Wooooo in the lovely holiday chaos and cooking, I’ve fallen a bit behind in my blogging! I come at you today with updates from Days 15 and 16 of my Whole30 adventure.
First of all, getting over the hump felt like a big accomplishment. I’m so proud of the work that I’ve done so far, of how much I am cooking and preparing and thinking ahead about food, and even how much money I am saving by eating in instead of eating out. Sure, organic/free-range meat is more expensive than non-organic/free-range meat, but the value of good health and homemade meals is priceless. I’ve been thinking a lot lately about snarky taglines for eating healthy, like, “Fast food is convenient. Obesity is not.” I know that’s not really funny, but it’s true. Sometimes what is convenient is not always what is best, and I’m learning that through this process.
On Saturday I began a seven day running streak, which I committed to myself because I have been very lazy with my half marathon preparation. I only have about a month and a half (even less) until the Rochester Winter Warrior, and it’s time to start getting myself into gear. The run was…really hard. It was snowing a bit while I ran, and I had only eaten almonds prior to the workout. Plus, I didn’t wear appropriate winter running gear, so my body felt heavy and like a solid block of ice. It was a slow run for me (50:47) to complete 5 miles. I was so cold and numb and lethargic when I got home that I sat in front of my space heater for about 20 minutes and tried to rub my thighs and tummy back from numbness.
I wasn’t smart about my recovery that day. I should have hopped in the shower, warmed up, and then made a big meal. Instead, I wrapped myself up in a blanket, heated up some of my homemade chicken broth with garlic and chili powder, and drank that on the couch for a few hours. Later I ate some spaghetti squash and tomatoes, but was so lazy I didn’t even make good protein to go with it. I spent several hours lazing around on the couch, drinking water and chicken broth, before I took a shower and warmed up.
At this point, I had a headache, so I knew I needed to cook. It was getting late in the day, and I felt bad about myself in general for not having taken advantage of a day off. I cooked some chicken thighs and sweet potatoes, and that made me feel better (naturally).
Later that night, I met up with Jeremy and we got coffee (thank God – the headache disappeared!) and saw The Nutcracker! It was a beautiful production. We were in such a jolly mood afterward that we went to one of our favorite restaurants to grab dessert, and… well, here’s what we had:
On the top you see Jeremy’s SMORES PIZZA (kill me now, it smelled SO GOOD) and my salad wraps. 🙂 I was actually very satisfied with my food: avocado, Granny Smith apple, carrots, onions, lettuce, and grilled chicken. Jeremy’s pizza thing just looked and smelled incredible. Smelling that chocolate was almost as good as eating it…almost. (I should note here that he thought he was ordering one slice of a dessert pizza, not the whole thing. He would never torture me like that intentionally.)
Lesson to be learned from Day 15: eat THREE square meals per day, and recover quickly after working out!
Day 16 was fantastic! I really felt like I accomplished a lot, and made smart choices about how to spend my time, money, and meals. I went for a jog in the morning (a 5k, took 30:21) and then quickly went home and ate some f of the fantastic chicken thighs, tomato, and spaghetti squash from the night before. (Spaghetti squash never gets old…) After that, I taught a lesson, then went to the friendly neighborhood Wegman’s. I grabbed a coffee, sat in the café with my Whole30 cookbook, and plotted out all new food to eat this week. I felt SO good – TIGER BLOOD ANYONE? – for making smart choices about food, and then for quickly shopping and taking the bus home. It’s so interesting how having a balanced diet and outlook on exercise and input really makes me feel like I have my sh*t together.
Once I got home, I started meal prepping and doing laundry like crazy. Here’s what I worked on yesterday:
Then I made dinner, which was:
I used my blender to mash the cauliflower into submission, which worked really well. And the rest of it was just easy and delicious! I even made some zucchini noodles later in the day…I’m not a huge fan, but once you slather them in tomato sauce, they’re workable.
Overall, Day 16 was a great success and I’m excited to eat all the delicious food that I prepared in advance. 🙂
Whisk Into Shape 