the sweet taste. My customizations included brewed, extra strong decaf coffee instead of espresso and a drop of maple syrup per serving (might try without next time). My only issue with the recipe was that it made a tiny serving. I ended up making a second serving to get a mug full for my picture. I would make it again but double the amount from the start.

IMG_8218_edited-1 Civilized Caveman’s Pumpkin Spice Latte: Too sweet for my taste, even though I only used 1 tbls raw honey versus the 2-3 in the recipe. But it’s a very different sweet from the fake sugary taste of a commercial drink. If you have a sweet tooth (which I don’t), I would suggest trying this one. Once I added more brewed coffee to my cup it was pretty tasty. I skipped the cocoa but I think a little touch of it would add a little something.

100 Days of Real Food
Nourishing Gourmet

If you’re looking for a delicious fall drink that’s not full of junk I definitely recommend trying one of these (or all of them!). Let me know if you try the other two so I can live vicariously through you while on my Whole30. Happy Fall!

West Coast Martins

our adventures, documented.

Category Archives: Paleo

prepping ahead for a week of whole30 eats

the post-whole30 thirty

spicy

menu monday: breakfasts on the go

menu monday: my whole30 recap

pumpkin puree in less than ten steps

menu monday: eating from the freezer

menu monday: premade paleo

menu monday: super simple whole30 tips

pumpkin spice lattes