Day 12: I can haz cupcake?

Watching the nephews again, and having the same issues as last weekend. But now I want one of the cupcakes sitting on my counter. A lot. Sigh.....

Breakfast : eggs, grapes
Lunch : hot dog, leftover soup
Dinner: ceviche, sweet potato, broccoli Thai curry

Magic Bars!

I made bars again, and the texture was better! I also tried a store-bought RX Bar, and I wasn't that impressed. They really are super sticky in a weird way. And kind of hard. Dates are soft, how did they do that? 

I didn't check the nutrition info on this because it's Whole30! No counting calories! But it's got 48 grams of protein in the full recipe from the egg white alone, and then there's the nuts, too. Guess I need to figure out how to up the egg whites to match RXBar's statement of 3 egg whites per bar. But maybe that's why theirs are so hard. The final recipe for me was the weight of 9 RX Bars, so it should last a while. 

Magic Bars

2/3 c almonds
2/3 c cashews
1 c packed deglet noor dates (24)
3/4 c egg white powder

3 Tbs of water, separated

1/4 c freeze dried raspberries

• Place almonds into the bowl of a food processor. Blend a bit until roughly chopped. Remove half of the almonds and place in a bowl for extra texture. 
• Add cashews to the half almonds in the processor bowl. Blend until most bits are fairly small, bigger than sand, but smaller than gravel. Pour smaller nuts into the same bowl.
• Ass dried raspberries to chopped nuts.
• Put the dates in the processor bowl and process until the size of peas. Add egg white powder. Pulse a few times. Slowly drizzle in 2 Tbs of water (I use the hole in the top of my processor) until it starts to clump together. 
• Add the date and egg white mixture to the nut bowl and mix. I found that kind of chopping at it with a hard spatula helped mix in the nuts. I ended up mixing with my hand inside a plastic baggie to get it all mixed it. Add 1 Tbs of water if it isn't hanging together (mine wasn't until I added that last bit.)

Bigger chunks of almonds for texture

Smaller bits of nuts to blend in better

Dates and egg white powder when blended and ready to add to nuts

Magic Bars, wrapped and waiting for me to eat tomorrow

Day 11: Friday! Woo!

Friday! Woo! Where's my drink? Oh, right, it's just gonna be water. Or sparkling water. Or tea. 

I did end up having Chipotle for lunch. Thank goodness for fast Whole30 compliant options near campus. And yes, I sprang for the guacamole.

That's all you get because I'm going to post the bar recipe now, too.

Breakfast: Sweet potato, pecans, blueberries

Lunch: Chipotle salad with carnitas

Dinner: Kale, potato, turnip and sausage soup

Snacks: Chomp beef stick, apple, plum, magic bar

Day 10: fundraiser happy hour - maybe not the best idea

I think I'll probably eat salad more often after this. I have a better idea of how much I need to feel full, and it's a whole lot! No wonder I was always hungry after those tiny things from most grab and go kind of places. 

After work I went to a fundraiser happy hour near my house. Great idea, right? Hang out, free bowling, free food, support a good cause. Just skip the delicious alcoholic beverages, and all is well. Right? Well, turned out that they also had free food. Brisket loaded fries and hummus and pita and caprese skewers and focaccia. Tasty, tasty free food. Oh, and sliced fruit, I did have some of that. I know myself well enough that I brought nuts and dried figs to snack on, but you know what? I don't really like snacking on nuts that much, and after 10 days I am kind of tired of them. They are easy and all that, but they just...... I don't know. I don't want them very much, even though I've always had them with something else. Maybe it's the association that I'm eating them when I don't know what else to eat? Whatever it is doesn't matter too much, because it's not going to change the fact that I would rather have something else. But there isn't really a quick, simple something else that will have some fat to help keep me full. sigh. 

Long story short - I stayed too long for the amount of food I had and had a minor meltdown once i got home because I couldn't figure out what to eat. Luckily I had talked to Mr. More Calories before leaving, and he could tell I was not thinking it through right and he had a pan hot to make me food by the time I walked in.

Tomorrow I think I'm gonna have Chipotle for lunch.

Salad lunch!

Breakfast: sweet potato with pecans and blueberries

Lunch: Salad with tuna, pepitas and homemade mustard vinaigrette

Dinner: scrambled eggs, potato, and applegate organic hot dogs (I swear a hot dog has never tasted better in my whole life)

Day 9: This would be really hard for some people

A friend came over for dinner last and we were talking about how much prep goes into food for whole30. I have a good assortment of pots and pans and tools and even bought a spiralizer, which has been great.

But there are so many people who have never even learned how to read a nutrition label (maybe they don't even try whole30?) or don't normally cook. *I* get a little grumpy by dinner time because of the prep, and I've been cooking as long as I could remember. I used to pull out the kitchen drawers to make stairs to stir whatever pot was on the stove. (And I'm just now realizing how rough it is that I felt obligated to do that at 5 or less.) But if you're a slightly slower cook, or not as into it, there would likely be a lot more salads.

It's also more expensive for me than what I normally eat. A $1.25 box of whole grain pasta has 8 servings. Last night's daikon for 'ramen' served 3 for $ 2. I am in a position to do that and it's worth it to me to see if this helps. But I'm well aware that not everyone can say the same.

So I'm sending good thoughts to anyone out there tired of spending so much time on food prep and wish everyone great luck!

Breakfast : paleo porridge, pecans and blueberries
Lunch : salad with leftover pork
Dinner : sausage, potatoes, sauerkraut, broccoli

Day 8: Got a stomach bug, but made it through without crackers!

