A Venture Into Whole 30 – Why Not?

I always vowed I would never go on a diet that didn’t allow for wine. Maybe not a LOT of wine, but wine in moderation. Life’s just better with red wine.

But here I am, at the end of Day 4 of the Whole 30 challenge. And it’s not so bad. And it’s not really a “diet”, meaning it’s not solely a weight loss plan. It’s an elimination diet for health reasons.

I was inspired by Swim Bike Mom, who had started a group on Facebook when she started Whole 30 inspiring others to train hard and eat clean. It really motivated me. I wasn’t interested in doing Whole 30 then, but I finally decided to give it a shot. This summer I had done a diet challenge contest and really liked how I felt physically and emotionally (in terms of habits) by having an external motivator to avoid added sugar and treats. After it was over, I kept losing weight by eating healthy and working out 6 days a week, and reached my goal weight. I felt awesome, but I was really sliding back into some bad habits (uh, hello – grabbing a cookie in the office kitchen every time I walked to the printer?!) and I had a few stomach aches recently. So I decided – why not? The basics are this:

Our Whole30 program, as outlined.

Eat real food – meat, seafood, eggs, tons of vegetables, some fruit, and plenty of good fats from fruits, oils, nuts and seeds. Eat foods with very few ingredients, all pronounceable ingredients, or better yet, no ingredients listed at all because they’re totally natural and unprocessed. Don’t worry… these guidelines are outlined in extensive detail in our free shopping list.

More importantly, here’s what NOT to eat during the duration of your Whole30 program. Omitting all of these foods and beverages will help you regain your healthy metabolism, reduce systemic inflammation, and help you discover how these foods are truly impacting your health, fitness and quality of life.

• Do not consume added sugar of any kind, real or artificial. No maple syrup, honey, agave nectar, coconut sugar, Splenda, Equal, Nutrasweet, xylitol, stevia, etc. Read your labels, because companies sneak sugar into products in ways you might not recognize.

• Do not consume alcohol, in any form, not even for cooking. (And it should go without saying, but no tobaccoproducts of any sort, either.)

• Do not eat grains. This includes (but is not limited to) wheat, rye, barley, oats, corn, rice, millet, bulgur, sorghum, amaranth, buckwheat, sprouted grains and all of those gluten-free pseudo-grains like quinoa. Yes, we said corn… for the purposes of this program, corn is a grain! This also includes all the ways we add wheat, corn and rice into our foods in the form of bran, germ, starch and so on. Again, read your labels.

• Do not eat legumes. This includes beans of all kinds (black, red, pinto, navy, white, kidney, lima, fava, etc.), peas, chickpeas, lentils, and peanuts. No peanut butter, either. This also includes all forms of soy – soy sauce, miso, tofu, tempeh, edamame, and all the ways we sneak soy into foods (like lecithin).

• Do not eat dairy. This includes cow, goat or sheep’s milk products such as cream, cheese (hard or soft), kefir, yogurt (even Greek), and sour cream… with the exception of clarified butter or ghee. (See below for details.)

• Do not consume carrageenan, MSG or sulfites. If these ingredients appear in any form on the label of your processed food or beverage, it’s out for the Whole30.

• Do not eat white potatoes. This is somewhat arbitrary, but if we are trying to change your habits and improve the hormonal impact of your food choices, it’s best to leave white, red, purple, Yukon gold and fingerling potatoes off your plate.

And there’s some stuff about not weighing yourself (I still am) and not creating healthier versions of junk food. It’s about breaking bad habits and resetting your brain and your body.

Believe me, I’m not a Paleo devotee – my husband has been doing the Paleo/Primal thing for a couple years, and I am not a believer that it’s the end-all be-all way to eat. I like my carbs in moderation. And I wasn’t having trouble losing weight without eliminating them. And I don’t have a lot of the issues that the Paleo and Whole30 people describe when they suggest this way of eating might help health-wise, aside from lactose intolerance. But I was already eating pretty healthily, so it didn’t seem like such a huge leap for 30 days to clean up the diet and maybe lose a few more pounds. I was mostly interested in cutting the sugar and dairy rather than the grains.

So how’s it going? Great! I’m on Day 6 and feel very good, and I haven’t had any of the issues they describe in their Timeline of how you’ll feel on this diet. None.

I’ve been having fun cooking various vegetables, and kicking the sugar habit feels good.

I won’t log my food day-by-day but here’s a sampling of what I’ve been eating while on Whole 30 during the first week:

Red Curry chicken:

Lots of fresh vegetables:

I made my Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Figs recipe, a sweet potato, and some ground beef to mix with the leftover red curry sauce:

 

Roasted cauliflower that never made it off the pan and onto the table – we all snacked on it so quickly it was GONE before dinner was served. It even got a “mmmMMMM!” from the 1-year-old. Here’s all that was left by the time I grabbed my camera:

 

Salads with avocado and other veggies:

One of my favorite things to eat is sliced avocado, sliced cherry or grape tomatoes, drizzled with olive oil and some sea salt. It’s a great breakfast or snack!

