Day 2 & 3 Whole30 Briefings:
I am loving all of the creative ways to make food delicious – but it does make cooking a little more complicated!
Day 2 we had fajitas that were tasty! I made my first ever homemade marinade (spiced-up bottled marinade won’t cut it) for the chicken – we added bell peppers & onions, homemade guac and some yummy mango salsa. Everything was DELISH!
Day 3 we had Hawaiian BBQ Bacon Turkey Burgers with grilled pineapple & sweet potato fries. We had to make our own BBQ sauce which turned out okay – I felt it was missing something but it definitely served its purpose! Super tasty! We LOVE the sweet potato fries and they are really easy!
So what are my thoughts so far?
Everything takes SO LONG to cook. We have spent at least 2.5 hours in the kitchen every night this week. By the time we prep, cook, eat and clean up, it takes most of our time together in the evenings. We do enjoy cooking together but are missing the easy short cuts (like already prepared BBQ sauce, for instance). I think this has actually been the biggest struggle for me – it makes it seem more appealing to have an easy dinner with more time together than to take the time to make a healthy dinner and not have time to do ANYTHING else. So thankful for my sweet husband who enjoys cooking with me AND is a pro at prepping food and touching icky raw meat! Thank you, Moes!
I haven’t found any ways to have easy snacks, except for fruit and one brand of applesauce that I have found. OH! And these delicious sweet potato chips. But, what my point is – I don’t want to eat fruit EVERYTIME I get hungry between meals – I feel like I am over doing the fruit!
On a positive note, I don’t find that I am craving anything very strongly or that I miss anything TOO terribly. Matt ate his burger last night on a bun loaded up – I didn’t mind eating mine with a fork. I wished I had a tortilla shell with my fajitas only because it would have been easier to get everything in a bite – not because I really wanted a tortilla shell. The only time I find that I really want something is when I am hungry and can’t find a healthy snack.
Also, I really like olive oil as a salad dressing – I just mix in some seasonings and coat my salad with it. It’s tasty!
I had bad headaches Day 1 & Day 2 but I didn’t get one Day 3. I am also staying full longer – I felt like I was STARVING the first couple of days. I haven’t seen any big changes or effects to my body, but I am not even a week in. I think my biggest challenge will be the weekend. Eek!
Hawaiian BBQ Bacon Burgers
• 1 lb ground beef
• 4 oz bacon, finely chopped
• 1/4 c barbecue sauce (something tangy, not too sweet)
• s&p
• 1/2 pineapple, cored & sliced
In a large bowl, combine beef, BBQ sauce and bacon. Mix together with your hands, making sure the bacon is evenly distributed–as it has a tendency to clump together.
Heat a grill, grill pan or cast iron skillet to medium high heat and while the cooking contraption of your choice is heating up, form the meat mixture into patties. I made six. Sprinkle some salt & pepper on the tops and bottoms of the burgers.Grill the Pineapple and you are good to go! Serve with some BBQ sauce.
7 comments:
Ashley your next challenge should be to go without the meat for awhile. WATCH FOOD INC!!!! Forks over Knives and Fresh are good ones to watch too. Also snacks could include homemade hummus with raw veggies. YUM!! We like sliced cucumbers with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. How about nuts? Natural plain almonds are delicious! I have a good recipe for the hummus if you want it.
I don't want to come across pushy but you really aren't doing your body too many favors if you're still eating conventionally processed meat.
Hey there! I love hummus but I am not eating any legumes!! :( I will have to try the cucumbers though! I have thought about nuts too - will have to try it out. We are going to try crusting tiplapia with crushed almonds and seasonging (Kayti just shared the recipe). I may try no meat when I am done with Whole30 (I have already considered it) - I feel like I would need the grains (brown rice maybe?) and legumes if I am taking out the meat! :)
For an even healthier recipe, substitute the beef with ground turkey and the bacon with turkey bacon!
(I know I still need to email you!)
We did use ground turkey instead of beef! We already had the bacon or I would have used turkey bacon also. Mmm!
Absolutely, if you remove meat you need to add in legumes. Beans are super healthy for you. They are one of the super foods. Is there a specific reason why you not eating them now? Whole grains can be tricky but you cannot go wrong with brown rice. If you decide that nots are ok, Lean toward the natural unsalted or sweetened kind. Oh and turkey bacon is NOT your friend. Triple sodium plus it's just not natural. Think of all the artificial junk they have to add to turkey to get it to taste even a little bit like bacon.
PS I'm so proud of you for sticking with it!
I have found this site to be invaluable in helping us make our diet changes.
http://www.whfoods.com/foodstoc.php
I am just following the Whole30 program for the 30 days to compare the way my body feels with how I generally eat and how it feels when I eat only whole foods. From what I have researched, I should have more energy, better sleep, good digestion and great skin. Weight loss is not my goal, but I wouldn't complain! ;) I am only eating meat, veggies (minus potatoes, corn and peas) and fruit, and good fats from things like nuts and oils. If anything, I am learing a lot about what is in the food I eat and a lot about discipline ;) Today will complete my first full 7 day week!
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