Hello and happy Monday!

I hope you all had a fabulous weekend.  While my weekends usually go by lickity split, this weekend actually seemed a bit long.  Not quite sure why, but I’m not complaining!

I feel like I was able to fit a lot of different activities into the weekend…maybe that’s why it seemed long! Friday night I went to dinner with friends (don’t worry, I made sure to stick to my Whole30 compliant foods!) I roasted up some cashews and made some cashew butter (that stuff is addicting!) I made homemade mayonnaise! Now, I am normally not a mayo lover…literally I NEVER eat it, but I found this recipe for “Fail Proof Homemade Mayo” from The Healthy Foodie AND it was Whole 30 compliant.  It looked too good NOT to try… It was good, but tasted a little “olive oily.”  So, if you are looking to make your own, I would recommend following the instructions and purchasing a lighter olive oil than extra virgin. The homemade mayo was an excellent addition to my lunch salmon salad. And Brian loved it in his chicken salad. We also had a small fire in our microwave…oops! It was a great weekend, and I feel ready to tackle the week. Speaking of this week, this is the THIRD week of my Whole 30 Challenge.

Whole 30 Week 3 Review

I honestly cannot believe how close I am to the final day of my Whole 30.

It really has not been as difficult as I had anticipated it to be.  I feel as though I am getting more creative in the kitchen, paying attention to hunger cues, and I know I am getting nutritious foods in my body all the time.

According to the Whole 30 timeline, this past week I was supposed to feel like I had “boundless energy” and some cravings were supposed to creep back into my mind (even in my dreams!).  Honestly, considering I am a pretty high energy person I really felt like my normal high energy self this week!  I was up late a couple of nights, which made it harder for me to get up in the morning but that is to be expected no matter what your diet is (right?).

In the craving department, I wouldn’t say I had cravings so much as I missed the idea of baking for other people (it would be hard for me not to sample while I cook!) and enjoying a glass of wine on the weekend.

Now is also the time I should start thinking about what I will do AFTER the Whole 30, and honestly I am not quite sure!  I have thought about reintroducing grains, dairy, and legumes separately to see how my body reacts but I think I need to do a little more research first.  I really have enjoyed this way of eating and I can see myself eating like this after the challenge, but allowing treats sometimes 🙂

What do I have to look forward to this week?  Being really bored with my food!  Luckily, when I like something I can eat it all the time (hello overnight oats and smoothies!) and I have most of my food prepped for the week already, so that leaves nothing to even think about.

Check out my Whole 30 journal and eats below:

Day 13

• Woke up a little bit tired, but I stayed up later than usual the past three nights.   I think it caught up to me.
• Was very hungry upon waking.
• Felt a little tired throughout the day, again I think it is because I stayed up later.
• Felt strong during my workouts.

Day 14

• Felt good today.
• Muscles were very sore from my hard workouts!

Day 15

• Made it HALF WAY!!!
• Lots of energy
• Very hungry for breakfast and dinner…not super hungry for lunch but I still ate it all.
• Very thirsty all day.

Day 16

• Felt normal when I woke up-may have woken up once in the middle of the night, but I can’t really remember.
• Was very hungry upon waking.
• Tired at the end of the day…this was a LONG day at work!

Day 17

• Again, felt normal 🙂
• Didn’t drink much water in the morning and started to get a headache.  Luckily, it went away after I drank some water.
• Snacked on almond butter after work.
• Went out to dinner with friends and ordered a salad with vinegar on the side for the dressing and salmon on top.  It was tasty, but I wish I could have had the sushi everyone else was enjoying.

Day 18

• Was very “snacky” today and sampled some of the raw nuts I brought home from the grocery store.
• Other than being snacky, I felt pretty normal.
• Was REALLY in the mood for baking…

Day 19

• Woke up feeling tired, but as soon as I started moving around and ate breakfast I felt more like myself.
• Was starving for breakfast, so I ate a big one but I was not as hungry for lunch or dinner.
• Not necessarily craving sweets, but really craving the urge to bake and have a glass of wine 🙂

Whole 30 Week 3 Breakfasts

Big shocker here…egg scramble with veggies topped with salsa.  A bowl of fruit and homemade almond butter on the side.(my favorite!) Egg scramble with sweet potato and spinach with a side of cherries and nut butter (the nut butter is hidden under the cherries). Egg scramble with zucchini, spinach, and salmon (so good!) with a side of mango and banana with cashew butter!! (If you haven’t tried cashew butter, you must!)

Whole 30 Week 3 Lunches

This week, I kept things easy for lunch and basically had the same thing every day.  My salads included romaine and spinach, bell pepper, tomato, onion, avocado, and salmon.  For dressing I used red wine vinegar, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, and garlic.  Such a delicious combination! Salmon salad with homemade mayonnaise.

Whole 30 Week 3 Dinners

Baked cod with Averie’s Sweet Potato Zucchini Fritters. Leftovers of last week’s crock pot meal with fish. Probably my favorite meal of all:  Sweet potato nachos! Another crock pot meal!  This week’s crock pot meal was almost buttery tasting, even though NO butter was used in the recipe.  It was a yummy batch of water chestnuts, bean sprouts, broccoli, carrots, and shrimp all melded together in coconut milk with green curry for some flavor. I know some of you submitted questions about my experience with the Whole 30 program last week, and I am planning on answering them in a post closer to the end of the challenge.  So, if anyone has a question and hasn’t asked it yet you still have time! Ask away and have a great week!

Question of the Day:

• Share something fun about your weekend!  I’d love to hear.