Day Five: A Bumble and Some Shrimp

Day Five was full of several abominable discoveries. (How am I learning so much and I'm only 1/6th of the way into this thing??) The word "abominable," though it sounds like it should be horrendous, kind of makes me smile. It reminds me of the Bumble from Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer. He was always my favorite character!

Sorry, rabbit trail. Back to the real (non-smile-worthy) abominations.



Abomination #1: I gave up refined sugars for Lent this past winter/spring. When I did that, I did NOT also give up high fructose corn syrup because it seemed nearly impossible to give up both sugar and corn syrup and still eat like a normal person. In all honesty, the average American eats way too much sugar anyway, so I don't know why I was striving to be "normal." But, with the Whole30, one is not allowed to have any added sugar (real or fake), so both sugar and corn syrup are out of the question. Essentially, the only sweet treat I can enjoy at this point in time is fruit. However, I think that I'm starting to dislike sweet foods altogether. I had an Apple Pie Larabar for a snack at work last night and thought that it was mighty sweet. When I had this flavor for the first time, on Day One (four days ago), I thought that the Apple Pie version was quite scrumptious. While it still tastes good, the sweetness was almost enough to make me sick tonight. Similarly, I have been eating grapes and pineapple the past few days, both of which I really enjoy, but I am beginning to think that they are just too darn sweet to indulge in more than one or two bites. What is happening to me?! Am I really turning into a cavewoman?!


Abomination #2: Speaking of cavewomen. I know they couldn't read and write and all they had were cave paintings, but I bet their cave paintings didn't come with lists of ingredients for their foods. I am becoming more and more irritated with labels on food. As you may recall, I had "dry roasted sunflower seeds" on Day Two as a snack. In my haste running out the door to go work last night, I decided to grab the bottle and take it with me when the ingredients list caught my peripheral vision. I noticed that it was quite extensive and immediately my curiosity was piqued. I mean, what can POSSIBLY be in a jar of sunflower seeds other than seeds and maybe some salt. I'd considered the possibility of oil, but they are dry roasted, after all. The list of ingredients seemed to go on for days! Who decided it was a good idea to poision unsuspecting sunflower seed lovers with monosodium glutamate?! Seriously?! MSG in my sunflower seeds?! Good grief! What is this world coming to? Not to mention the fact that they have cornstarch (a corn product, so not allowed), sugar and corn syrup solids (both added sweeteners, so no!), and hydrolized soy protein (soy product, so no, again!). Who knew something so simple as sunflower seeds could be so toxic? So, because I made the mistake of eating these on Day Two, I have decided that I will be extending my Whole30 to be a Whole32. UGH! I'm trying so hard, only to be tripped up by an innocent looking bottle of seeds. Lesson learned! READ ALL LABELS!

Abomination #3: I'm running out of vegetables! My husband and I are going to visit the Lynchburg Community Market today in hopes of scoring some delicious local produce to help remedy the lack of vegetables problem, but I'm running out of creative preparation ideas, too. Does anyone have a favorite vegetable (not corn, beans, or white potatoes) recipe that you'd like to share with me? I'd be grateful for any new ideas you could share with me. I found a recipe for "creamed" kale yesterday that I'm excited to try. I don't know if I like kale, though.


Abomination #4: I still didn't get enough calories yesterday, according to myfitnesspal. How in the world am I supposed to keep eating if I'm not hungry? Is that not counterproductive to what I am trying to accomplish? I used to overeat all of the time. All of the time! But, now I have gotten myself to eating mostly normal portion sizes, healthy food choices, and drinking only water and the darn fitnesspal thing says I need to eat more! I can't win!

Here's the break down of what I ate (I know I did not have enough vegetables, see Abomination #3):

Breakfast:
2 fried eggs
1 banana

Lunch:
Leftover Caribbean Lime Chicken breast
Classic Panera salad (no dressing)
1/2 C Pineapple

Dinner:
Roasted greenbeans, mushrooms, and shrimp
1/2 C Pineapple

Snacks:
Apple Pie Larabar
Scant handful of raw pecans

Here is the recipe for the greenbeans and shrimp. I found this recipe originally on Pinterest, so I am new to this lady's blog, but she seems to have a lot of good sounding recipes. Perhaps, if no one can share any good veggie recipes with me, I'll have to start trying some more out. I didn't have any coriander, so I just simply omitted it. I added 8 oz of button mushrooms, halved (and about 1/2 T of extra oil to compensate for the mushrooms soaking it up). And next time, I will add probably 1/2 t garlic powder.

