Day 18,19,20, and 21

What a crazy busy days we had!

Jeff had a meeting Thursday day 18 morning so we were rushing around trying to get him to work early and eat breakfast. Breakfast was egg muffins. Snack was hardboiled egg an orange and nuts. Lunch was tricky because we were running low on protein. We had deli meat a salad and olives.

It was smaller than normal but still was good.

Dinner was put on rush because we had to attend Jordan's open school night and with 7 different class and one dance performance we couldn't be late. We had pork chops, artichokes with ghee and Jeff made a delicious cole slaw it was good.

Day 19

Breakfast was scrambled eggs with spinach and mushrooms with some minced garlic. Yum! Snack was deviled egg and celery. Kids are without any complaints, they are getting ready early so they have time to do whatever before school.

Lunch was leftover pork chops cut up with a salad and nuts. Dinner was grilled steaks, green beans and mashed cauliflower. After that we went grocery shopping for the week, got a last minute babysitting request so we had to re-do our weekend shopping trip.

Day 20

Breakfast was scrambled eggs and same old veggies ha ha still good. We had to go to hobby shop and target for non-grocery items then came home to clean before heading up to babysit (45 minutes away) Snack was Scotch meatball, carrots and pecans. Lunch was grilled chicken skewers and a salad with avocado.

After we completed our chores we packed up and headed out. We got to house to babysit two girls that are Jeff's cousin’s kids. What a challenge being at someone else's house and doing Whole30! Single mom with a pantry filled with no no food for us. It looked a little tempting at first but after a while it wore off and just looked like a stomach ache. Jeff and I were worried how kids would do and they did great!

Dinner was grilled pork chops, sweet potato fries, and asparagus. Very tasty! The kids didn't want to eat their food but ours...guess they know what good food looks like :)

Day 21 Sunday

Jeff couldn't get out of there fast enough. Babysitting isn't for us and he didn't sleep at all there. So when it was ok we headed home. Before leaving we ate scrambled eggs and spinach and mushrooms. Headed out about snack time so we ate in the car. Beef jerky, mixed nuts, and snow peas. Great combination and a nice change from what we normally eat.

Lunch was Scotch meatballs and a chicken skewer, I was very hungry for some reason with salad and avocado. Dinner was so much fun to make! We had spaghetti and meatballs. Scotch meatballs without the egg in the middle, Whole30 approved spaghetti sauce and for the noodles...zucchini! I love my mandolin and cut them so thin and it has a Julian setting. Tossed those in a little extra virgin olive oil, garlic and Italian seasoning, cooked in microwave for 2 minutes. Plated up like you would normally with zucchini noodles then the sauce and meatballs. I don't think we will ever use spaghetti noodles ever again! This was a great way to have veggies without thinking about it!

Day 17

Woke up feeling AMAZING! Sleeping so well through the night it's really nice.



Breakfast was 2 egg muffins for Jeff and I and kids had the last of the pumpkin soup. They savored it and took their time eating. James informed me that he would probably fight with me tomorrow morning with not having the soup and the only breakfast option was egg muffins. I thought it was funny but said sternly, I will not tolerate a fight. He shrugged his shoulders and walked off. Jordan popped in the kitchen and said she wouldn't fight, but just eat. Then smiled her pain in the butt smile and walked off to curl her hair.



Lunches were hardboiled egg, and salads for Jeff and I. Kids had deli meat, deviled egg and carrots. No complaints there, they like the Whole30 mayo. After I ate lunch I started on dinner. It is enchilada chicken stew. Browned the chicken breast but not cooking them through the whole way. Placed the ingredients into crock pot and then chicken and set on high for 2 hours then low for another 4 hours. The house smelled so good.

Afternoon snack or pre-work out snack was nuts and a deviled egg. We waited 15 minutes then headed to our gym, which is our garage and kicked some butt. After workout hung outside with neighbors for a bit and Jeff decided to plant our new garden since the plants were already established in their pots. After that we were hungry so we came in. James brought me a ladle at the door and walked away, I think he was hungry too. So after the magic happened in the crock pot, I took out the chicken breast and shredded them and put it back into crock pot and mixed everything well. Served with chopped some cilantro and avocado to garnish. This was one of the best tasting crock pot meals we've had. Thank you PaleOMG!