So far the only downside is needing to cook so much with my busy schedule. And eating out – I had a great meal at a restaurant on Monday (grilled steak over a kale salad) but I’m simply not able to pack a lunch every single day at work and that leaves my only guaranteed non-dairy, non-gluten choice the Canteen salad bar. Fine, but this can get old after a while. So I’ve been packing up leftovers most days this week to keep variety going – it’s great for saving money but it requires some effort and time on my part.

Have you ever done the Whole 30 or tried the Paleo diet? What did you think?

A Spontaneous Long Run On Sore Legs

After all the analysis about my improved running pace, I had a pretty sluggish long run on Saturday. But I have excuses! So.Many.Excuses. 

But really, let me just say something about this – who cares? I’ve been working hard to be as ready as possible for the Army Ten Miler and I know I’ll be just fine. I can run 10 miles. I just had this vision of rocking it after my faster speeds lately and started to peruse online pace calculators, dreaming of lofty finish times.

So let me tell you what NOT to do the day before a long run: Barre class.

Holy cannoli, I went Friday at lunchtime and it was like a live Thigh Master class. Intense.

I’m not saying don’t DO barre when you’re training for a race, just don’t do what I did this weekend:

• Don’t run 3/4 mile to barre class, do a crazy tough class that leaves your legs burning, then run back to work 3/4 mile on Friday.
• Don’t party too hard at a friend’s house on Friday night and make yourself too tired to work out Saturday morning.
• Then don’t spontaneously decide to do your long run Saturday afternoon instead of on Sunday as planned. While you are still sore from said barre class.
• And then don’t do the first 1/3 of your long run pushing a toddler in a running stroller. As fast as possible to make it to your daughter’s soccer game before it ends.
• And don’t forget any sort of Gu or fuel for an 8-mile run over hills and trains in super hot conditions.

I pushed that running stroller almost 3 miles to the soccer fields as fast as possible because my daughter’s soccer game was just finishing up and I had a plan for how to get in the long run before working that night.  I met my husband at the field, put F. in the car seat, folded the running stroller and tossed it in the back of the car, and went off on my own to run around the super-hilly trails at the soccerplex before running 3 miles home.

It was in the 80’s outside, unseasonably hot for the mid-Atlantic area in October. Thankfully I knew where the ONE working water fountain was in the HUGE park (why are all the others dry?), and had snagged some sort of nutrition from the stroller before it drove away.

It helped. A little. Not as good as Gu but better than nothing. But I’d better get used to it since I started the Whole 30 diet – so Gu is out for the Army 10 Miler. Yikes, I’d better practice with something else over the next couple of weeks – applesauce didn’t cut it.

Here’s how my 8-miler long run stacked up pace-wise:

• Mile 1 = 9:46 with stroller
• Mile 2 = 9:37 with stroller
• Mile 3 = 9:22, first 0.7 with stroller
• Mile 4 = 9:32
• Mile 5 = 9:52
• Mile 6 = 10:19 (uh oh, starting to not like the hills and heat!)
• Mile 7 = 9:56 (just get me the heck home already!)
• Mile 8 = 10:13 (this mile took for.ev.er!)

I had some stomach issues at the end of the long run, but as soon as I walked in the door, I had to hop in the shower and go to work for a concert.  I got home at midnight still not feeling 100% in my stomach, and still woke up a little off on Sunday.

So again I say about my pace – who cares? The Army Ten Miler is a bucket-list race and I’m excited about it. I’m not in it for the finish time – I’m doing the race with friends and seriously excited to see them and run with them. One friend coming to DC for the race is Melissa from I Thought They Said Rum – it’s going to be so great to see her, it’s been years!

I’m off on a Whole 30 adventure – I always vowed I wouldn’t eat a strict Paleo diet but I’m giving it a whirl for 30 days. More on that this week!

Is it unseasonably hot where you live for this time of year?

Have you done a race while on Whole 30 or eating Paleo-style? How did you fuel for longer runs?

From Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Figs to ZOODLES!

I have to be clear about something: I am not a food blogger. In fact, I used to have a weird thing about pictures of food. They made me not want to eat the thing that is being portrayed in the picture. You know when takeout Chinese restaurants have photos above the counter of all the dishes? Yeah, I never picked any of those things. Uh-uh, no thanks.

However, in recent years I have been swayed by mouth-watering photos of healthy, interesting food. And this in turn has inspired me to try new recipes. Thank you, people who cook with cameras and post about it on the internet.

So what compelled me to take photos of my food last weekend and post about it on the internet? Yumminess, that’s what.

I had a big adventure in GREEN STUFF last Saturday. Green is good.

