Throwing in the Whole30 Towel

Time for me to admit the Whole30 is not for me.  Some may say I didn't give it the full shot, but I am just not currently cut out for it.  I have found that  balance is much better for me.  While I did like that the plan encouraged me to try new things, I did not find that all of the restrictions were worth it.  I like being able to balance my good food with some treats now and then.

I think going forward I will cook mostly paleo meals at home and then when we are out I can choose non-paleo meals if I want.  I liked most of the meals we tried and they are meals that I would cook again.  The food itself I don't mind, but I did find that I missed some of my non- fruit and vegetable carbohydrates.  Not that I eat breads or grains everyday, but every once in a while.....

My husband on the other hand has had the complete opposite experience when it comes to the past (almost) 3 weeks.  His plan is to go through the entire 30 days and I am trying to convince him to write a little about it for me.

So, there it is.  I may try again another time....

Whole30 Day 18 Menu

Breakfast- eggs

Lunch-  Leftovers

Dinner-  Slow Cooked Cinnamon Pork Lion with Parsnips

Whole30 Day 17 Menu

Breakfast- smoothie after run

Lunch- leftovers

Dinner- Everyday Meatloaf from Everyday Paleo

Whole30 Day 16 Menu

Breakfast- eggs

Lunch- leftovers

Dinner-  Italian Meatballs

My Run This Morning

So this morning I did my run and I was trying to see if I could get in a 5k in 36 minutes. I came close... 36:30. So after my 3 minute walking warm up, I did the 5k. When I finished with that, I started my warm down and then decided to walk until the clock read 45 minutes. Well, when I finished, this is what the treadmill display looked like:

Those of you who know me know that this created a bit of an issue for me :)  But I stuck with the 45 min, 3.499 distance instead of going for the 3.500.....

Whole30 Day 15 Menu

Halfway.....

Breakfast- smoothie after run

Lunch- leftovers

Dinner- Pecan Crusted Chicken

(Almost) Halfway Thoughts

As I approach halfway on this, I've got a couple confessions to make....  I've been a little off plan this weekend.  Friday I was very frustrated.  I started this only looking for two main things- an increase in energy and weight loss.  Well, in my first week, I lost 10 pounds.  Great, right?  I thought so.  But I also knew it wouldn't continue like that- nor did I really want to, but I was still expecting loss over the week.  But nothing....well, 1/2 a pound- and that was with me running more than the week before.  And that energy that I was looking for.....nope.  I didn't feel any better or worse than the time before I began the Whole30.  So, with not feeling any different and with no weight loss, I was frustrated.

Friday my husband and I went to lunch.  We decided to go to a sushi place and I had one of the boxed lunches with a california roll, salad, tempura shrimp, veggies and rice.  And let me tell you what happened as the day went on....I felt great.  I did a glow in the dark run with my husband and friend of mine that evening.  I usually do walk/run for races, but this time I was able to run the whole time, making it my longest consecutive run to date.  We didn't time it, but it was a decent pace, and definitely just for fun.

Saturday I woke up feeling good and went back to plan of my eggs and apples for breakfast, along with a lunch that was on plan as well.  I did have a couple off plan items at my TNT send off dinner, but again, I felt great.

Over the weekend, I have not had a change in weight, but I have felt more energetic.  So, I'm not 100% sure about Whole30.  I know I no longer have a "real" whole30 now, but I am going to continue on best I can over the next 16 days and see what happens.  And maybe I will try another full whole30 in the future, but this is what I've got for now.