Oh and before James got out of school, I emailed his teacher to see how he is doing in school. I was expecting the normal email saying let’s give this diet change time. Nope! It was the opposite saying he is very calm in school and getting all his work done. I was beyond ecstatic! I felt so proud of him again and proud of Jeff and I for changing out diet instead of medicating him. All of this hard work is paying off. My soul is smiling! I do believe we will stick to paleo when we are done with Whole30.

Day 16

Well this Whole30 is getting easier. Breakfast was 2 egg muffins. The flavors are combining so nicely and deliciously. Jordan and James had the savory pumpkin soup again and James wanted a second bowl but I told him there would be enough for him tomorrow so he decided to save his second bowl for tomorrow. The mornings are so nice now. They eat, get ready for school then make their beds very nice!

Snack was 1/2 meatball, nuts, and carrots. Lunch was leftover lasagna, zucchini, and olives. Very yummy and so filling. After lunch I decided to marinate our sea bass for dinner. And let it sit in the fridge till it was time for dinner.

So when I picked up James from school, he told he that he got called to the office....and showed me a certificate of good behavior and he got a prize!!!! I was so proud of him, I had tears in my eyes. I asked him how did he feel about it and he said it felt GREAT!!!! He wants to keep trying to get those awards and prizes. He has changed in how he looks at school. I believe it’s because of this diet. He wanted to keep it a secret from Jeff so he could surprise dad. It was really cute! And Jeff was just as shocked and surprised as I was. It's a great feeling! My soul was smiling!

So Jeff and I get to talking and stupid me forgot that the lemon pepper has sugar in it, so there went dinner! Placed it in an air tight container and in the freezer it goes till after Whole30. Worked out then had to run to the store for dinner. Ended up buying New York strip steaks and grilled them with asparagus, and green beans. I forgot how good a great steak tastes! And after that we broke the rules and had strawberries and blackberries and they were GOOOOOD!!!!

Let’s hope I don't screw up tomorrow's dinner ;)

Day 15

WAHOO!!!! Half way point!!!

Breakfast for Jeff and I was egg muffins with sausage, spinach and mushrooms. Very very tasty! Kids had leftover pumpkin soup and had two bowls of it. I am really surprised how much they like the soup. Easy morning, unlike the beginning. But I am not going to complain about not fighting with James. Snack was deviled eggs and carrots. Homemade mayo is delicious!!!

Lunch was leftover meatballs, yummy pineapple and pistachios. I am enjoying all of the flavors and how everything tastes. After lunch I decided to start dinner early since it was going to be baking for 45 minutes in the evening. I started with browning ground turkey and making a spaghetti sauce. After that was simmering I peeled and sliced eggplant and zucchini on my new mandolin slicer. I love that thing! Then layered the eggplant, sauce, zucchini, sauce, eggplant, and then the sauce. Let it cool then refrigerated it for later.

After picking everyone up from work and school, snack was hardboiled egg, olives, and kids had cauliflower. Workout was so tough but felt so strong! I can feel that my muscles are gaining strength. After dinner I popped the layered meat thing or lasagna as I would call it into oven at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. While I was preparing side salads, James read to me at the table. It is really enjoyable to listen to him practice his reading. In the past he would fight with me because he couldn't sit still long enough to concentrate but now he is getting better.

After pulling out the lasagna I noticed it was a bit liquidy. Then I remember I didn't cook the water out of the eggplant and zucchini. Jeff and I thought 100% whole heartedly that James would fight and not eat it because it didn't look appealing at all, but to our surprise he scarfed it down and went back for seconds! I am really surprised in his growth and tasting and enjoying food. Jordan just eats quietly and happily. She said it looked gross but want me to make it again. Yay!!! Score one for mom and creating something knew!

Day 14

Rainy Sunday morning so I decided to make savory pumpkin sausage soup. It was so good. Kids ate three bowls of it and licked their bowls clean every time. And plus it made a lot so leftovers for the week. After making breakfast I decided to work on breakfast for the week, even though we have leftover soup I still would like to have more made. I browned homemade breakfast sausage and the chopped up mushrooms and spinach, scrambled 18 eggs and mixed everything together, and baked in my muffin tin. Nicely portioned meals all ready to go.

Snack was deviled eggs and carrots and lunch was yummy meatballs, grapes and olives. It was good and filling. James declared he loves the meatballs and wants them for lunch all week. He is so funny with his tastes. Afternoon snack was ceviche and nuts. Jeff was getting very antsy with all this rain he would go outside when it would stop and mess with his car or our newly decided garden area. He and the kids do not do well being stuck inside. While I enjoyed the rain with a fire and movies.

