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 Four: Raw Eggs and Steeled Determination

After much trepidation, I decided against making the mayonnaise yesterday. I don't know why, but the raw egg is creeping me out. I need a pep talk to make this stuff! My mom tried to convince me that it was safe and completely edible, but I'm terrified of becoming violently ill from a batch of homemade mayo! Oddly enough, before it was time to actually make the stuff, I was a tad bit excited to be trying my hand at another new (and economically beneficial) recipe. But, now I'm struck with terror thinking about the Salmonella Scourge that might overcome our house. Do you think that cave people ate raw eggs? Or did they always cook them? Maybe Do-Do bird eggs didn't pose a salmonella risk like chicken eggs do.

 

In other news, I'm beginning to realize that it's not so difficult to live without the foods I cannot have (grains and dairy especially) as long as they are not at my immediate disposal. However, plop them down in front of me and I become weak in the knees and might even be seen trembling! When I walked into work last night, there was a veritable Panera Bread buffet in our kitchen. Loaves of luscious looking bread, perfectly plump bagels, bearclaws oozing their sweet sugary goodness, sandwiches that smelled just as good as they appeared and three different types of salads, not to mention the scrumptious looking toppings for all of these goodies and the delicious sounding drinks. OH MY GOODNESS! I had to steel my determination and make a healthy decision. Rather than indulging in the goodness of a Sierra Turkey sandwich or a French Toast Bagel with cream cheese, I opted for a huge Classic Salad instead and ate it with some of my leftover Caribbean Lime Chicken from yesterday. It was so delicious, though, not quite as delicious as a savory turkey sandwich with a side of potato chips and a crisp pickle would have been.

 

 

 

 

I am not one to toot my own horn, typically, but I have actually been doing a great job at resisting temptation. My husband has a can of Pringles that I swear follows me around the house taunting and laughing at me with their duckbilled mouths. But, I've been good. I have resisted. I think I've gotten to the point where I have come to realize that my health is really so much more important than any food I can eat. This a HUGE step for me! Maybe the Whole30 really is changing my life.

 

I don't have any fun recipes to share today because I stuck to leftovers, however, I did discover that sweet potatoes and eggs aren't really as bad together as they sound. Here's what I ate:

 

Breakfast:

2 fried eggs

Leftover sweet potato innards formed into patties and "fried"

 

Lunch:

Chunk light tuna in water wrapped in lettuce leaves

Cucumber slices

Fresh pineapple

 

Dinner:

Classic Panera salad with oil and vinegar

Leftover Caribbean lime chicken with salsa

 

Snacks:

Cherry Pie Larabar

 

I don't know if I want to be a cavewoman if I have to eat raw eggs!!!

Day Three: Learning a Lot (and a summery chicken recipe)

Up until this week, Wednesdays have been my weigh-in days. Why Wednesday? I'm not 100% sure, but I think it stemmed from the fact that most of my recent appointments with the "lady doctor" have been scheduled on Wednesday and I like to be fascinated by the fact that when I weigh myself at home, I consistently weigh 7 pounds less than when I'm weighed at the doctor's office. Does this happen to anyone else?! It is so discouraging to me, because I just know the doctor is going to be proud of my loss, but when I get there, the scale says something much more than what my scale at home is saying. Scales are liars! Cavewomen did NOT have scales, I'm certain of it. Actually, they probably used the balance-the-see-saw method. But, I digress. Whilst doing the Whole30, one is not supposed to weigh or measure for the whole 30 day duration. Do you know how you feel naked when you forget to put your watch on in the morning? Well, yesterday I felt naked most of the day because I felt like I was forgetting to do something, when in fact, I was consciously not doing something--weighing myself.