Clean Eating Roasted Shrimp and Greenbeans

For the beans:

• 1 lb. green beans trimmed and cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
• 1/8 tsp Cayenne pepper

For the shrimp:

• 1 lb. medium-large raw shrimp (thawed if frozen), peeled
• 1 tbsp olive oil (plus a little extra to brush on roasting pan)
• zest from one lemon (save the lemon and cut into fourths)
• 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp. fresh ground black pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 425.
Once the shrimp has been peeled and cleaned, rinse it under cold water. Be sure to pat the shrimp really dry (if the shrimp is not dry it will steam rather than roast!).
Place the trimmed and cut beans in a bowl and toss with extra virgin olive oil, ground coriander, ground cumin, salt, freshly ground black pepper, and Cayenne pepper.
Place shrimp in another bowl with the extra virgin olive oil, lemon zest, salt, and fresh ground black pepper.
Brush roasting pan with olive oil or use a non-stick spray, then arrange beans on pan in a single layer (as much as possible). Roast beans 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, toss the beans and arrange shrimp on top and roast 8-10 minutes more or until shrimp are just done.
Squeeze the four lemon quarters over the shrimp and beans and serve immediately.
Makes 2-4 servings.

Day One: Embarking on the Adventure of The Whole30

Yesterday, June 4, 2012, marks the first day of my new “cavewoman” lifestyle! I am adopting a new, simplified way of eating and hoping that it will carry over into many more of my life’s decisions. I have begun the Paleolithic (Paleo) Diet, more specifically, I’m embarking on the Whole30 journey.

You might recall from Sixth Grade Social Studies class that “Paleolithic” refers to the Stone Age. You know, cavemen and women sporting their Wooly Mammoth hides accompanied by their clubs and spears adorned with Saber Tooth Tiger teeth inlays. Yep, that Stone Age-- back before the Agricultural Revolution, before the abundance of grains and flours, before the availability of year-round strawberries, before the development of monosodium glutamate (MSG) and carageenan. Well, anyhow, the Paleo diet draws on the “hunters and gatherers” or Stone Age mentality. What can be hunted or gathered (meat, seafood, eggs, vegetables, and fruits) are all that is to be eaten. It is ideal to eat a lean protein with complex carbs (from veggies and fruits) and healthy fat (oils, seeds, nuts, avocados, etc.) at each meal. That’s it!

Yes, you read correctly! No dairy (not even cheese, much to my chagrin), no grains (including all kinds of grain flours, cereals, and corn), no legumes (including soybeans and soy products as well as peanuts and peanut products), no processed junk (those products with lists of ingredients that go on for days because they’re composed of 18-letter words that only scientists can pronounce), no added sugar (the real stuff or the wannabes—honey, agave, maple syrup, stevia, Splenda, etc.), no additives (like the carageenan, sulfites and MSG sorts), oh yeah, and no white potatoes.

As I understand it, these products on the “forbidden” list are known to cause inflammation which leads to migraines, general aches and pains, and bloating. This diet of whole, unadulterated foods is intended to return one to the way one was originally intended to feel after eating—satisfied, without the baggage of bloat, blood sugar spikes, migraines, GI discomfort, etc. According to the Whole30 testimonials, a LOT of folks have had a turn around of some serious and some not-as-serious health problems after embracing this new way of life (See the website for full details. I don’t want to steal someone else’s glory and there really is SO much more than I could tell in one simple blog post!). And on top of all of this, making better food choices might lead to weight loss and better stamina to handle the daily tasks of life and athleticism. These food choices are supposed to be ideal for supporting athletic endeavors from every day tasks like bludgeoning a mountain lion to training for the Crossfit competition. While I don’t intend to have any run-ins with mountain lions and I’m not even close to being about to compete in the Crossfit competition, I am trying to be more purposeful about being active and kicking my own butt into gear!

I think that you probably get the point by now, so instead of continuing to beat a proverbial dead horse (I bet cave people didn’t beat horses after they were dead), let’s just cut to the chase. After much research and planning, I composed a menu for the week, went grocery shopping, and prepared myself for my adventure. Only problem was that I had planned to eat leftovers all week for lunch, but didn’t consider that on the first day, there is nothing to be leftover because nothing has yet been made! Oops! So, here’s what I ended up eating on Day One of my thirty day journey:

Breakfast:

2 eggs with fresh spinach and fresh mushrooms

1 bundle of grapes

1 bottle of water

Lunch:

Blueberry Muffin Larabar

3 oz of baby carrots

1 bottle of water

Dinner:

Ground turkey tacos in lettuce leaves instead of taco shells

Homemade pico de gallo

Sauteed zucchini and onions

1 1/2 bottles of water

Snacks:

1 banana

1 Apple pie Larabar

More water!

Notes: I know I should not have had two Larabars in one day. While it fits into the plan, the bars in conjunction with the grapes and banana probably added up too much sugar for the day. Better planning for tomorrow will equal less Larabars (And thank goodness! I can see how those could possibly get costly! If you ever find them on sale somewhere, please tell me!) and less sugar.

In spite of the fact that I was craving macaroni and cheese all day (pasta… no, cheese… no, milk… no) and the fact that everywhere I looked someone was telling me it was National Cheese Day (rub it in my face, why don’t you?!), Day One is now behind me! I have fought the battle and come out victorious. Now only 29 more days to go and a lifetime of wise food decisions thereafter.

Here’s to becoming a modern cavewoman!