Dinner was pork ribs and roasted zucchini and mushrooms tossed in olive oil with salt and pepper. I think it was a perfect combination. It was good. Everyone finished before me and I was the only one eating. I guess still being congested slows my eating down. Oh well it was still delicious. And that's how we ended our evening.

Day 13

Love weekends! Happy Saturday!!!

Yes, no eggs for breakfast. Jeff found this recipe from wholefamilystrong.com of paleo pumpkin pancakes. And let me tell you we were all excited to try something new. They were delicious! I mashed a banana for topping and holy cow YUM!!!! Kids were licking their plates when we were done it was bad manners but funny.

That morning I woke up with a headache but later turned into a horrible migraine. Ugh, I haven't had one in months. Jeff and I think it was due to lack of sleep that night. My fan that we sleep to died so we didn't sleep much because the house was so noisy that night.

We decided to prepare all the meals for the week and got a start to cooking. We made homemade Italian sausage, breakfast sausage, Whole30 mayo, balsamic vinegar dressing, shrimp cevichi, and Whole30 Scotch eggs. After that I couldn't take it anymore and lay down. Sad I had to cancel dinner and game night plans, we haven't seen our friends in over a month and miss them.

Snack was meatball, nuts and carrots. If I could only eat one thing for the rest of my life, it would be the Scotch meatballs. They are so good!!! Dinner was supposed to be pork ribs, asparagus and a salad but with my not feeling well we had soup instead. It was a modified version of Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana soup. No bacon or potatoes, just sausage and kale which was still pretty delicious.

Oh and for 12 years I have been trying Jeff to eat pineapple but he says he doesn't like it...oh how things change. I cut a whole pineapple the night before and had him taste it, he did and liked it. So after dinner tonight he asked James to get the pineapple out of the fridge and had some. I thought I was delusional with my migraine and imagined it until he asked if I wanted a bite. Oh how delicious it was. Just one bite was enough. This diet is really re-booting our taste buds and I like it!

Day 12

Day 12

Breakfast was scrambled eggs with artichoke hearts, spinach, and mushrooms. I am getting burnt out on eggs but Jeff isn't. This weekend we are trying new breakfasts. Both kids ate without a fight and got ready for school. James had half day so I didn't pack him a lunch. Snack was a hardboiled egg, carrots and almonds.

When James got home we ate lunch and this is where the fun began. I made chicken wraps with avocado and lettuce and carrots. It was really good but James decided he wanted to fight about it. He didn't want this or he didn't want to avocado. So I ate and he sat there. Then the silence began. He refused to eat so I just sat there with him and he couldn't get up from table. And I didn't say one word just sat there, and he didn't like that so he ate. He ate everything but the avocados with the exception of 3 bits, which was better than nothing. That was done. But his grumpy and rude attitude continued. I ask him what was wrong he said nothing.

Well it turned out to be what I was dreading for this whole30 experience. A birthday at school and a parent brought in cupcakes. James sat there while everyone enjoyed this sugary treat. I was afraid something like that would happen. He was sad and upset and wanted to quit but I told him we are almost there and let’s keep going. So he changed his attitude and was better. While Jeff and I went grocery shopping that afternoon we talked about what had happened and decided to pick up Larabars. Whole30 approved in moderation and 100% delicious.

So after dinner which was grilled flank steak with steamed artichokes and homemade sweet potato fried. We all enjoyed the Larabars together. We bought coconut cream and ginger snap, halved them so we all could enjoy the different tasted. James and I liked the ginger snap while Jordan and Jeff liked the coconut cream.

After learning of how James felt left out, I am going to talk to the teacher to see if anyone has a birthday coming up while doing Whole30 so I can send a Larabar to school so he won't feel that left out.

Day 11

Mornings are so peaceful. Breakfast was scrambled eggs with spinach and mushrooms. Jordan is such a happy girl who loves to eat which is so nice. James was ok with breakfast because it was not the casserole again. Kind of an uneventful morning. Made lunches for them with chicken, carrots and pistachios, same for Jeff and I. Snack was hardboiled egg with carrots and olives.

