Whole30: Days 8-12

It’s so hard to believe a week has gone by! I feel like I’ve been doing this forever, and that’s a good thing! I’ve been super busy and house sitting, so here are the past 4 days wrapped up together:

Eating this way is truly starting to become so second nature. Sure there are still moments when I drool over the delicious smelling bread and pastries from Spring Mill Bread Co. that I get to slice and wrap all day at work, but I am feeling great, sleeping through the night, and loving all of the cooking and eating I’ve been doing.

All Day 8 I was taking a CPR/First Aid/AED certification class. We were stuck in this class room with no windows, and they were constantly turning down the lights so we could see the cheesy informational movies. Since I know I would be there for 8 hours, I brought lunch and lots of high protein snacks (no fruit since I know I have been out fruiting myself!).

The thing I was most amazed by was how much energy I had. Everyone there was going out to the vending machine during the breaks for their diet sodas and granola bars (isn’t it cute how so many people think that’s healthy?) and they all fell asleep! At some point during the class everyone fell asleep except for me! I was wired! I definitely contribute that to my high protein low carb/sugar intake. Stellar.

After the class I went to have dinner with my two best friends. They knew I was doing Whole30 so we planned to cook dinner. I snagged a bunch of produce from the “free to staff” (a.k.a. not pretty enough for people to purchase) bin and we wound up with a stir fry of onion, yellow peppers, zucchini, shiitake mushrooms, and chicken all sautéed in coconut oil and lime juice. Delish!

Cooking with the girls!

Onion, yellow pepper, zucchini, shiitake mushrooms, and chicken sautéed in coconut oil and lime juice.

Day 9 was a Friday and it’s always my busiest day at that! I taught yoga in the morning after drinking coffee with coconut milk and oil for “breakfast” (not a very good one, I know).

Then, I headed to work where I was really bad and had bananas with cashew, almond, and coconut butter along with some more coffee. Oh, and an organic coconut water!

Once I stopped back at the apartment, though, I made myself some proper food with scrambled eggs with cherry tomatoes in coconut oil and a perfectly ripe avocado on top.

After teaching, I headed back to the house I was house sitting at and made myself an even more proper dinner and cooked fish for my very first time! It turned out beautifully. I seared a tuna filet medallion (as it appeared on the package) in coconut oil with salt and pepper, accompanied by green beans I blanched and then sautéed in coconut oil and a sun dried tomato paste. Once it was plated, I squeezed a fresh lemon over the whole thing. Yum!

Seared wild caught tuna with green beans in a sun dried tomato paste paste with lemon.

Day 10 was Saturday and I woke up nice and early to go for a hike with my dear friend, Chloe. Before the hike I ate a Fields of Athenry sausage, coffee with coconut milk, and some fresh papaya with lime. I had plenty of energy for the hike, but I did feel slightly dehydrated so I snagged a smart water for some extra electrolytes.

Soon I was back at work and ate a bunch of nut butter again (I’m going to turn into a nut butter!) and some organic coconut water.

After work I headed back to the house and made myself some scrambled eggs in coconut oil with kimchi for some probiotics. It was delightfully light and filling all at the same time.

Day 11 I taught yoga in the morning, but ran out of time to have anything other than coffee with coconut milk and oil in it (I am starting to love this drink more than my usual coffee with whole milk!).

After yoga I headed back to my parents’ farm and was ravenous! I ate scrambled eggs with cherry tomatoes and a little bit of spinach.

Our sheepies at the farm!

I went out to Beans in the Belfry  with my mom and grandma for a coffee. They both got cappuccinos and I was definitely jealous as I sipped by black coffee (cafes should definitely start having coconut milk as a non-dairy option!) and they noshed on a fresh fruit cup, which I avoided, but did steal a raspberry out of.

Once we got back to the farm again, I snacked on some olives, prosciutto, and sprouted almond butter.

Dinner was amazing! (Have I mentioned my mom cooks and does menu planning for a living?) We had steaks marinated in olive oil, garlic, and salt and pepper along with some Whole30-ified okra/jalapeño cakes, and tomato salad! Amaze-balls!

Marinating steaks.

Grilling.

Beefy perfection.

Mom adapted the Okra Cakes recipe from a fabulous cookbook titled, “Cooking With Les Dames d’Escoffier: At Home with the Women Who Shape the Way We Eat and Drink.”

The original recipe.

Instead of using rice we used grated yellow squash, and instead of all purpose flour we used almond flour and a touch of arrow root.

Our Modified Whole30 Fresh Okra Cakes Recipe:

1/2 pound fresh okra, tips and stems removed, cut into 1/4-inch slices (about 2 cups)

1/2 cup sliced scallion

1/2 cup minced onion

1 clove garlic, minced

1 jalapeño seeded and minced

1/2 cup grated, salted, and drained yellow squash

3 tablespoons almond flour

1 tablespoon arrow root

1 tablespoon cilantro

2 large eggs beaten

Sesame Oil for frying

Prepping scallions.

Okra is sliced!

Ingredients mixed in a large bowl. Ours looks super yellow because we use our homegrown, free-ranged chicken eggs.

Sesame oil for frying.

Frying up some okra cakes!

Placing cakes on drying rack with paper towels before placing in the oven.

Preheat oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit. Mix ingredients in a large bowl. Heat sesame oil in skillet. Add 1-2 large spoonfuls to the skillet to create pancake of your optimal size (remember that smaller are easier to flip!). Once small bubbles begin to appear on the top and the bottom begins to brown flip your pancake. Once pancakes are browned place on cooling rack with paper towel and let it stay warm in the oven until ready to serve! Yum!

The finished products unite!

Day 12 has been a long day. Working customer service today was crazy busy. Busier than I think I have ever experienced first hand, and it didn’t help that I was hungry! Actually, more like hangry…

I had a big mug of the usual coffee with coconut milk and coconut oil as well as a big mug of beef stock for breakfast. It was a great start to the day, but when lunch time rolled around and I didn’t have time to eat and I started to get really hungry, it stunk.

I ate a bag of Gone Nuts! Rosemary Garlic Pistachios and Almonds , which totally hit the spot. I also grabbed a Cherry Pie Larabar which was great. I’d never had one before and really enjoyed the tartness to it, as opposed to the other ones which seem so heavy on the super sweet dates. Then I drank some greens with a Multi-Green GT Kombucha. A quick and easy snack-lunch that was just right.

When I got home I made pre-workout dinner. I picked up some dark meat ground turkey and cooked it with jalapeño and a bag of frozen bell peppers with a clove of garlic in coconut oil. Next thing I knew, I decided to veer away from my usual go-to tex-mex seasoning and give curry a whirl! I had a box of coconut cream that I knew would be great so I threw that in along with some curry powder, coriander, basil, and some unknown, unlabeled spice in my cupboard. Haha! I baked a sweet potato and poured that delicious turkey-curry concoction  all over it and topped it with from dehydrated flaked coconut. Winner.

Turkey Curry Sweet Potato Bowl.

So, if you made it this far into reading this post, thanks. I know it’s been a long one, but it’s been four days with some pretty awesome food. Just goes to show that on the Whole30, or any other lifestyle changing diet, you can really focus on what you are gaining versus what you may be giving up. I am so excited to see what other recipes I come up with over the next 18 days!