Do you ever just hit a moment in life where you are ready for a change? A new hair cut. Completely different styles of clothes. Maybe even a new job or town to live in. It's like the days become mundane and repetitive and we need to reinvent ourselves and what we project to others to keep moving forward. Most of these moments in my life have resulted in randomly purple or pink hair (not the classiest of moves, but definitely the easiest to fix!), but my most resent drastic change was purely internal.
It started around 6 weeks ago when I decided to take on the Whole 30 challenge. 30 days of clean eating/cooking. Fresh fruit, veggies and meat without the constant intake we receive from every day products of soy, sugar and wheat. It sounds simple, but until you read labels, you have no idea the amount of junk you're consuming a day.
On top of research and reading, it's a ton of prep and cooking. And if there's one thing I hate in the world, it's cooking! I figured if I'm going to go thru all of this trouble, I should photograph the experience in some way to provide proof and an extra goal/incentive to see this thru.
And I did.
I'm going to preface these photos by saying not all of the images are good. Not all meals were really delicious... or edible. More importantly though, I made them. For 30 days I cooked (yikes!), I photographed, and I stuck to my plan. And for that, I'm proud.
Day 1: Let's do this eggs with sweet potato and green bell pepper hash- definitely worth a repeat. First day means confidence and a pumped up sense of excitement. I made this multiple times, but after 30 days I'm a bit queasy at the sight of eggs.
Day 2: Make it quick sweet and Yukon gold potato quiche with a side of killer guacamole- I made myself sick off the guac. Seriously. It's made with loads of onion, jalapeños, tomatoes and lime juice...and it goes with everything! Unfortunately, I have no time management skills and I didn't eat this until 10 at night.
Day 3: Spaghetti squash and balls
not my favorite photo, but one of the yummier meals. The sauce is loaded with shredded carrots, onions and celery with a dash of red wine vinegar. I wasn't a huge fan of the spaghetti squash, but I'm willing to give the zucchini noodles a try next time I whip up a batch of meatballs.
Day 4: Say man you on a diet salad with lightly fried yukon potato and cucumber- can't complain! The red salmon was mixed with onions, peppers and olives and made for a good lunch the next day. I'm not a huge fan of leftovers (which was a struggle on this diet), but the salmon on fresh spinach with a side of fruit worked.
Day 5: Sweet potato green apple bake
DELICIOUS! Thinly sliced potatoes and apples baked soft with a drizzle of ghee and cinnamon. Topped with raisins, pecans and freshly crumbled bacon. This dieting thing ain't too bad.
Day 6: Avocado chicken salad on a "tomato bun" lol
good but there's a funny failed mayonnaise attempt behind this becoming an avocado salad. Apparently you're supposed to use light tasting olive oil to make mayo and mom and I didn't realize there was such a thing. Unfortunately, our mayo was an odd green color and less than appealing taste wise. Luckily we saved the meal with the avocado ...and the crispy squash chips didn't hurt.
Day 7: Heck yeah grilled Ribeye with creamy mashed sweet potatoes and green beans: need I say more?!
Day 8: I'm over it Chili
For a week I was going strong, but then woke up not into it at all. I wanted something sweet. I wanted some nachos. I wanted anything un-dietish. I made chili (*insert eye roll).
Day 9: Still not feeling it fruit salad- No complaints. Had a few pieces of bacon and this simple fruit mix for breakfast. Lazy...I mean good way to start the day.
Day 10: Mmmmmm bacon wrapped chicken salad- REPEAT Bacon wrapped chicken on salad. You better not complain on something so wholesome and delicious.
Day 11: Shitthesebobsaregood- yeah I said it...so what?! I soaked the meat in a mix of olive oil, fresh roasted garlic, parsley, paprika, salt and pepper. Then hubs grilled them to perfection. Mouth's watering just remembering these beauties!
Day 12:
Taco 'bout amazing
green chili shredded chicken on a cabbage shell with homemade garlic lime sauce and guac. Yeah, place your order today.
