Days 1 and 2

So I started my Whole26-ish yesterday, but yesterday was not a typical day. It was Memorial Day, and my 4 year old niece and nephew spent the afternoon with me. For breakfast I had 3 scrambled eggs with prosciutto (no sugar added!) and a green called tatsoi, which I'd bought from a local farmer. I was trying to use up the prosciutto, so I put in too much, and it was too salty for my taste. Lunch was not ideal, because I was feeding the kids pizza, trying to keep the dogs from eating the pizza, and throwing stuff into the crockpot for dinner for the week. I ended up eating 2 slices of turkey (again, no sugar added...you'd be surprised what they put in lunch meat!), a tsp of almond butter, and some fruit salad I had left over from a BBQ I had on Saturday. For dinner I had a hamburger with guacamole on top, a hot dog (again, it's critical to find hotdogs without sugar and that have no nitrates or nitrites added. I buy either Applegate Farms or online from U.S. Wellness Meats. I also buy my sugar-free bacon from them.) I put Dijon mustard (without white wine) and sauerkraut on top, and I also baked a sweet potato in the microwave and ate it with some coconut oil on top, because I was out of Ghee. To bake the sweet potato, poke some holes in it with a fork, put it on paper towel on a microwave-safe plate, and microwave for 8-10 minutes on high, depending on how big it is. This was my favorite go-to meal during my 1st Whole30. I get home late from work most nights and, if I didn't have anything already prepared, I could throw this together in no more time than it takes to bake the potato. Plus, it's filling, compliant, and delicious!

Yesterday I did some cooking for the week, which makes my life SO much easier. I borrowed all of these recipes from a friend's blog, with some modifications. For breakfast this morning I had a breakfast casserole, which I made last night. Here's the recipe from my friend's blog with my modifications included...SO easy and good!

Ingredients:
olive oil (1-2 TBSP)
roasted red pepper (2 jars) I used 1/2 of a 28 oz can
mushrooms (1-2 packages, pre-sliced) I used 1 package of unsliced and sliced them, because it's what I had
onions (1, sliced)
asparagus (1 bunch)
eggs (12) I used 14
oregano
basil
salt
pepper
cayenne
tomatoes (2 large, sliced)
fresh basil leaves

Grease a lasagna pan with olive oil. Layer veggies (except tomatoes). Beat eggs with spices and pour over veggies evenly. Place sliced tomatoes on top. Sprinkle with more pepper and cayenne (don't do too much salt). Chop basil leaves and layer on top. Bake in 375-degree oven until baked thoroughly (at least 30 min). I baked mine for 50 minutes.


For lunch I defrosted a piece of chicken with 40 cloves of garlic (recipe to follow), shredded it (because when I made it I didn't pound the chicken breasts and eating them grossed me out...too thick), and mixed it with some vegetables I'd roasted last night. I also had some leftover fruit salad. Roasting veggies is the best thing I learned how to do in April (I told you, I don't cook.) Chop up whatever you have/like, drizzle with some olive oil and seasonings (yesterday I did salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder), bake on 425 for 20-25 minutes and then broil on low for 5 minutes, watching to make sure they don't burn. Yum!

Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic

40 garlic cloves, peeled
4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts or 1 whole chicken
1 large onion, sliced
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 cup chicken broth
3 TB lemon juice
2 TB lemon zest
2 TB minced fresh parsley
2 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
Dash crushed red pepper flakes


Line the bottom of the slow cooker with garlic and then onions. Add the chicken and sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Combine the remaining ingredients & pour over chicken. Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours.
Sorry, no picture...I know, you're sad :(

Finally, dinner was the most delicious, and the meal I'm most proud of! I was going to make my friend's recipe for chicken with artichoke hearts, sundried tomatoes and leeks, but I couldn't find sundried tomatoes without sulfites added. I also didn't really have the time to stand at the stove with 2 4-year olds and 3 dogs running around, plus, it was a holiday and I was tired and lazy. Instead, I did a variation of a chicken taco chili I used to make (not Whole30 compliant.) I dumped a 28 oz can of roasted sweet red peppers (not drained), a can of artichoke hearts (not drained) and a can of black olives (drained) in the crock pot. My goal is life is to only cook by dumping raw things in a crockpot. I cut the peppers and artichoke hearts into smaller chunks with a scissor. I then put 3 chicken breasts on top and seasoned them with salt, pepper and Italian seasoning. I cooked it on high for 6 hours (you can do low for 10 hours too.) When it was done, I shredded the chicken. OMG, SO good!!!! I will definitely be making this often...super easy and magically delicious!



OK, this post is VERY long, and I said that I wasn't going to talk about what I ate, but about how I feel. Well, yesterday I felt happy, excited and in control. Today I feel in control, a little hungry (because I didn't eat enough for lunch) and I have a bad headache. Funny, I had a headache on Day 2 of my first Whole30 as well, and it was the only negative aspect of the whole thing. Hoping it's the same this time!