Whole30 Day 13 Menu

Breakfast-  eggs, apples

Lunch- we went to Jason's Deli, so I had salad and fruit.  It was just nice not to worry about cooking :)

Dinner- Grilled chicken and grilled butternut squash.  I actually had a send-off gathering for my Team in Training Nike Half event to go to, so I did not eat at home, but I have been told the grilled butternut squash was wonderful.  The chicken was marinaded in a fajita marinade that we've used often before, so I know that was yummy :)


I had a great time at my TNT send off party, we have a great team and I am excited to complete this event with them.  Next week we'll be traveling to Washington, DC to participate in the Nike Women's half marathon.  I am looking forward to the time away and to completing a new race :)

Whole30 Day 12 Menu

Breakfast- Smoothie

Lunch- Leftovers

Dinner- Crockpot Stuffed Peppers

**So, dinner tonight was a flop.  This is the first meal that I've ever cooked that my husband couldn't finish because he didn't like it.  I was not hungry and we were going to do a glow in the dark run, so I didn't try any, but he said it was very bland and I think that he may have gotten a bitter pepper, so that didn't help.  I may try again and add extra spices, but probably not any time soon.

Whole30 Day 11 Menu

Breakfast- Scrambled eggs

Lunch- Leftover turkey artichoke sauce and broccoli

Dinner- Moe's Southwest Grill

We branched out of the house tonight.  I had a salad (no shell) with chicken and other veggies.  I did miss having my chips (and I may have stolen one from one of my monkeys), but I do like their salads, so it wasn't too much of a compromise.

We are a over 1/3 way through with our whole30.  I honestly feel about the same as I did before we started.  I have enjoyed some of the new recipes, some not as much.  But, I will honestly say that I am a little tired of the planning/cooking already.  But we are still going on, and I am interested to see what the next 19 days hold.

Whole30 Day 10 Menu

Breakfast- Smoothie

Lunch-  Leftovers

Dinner-  Milani Chicken (without the cucumber dressing)

Whole30 Day 9 Menu

Breakfast- Eggs and apples

Lunch-  Leftovers

Dinner- Crockpot Cashew Chicken

Whole30 Day 8 Menu

Going into our second week now :)

Breakfast- smoothie with protein powder.  This is my favorite after a run, so I am now in search of a Whole30 approved protein powder that I can purchase locally.

Lunch- leftovers

Dinner- Better Butter Chicken from Everyday Paleo

Whole30 Day 7 Menu

Breakfast- Scrambled eggs

Lunch- Salad from Jason's Deli

Dinner- Hasta La Vista Pasta Lasagna from Everyday Paleo  This lasagna uses zucchini for the lasagna noodles.

Whole30 Day 6 Menu

Breakfast-  Scrambled eggs and smoothie

Lunch-  Avocado Tuna Boats

Dinner- Dinner with friends- I am bringing a veggie side dish :)

Day 4 & 5 Review

~Day 4~

Today was another fine day- nothing too exceptional to report.  I did try something new for breakfast- eggs baked in avocado halves.  Basically, you cut an avocado in half, take out the seed, scoop out a little of the avocado and crack an egg into each half.  Bake at 425 for 15-20 minutes, depending on how done you like your eggs.  It was pretty good, and a nice change from the scrambled eggs.

We had the garlic lemon chicken for dinner and while it tasted good, I think the next time I make it I will just use chicken breasts instead of whole chicken.  I'm not a fan of dark meat (or bones), so I did feel that wasted a bit of the chicken.  Luckily, my husband is not as picky and doesn't mind de-boning chicken.  

~Day 5~

This morning I had scrambled eggs and broccoli for breakfast, which I am surprised to say that I do enjoy having that for breakfast.  My husband is currently off work for a couple weeks, so we decided to go to a movie this morning while all of our kiddos were off at school.  We saw 42, which was a really good movie.  My husband did enjoy pointing out that movies are a lot less expensive when you skip the popcorn and cherry coke.

For dinner tonight we tried the Everyday Meatloaf from Everyday Paleo.  I also made some garlic mashed cauliflower to go with it.  It was a very yummy, my oldest even asked for seconds.  According to my husband, it was the best meal of the week.  Which is nice because it was pretty easy overall, it's just the cooking that takes the most time.  So it looks like we will be having that again soon.