I am learning a whole lot while doing this diet! (Sidebar: I have decided that for the 30 days that I'm consciously making the decision to abstain from certain "bad" foods and eat only the "good" foods, I'm going to consider this regimen a "diet." Afterwards, if I continue to stick with the paleo way of life, then I will begin to consider it a "lifestyle.") For instance, I'm learning that processed foods are SUPER convenient! My husband and I had errands to run yesterday morning, afterward, it was lunchtime and I was hungry, but I was also tired because I hadn't been to bed yet (I work third shift, so the errands were during my normal slumber time), so we decided to stop at Kroger and grab something quick for lunch. Well, his "something quick" was a small tray of freshly made sushi (which contains rice, that I cannot consume) and my "something quick" was not really anywhere to be found unless I wanted raw fruit or vegetables, neither of which sounded remotely appealing to me at that point in time. I ended up grabbing a couple dozen eggs and "quickly" scrambled some up with the produce we had at home. While it was a doable (and delicious, even) meal, it certainly wasn't as convenient as the sushi that my husband was indulging in.

Because of the lack of convenience of fresh, whole foods, I'm learning that I need to plan better. For instance, when I woke up from my sleep yesterday, I found myself with only a short amount of time to do the long-ish list of things I needed to do, among them, cooking and working out. Normally, if I don't feel like cooking or I just simply don't have time, I'll stop at the Food Lion on my way to work and grab a frozen dinner or a sandwich or something and roll along to work. 10 minutes, and I'm done! However, when you actually have to prepare food (because, otherwise, what will you eat?!), it takes much longer than 10 minutes. It is soooo worth it, though, because the food I end up with is so much tastier and healthier than what I could grab out of a freezer and throw into a microwave for 4.86 minutes, but it sure does require some planning and preparation! The plan for next week's meals is to figure out exactly how much I need to make of each recipe to make it last for the number of required meals and do as much preparation as possible in advance so that I don't find myself having to choose between a workout and eating.

Yes, I chose the food over the workout even after I promised the world in Day Two's blog that I wasn't going to give up on my exercise regimen any more. But, don't worry! I'm planning to get my sweat on this morning before jumping into bed. So, I WILL have a workout under my belt for the day. (I view my days of the week differently than most people do. From the time I wake up in the afternoon, to the time I go to bed in the morning, that's one day. Not from 12a-12a as most people would perceive a "day.") Working out before bed is not ideal, I know. But, lately my mantra has been, "Something is better than nothing!"

Just in case you're wondering, I'm hoping to continue with my learning today. I think I'm going to try my hand at making homemade mayonnaise! (Wish me luck!)

I know you're itching to know, so here's the list of food that I ate for Day Three:

Breakfast:
Scrambled eggs
Spinach
Button mushrooms

Lunch:
Leftover ground turkey taco meat (the last of it, finally!)
Leftover pico de gallo
Baby carrots

Dinner:
Caribbean Lime Chicken (recipe follows... in the future I will add jalapeno pepper to the salsa and possibly red pepper flakes to the marinade. I also added cilantro to the salsa.)
Sweet Potato
Grilled Asparagus
Grilled Carrots

Snacks:
Dry roasted sunflower seeds
Fresh Pineapple

From the Taste of Home magazine, 2012 Grill It! Edition:

Caribbean Lime Chicken

Chicken

½ C lime juice

¼ C olive oil

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 t Greek seasoning

8 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (6 oz ea)

Salsa

2 lg tomatoes, seeded and chopped

1 C diced fresh pineapple

2/3 C cubed avocado

2 green onions, thinly sliced

1 T lime juice

1 T cider vinegar

½ t salt

½ t pepper

In a large resealable plastic bag, combine the lime juice, oil, garlic and Greek seasoning; add the chicken. Seal bag and turn to coat; refrigerate for 2 hours. In a small bowl, combine salsa ingredients. Chill until serving.

Moisten a paper towel with cooking oil; using long-handled tongs, lightly coat the grill rack. Grill chicken, covered, over medium heat or broil 4” from heat for 5-8 minutes on each side or until a thermometer reads 170°. Serve with salsa.

Day Two: Hurdles and Victories (and some tasty pork chops)

Yesterday presented me with some unanticipated struggles.
 

Struggle #1: I felt like I had been drained of all of my energy all day. Well, not all of it, I’m still able to function, but maybe what is equivalent to an electrical “brown out,” where the energy is just grossly diminished. PHEW!

