Whole30 Week 1 - Thoughts

I'm on day 8 now and I'm feeling pretty good.

Week 1 Takeaways:

• Almond butter is DELICIOUS. Why hadn't I tried it before?? Trader Joe's has a good price.
• Sweet potato toast has potential but I haven't figured out the best way to do it yet. It's too hard (yuck) or gets stuck in the super hot toaster (ouch).
• Going out to eat is hard. I decided I don't care if there are hidden no-no's in my entree. I don't want to question every single detail of a menu item only to find out that I can't eat anything at all. 
• I feel skinnier.
• I don't crave anything in particular but I do miss having easier options. Although my husband toasted a bagel the other day and it smelled SO GOOD.
• I feel like I'm eating too much meat and miss tofu and chickpeas as good protein options.
• I haven't done any big meal planning for this week but I still have compliant proteins, veggies, and other things on hand. I'm going out to eat tonight with a friend but there's a paleo option on the menu, and tomorrow we're going to try broiling a flank steak.

Starting my first Whole30. This is my plan for the first six days.

Reasons I'm doing a Whole30:

1. We've been eating somewhat unhealthily and drinking a fair amount of alcohol. Not a lot at once, just a drink or two most nights. 
2. We just finished moving from one state to another (about a 7 hour drive), which means lots of road trip eating. Burgers, fries, chips, candy, etc. Our moms and my grandmother are also planning on moving and have spent some time staying with us off and on, so we've been accommodating other peoples' tastes and booze preferences.
3. I'd like to feel less bloated.
4. I'd like to lose a couple pounds.
5. I'd like brighter skin.
6. I'm curious if I have any food intolerance.
7. I want a challenge.
8. I've been wanting to do it for a couple months, but thought I should wait until we were done moving and not living with my mother-in-law anymore. The time is here!

Reasons this might be a terrible idea:

1. My husband isn't going to do it with me, so there will still be sugar and alcohol and junk food in the house. (Luckily he doesn't go too crazy with it).
2. I just started a Ph.D. in Special Education and so if it makes me hangry and cranky, I'll have to be really good at hiding it from my classmates and professors.

I will try to document my Whole30 here in case I want to do it again. But this might go by the wayside once I really dive into the PhD program. We shall see!

I figure I can have simple routines for breakfasts and lunches as long as I have interesting dinners to look forward to. Here's my plan for the first few days:

Breakfasts: veggies, sausage, and eggs. I'm sure I'll get sick of this, but I'll try to switch out the types of veggies and swap sweet potatoes for the eggs or the sausage. I also bought a couple different kinds of sausages (Aidell's Chicken Apple, and two Trader Joe's chicken sausages with no sugar or additives).

Lunches: leftovers or a salad with pre cooked meat (such as canned tuna, smoked salmon from Trader Joe's, or the sirloin from TJ's)

Snacks: Apples, bananas, or celery with almond butter, carrots, almonds, raisins, etc

Dinners:

• Day 1/Tuesday: Barefoot Contessa Herb Roasted Fish with Roasted Cauliflower Steaks  (but I'll use ghee instead of butter, and walnuts because that's what I have on hand). Maybe a salad or one other veggie.
• Day 2/Wednesday:  Grilled Mahi Mahi and Asparagus with Oranges and Sesame Seeds (but I'll use coconut aminos instead of soy sauce)
• Day 3/Thursday: Yellow coconut curry (chicken instead of tofu, Costco chicken stock instead of veggie stock, spices instead of chili garlic sauce) with riced cauliflower.
• Day 4/Friday: Turkey "taco" salad. I'm thinking I'll saute ground turkey with these taco seasonings and put it on top of romaine lettuce with salsa, guacamole, onions, radishes--anything that sounds good.  Hubby can always add tortillas if he's so inclined.
• Day 5/Saturday:  Fiesta Red Snapper with potatoes and maybe another veggie or salad.
• Day 6/Sunday: a big veggie soup with any leftover veggies and some canned tomatoes and green beans, Costco chicken stock, dill, bay leaf, maybe leftover protein depending on what we have available

I just spent a ton of time and money at Trader Joe's, Walmart, and Raley's. I would've gone to Costco too but they're closed for Labor Day. Unfortunately I couldn't find the frozen Mahi Mahi so I'm planning on buying the fish for Tuesday and Weds on Tuesday. Saturday's fish, I'll probably defrost some cod we have in the freezer. I made some ghee using this recipe and bought the Primal Kitchen Mayo and some Tessemae's salad dressings (super expensive, but I like having condiments on hand.) I put a basket in the pantry just for Whole30 compliant things like tabasco, coconut aminos, etc. Hopefully these things will set me up for success!

Have you done a Whole30? How did it go? What were your go-to recipes and snacks?