Dinner is where it got fun...not! Made a roasted chicken, while that was cooking Jeff and I worked out. Our performance is crazy! We are pushing heavier weight and I love it. So after workout we made our grocery list which this time took close to 45 minutes going day by day 5 meals a day for 4 people. It was exhausting. Then I served dinner of roasted chicken with sautéed bok choy and artichoke hearts. It was so good. But James decided he wasn't going to eat the bok choy and threw a fit. Like a genuine temper tantrum of a two year old. Jeff and I were shocked by his behavior. He got sent to bed to chill out. He never did eat it but sat at the table doing homework instead...strange kid!

After that Jeff did dishes and we relaxed. Muscles were already starting to say "hey I'm sore" so we called it a night! Looking forward to grocery shopping tomorrow!

Day 10

Woo hoo 1/3 of the way there!!!

Last day for the breakfast casserole. I am going to make it again but play with the ingredients to "hide" more vegetables in it. The flavors of it were nice but I think we are using sweet potatoes too much. And James knowing it was the last day ate without a fight! Ugh why couldn't he just eat without protest? But whatever he ate it and made my morning so much easier.

Snack was yummy ceviche, blackberries, and a handful of almonds. Lunch was leftover chicken thighs over a salad with avocado. Yum! After being sick, I finally felt better and had so much energy that the house got clean, all laundry done and started dinner. I fixed front door and trimmed a tree...love the energy levels, even with a head cold. Anyway dinner was Chocolate chili.

It called to be cooked in a big stew pot and to simmer for two hours but I though 2 hours on the stove equals 4 hours in the crock pot, right? So I had it simmering in there for close to 5 hours on low. And let me tell you it was goood! Jeff and I had 1 and 1/2 bowls and I thought yes leftover for this weekend but nope! Kids finished it off. There was a lot left and they ate it all. I was shocked!! I am not sure but I think they liked it lol! And to go with the chili we used our mandolin and sliced one sweet potato into chips and baked them to crumble on top of chili and it was good.

We ran out of lunch stuff so had to go to Sprouts and picked up a steak and then decided to go to Vons and found pork ribs whole30 approved and sausages. So sausages are tomorrow’s lunch and ribs are for the weekend.

Oh and working out, we are noticing a huge change in strength. Trainer has us running a strength training circuit and we feel very very strong...LOVE IT!

Day 9

What a beautiful morning...if you like clouds, good thing I do. And perfect weather for my body to decide to give into the nasty head cold. But oh well. So weird though to have so much energy and your head to feel so bad.

Anyways breakfast was chorizo casserole with my love Jeff. It's so peaceful eating with just us two. The flavors of all the ingredients are combining so nicely. And guess what? When kids got up to eat, ABSOLUTELY no fighting with James. He just ate it without complaint. I could tell he still didn't like it but he ate it! Thank goodness. Jordan again a champ and ate and got ready for school.

Snack was a half of a meatball, giant salad, and handful of almonds. Lunch was a full meatball and an even bigger salad with handful nuts. I was lazy and didn't want to figure my lunch out with stupid head cold. Dinner was pan fried chicken thighs, then when they were done I sautéed mushrooms and garlic with little water in same pan for more flavor to top chicken. Steamed broccoli and squash. Very taste.

On a side note. I am noticing big changes in James. His teacher said she is noticing changes in him as well but with 22 other students in the class he still likes to play around. But still in 9 days he is doing what he is asked the first time not after the 5th or 6th time. Sometimes I almost want to cry because he's the same loveable kid just his hyperness is toned down. And I think to myself, we were making him hyper with what we were feeding him. I thought we were being healthy but now I have a whole new perspective on what nutrition is and how different things affect your body! THANK YOU friends for introducing us to this Whole30 program!

Day 8

 
Woke up feeling the amazingly energetic. I have so much energy!!! My body has adjusted to eating breakfast right when we get up, and breakfast with Jeff is always a nice start to the day. Breakfast casserole was delicious. The flavors combined overnight and tasted better than it did after it baked. Kids were hesitant to eat it but they did and yes James did fight with me but he did eat it so YAY!

After kids left for school I got most of the house clean and laundry done. This energy level is amazing. If only they could bottle it up...but they people would never learn in proper nutrition. Well I'm glad we are learning to eat right and balanced meals! Snack was shrimp cevichi, grapes and nuts. Lunch was a meatball from Whole30's recipe book, broccoli, and nuts. These meals are so filling!

