Whole30 Challenge: Day 30
Thurs, March 30th
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.
MORNING THOUGHTS:
First, I'd like to congratulate hubs and me for making it to our FINAL DAY on Whole30!!! I'm about as happy as Elf on Christmas Day!
GIF compliments of GIPHY.com
Following suit from yesterday, once again, you will be blessed with one-too-many GIFs. I'm sure you've come to expect it by now. You know how I like a good victory dance (or "victory walk" in this case)... For tradition's sake... Final Day = Final Dance....
GIF compliments of GIPHY.com
It hasn't always been an easy road this past month, but I can say it's been worth it. I'll be making one final post in our "FINALE: Life After Whole30" just to summarize some of my last thoughts, results, and also a chart to show how various factors (like sugar cravings, mood, energy, etc.) have increased or decreased for me over the month.
Will I continue doing Whole30? We both plan on eating healthier from this point forward, but also letting ourselves occasionally enjoy the finer things in life... aka the occasional Cookout M&M/Oreo Milkshake. Will we have one tomorrow...? I would say the answer to that question is... there is likely a rather high probability....
GIF compliments of GIPHY.com
Ok let's be real, we both will be hitting up our closest Cookout first thing tomorrow morning... Milkshakes for breakfast for everyone!! (I'm sure we will both be feeling the consequences of that decision shortly after...) The funny thing is, I'm not really craving a milkshake or really any sugary goodness like I used to, but since I promised hubs, hubs gets what hubs wants... ;) Now will we continue our twice-a-week (or more) milkshake fixes? I'd like to say not. I'm pretty confident that these new changes have not only opened our eyes to a new perspective on food but have some lasting effects on the types of foods we put into our bodies on a daily basis. "All in moderation" my friends... everyone has heard that familiar tune one-too-many times, but finally we will strive to make it a daily motto in our lives.
BREAKFAST:
For breakfast, I made a breakfast scramble complete with eggs, green peppers, tomatoes, sweet onions, green onions, and for good measure, the last of the beef jerky (aka the filet that hubs "slightly" overcooked as noted from Hubby Takeover Tuesday (Day 28)...). Of course we had a side of sliced avocado with the last of our small trees.
I decided it was time to go out with a bang so I also made our favorite Whole30 Seasoned Potatoes (click link for recipe), topped with green onions. This was quite the filling breakfast and everything tasted pretty darn good in both of our books.
MID-MORNING THOUGHTS:
I don't even know what to do with myself... I have all this tiger blood running through me... (See Day 1 and Day 27 for clarification on "Tiger Blood".)
GIF compliments of GIPHY.com
Maybe I'll go for my first run of the year today...
LUNCH:
I twisted hubs' arm to come back for lunch to enjoy one last Whole30 lunch creation. It wasn't that tough to talk him into it...
Looking in our fridge, I decided to make the most of our remaining odds and ends so declared it was a Whole30 Cobb Salad type of day. Luckily for me, most of the ingredients were already cleaned, cut and ready to go, so all I had to do was make the dressing. We switched up the dressing this time to try something new. I discovered a Whole30 Buffalo Ranch dressing recipe from Paleo Running Momma which I'm including below. She provided two options for the recipe (a mayo version and a coconut milk version), both are given below.
We enjoyed our salad, complete with Whole30-approved bacon, hard-boiled eggs, avocado, chicken breasts, tomatoes, and green peppers (since we were out of cucumbers), served on mixed greens.
TASTE TEST: The salad was tasty, and we gobbled it up with little to spare. We tried the Mayo version of the salad dressing. It was quite good, but a little thick for dressing. If I would make it again, I'd add a little liquid (possibly either red or white wine vinegar or a little olive oil) to make it more pourable. I'd like to try the Coconut Milk version next time though.
Whole30 Cobb Salad
SALAD INGREDIENTS:
3 cups mixed salad greens or fresh baby spinach
4-5 slices Whole30-approved nitrate free, sugar-free bacon, cooked and crumbled (We used Pederson's bacon)
chicken breasts, chopped
2 hardboiled eggs, sliced or chopped
½ cup chopped and peeled cucumbers (We used green peppers instead)
½ cup cherry tomatoes, chopped
½ avocado, sliced or chopped
green onion, sliced thinly (for garnish)
DRESSING INGREDIENTS:
Buffalo Ranch - Mayo Version
½ cup homemade mayo or Avocado Oil Mayo
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
½ tsp dried dill
½ tsp smoked paprika
½ tsp dried chives (optional)
2 tsp to 1 tbsp Whole30-approved hot sauce (We used Frank's Red Hot Sauce)
Buffalo Ranch - Coconut Milk Version
½ cup full-fat canned coconut milk (blend it first so it's smooth and creamy)
1 tsp brown mustard
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
⅛ tsp salt
2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
½ tsp dried dill
½ tsp smoked paprika
½ tsp dried chives
2 tsp to 1 tbsp Whole30-approved hot sauce (We used Frank's Red Hot Sauce)
STEPS:
Prepare and chop ingredients for salad. Wait to slice the avocado until you are ready to serve so it doesn't turn brown. (You can also chop the salad greens if you prefer.)
