Whole30 Challenge: Day 9

Thurs, March 9th

DISCLAIMER:

If you haven't already read my disclaimer, please click the link HERE from Day 1 of our challenge. As with any lifestyle or dietary change, if you have any questions or concerns, be sure to discuss them with your physician. Also check out the Whole30 website for specifics and additional info.

PRE-BREAKFAST:

Morning thoughts: First, I wanted to let you know, that after eating the 4+ day old chicken, I came out unscathed. I do promise to eat food in a more timely manner from here on out though...

Second, Apparently WHOLE30 is really on my brain as this is the second dream I've had about it this week...

BREAKFAST:

For breakfast, I wanted to utilize the power greens that were 2 days short of being tossed out, so smoothie it is!

Whole30 Shelby Smoothie 2

In this smoothie I included the following:

• 1/2 avocado

• 1/2 banana

• 1 cup frozen berries (raspberries, blackberries, blueberries)

• 6 fresh strawberries

• 1 fresh pineapple ring (about 1/8 cup of pineapple)

• 1 kiwi

• 1 tablespoon goji berries

• 1 tablespoon chia seeds

• 1 cup power greens

• water (to help it mix better)

To see my other Smoothie recipe along with ideas of other ingredients, check out the Weekend Recap (smoothie shown in Saturday breakfast section of Weekend Recap).

TASTE TEST: Fruity and tasty. I couldn't even taste the power greens. The goji berries make it a little tart, but still good!

MID-MORNING:

Warning: Overshare/TMI: So the incognito gremlin made a detour to my ovaries this morning, but to be honest, I'd rather have him wrecking havoc on my insides than my blog, so I'll take one for the team. Being that lovely time of the month and not being able to have my normal chocolate stash nearby, Hubs played it extra smart by surprising me with a bag of Lara bars to throw at me in case the gremlin started to growl...

In case you didn't read Day 6, I'll fill in the gaps by catching you up quickly (aka Hubs needed to find Whole30-compliant substitutes for chocolate...) See exhibit A below:

Thanks again Mom for the coasters! I think there's a bit of truth in them...

LUNCH:

For lunch, I held true to my promise of eating food in a more timely manner by finishing off the C-List chicken tenders from the night before.

I also munched on some sugar snap peas, grape tomatoes and discovered a new favorite combo, thanks to Ginny! Before I reveal the big secret, quick backstory.

I'll admit, when she first told me this was her favorite snack while on the Whole30, I found it a little hard to believe as I've never really been a fan of apricots or almonds. I decided to take her word for it and give it a shot as I'll try (almost) anything once.

Turns out, this combo is DELICIOUS! I suggest you eat both of them together to get the surprisingly apricota-almondeliciousness taste, as you won't get this if you just eat one at a time. Genius.

GIF compliments of GIPHY.com

DINNER:

Now I'll admit...I've never actually cooked a hamburger before, but I liked the idea of it so I thought I'd give it the ol' college try. I looked up a few recipes in various cookbooks, got the basic idea, and decided to merge a few ideas and make my own version of one that would be Whole30 compliant and have a little twist. Hello World, Meet the Whole30 Jalapeño Avocado Bacon Burger, with special sauce (aka sidekick spicy mayo with a kick).

For whatever reason G Love and Special Sauce just came to mind...I digress. Not sure that was worth it...

Back to basics. Since I have the "go-big or go-home" attitude whenever I try anything new, I decided to really take it up a few notches by also adding an egg, bacon, grilled onions and avocado to this already larger-than-life size burger.

TASTE TEST: I would say this was probably one of my top 3 favorite Whole30 meals I've had to date. For whatever reason I had quite the healthy appetite and am somewhat embarrassed to admit, I ate the whole thing! #nomnomnom...

GIF compliments of GIPHY.com

Hopefully I didn't look quite like that... I do feel like I'm eating way more now on the Whole30 than I ever did before, but I'm going to keep it up! The sauce has a little kick, but I thought it was a nice touch to the burger. The potatoes were simple, yet quite tasty as well.

Whole30 Jalapeño Avocado Bacon Burger

SERVINGS: 6-8 burgers, depending on size

INGREDIENTS: Jalapeño Burger

• 1 1/2 to 2 pounds ground beef (or ground bison)

• 1 small onion, chopped

• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped

• 1 teaspoon lime juice

• 1 tablespoon chopped seeded jalapeño

• 1 teaspoon Everyday Spice Blend (or favorite Whole30 seasoning)

• 1 teaspoon sea salt

• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Optional Accompaniments:

• bibb lettuce leaves

• 1/4 avocado (per burger)

• grilled onion

• egg, pan fried

• bacon, cooked (Pederson's uncured, no sugar added hickory smoked bacon)

• Clausen pickle

• tomato slices (not pictured)

STEPS: Jalapeño Burger

1. Combine all ingredients in bowl. Mix together with hands.

2. Form into patties that are 1/2 to 3/4-inch thick.

3. Cook bacon, egg, and grilled onions if using.

4. You can either grill, pan grill, or bake the burgers in the oven. Make sure meat is well-cooked and has an internal temperature that measures 160°F.

• To grill/pan grill: Spray grill or grill pan with Avocado Oil spray or use Avocado Oil or Olive Oil. Grill burgers 5-7 minutes per side, depending on desired level of doneness.

• To bake burgers: Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake for 10 minutes, then flip burgers and bake for 10-15 minutes more, depending on desired level of doneness.

5. Place burger on bibb lettuce leaf and top with desired accompaniments: egg, avocado, tomato slice, bacon, grilled onions, Clausen pickle, and special sauce.

Whole30 Jalapeño Burger Special Sauce

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/4 cup mayonnaise

• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

• 2 green onions, finely chopped

• 1/8 cup chopped fresh cilantro

• 1 teaspoon seeded jalapeño, minced

• 1/2 teaspoon Frank's Red Hot Sauce

• sea salt, to taste

• pepper, to taste

STEPS:

1. Combine all ingredients together in bowl to blend.

2. Drizzle over burger.

Note: This burger recipe version was adapted from various recipe ideas, with the main reference from epicurious. Click here to see the original recipe.

Whole30 Seasoned Potatoes

SERVINGS: 5-8, depending on serving size

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 large potatoes

• 2-3 tablespoons olive oil (or avocado oil)

• 1/4 onion, chopped

• 1/4 cup bell pepper, chopped

• 1 garlic clove

• Everyday Spice Blend (or your favorite Whole30 blend)

• sea salt, to taste

• pepper, to taste

OPTIONAL INGREDIENTS:

• 2 green onions, finely chopped

• 2 tablespoons parsley, chopped

STEPS:

1. Cook potatoes and cut into 1-inch cubes. (Note: I leave the peeling on.)

2. Heat oil in pan over medium heat.

3. Sauté onions, garlic, and bell pepper.

4. Add potatoes and cook until lightly browned and slightly crisp.

5. Season with salt, pepper, and Every Day Seasoning (or your favorite Whole30 seasoning blend). Then add green onions and parsley if desired and cook for another 1-2 minutes, stirring occasionally.

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