PreWork out snack what half meatball and nuts. Then killed it with dead lifts and presses! I felt so strong and really pushed the weights! Then 2 rounds on the punching bag and pushups. Great way to finish off a good workout.

Dinner was ribs without the bone and Jeff's fantastic BBQ sauce, artichoke hearts, and streamed mixed veggies of broccoli, carrots, and cauliflower. Then we treated ourselves with small bowls of watermelon. After not having any sort of sugar (natural or manmade) this was by far the sweetest watermelon ever! It's amazing how delicious natural foods taste!

Day 7

Breakfast was scrambled eggs and veggies. Nice and quiet weekend morning. Kids ate at their pace while Jeff and I were planning to go to the grocery store. Well midway of writing our list out, I decided we should check out Homegrown meat market in La Jolla and since we were down there to check out the ocean. Drive was so nice out there. Meat market didn't have what we were looking for so we just went to the beach. It was such a beautiful day. We ended up hitting another store and while we are there we all got hungry so we picked up lunch there and wanted to have a picnic...so we went to Mission Beach and had a nice lunch. After that kids played around for a bit then we headed home.

Lunch was Applegate turkey deli meat, apple, and handful of nuts. So good, the apple was almost too sweet to eat but we manage it. Dinner oh dinner. I've already stated how good of a cook my husband is but you must know he is a god in the kitchen! He made pork tenderloin that was to die for with asparagus and cauliflower. Genius pure genius!

After dinner I made this coming weeks breakfast of egg, chorizo, sweet potato, onion and spices. You can find the recipe here http://paleomg.com/savory-breakfast-casserole/ Did a taste test and it was good. Looking forward to eating it for breakfast tomorrow.

Day 6

Jeff makes the most amazing tasting eggs! I think he is a genius in the kitchen. I honestly don't know how he does it. His eggs always taste so much better than mine. We had eggs with spinach, mushrooms, and artichoke hearts. I had a side salad with olives and was so full. Yummy!!!! Kids ate well with some protest with James but that is getting to be the norm.

We are having so much energy with this diet change, we spent all day outside in the beautiful weather doing yard work. Almost forgot to eat our snacks until James reminded us. Beef jerky, nuts, carrots. Then went back outside.

Lunch was turkey breast deli meat, salad with olives. It was so good and filling. But we need to come up with better lunch ideas for the weekend. Ok now on to dinner. Again I must state Jeff is a GENIUS in the kitchen. I can't tell you what he put in it, not because I don't want to share but because he won't share with me! :( But we had Korean style ribs! They tasted better than any restaurant ribs or any other kind of ribs I've ever had! I couldn't get enough of them. We had steamed cauliflower and sautéed brussel sprouts with them. James and Jordan wanted seconds and thirds. Sad to say we didn't have any leftovers like we were planning on for snack for the next day. Must have him make those again! Any hopefully I can sneak in there to get the recipe.

After being outside all day we had a nice relaxing evening and did nothing except dishes. Looking forward to cooking tomorrow and researching new breakfast ideas.

Day 5

This is getting so much easier! Jeff made egg omelets with spinach, mushrooms, garlic and prosciutto and a huge salad with a squirt of lemon. OMG so delicious! I told him he is now making breakfast hahaha. Jordan will eat great without a fight. James sat there and was complaining...shocker I know. But he did eat it all. They did stay home again with their colds.

We decided to go grocery shopping and went to Whole Food Market. If you have one by you, go there! The employees were extremely nice! We checked out their produce department but knew we would be hitting Costco up for that stuff, so skipped it but if you need fruit and vegetables they have a wide variety. We stood in front of meat department trying to figure out what to get. I love how their meat is labeled from 1 to 5. One being not the best choice and 5 being 100% organic, and grass feed. We got pork which was a 1, beef was 4, and chicken was 4 then we headed over to deli. We heard from our friends they had Whole30 approved lunch meat. And they did, Applegate. And let me tell you it was seriously the best turkey deli meat I've ever had. After there we went to Costco and got our eggs and produce. Then headed home

Lunch was 4 pieces of turkey deli meat, salad with lemon, and a little fruit. It was one of the tastiest lunches we've had. I love how the fruit is so sweet already. After that we marinated dinner, flank streak with lemon, balsamic vinegar, cilantro, garlic and Montreal steak seasoning with grilled asparagus and pan cooked sweet potatoes. I am starting to like sweet potatoes more :)

After the diet change my stomach hasn't been feeling well. Not bloated feeling just uncomfortable. And things were not moving along as they should be but I stuck it out and day 5 was my day. Things moved along nicely and I felt so much better. Jeff and I are noticing a change in our energy levels. We have so much of it and we feeling leaner if that is possible. Excited to see how we feel after the full 30 days!