Over the past five days I haven't noticed any changes except weight loss.  Don't get me wrong, that's great, but I had read the timeline and was expecting to have to deal with some of those situations, but really it hasn't been like that.  I haven't been hungry, haven't been grumpy, basically have felt the same that I did last week.  I guess the next week we'll see what comes.  Supposedly over the weekend I will be extremely tired.....

Whole30 Day 5 Menu

Breakfast- Scrambled eggs and smoothie

Lunch-  Leftover lemon garlic chicken

Dinner-  Everyday Meatloaf from Everyday Paleo

Whole30 Day 4 Menu

Breakfast- Scrambled eggs and smoothie

Lunch-  Leftover Pecan Crusted Chicken

Dinner-  Lemon Garlic Crock Pot Chicken


Last night's pecan crusted chicken was yummy just like we remembered.  We had mashed turnips as a side.  It was my first time with trying turnips and I have to say I wasn't really impressed.  I am trying to try out new vegetables to get more variety in our meals, and I will probably try a different turnip recipe again another time.  The turnips were a bit bitter and when I looked up recipes for turnips, most of the ones I found said to add a little sugar to cut the bitterness.  So for now, I am looking for another turnip recipe to try.

Whole30 Day 3 Menu

Breakfast- Smoothie and scrambled eggs

Lunch-  Leftover Apricot Chicken

Dinner- Pecan Crusted Chicken from Everyday Paleo.  This is a super easy, very yummy recipe that we have had before.

Whole30 Day 2 Review

I probably won't always do a daily review, but I will try (especially when the day includes a new recipe).  Today was much like yesterday.  Breakfast was scrambled eggs with some broccoli mixed in, which I liked much better than I anticipated I would.  We did some errands and then came back home to have lunch.

We were having the leftover sauce I made Monday evening, but this time I made some steamed yellow squash to serve with the squash.  The sauce was just as good as it was last night, but I did remember that I'd rather have squash sautéed instead of steamed.  But other than that, it was great.

The weather has been great here the past couple days and we took advantage of the warm weather today to clean up the back yard.  We are going to be using EarthBoxes to plant a container garden again this year, so we are working on the space that we want to put them in.  I've never had any luck at growing anything, but last year I had great success using these boxes and we decided to expand and grow even more veggies this year.

Dinner tonight was the Slow Cooker Apricot Chicken and it was delicious!  I found that I did not really like to eat the apricots, but I loved the flavor combination of the spices, fruit and chicken.  Everyone finished their dinner and we had 3 people who liked the apricots and 3 who did not.  Overall though, dinner was a hit and a dinner I will make again.

Whole30 Day 2 Menu

I'm not the biggest fan of leftovers, but I have planned to make extra of dinner foods so that we have extras for the next day for lunch.  I hope it doesn't become too repetitive, but I don't think it'll be that much of a problem.  The one meal that I don't mind being repetitive is breakfast.  There may be days on the weekend that I branch out a bit, but for the most part I am planning on a green smoothie and eggs for breakfast.

Breakfast- Smoothie and scrambled eggs

Lunch-  Leftover Meatballs and veggies

Dinner-  Slow Cooker Apricot Chicken

Day 1 Review

Day 1- not so bad. I followed the plan that I had laid out and that made today very easy. Breakfast was a couple of scrambled eggs and a green smoothie made of an orange, a little bit of pineapple and about a cup of spinach. It was different to have my smoothie without the protein powder, but it was still good. I was definitely satisfied after my short run and felt full until lunch.

For lunch I made tuna salad with homemade mayonnaise and served it with avocado and had a side of raw carrots. The homemade mayonnaise was a little different, but it was still really good.

I did feel my usual afternoon slump around 2:30-3:00, but I wasn't expecting this to go away immediately. That tired feeling stayed for about an hour or so, but I started making dinner and by the time it was time to eat, I felt fine again.

I modified dinner from the recipe. As I was cooking the artichokes and onions I got the idea to just brown the ground turkey, add the spices and then add a couple cans of crushed tomatoes. Basically instead of making meatballs, I just made a sauce. I let the sauce simmer for about an hour or so and then served it over some steamed broccoli. I was very happy with this dinner and it got me two thumbs up from everyone! I finished off the meal with a handful of cashews- the meal was missing a little bit of fat.

