Whole30: Week 3

well, things are trucking right along. it's hard to believe i've completed week 3 already! things are going... just ok. i feel pretty good, and i'm sleeping well. but the weight hasn't been melting off as easily as it did last time, which is a major bummer. weight loss was my primary motivation for doing this. so i'm feeling a little defeated this week, but trying hard to keep focused on the bigger picture -- treating my body right is more important than what the scale says. it's time, perhaps, to start thinking about my plan for staying on track long term. these whole30 spurts are helpful for refocusing and resetting, but are not meant to be maintained forever. so what will i do from here? not sure...

i've read some blogs about people who have chosen to eat whole30-approved meals 80% of the time. or have eaten whole30 during the week, but allowed some wiggle room on the weekends. or something similar. however, i'm not sure if i'm responsible enough for that. the reason whole30 works for me is because i'm so good at following rules! if you give me a hard-and-fast rule, i will follow it. it's just how i'm wired. but if you give me too much freedom and wiggle room, i'll often make bad choices. so again, i ask myself, what will i do from here? still working to answer that.

in happier news, my fantastic husband bought me a food dehydrator as an early valentine's day gift! :-) :-) :-) can't wait to give dried apples another try!

here's this past week's menu. some very tasty recipes! although, looking back over it, way too many potatoes. potatoes are a-okay on whole30, but all things in moderation, right? so this week i'm shooting for fewer potatoes and more greens!

DAY 15
breakfast: sweet potato and sausage breakfast casserole
lunch: leftover shepherds pie and 2 clementines
snack: larabar
dinner: creamy crockpot chicken tomato soup over kale (a surprising hit... even with my husband!) and an apple

DAY 16
breakfast: sweet potato and sausage breakfast casserole
lunch: leftover creamy chicken and tomato soup over kale
snack: larabar and almonds
dinner: salted mocha sliders on sweet potato "buns" and roasted broccoli (oh you know, only the best meal EVER.)

DAY 17
breakfast: sweet potato and sausage breakfast casserole
lunch: leftover salted mocha burger, sweet potatoes, and broccoli
snack: larabar and almonds
dinner: sausage, apple, and sweet potato scramble (i mostly followed this recipe, but used adeile's chicken apple sausage instead of ham)
if you're paying attention, you'll notice that i ate sweet potatoes for every meal on this deal. whoops! it was kind of an accident... maybe my affection for sweet potatoes is what is keeping me from losing weight. :-)

DAY 18
breakfast: leftover creamy chicken and tomato soup over kale (yeah, soup for breakfast. i needed a break from sweet potato casserole!)
lunch: leftover sausage, apple, and sweet potato scramble
snack: dried mango
dinner: coconut-crusted chicken and salad (i mostly followed this recipe, but substituted almond flour and unsweetened coconut. also, forgot to take a picture. see Day 19.)

DAY 19
breakfast: apple and almond butter
lunch: 2 clementines and almond
snack: dried mango
dinner: coconut-crusted chicken and cauliflower "rice"
i was feeling under the weather this day. stayed home from work to rest and had very little appetite. only ate about half of what is shown in the picture below.

 
DAY 20
breakfast: sweet potato and sausage breakfast casserole
lunch: leftover coconut-crusted chicken and cauliflower "rice"
snack: almonds and dates
dinner: spicy chicken bites with marinara sauce and salad

DAY 21
breakfast: sweet potato and sausage breakfast casserole (ARE WE FINISHED WITH THIS STUFF ALREADY?! i'm so sick of it, but can't bring myself to throw it away.)
lunch: leftover spicy chicken bites and salad
snack: clementines and almonds
dinner: hamburger soup