Day 4

 
Breakfast with husband is so nice in the mornings. 2 muffin pan eggs and black coffee. He made his lunch the night before so it was an easy easy morning.

Getting kids up was surprising. Both didn't feel well, they stayed home from school. Sore throats, coughing, and runny noses they enjoyed the day in bed.

Breakfast was still a challenge with James but he ate it. He also informed me he will have scrambled eggs again in the morning without a fight...yeah sure kid! Jordan again is so easy to feed. She absolutely loves the increase in food. She is like her father, can eat and eat and eat and it burns right off!

After breakfast I felt like running, which I haven't done in a few weeks so I laced up my Nike's and jumped on the treadmill. I was very surprised on how I felt. I was worried I wouldn't have enough energy or legs would feel weak with the diet change but it was the complete opposite, I felt extremely strong. Got in 2 miles and kids wanted snack so I was done. Snack was 1 hardboiled egg, half banana, and nuts.

Lunch was already made from previous night so that was easy. Chicken wraps, avocado and carrots. As kids are eating I hear James tell Jordan "JORDAN! My carrots are so sweet!" It was AWESOME!!! Husband came home sick so we decided working out was out of his evening plans so we took that time to just relax. Dinner was grilled steaks, salad and olives. It was so good. Didn't make kids lunches the night before so I'll be rushing in the morning. Body was tired!

Day 3

Shall I say it? It's getting easier? I do think it is. Eating breakfast is still difficult but my body is getting accustomed to it. Breakfast two scrambled eggs with veggies baked in a muffin tin. Turned out really good. Jordan again eats hers without any hesitation. James on the other hand "I don't want this, I want eggs with tomatoes" UGH kid! I can never please him. Well dad called at that moment and talked to James. After that he ate without saying another word, and when he was done, "I want this again tomorrow, remind me it was good" Oh well he ate it. This by the way was good.

After dropping him of at school, Jordan informed me that he was crying last night about kids teasing him about his lunches because they look weird. Really? Kids are so harsh but I emailed his teacher and informed her of this situation and then decided I was going to have a lunch date with my son! So I surprised him at lunch time with my lunch and we ate together. He asked if I could go back again, so I have another date with my son.

Snack for the morning was 2 hard boiled eggs, handful of nuts and half a kiwi. Which by the way was the sweetest best tasting kiwi I ever had, results of not having any kind of sugar? Maybe! Lunch was leftover chicken from previous night’s dinner wrapped in lettuce with a chopped avocado, nuts, and carrots. Very yummy! Dinner was chicken and vegetable kabobs with handful of olives on the side. Felt very full afterwards. Only drawback was my stomach isn't cooperating with this diet change, which I had a fear of. But toughing it out and working through it.

Partially made lunches, kids wanted chicken wraps again. Easy! So that was done and we enjoyed some nice quiet family time. Here's to tomorrow being a little easier.

Day 2

 
Day two was a little better. Scrambled eggs cooked in a little coconut oil with different veggies such as onions, bell peppers, spinach, tomatoes, and Portobello mushrooms. Very similar to omelets minus the cheese and butter. Having a hard time eating when I get up but hopefully my body will adjust. James wanted just tomatoes in his eggs but didn't want to eat them after cooking. Jordan is a champ, she'll eat whatever we put in front of her.

Morning snack was leftovers from dinner the night before 4 pieces of Brussels sprouts, handful of nuts, and 3 pieces of stew meat. Lunches were mostly made the night before but still had to put it all together. We had grilled chicken with whole30 approved spices, organic salad mix from Costco, handful of olives. For the salad dressing all we used a wedge of lemon and squeezed it on and let me tell you, it was so good!!!!

Afternoon snack was half of banana, hardboiled egg, and half handful coconut flakes and 6 pistachios. The banana was soo good. And this is where I got grumpy. I was feeling the effects of not having any sort of sugar. I was grumpy and snappy. Jeff was trying to not laugh but couldn't help it. I have to admit it was silly of me but hopefully that's the last of my sugar monster showing its ugly face. After our snack Jeff wanted to make beef jerky so we went to the store and got some 100% grass feed red meat and found a nice piece of pork tenderloin and stuff to make pico de gallo.