Overall today was a good day, I did attempt a short run- but I've had a bit of a cold/allergy thing going on, so I was having trouble catching my breath. I didn't have too many sweet cravings, just a couple times throughout the day.

I'm trying a new recipe tomorrow, hopefully that one is met with a positive response as well :)

Whole30 Day 1 Menu

Today is the day!  It is day 1 of our Whole30 experience.  Each morning I will be posting our menu for the whole day.  There will be lots of new recipes, so I will do my best to do reviews as well!


Breakfast:  Scrambled eggs and fruit smoothie

Lunch:  Tuna salad and veggies

Dinner:  Turkey Basil Artichoke Meatballs and veggies

Whole30 Journey

About a month ago, I started really paying attention to a Facebook friend of mine's posts about Whole30.   I was not familiar with this, but she was posting delicious looking meals and was posting about how great she was feeling.  So I asked her to fill me in on what Whole30 was.  She sent me a copy of the book It Starts with Food (ISWF) by Dallas and Melissa Hartwig.  My husband and I both read it and we picked a date (April 8th) to start our Whole30.

Whole30 chooses foods based on four good food standards.  The food that we eat should:

1.  Promote a healthy psychological response.
2.  Promote a healthy hormonal response.
3.  Support a healthy gut.
4.  Support immune function and minimize inflammation.

Based on these standards, the following foods will be eliminated:  sugar, sweeteners, alcohol, seed or vegetable oils, grains, legumes, and dairy.  Over the next 30 days I am planning on going more into detail on why these foods do not pass the good food standards, based on the book.

But for now, I want to focus on what we will be eating over the next 30 days, because I am choosing to look at this from a positive view point.  All of these foods are Whole30 approved: protein from meat and eggs, carbohydrates from vegetables and fruits, and also healthy fats.  A great shopping list can be found here!  The shopping list has more details about what are the best choices for each category.

Here are the daily guidelines:
~ Eat three meals a day
~ Start with breakfast
~ Don't snack, if you can help it
~ Stop eating a few hours before bedtime

Building your meals:
~ Create each meal around your protein source
~ Each meal should include one to two palm sized servings of protein
~ As often as possible, choose high-quality meat, seafood and eggs
~ Fill the rest of your plate with vegetables
~ One to two servings of fruit per day
~ One or more fat sources per meal

"The food you eat either makes you more healthy or less healthy.  Those are your options"  

This is a direct quote from the first chapter of ISWF.  This is what directly influences the entire book.  Over the next 30 days I will blog more about what this means and more about our experience on our Whole30 journey!  If you don't want to wait for me, I encourage you to pick up a copy of It Starts with Food or check out the Whole9 website!

Sparkle Cupcake Virtual Race!

I am partnering again with Run Find your Happy Pace to bring you the next great cupcake virtual race. May is the month of both of our birthdays, and we decided to celebrate with a choose your own distance virtual race!  This race will earn you a custom cupcake diecast medal!  It will look like this:

There will be some added sparkles and we are looking at adding 5k, 10k, Half Marathon to the design.  When we have an updated design, I will be sure to post!  This is another virtual race to benefit TNT.  We are also once again adding the option to purchase a Happy Band in our cupcake pattern:

We are also working on some fun giveaways to go along with this virtual (it is a birthday race after all!).  I will keep you updated with those as we finalize the details of those!

So, here are the details in a nutshell:

~ $26 for the race, medal and cupcake Happy Band

~ $20 for the race and medal only

~ $8 for a cupcake Happy Band only

~ You choose the distance- 5k, 10k, Half Marathon

~ Run your race any time around May 24

We will close registration on April 22, and we will do everything we can to get your medal to you before the race date (if you live in the United States)

Thank you for your continued support!  Please feel free to email me with any questions:  run.in.sanity@gmail.com