New Mission: Whole30!!

So it's been almost four years since my last post, and there's been some changes in the past four years.  Two and a half years ago, I drank the Crossfit kool-aid and have been hooked ever since. Along with the new workout regimen, I've followed the Paleo diet on and off for the past two years, with success - I lost 20 pounds during spring/summer 2012 - as long as I stay on the diet....

...Which brings me to the here and now; I've committed to doing a Whole30 challenge. The Whole30 and eating paleo have a lot in common, but the Whole30 is a "tough love" approach for 30 days - no sweeteners of any kind, no scales, and if you cheat or slip, you have to start over. I've been off the paleo wagon now for several months, and was definitely off while in Chicago two weekends ago (read: deep dish pizza, cupcakes, donuts!!). So a clean-up/reboot is definitely what I need right now! For more info on the Whole30, head on over to Whole30.com - they've got a ton of information, resources, and testimonials.

So I actually started my challenge yesterday, August 4th; I could've claimed the 3rd as my start date, and then I ate popcorn and diet soda as a snack Sunday night :( So August 4th it is! 

Yesterday I started my day with a "hash" of diced grilled chicken thighs, Italian green beans, and tomatoes. Now, you might think that's an odd choice for breakfast, but here's the thing: when you're eating paleo, if you think of breakfast in the conventional way, you're gonna burn yourself out on eggs. So I've gotten used to eating more savory dishes for breakfast. I seasoned the hash with what I like to call my tex-mex spice blend: garlic powder, chili powder, cayenne pepper, and cumin. Yum! This particular hash is also delicious topped with a dollop of guacamole, but sadly I didn't have any. :(

"Mexican Fiesta Bowl" - unfortunately this time, I was out of guac!

For lunch, I brought some pulled pork topped with Tangy BBQ sauce from PaleOMG

's "The Paleo Kitchen", and some oven roasted broccoli. FYI, I cooked up all of this food on Sunday - I follow Melissa Joulwan's (www.theclothesmakethegirl.com) Weekly Cookup method and try to prep as much food as possible for the week on the weekends. I grilled chicken thighs, cooked a pork loin in the crock pot, browned ground beef, roasted sweet potatoes and broccoli, and made the tangy BBQ sauce. Phew! 

I was craving some eggs for dinner, but wanted more protein than that, so I sautéed some onions and threw in some of the ground beef, then scrambled in the eggs with that. Strange, I know. I made a salad with baby kale greens, carrots, and cucumbers with a Dijon vinaigrette to go with it. While I was making dinner, I also hard-boiled some eggs to have on hand for the week. I'm trying to stay away from nuts as much as possible while doing the challenge, because I tend to snack on them and overeat; hard-boiled eggs make a great easy snack. I actually had two today, along with some baby carrots and sliced cucumbers. Yum.

Let me backtrack a bit, since I skipped breakfast and lunch today and went right to snack time. I mixed up my all-time fave hash for breakfast: diced grilled chicken thighs, sautéed with minced onions, collard greens, diced sweet potatoes, and Mel Joulwan's Sunrise Spice blend from her book, Well Fed 2 (she actually posted the recipe for this spice blend to her blog today!). For lunch, I had browned ground beef with the green beans and tomato mixture, with the tex-mex spice blend. And I already told you about my afternoon snack. I did have a banana late morning as well.

My fave breakfast hash

After I got home from work, I decided to make Silky Gingered Zucchini Soup from Well Fed 2; it's one of my favorite soups to make because it's so easy, and just like Mel Joulwan, I enjoy eating it for breakfast (can you tell I love her blog, books, and recipes?). I also chopped up a jicama and put it in the crockpot for its overnight soak to make jicama home fries (also from Well Fed). Once the soup was done, I ladled myself a bowl and added some shredded pork for protein. I had a nectarine later in the evening as well.

So that's my recap of days 1 and 2 of my first Whole30! I'm hoping that by resurrecting this blog, I can keep myself accountable and log my meals as accurately as possible.