I watched my nephews last weekend and when one of them started puking up water, I learned that two of them had been sick on Friday. And the third one ended up being sick on Sunday. So it should not be surprising that I got sick today, 3 days after being exposed. It wasn't really bad and since they each had it for just a day I should be fine tomorrow. That's a nice thought.

Breakfast: Paleo Porridge, which went much better with the full egg. A lumpier texture, but that could be because I didn't pay as much attention while I was making it. And tomorrow I'll try it re-heated to see if it would be ok as a make-ahead.
Lunch: left over coconut lime chicken
Dinner: nomnom paleo's cold 'ramen' (was super good!) with some left over 16 hour pork

Day 7: So many work treats, and none for me

On Monday during the summer we have a department breakfast at work. This morning there were delicious fried things and Indian dessert (gulab jamun) and so many breakfast tacos. It wasn't as hard as I expected, but i still wanted to know how all the things tasted.

It didn't help that I tried paleo porridge* this morning, and it wasn't as filling, even with almond butter and blueberries added in. It was tasty, though, so tomorrow I'm trying with whole eggs instead of just the whites. We'll see how that goes. Hopefully better around 10am.

Sweet potatoes and red potatoes

Breakfast: paleo porridge* with almond butter and blueberries
Lunch: left over shepherd's pie
Dinner: coconut lime chicken, roasted potatoes and sweet potatoes, broccoli slaw
Snacks: nuts, dried figs, magic bar, baby carrots

* many people call it paleo oatmeal, but the only resemblances it has with oatmeal is that it's best warm, goes with cinnamon, and is eaten with a spoon. It's more like thin, fluffy cream of wheat. I liked it enough to try it again, but don't insult my beloved oatmeal.

Days 5 & 6: Just don't lick your fingers

Day 5 was definitely the hardest for me so far because I was making kid food and had to resist my habits of tasting it to see if it was done enough, checking the temperature by tasting it, and licking my fingers to clean them off after breaking cinnamon sugar graham crackers. But I made it!

I also made it through the CUPCAKE HURRICANE. Ok, that's a tiny bit dramatic. My sister works at a cake and cupcake bakery that happens to be closed on Sundays. On Saturday we came to see her at the end of work and there were a lot of cupcakes left. Including the chocolate cupcakes with chocolate fudge frosting. I don't know what they put in that frosting, but it's amazing. And the peanut butter and jelly cupcakes! So good! Peanut butter frosting and raspberry (I think??) filling in the cupcake. YUM. I am a stress and procrastination baker, so once I am done with my 30 days and start reintroducing things, I may have to try to make those cupcakes with whole30-compliant ingredients. It could work, right? yes? no? maybe???

Erm, sorry, back to the point. The cupcakes that aren't sold, or taken home by employees, are trashed. Sad, but there's not a ton of choice. (Note: so many cities need an easier way to donate left over food!!) So I offered that if she took home more than usual, I would redistribute them to friends and coworkers. We have made 8 friends happy so far and there are more cupcakes heading to work with me tomorrow! I have been very careful to NOT lick my fingers after transferring cupcakes, too. Even the fudge frosting. And the peanut butter frosting. They are both still in the fridge........ and will stay there until I give them away.

Day 5
Breakfast: Eggs and... something? Not the boys' toast, maybe a banana?
Lunch: Left over shepherd's pie
Dinner: Tuna with home made mayo in a green bell pepper and salad
Snacks: Homemade egg white, fruit and nut bar ('magic bar' from here on because this saves me so much!), apple, baby carrots, dates, nuts

Day 6:
Brunch: Steak and potatoes hash, topped with guacamole and a poached egg (yay for whole30 options at restaurants!)
Dinner: 16-hour crock pot pork with roasted cauliflower, blueberries
Snacks: mixed nuts, magic bar, blueberries, apple

Day 4: Prepping for the hurricane. And the weekend.

I'm a little surprised, I finally read the daily whole30 guide, and I didn't have any particular trouble so far. Too much time on food prep, I was sleep deprived for other reasons, but not a bad 'hang over' feeling or anything. I did dream about eating Naan last night, so that was pretty funny.

In other news, a hurricane is headed for Texas and while I'm live far enough inland that we'll probably be totally fine, there's just enough storm threat that people are acting weird.

I'm also babysitting from tonight until tomorrow, at the kids' house, which means taking all my food. And resisting the siren call of whatever food I need to make for children. I was proud that I did NOT grab a jelly bean from the table and eat it. But tomorrow I'll need to protect my chicken from the youngest, who's a picky eater but could eat chicken all day long. And I have to find indoor activities to entertain them if this storm really hits. Wish me luck!

Breakfast : hard boiled egg, sweet potatoes, pecans, blueberries. (it's becoming a thing)

Lunch : left over sweet potato hash

Dinner : shepherd's pie, but with the corn and peas swapped out for zucchini and broccoli stems.

Snacks : home made rx bar, nuts, apple, dried figs, half an avocado

Day 3: survived a work dinner!

MMC had a work related dinner at a nice place that we were both excited to go to. Until I realized that dinner is food. Food I would not be eating and an open bar I could not enjoy. But, I went and brought snacks and ate guacamole with baby carrots. And came home and ate more food. I even resisted the pistachio tapioca dessert that people were loving.

My home made rx Bar is too wet, so I cut it smaller and rolled it in coconut and more dried raspberries. Very nice.

Breakfast : sweet potato with blueberries and pecans

Lunch : leftovers from last night

Dinner : carrots, guacamole, Brussels sprouts, broccoli slaw with mustard vinaigrette, and chicken sausage