My Workout Blog: 4.2 pounds, Travel and Whole 30

Welllll I had bigggg plans while I was away in New Zealand and Australia but the internet situation wasn't great and so I tried to track and photograph everything so I could update my blog as soon as I got back.

First of all New Zealand was great! Australia was too! I made up my mind before I left I was going to have wine. That's not Whole 30. The thing with Whole 30 is you have to start over if you have anything not Whole 30 Approved. I was ok with that I mean its New Zealand and Australia. What I told myself was I would stick to Whole 30 food wise, still exercise and enjoy wine. One of the hotel's had a scale and I stayed with 1-2 pounds of my... GET THIS 4.2 POUND WEIGHT LOSS. YES YOU HEARD... well read me! I went to Weight Watchers on Saturday, September 10th and I was down 4.2 pounds! Unfreaking believable the down side was I weighed in Sunday so Saturday was 6 days so it was logged in as a visitor and so I didn't get my 5 pound charm or my 5% one :-( so that was motivation to stay focused. I brought a huge stash of snacks- Trader Joe trail mix, pistachios, Trader Joe plantain chips, Bare apple chips and banana chips and fresh apples. Well why did I not realize all of that would have to be declared at Customs :-O I was hell bent on keeping my snacks and the flight attendant said there was a $400 fine if you did not declare and it didn't mean they would take it but you had to tell them you had it. The Boarder control lady was nice and let me keep everything! So while everyone else was snacking on cookies and chips I stuck with mine until Friday then I bought some cheese curls (a thing I always try overseas lol) they weren't that great anyway!

But now I am back... Got in late Sunday... Made it to my personal trainer today and jumped right back into Whole 30! As promised here are my meals and a few recipes!

Breakfast:

Fried egg, Roma tomatoes, Guacamole, and finally Pederson's bacon!

Our new Wegmen's opened this weekend so I stopped by and looked for the famous Pederson's Bacon its Whole 30 and Paleo but its 4 Weight Watchers Smart points PER SLICE :-O

Now I will say. It was good. Very good and I can definitely taste the difference. I had a late breakfast so I made two slices and cut them in half.

I did some other shopping to get some staples to meal prep... so ground turkey, ground pork, eggs, baby carrots, tomatoes, bananas, strawberries, lettuce and finally a few Lara Bars. warning they are 9 Weight Watchers Smart points! :-O NINE... Similar to the bacon Whole 30 friendly but Smart Point heavy. I spent about $60 in Wegman's and about $20 at a local produce market where I got cauliflower, beets, sweet potatoes, white potatoes, sundried tomatoes, pears, avocado, mushrooms, shallots, and watermelon.

I came home and started cooking. Here are the recipes and they are all easy:

Panamanian Chicken soup with a twist:

I used left over rosemary chicken tighs I got tired of last week so I froze them.

Added 2-3 cups of water
baby carrots half bag
celery 3 stalks
half an onion
cilantro
left over rosemary potatoes
Garlic powder, Trader Joe's 21 Season Salute, onion powder, sea salt to taste
Boiled on low for about 1 hour!

NEXTTTTT... For breakfast a veggie Frittata

6 eggs
3-4 cups spinach (or other greens of your choice)
2 Roma tomatoes
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 cup chopped mushrooms
1/2 cup chopped onions
1/2 cup sundried tomatoes

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, onions, spinach, mushrooms, salt and pepper. Set aside.
Heat olive oil/ Ghee in a 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add greens and cook 3-4 minutes until wilted.
Add egg mixture to the pan and place tomatoes on top. Using a spatula, occasionally lift the edges to allow uncooked egg to run under. Bake 12-15 minutes or until egg is cooked through. Cut into wedges

Shepard's Pie:

Ingredients

Meat & Veggies Filling

1 onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 lb grass-fed beef or ground turkey
2 large carrots, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
3 cups spinach
1 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbs tomato paste or 1 cup pasta sauce

Potato Topping

2 large (or 4 medium) white-fleshed potatoes
1 head of cauliflower
21 Season salute
garlic powder
Paprika

Instructions

Microwave or boil potatoes in salted water about 20 minutes until tender and boil cauliflower separately
Sauté chopped onion, spinach, celery, mushrooms and carrots in a skillet over medium-high heat about 10 minutes with 2 tbs of olive oil or coconut oil or Ghee
Cook and then add the ground beef (or turkey) to the sautéed veggies, along with the meat seasonings and garlic; pan fry until beef is cooked through
Next add the tomato paste/sauce
Simmer together about 10 minutes
Spoon meat mixture into in an oven-safe glass pie dish or casserole dish
In a medium saucepan or mixing bowl, mash cooked potatoes and add cauliflower
Optional: add 1 tbs of butter/ghee to the mashed potatoes
Stir in seasonings but save paprika for the top
Gently spread mashed potatoes over the beef / turkey filling
Bake at 350-degrees F for about 30 minutes
Optional: after baking, place dish under oven broiler for 2-3 minutes to add a little brown crust

Final product

I still have some pork loin and chicken to decide what to do something with but that will probably be Wednesday or Thursday.

So as a quick reminder Whole 30 is for 30 days. Its all about "clean eating" meaning fresh fruits and veggies and protein.Its definitely not for everyone and I know its not something I will do long term but its really good. I know sounds crazy but I don't want to feel like I can never have wine or chocolate. I think 30 days is doable and I really like how I feel when I do Whole 30. I am going to keep posting my meals and results! Won't you join me?!