Farmer's Market and a typical day of meals

So being on Whole 30 has made me appreciate the Farmer's Market even more than I already did - if that's possible.  Lately, I have been going to a very small one that is right in my city.  However, I plan to go to the Redlands Market Night soon. It is every Thursday, rain or shine.  It's practically like going to the fair and I don't think I need all of that right now, so our little one will do for now!

My favorite thing about going is the colorful produce.  It's amazing.  Tried red beets for the first time and loved them.

Bought a purple cabbage to make slaw and some other goodies and basically just add color and crunch to other dishes.

Bought more red beets and picked up some gold beets too!

This was my haul today.  Two new to me items: Fennel and golden beets.  Also picked up kumquats 'cause my Naomi was intrigued by them. Pastured eggs are always on the list and so is dinosaur kale!

Here is a sample of what my daily food could look like:

Meal 1 (Breakfast)

Here are some zucchini fritters I made for breakfast for the first time. Not bad.  Bought these zukes at Sprouts.
Meal 2: (Lunch) Left-overs from last night's dinner.
Grass fed seasoned ground beef, lettuce, avocado, olives (Taco Salad)

Meal 3: (Dinner)

Sweet potato, green beans (canned in water), asparagus wrapped in prosciutto and piece of roast chicken.

On Whole30 there is no "dessert" so I sometimes will have fruit at the end of my meal for something sweet.  This was cold honeydew melon with a bit of Tajin. (chili powder)

It may seem like a lot of food, but find something wrong with it.  I dare you! ;)

What does your day of meals look like?

Whole 30 | Spring Cleaning | Day 15

So here I am at DAY 15!! Half-way mark for me and for my awesome daughter Hannah!!  I'm so glad to say that we are still going strong and have stayed totally compliant and on board since Day 1.

I went to the Farmer's Market this weekend and didn't even realize it was the first day of spring until I was there and overheard someone mention it.  It really got me to thinking about spring cleaning!  I am so glad that I have been "spring cleaning" my insides, but just as nice - I got home and decided to really, REALLY clean out my fridge so I could make room for the amazing produce I picked up.  I sure did have a lot of junk in there!!  No - literally junk.  Sauces that were from WHO KNOWS WHEN OR WHAT EVENT??!! Yuck.  Out it went.  

After I got every single inch of it sparkling clean I filled it back up with all of the beautiful produce and nutritious foods that I have been learning to use.  It made me so happy!  I am now wanting to do the same to my pantry and work on a way of organizing it all so that things don't go to waste. 

I even bought BEETS for the first time. Here they are with a beautiful head of cauliflower, fresh avocados (I love California), broccoli and two different kinds of kale!!  Doesn't it look great?

I also want to continue to share a few of my meals with you just so you can see what I've been munching on!  I've been very good about taking a good breakfast with me to work. Some days I have time to scramble up some eggs, meat and veggies and other days I just grab hard-boiled eggs, Aidells mini chicken/apple sausages, a few dry roasted nuts (no peanuts!!) and fruit.  Eat a meal that is compliant and fills you so that you are not hungry until your next meal.  No snacking.  Break that habit!! I also have one cup of coffee with coconut cream that I shake up in my blender cup for a nice frothy latte feel.

If I am home for breakfast, I can take a little more time to make a breakfast, but still often use left-overs as part of my meal.  People eat breakfast for dinner all the time - but heaven forbid you eat dinner for breakfast! haha.  Pictured here is some scrambled egg, cut up leftover steak and potatoes and Super Green for fun! I also have Bulletproof Coffee which is just coffee, two spoons of coconut oil, two spoons of ghee (clarified butter) emulsified with the blender.  Yum-o!

Here's the original meal from the night before.  Grilled steak and golden potatoes that were first boiled and then placed on a cookie sheet, gave them each a smash with a fork and then drizzled them with a little olive oil and sea salt and popped them under the broiler.  Crispy! Also had some of my Super Green mix which is kale, zucchini and brussels sprouts.

For lunch the next day, I took a little ground beef, one egg and scoop of left-over Super Green and made two hamburger patties out of it and grilled it up on my cast-iron skillet. Served it up on some lettuce leaves with some pickled artichokes and mustard as condiment.  Totally filling and totally compliant.

As for how I'm feeling on this Whole30 so far...

I definitely feel like I'm experiencing lots of energy and being alert. However, I did have a couple nights recently where I was just drained, but I've been doing a lot too.

My skin feels a lot better and I think it looks better - more moisturized.  I'm not really wanting to snack - I stay full as you can see.  I am craving Korean food though - but what's new? I like RICE remember?  Sadly the thing I am craving the most is made with SOY BEAN PASTE, so I will have to wait until I am not doing Whole 30.  And here's an odd, but nice thing.  I have not had any gum, mints or candy because of course it's not compliant, but my breath and mouth usually feel pretty clean and fresh!! I'm sure there's something to that - I'm just glad it's working in my favor!