To prepare the dressing, whisk together all the ingredients for the dressing in a medium bowl until fully combined.
Assemble all the salad ingredients (slice and assemble the avocado last to avoid a brown avocado), and garnish with green onion.
Serve with the dressing on the side, or spoon the dressing on right before serving to toss with the salad. The dressing will be very creamy either way.
NOTE:
Store leftover dressing in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Enjoy!
SNACK:
Our last day wouldn't be complete without one final Whole30 snack... Since I just remembered I'd be stepping on the scale tomorrow, I decided to go easy on the snack.... hardboiled egg and raw veggies it is. #snackingcomesfullcircle
MID-AFTERNOON THOUGHTS:
Update on the run... it didn't happen. It was the thought that counts, right?! Better luck tomorrow. Since we both haven't exerted any physical energy in terms of exercise this month, we decided to keep the healthy lifestyle change tradition going by slowly implementing exercise back into our lives... #babysteps
GIF compliments of GIPHY.com
No marathons anytime soon, as our style is a little more like this...
GIF compliments of GIPHY.com
Kidding (obviously). Thinking about hubs prancing around in spandex leotards is giving me a chuckle though... (and a potential nightmare...)
I will say researching some gyms in the area is on the list of things to do next week. Now that the weather is finally nice again, I think we'll both be spending more time outdoors so that run may be more of a reality sooner than I think.
DINNER:
So the "plan" was to go BIG or go home on our last day of Whole30, by cooking 3 meals and 3 new recipes, but life happened and we decided to take the unplanned route instead. One of my many hobbies is repurposing furniture, and I happened to land a great deal with a super cute pedestal table with 4 chairs for $40 which I just couldn't pass up. I had great intentions, but the $40 table/chairs were calling my name... Luckily hubs knows how to go with the flow so he was on board with this plan.
GIF compliments of GIPHY.com
Since I have no pictures to show of dinner tonight, I'll try to compensate with one more "dinner-time" picture... Btw, my timing for these furniture deals seems to be impeccable (along with my A+ measurement estimation skills), so naturally it was down-pouring by the time we left to pick up the table, and naturally my measuring was off by a hair (less than 1" to be exact), so the table would no longer fit nicely into my SUV as originally planned. Have no fear, armed with moving blankets, ties and bungie cords, hubs came to the rescue. I'm proud to say, the table and chairs made it back to our home, unscathed and with no water damage, despite driving with an open trunk. Not sure if that was entirely legal, but we made it work!
Apparently I had tiger blood still flowing steadily, as I was able to redo the table (sand, paint, stain, and wax) all in a day's time. See Exhibit A. I'll be adding this little gem to a future tutorial post which you can find in my Furniture Makeovers section. Here is a preview to get you by for now.
Exhibit A:
To tease your tastebuds just a little, we were planning on making Whole30 Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps with Whole30 Piña Colada Coleslaw. But because of this unexpected detour and in the interest of going to bed in a somewhat timely manner, we opted for a final Whole30 hodge podge to make use of our remaining leftovers. We still plan on making this in the next few days, just not tonight. IF we get overly ambitious and decide to go for a victory lap, I may post not one, but TWO recipes with pictures in my final Whole30 post, FINALE: Life after Whole30. #Whole30infomercial
For tradition's sake, it wouldn't be the end of Whole30 without one last rendezvous with the infamous almond butter... #4jarsdown #serioussnackingskills
Though I would not recommend replicating my snacking habits, I am thankful for almond butter to help me through and have realized my overall tendency to snack has decreased in my last days of Whole30. #minivictory
Thank you for being a part of our Whole30 journey! Hope you were able to find what you were looking for, whether that involved new recipes, inspiration, encouragement, or a few laughs at our expense. :) If you've completed your own Whole30, many congrats to you! Would love to hear how your Whole30 experience was along with any tips, tricks, or favorite recipes along the way!
GIF compliments of GIPHY.com
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