First, my lunch!

I recently chomped on figs at a work event and was inspired to buy some since they were so yummy. I bought dried Turkish Figs.

But what do I do with the figs, I wondered? Eat them as a snack? Cook them on their own? Chop them up and put them in various dishes?

I turned to my usual method of cooking: I searched through my fridge, took stock of what I had that sounded good together, and turned to Mr. Google, The Omniscient. Mr. Google gives me inspiration and I go from there. In this case, I was looking for something relatively quick and simple because I had three kids who were hungry for lunch, one of whom needed a nap ASAP. My husband took over the kids’ lunch prep and I started in on my lunch creation.

I found this recipe for Fig Roasted Brussel Sprouts (they leave off the “s”), and since my typical method of cooking sprouts is to roast them, I decided I’d roast these two yummy things together. I usually roast them at 400 but decided to try 350 in case 400 was too much for the figs. It took too long, so I’d suggest 375. I wanted more of a meal than a side dish, though, so I grabbed some spinach and got to work.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts & Figs Over Spinach

• Pre-heat oven to 375.
• Slice brussels sprouts in half, cutting off any hard ends/nubs. Sometimes I roast brussels sprouts whole, but in this case I wanted them easy to chomp on. You want to be able to grab multiple components with your fork.
• Quarter the figs, cutting off any stems that remain.
• Throw said items into a big bowl.
• Toss with olive oil. Don’t be too stingy – enough to coat them.
• Season with coarse salt, pepper, garlic, and any other herbs that sound good to you – or use a seasoned salt. I used my favorite thing that exists in my kitchen, Borsari.

A little of this goes a long way – we sometimes over-season things accidentally when using Borsari, so don’t be too heavy-handed. We buy it at Whole Foods (found in the meat area).

• Pour the seasoned mixture onto a baking sheet.
• Roast in the oven for 20-30 minutes, turning them over or shaking the pan once along the way. Honestly, you just need to watch it to make sure it’s the desired level of doneness you want – I prefer my sprouts almost blackened. Since I just kept putting mine back into the oven at 350, I’m not sure the exact cooking time at this temp. I typically just watch them like a hawk at 375 or 400.
• Put a nice puffy pile of washed baby spinach in your favorite bowl.
• Pour the roasted sprouts-figs mixture over it.
• Eat it.
• Post a picture on Instagram or Facebook to make everyone drool.

• Toppings, if any: I added pomegranate Craisins, thinking it would be good since I use them on spinach salads, but they were WAY too sweet and didn’t go with the dish – the figs have their own nutty sweetness. If I did it again, I’d sprinkle crumbled gorgonzola or blue cheese on it, or maybe add nuts. Since we’re a nut-free house due to F’s allergies, I just ate it like this.

This post is long already, but I have to also post about our dinner.

ZOODLES, aka Zucchini Noodles

One of my favorite bloggers and a big inspiration, Swim Bike Mom, posted about making zoodles, and it looked like just the thing for my pasta-loving/veggie-needing kids. The recipe is on Nom Nom Paleo here. My Paleo-eating husband and my non-Paleo-eating self were so intrigued that we went right out to Bed Bath and Beyond to get a slicer. We bought a Julienne peeler/slicer since it was too late to have one of the fancy spiral things shipped, and we figured it might come in handy for other purposes.

My daughter loves to help cook. She’s 7.5 and is mastering the art of making burgers, so she made the meatballs herself. She mixed ground beef, Worcestershire sauce, garlic salt, and grated parmesan cheese and formed them into little balls. We used to use bread crumbs in our burgers and meatballs too, but they aren’t sunflower-safe for F so we avoid them now.

Using the Julienne peeler to create the zoodles was amazingly easy, although it got clogged until I realized I could pop the plastic shield off. I rinsed it out occasionally. I also ended up with a lot of pieces of zucchini at the end that I just sautéed in the pan with the leftover meatball oil and ate them the next day.

S. tried making the noodles, but I decided holding the zucchini and the peeler was a bit too dangerous for a kid. But she had fun at her attempt!

We used the microwave method rather than the pan. Our 6 zucchini made so much we had at least 3 batches to cook.

Everyone loved it and ate it up. My daughter had many servings.

My almost-4yo decided he only wanted meatballs, although he liked the zoodles when he tried them. Rough age for trying new things. But the 1yo loved them. He devoured the meatballs too!

We used Barilla pasta sauce since we didn’t have time to make our own.

Finished product:

I really need to start breaking out my nice DLSR camera, but you get the idea.

Oh, and my daughter’s meatballs were such a hit that we’re going to make them this week as a main dish. Thanks for taking a tour of my yummy, green culinary journey!

Have you had zucchini noodles before?

Where do you find your inspiration for recipes and cooking?

I Like Appetizers [Too Much].