 

At first, I wanted to blame the new diet... not enough carbs (i.e. pasta!), not enough calcium (i.e. cheese!), etc. But, that was silliness! I’m still eating carbs, they’re just complex carbs (which are better for long-lasting energy) and I know full well that calcium doesn’t have anything to do with energy levels.

 

So, then I decided that I’d blame it on the weather. It was rainy this evening, so that’s a good excuse, right?

 

Finally, I had an epiphany! I hadn’t worked out in THREE days! I find that I have so much more energy when I’m actually applying myself physically. So, after some serious pep talks, I convinced myself to don the workout garb and get to sweating. UGH! Worst workout of my life? Probably. But I can tell a difference in my energy level since then. Problem solved! Now to just stick with it.

Note: Today's workout was Supreme 90 Day: Cardio Challenge. If you live in Lynchburg and are interested in this program for yourself, you might find the DVDs at Ollie's for about $8. The Mr. and I really enjoy them. They're challenging, but not impossible. It's something akin to P90X, but MUCH less expensive.

Struggle #2: The String Cheese Monster has been chasing me all day long! You need to know that I have a “thing” for cheese. I love it in almost any form. The Whole30, however, does not allow for dairy in any form, so the SCM has been taunting me. Luckily for me, I have a Person! You know a person you call when __________, fill in the blank as you see fit. She knows how badly I want to stick to this so, she made up lies to make me feel better. For instance, “They stopped making string cheese because kids were choking on the strings,” and “Monsters aren’t real, therefore, you don’t really want string cheese!” My Person is the best, even if she's not a good liar! Problem solved, though (at least for the time being).

Struggle #3: Up until now, I had been tracking my food with myfitnesspal. It’s a great tool for personal accountability! You can keep a running log of the foods you’ve eaten, exercises completed, and measurements, among other things (forums, blogs, etc. with others who share similar goals). So, I’ve been trying to keep track of the foods I’ve eaten while doing the Whole30, even though tracking is not required for the program. Only problem is, I’m having a hard time (both on Day One and on Day Two) eating enough calories, based on the amount that the program says I'm supposed to eat. I'm not starving myself, honest! I'm not even hungry at most points in the day. This is a foreign problem to me. I'm used to eating way too many calories and trying to figure out how to eat less, but now I have to eat MORE? Really?! Cave people must have done nothing but eat to get enough calories! I guess this goes back to the principle of "Eat to live, don't live to eat." As long as I am satisified and getting a smattering of nutrients I should be okay, right? Even if I don't make my calorie quota for the day? Problem still under review.

So, here's the breakdown for what I ate today (Please note, that with my sleep/work schedule, my meals are very much abnormally scheduled, in that I typically eat dinner as my first meal of the day.)

Meal 1:

Pork chop with herb pesto (Recipe follows, I used boneless chops!)

Steamed broccoli

Sweet potato oven fries

Meal 2:

Banana bread Larabar (NOT my favorite flavor thus far)

Raw, unsalted pecans

Banana

Meal 3:

Leftover taco meat

Pico de gallo

Guacamole (shared with me by my wonderful Person)

Zucchini and Onions

Red grapes

Snacks:

Leftover sweet potato fries

Baby carrots

Still trying to make it as a modern cavewoman. No quitting yet!

Here's that recipe, as promised, from the Taste of Home magazine, 2012 Grill It! Edition:

Pork Chops with Herb Pesto

4 bone-in pork loin chops (3/4” thick and 7 oz ea)

1/4 t salt
1/8 t pepper
2 T water
1 T each minced fresh rosemary, sage, thyme, parsley, and basil
1 T olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced

Sprinkle salt and pepper on pork. In a small bowl, combine the water, herbs, oil and garlic. Rub over both sides of chops. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Moisten a paper towel with cooking oil; using long-handled tongs, lightly coat the grill rack. Grill chops, covered, over medium heat or broil 4” from the heat for 4-5 mins on each side or until a thermometer reads 145°. Let stand for 5 mins before serving.

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!