I'm drinking tons of water and learning to try new things.  Like the BEETS in the picture above.  I don't even know what I'm going to make with it yet - well BEETS obviously, but how should I prepare it??

Tell me in the comments!! Thanks for sticking around for this super-long post! xo

Whole 30 | New Habits | Day 8

Learning to LOVE some new habits...

This is the BEFORE and AFTER of my desk drawer at work.

I tried - for a very short few weeks - to do a low-calorie diet and count and track all of my calories. This may be very good and well for some people, but it was horrible for me.  I was buying frozen diet meals and snacks that I had never eaten before.  They were not filling or satisfying in taste.  I also felt like it really took all of the thought process of eating out of the picture.  

So in the first picture I've got my flavored coffees and low-calorie snacks and in the second picture, a bit of salt for my hard-boiled eggs, a paring knife for my fruit, plain black coffee, teas and vitamin supplements called Damage Control.  These are Whole 30 compliant.

I love coffee. Love it.  But I got to where I could hardly ever drink it anymore unless it was sweetened with flavored creamer.  When I started calorie counting or eating "low-carb", I'd buy the same fakey creamer, but I'd get the Sugar-Free version.  Ugh.

On Whole30, you are not to have ANY added sugars or sweeteners of any form. This includes honey, stevia, Splenda, aspartame, etc. I saw on the support forum that a lot of people doing Whole 30 or Paleo like to add a bit of Coconut cream/milk to their teas and coffees.  I tried this the first week, but could only handle a few sips before I lost interest.  The cream looked like it had curdled and would separate and I felt like the black coffee was tasting like I imagine an ashtray would.  Strange, I know! haha!  Then I read that people actually pop their coffee into the blender or in a shaker to really get the cream blended into the coffee.  Eureka!! Back in the game!  Comes out like a LATTE and I love it. Sticking to just one cup a day, but it's a cup I enjoy and can finish.

Kombucha.  If you've never had this - you should at least give it a try.  First time I tried it, I gagged. It is basically fermented tea.  I tried a new flavor and guess what??  La la LOVE it.  Seriously. Addicted.  It's great for your gut, it's refreshing and it is compliant.  WINNING all around!

This is the only other drink I've really had other than plain water and coffee these last 8 days.

Farmer's Markets. Okay, it is no shocker that I love Farmer's Markets and better quality foods grocery stores like Trader Joe's and Sprouts, but when it comes to a lot of it - let's just say that I admired it from afar.  Hey.  It's not easy trying to keep a tight budget when you are feeding 6 people of all ages and sizes with crazy, busy schedules.  Don't even get me started on how CHEAP the cr*p food is and in comparison to whole, organic or natural foods.  Watch the documentary FOOD Inc and you'll get an idea of what I'm talking about.

Well, after talking to Marco, we both agreed that it would be better for us to start buying meats and produce that are more natural and less processed, hormoned to death and covered in chemicals.  Is it going to be tough? Maybe.  Will the portions be smaller? Most likely. We won't have NUCLEAR chicken anymore which is what we buy at our regular grocers.  That's the chicken that is just so huge it could pass for a turkey.  Yeah, it goes a long way, but we just don't feel good about that now that we know just how bad it really is.  These are all personal choices and I don't blame anybody that has to try and make the dollar stretch, but we know that for us - we have to at least try.  It may be just a little decision here, a little change there, but we're doing it!

Besides, it's hard to resist the natural colors and tastes that come from unaltered foods.

Along with these changes, I've also:

• stopped chewing gum and eating mints/candy - can't have the sweeteners and it just sends crazy mixed messages to your brain making you think you want something sweet or that more food is coming
• stopped eating fast food - for one, it's too difficult to find compliant foods (see the Carnitas post about Chipotle) and two - it is an easy way out.  I need to be thoughtful and this pushes me to plan ahead.
• stopped drinking soda/diet soda/sweet tea - not allowed and I'm glad.  I don't mind the water one bit.
• stopped having a late night snack or dessert - I wasn't a big snacker before, but I loved a bowl of ice cream or even a bowl of cereal late at night.
• stopped weighing myself - it's not allowed during Whole30 and I don't want to obsess over it anyway
• started making a conscientious effort to move more - I have a desk job. I sit almost all day. So I make myself get up and walk, bend, reach as much as I can. 
• started paying attention to how I feel when I wake up, after I eat, during/after exercise - just being more aware of my body has really helped me clear my mind
• started reading every.single.label that I can - I used to make the price a priority. Now it's the ingredients that I care about most.

So what do you think?  What changes have you made or would you like to make?