I don’t normally recap all my food and nutrition, but last week I fell off the nutritional wagon a bit and feel the need to regroup. Last week was Week 6 of the 8-week Diet Challenge that I’ve been participating in – it’s an informal challenge run by my friend and neighbor. We each anted up $25 and every day/week we track points for various activities, such as eating 3 servings of veggies a day, logging food intake, exercise, and a few other things. One of those other things is not having sugar (including alcohol!) 6 days a week.

At the beginning of the challenge, I had a hard time without sugar in my coffee, and holding back my grabby hands from chocolate and other treats, but now I’m completely used to black coffee and have much improved willpower. I’ve really reorganized my brain with mindlessly grabbing junk that is sitting the office kitchen, needlessly dumping sugar in the coffee, and have been making better choices overall. I am competitive and didn’t want to lose my sugar points every week, so I’ve really cut out the alcohol 6 days a week – a strange phenomenon for me!

Overlapping with this, I’ve signed on for another 8-week thing, which is really more of a commitment and motivational group and not a contest: Swim Bike Mom’s Eight to Great challenge.

By signing this Commitment below, you commit to:

1) Eat clean – no junk food, no (or very limited) processed food, low (or no) sugar, no booze or Filet-o-Fish sandwiches (written more with myself in mind here). If you are looking for a good plan, try the Whole 30 (which I am following) or the Metabolic Boost & Burn (which has been successful for me as well).

2) Train hard – work hard in your workouts with the big goals in mind. If you need a free beginner tri guide, go here.

3) Just Keep Moving Forward – if you fall down, you pick yourself back up and go!

So “sign” below, and let’s go.

I had every intention of keeping the Fab 40 Birthday Festivities toned down last week, especially since I realized that it was DOUBLE points that week for the no-sugar line item in my contest. So after a piece of birthday cake at a staff meeting cinched the ONE day that week that I was allowed to have sugar, I was like a deer in headlights: “Ruh Roh, what did I do?!”

I was thinking – But that wasn’t my actual birthday! I may need another day this week! Wait, I’ll want to drink wine this weekend!

Oh no.. what to do, what to do… Forego the entire week’s double sugar points or not have anything the rest of the week?

The next day, my boss took me out for a special birthday lunch on my actual 40th at the fabulous Blue Duck Tavern in DC, which sealed the deal: the restaurant surprised me with a birthday apple pie.

The whole meal was amazing. And the apple pie was fab.

My problem with indulgence is that I have trouble stopping once I go down that road.

So, there I was: I had lost my no-sugar-points for the week and gotten a bit off track with food logging, and what did I do? Well to answer that, let me continue…

Enter Thursday the 8th. I had another restaurant lunch with work colleagues at Farmers, Fishers, Bakers. And they make the guacamole at the table.

And we ordered a crab artichoke dip appetizer. I am a sucker for appetizers. I think I need a 12-step appetizer intervention program.

But at least my entree was pretty healthy.

I didn’t want to eat the rest of the day and felt really bloated from all the bread and chips that I ate with the appetizers. So feeling that feeling helped me recognized that I had gotten off track and I tried to regroup.

I worked really hard the next few days at smaller portions, limiting sodium, and eating my fruits and veggies, and I think I’ve gotten past my slippery slope and back on track.

These 8 weeks have felt long on the no-wine end of things, but it’s been good for me to retrain and restrain myself. I am used to justifying treats and wine because of working out and burning enough calories to balance it out, but I want to treat my body like an athletic machine and be committed to more clean eating.

I’m hesitant to go on a super strict “plan”, because I don’t want to completely limit my choices, especially when I’m traveling or in a time crunch for meals due to work and kids. My husband has been eating a form of paleo/primal for a couple of years and I know it is not for me, but I do agree that more of a focus on protein and veggies and less carbs is the way to go for my body, without completely cutting out a food group.

When I was doing Weight Watchers I really treated it as a lifestyle and not a “diet”, and had a revelation that this was the way that I should be eating all of the time. And that concept has definitely been hitting me throughout these 8 weeks. This is not a journey to somewhere, it’s the destination.

After the 8 weeks of my contest are up, I’m going to stick with the black coffee and other healthy habits I’ve formed, but I may need more structure, so I’m doing some nutrition research from an athlete/triathlon perspective. I’ve always been focused on the weight loss perspective. And although I’ve reached my pre-pregnancy #3 weight and am still trying to lose a few more pounds, I am more interested in fueling myself properly and building muscle than the numbers on the scale.

The Swim Bike Mom Eight To Great focuses on clean eating, and the Whole30 is the program of choice for a lot of people. I’m still in the research phase, and as I near the end of my 8-week challenge contest, I’m open to suggestions and ideas for nutritional plans or programs for athletes, rather than weight loss techniques.

Do you follow a specific nutritional plan or philosophy?