When we got home it was full force cooking. Roasted chicken was going to take 1 1/2 hour to 2 hours to cook. So popped that into oven and then started making the next morning’s breakfast. I've seen people cooked many things in their muffin tins so I thought I'm going to do that for breakfast and hopefully make it less chaotic in the mornings with my little picky eater. So cut some vegetables up, lined pan with prosciutto and scrambled 12 eggs mixed vegetables in and poured into muffin pan, let sit in fridge till chicken was done. While I was doing that Jeff was making pico so good on top of almost everything. And by the way he is sick and getting sicker with a cold...sucks because you can't take anything! So we are busy in the kitchen working away. It's surprising how much fun cooking really is. I love love spending that time with my husband. So we finish up all the prep work and chicken is done, and I sauté asparagus and yellow squash and husband is frying up sweet potatoes in some coconut oil. Dinner is done time to eat. Yum!!!

After dinner we shred the chicken and make our lunches. We are having chicken, avocado lettuce wraps. By this time we are both exhausted so hurry up with it and do dishes and we are done. Husband sneaks back into kitchen to get kids lunches all done so I have minimal working in the morning. How great is he? I am so lucky! Well when he's done we sit and enjoy some cuddle time on the couch. Called it a night.

Let's hope James and Jordan will eat breakfast without a struggle.

Intro/ day 1

I'm Jamie, a stay at home mom going to school part time. I have two kids Jordan, she is 12 and James he is 8 and of course my husband Jeff. After a year of no red meat due to high cholesterol in me, we decided to change up our diet again. Before giving up meat I loved eating a nice steak...that's why I had high cholesterol but now we are on to greener pastures with grass feed organic meat.



After our friends embarked on the Whole30 train we thought about it long and hard and said what are we waiting for? So we decided we would jump on board with them. Our first grocery shopping trip was a journey that lead to dreaming of label reading at night. But in a good way. It's amazing all of the stuff that is snuck into what one would think is healthy. Nope we as consumers need to read labels more. Anyways back to shopping, it was a few hours of looking at organic meat that is 100% grass feed. This in comparison to eating wild caught fish is close in price. The only thing that I thought was pricey was Ghee or clarified butter and coconut oil but those will not be a weekly buy. Well we walked out of three different stores with a much lighter wallet. Oh tip Costco has a lot of organic vegetables if you’re interested.

We decided to start on a Monday so Sunday evening we were cooking our lunches and snacks for Monday and Tuesday. Meatballs and roasted stew meat pieces, bagged our nuts and veggies were a family event. Kids had fun measuring out their snacks according to their hand size. After preparing for the week, we sat down and had our last bean and cheese burritos for 30 days. Kids wanted to get frozen yogurt afterwards but we didn't think it was a good idea to end the night with even more sugar in our stomachs so skipped and had an oranges.

Making breakfast for Jeff and I was easy. He packed his lunch the night before which I normally do but thankful he is doing it now because making breakfast in the morning is time consuming, we normally skip it and snack later for the most part. Breakfast was scrambled eggs with veggies and a half of avocado...YUM!! Later kids breakfast wasn't so easy. They both asked for cheese and milk, which was hard to tell them no but they understood. Jordan eats her breakfast without hesitation but James finds it fun to say "I don't like eggs" or "I don't want THESE veggies" but he did eventually eat all his breakfast. I thought YAY ok we did it....until dropping my daughter off at school. Complete breakdown for reasons I still do not know! After about 10 minutes of tears she got out of the car and was fine...ugh preteen girls! After that I was like ok now we are in the clear. Hahahaha I could not be more wrong. Mid-morning I get a call from James teacher saying he isn't feeling well and put him on the phone. I asked what was wrong and he said he didn't feel well. I asked if he ate all his snack and he said no, so talked to his teacher and she let him go outside and finish all his snack...wait dare I say it? Ok now morning was done and it was all good! FINALLY!!!

Lunch was delish, as well as dinner. But James still wanted to eat, but not because he was hungry but because he was bored. This habit will be hard to break. Overall day1 could have gone much worse but I can't complain because everyone eat all their food and did not cheat and have sugar. Stay tuned to see how day 2 unravels.