My Paleo Diary… #Whole30 Days 13 - 19

If you want to read about the reasons I am doing this Whole30 Challenge and my recaps prior to this one you can find them here:

And So It Begins
My Paleo Diary – Whole30 Days 1 – 5
My Paleo Diary – Whole30 Days 6 - 12

My goal this week was to spend less time in the kitchen inventing new recipes so that I could spend more time working out.  The first part happened but the second did not.

I was not feeling well when I woke up on Monday morning, Day 14.  My head felt a bit ‘off’ and I had a sensation of my whole body being tilted to the left.  It was enough to make me feel a bit nauseus so after breakfast I laid down and slept till noon.  Then I slept for a few hours again after lunch and then when I did go to bed at 11p.m., I slept soundly all night long.

I must thank The Captain for getting the thawed Christmas turkey carcass into the crockpot on Tuesday morning and making a nice new batch of homemade turkey broth. And also for cleaning up and storing the broth. I do appreciate his taking over and doing that job.

I woke up feeling only a bit better on Wednesday morning, but managed to go out grocery shopping with The Captain.  After lunch I had a nap for a couple of hours.  When I got up I was hungry and the first bite into my snack broke one of my left lower teeth…. it is a molar that has a large filling in it and I broke off one of the inside corners.  It must have been cracked.  So far there has been no pain and I am seeing my dentist in a couple more days.  I have been putting off going and now I have no choice. 

Thursday I worked all day and into the evening, and on Friday morning I woke up feeling very weak with a sore throat and a bit of earache.  Yuck.  Ditto Saturday and with a runny nose.  Double yuck.
Thank goodness we had some things in the freezer to fall back on for this week’s eats… chili, cooked turkey breast, a couple of different soups.  This is how the week’s meals went:

Breakfasts

Still eating eggs every morning. I know that the protein in the eggs keeps me going easily till noon and I do just really like them. It's almost starting to feel like a security blanket.

I made a variation of my Sweet Potato and Flax EggCakes using a leftover cooked Carnival Squash, and it was fabulous.  I also put some cooked onion and salt and pepper into the mix and that really enhanced the flavor of the sweet squash. I was surprised at how much it puffed up as it cooked.

I have also eaten banana omelets and other assorted egg and veggie scrambles.  And I made Egg Foo Yung one morning with some of the turkey breast and a bit of cabbage slaw. 

I often have half a navel orange with my breakfast.

Lunches

Since I found the coconut aminos I can make one of my favorite salads that my friend Kate nicknamed Crunch Lunch. This time I used a cabbage slaw mix instead of broccoli slaw, and added a few rasisins. It has chunks of baked chicken breast and slivered almonds too.  I changed up the dressing a bit… I  made it with coconut aminos, white vinegar, minced garlic and shredded ginger root.  Lovely.



I have also been eating green veggie salads with  or baked chicken on them. One day I mixed a can of sardines with dijon mustard, chopped onion and chopped red pepper... tasty but a bit dry.   I have been enjoying my Curried Coconut Butternut Squash and Carrot Soup…. and I also came up with a new one I call Curried Butternut Squash and Chicken Soup… lovely.

Dinners

I revamped one of our old favorites called Prawn Curry Over Avocado and we enjoyed it without the sugar and without the sauce being thickened with cornstarch… amazing what you don’t miss. I made it with coconut oil instead of canola and I had mine on a bed of Cauliflower Paleo Rice.  So tasty. And yes, the sauce is quite green.

A couple of  night we thawed out some cooked turkey breast that was in the freezer.  I had mine with some carrots and roasted kabocha squash.  And the night I was not feeling well, I had a bowl of soup and some turkey breast alongside. Simple, but filling and very good.

The day I worked, I had an early dinner of leftover Beanless Paleo Beef Chili over leftover roasted kabocha squash and thoroughly enjoyed it. Did you know that you can eat the skin on the kabocha squash cause it is very thin and gets soft in the roasting?

On Friday night The Captain made me up a mess of yam ‘fries’ to have with a wild Pacific salmon patty, and on Saturday I miked a piece of spaghetti squash and smothered it with a tomato-based veggie sauce full of peppers, onions, zucchini and garlic,  and slivers of baked chicken breast.

Snacks

Kale Chips with my Homemade Balsamic Ketchup are always a big favorite in the afternoon. I don't even miss the parmesan cheese.  Lots of freshly ground sea salt instead.

And I like to have a few cashews or almonds with raisins… or a  sliced apple with cinnamon and almond butter, too. 

Observations

I have come to realize that not every dinner needs to be a feast for the eyes and the belly.  Sometimes you have just need to get something to eat. I make things more complicated than they need to be because I like things to look great as well as taste good. 

My fingernails have gotten really strong since I have been on this food plan. They do tend to grow quickly, but they seem very thick and hard right now.

I have always been a good sleeper but I am sleeping very deeply these days. I am not sure if that is because I am somewhat under the weather, or if it is attributable to the food. Normally when I nap I don't sleep well at night...  I haven’t had any leg cramps at all during the night, either. Nice bonus.

Exercise and Workouts

Almost nothing.  I got in a walk on Sunday and a great long kettlebell workout on Monday, and since then have done no exercise.  After being on my feet for about 10 hours on Thursday, I am giving in to my body’s need for rest to shake this bug.  I really hope I am back on track and able to workout very soon. Mentally I feel like a wimp... physically I know I am doing the right thing.

Other Thoughts

I need to make some more ketchup.

I want to try to make some Whole30 approved mayonnaise.  I don't eat a lot of it and have eaten none since being on this challenge, but I can see that any I make would be better for us than any I might purchase in the future.

I want to make some coconut manna.

And, I am going to make some of Gabby's Sweet Potato Bites.  I had hoped to do it today but didn't get to it and so maybe tomorrow.

I have been thinking a lot, cause I have had so much time on my hands this week, about what is going to happen on Day 31 and beyond.   I think that the Whole30 Program is a wonderful way to be introduced to the Paleo way of eating.  I also  think it is likely know that I will not want to be this strict with my choices all of the time.  I can see myself enjoying almond meal breads and cookies occasionally, along with coconut crepes and I must say, I do miss protein powder pancakes! Oh and is anyone still bottling red wine anywhere?

I am going to give this a lot more thought over the next week or two, and keep reading about how and when to add different foods back to my diet. I know that gluten is out... but ALL grains?  Likely.  Sugar?  Yes, I know it is bad, but on occasion?  I am not sure about dairy and I am not sure about legumes. I need to do more research.

I found this book at the library today when I ventured out for a short while, and I am already planning to try some of the Paleo recipes that are not Whole30 compliant – yes, there IS a difference. 

Recipes

Sweet Potato and Flax EggCakes
Egg Foo Yung
Crunch Lunch
Curried Butternut Squash and Chicken Soup
Curried Coconut Butternut Squash and Carrot Soup
Homemade Turkey Broth
Beanless Paleo Beef Chili
Prawn Curry Over Avocado
Kale Chips
Homemade Balsamic Ketchup