Day 13: Not feeling the
sunny side up omelette
I'm feeling down about the diet at this point. Still hate to cook, pants aren't looser, knee still hurts. Bacon, onion, pepper omelette didn't make me feel much better but at least it's edible and I'm not quitting. (*grimaces)
Day 14: Dang I hate pork ribs- true story. I hate pork, but I cooked these on low in a crockpot all day and by the time we ate them, they were fall apart tender (if you like that sort of thing). The bbq sauce was a recipe we found online with tomato paste, onions and sweet potato. Don't attempt! I have a much better version I figured out later on.
Day 15: Turning point bbq chicken- this meal was a game changer. It was the halfway mark and admittedly not the healthiest, but fixed some of my comfort food cravings with stellar cole slaw and oven roasted crunchy potatoes. The cole slaw was made with my successful homemade mayo attempt and red wine pomegranate vinegar. I was back on track and even going for after dinner walks with the hubs.
Day 16: That's a spicy shrimp- edible. I love oven roasted green beans with potato chunks and bacon. That wasn't my issue with this meal. The shrimp was cooked with a bit of ghee, fresh squeezed lemon, garlic and red pepper. The flavor was the bomb-diggity...but that texture. (*gags) I panicked and over cooked. Hello rubber shrimp. Sadly I still ate it.
Day 17: What the heck is this Pudding
Edible? Kinda? I followed a recipe for banana chia pudding and it didn't set up. So, it was runny. I, once again, still ate it since I wasted time making it.
Day 18: Mom made it, I ate it chicken
sun dried tomatoes in a coconut sauce over a bed of baked veggies from my parents' garden. No complaints. No leftovers.
Day 19: Will it ever end eggs
myeah. Been going strong for several days and woke up early to make an egg with sweet potato haystack. They sucked, but I got real fancy with my rose strawberries. Only had to eat 5 failed attempts before I got 3 A-OK ones!
Day 20: I'm gonna make it roast- maybe my favorite. I slow cooked this baby all afternoon and it fell apart when I went to place it over a bed of steamed cabbage. Covered in carrot gravy. Ever heard of carrot gravy? No! Because I made it up (genius here).
Day 21: Football Sunday weiners: they're winners! Mini Whole 30 compliant hotdogs wrapped in thinly sliced potatoes and baked. Served with mustard and fresh broccoli.
Day 21: Football Sunday weiners
Day 22: Meatloaf
it's classic. It's Delicious. It's a terrible photo. NEXT!
Day 23: This can't be compliant pork chop- so I still hate pork, but cover in spicy tomato sauce and throw in fajita style veggies. Yeah I'll bite.
Day 24: Leftover Scramble
edible. Eggs, winning weiners, spinach and jalapeño.
Day 25: I would eat this daily Hawaiian chicken- yes, yes and more yes. Made a marinade in my food processor of fresh pineapple, jalapeños, olive oil, vinegar and various seasonings. Soaked, grilled and served on a bed of cauliflower rice.
Day 26: I'd stuff it potato
that's Texas good bbq. homemade large slaw with slow cooked brisket and my kinda secret bbq sauce (sweetened with pineapple).
Day 27: Non - rubber shrimp
I'd eat that. Stir-fry carrots, broccoli, onions, shrimp and deer hot links.
Day 28: I'm over this whole idea dessert
Creamy sweet potatoes with sautéed apples and strawberries. Topped with melted almond butter and cinnamon.
Day 29: Technically I cheated Pot Pie
not so bad. The sauce is thinner than a normal pot pie, but the flavors are so good. I cheated when I made cauliflower bread toppings. The ingredients are all compliant, but I made a "bread" and that broke the rules. I have no shame. No regrets.
Day 30: The I made it to the finish skillet- or the otherwise known as "everything but the kitchen sink finale." I ate it all. Cooked a bit of every veggie I had sitting around and topped with fajita steak and spicy tomato sauce.
Day 30: The I
made it to the
finish skillet
Ok ok, let me just be honest. I miss cheese. I miss chips. I miss cupcakes. However, I don't miss my hurting knees, my speedy heart rate, and certainly not the 13 pounds I dropped. It's a huge life adjustment to cook and eat this way, but I feel better than I have in the past 5 years. And the amount of cooking skills I've picked up...well my hubby can't complain too much about my food anymore!