Whole30: COMPLETE!

So about 30 days ago, Jake and I launched ourselves into a lifestyle change. I was fed up feeling shitty after eating and over eating and he wanted a new challenge. So we started eating Paleo. 

This past Wednesday, we completed our first 30 days of the challenge! To sum up the experience, I have really enjoyed not only the challenge of the first 30 days but I really like the results!

As a "special treat" in celebration of our first 30 days, Jake and I decided to embark on a food journey through all our old favorite foods. It mainly started because for the past week I've been craving cheese pizza. Every night, we would tell each other what we've been craving lately. So yesterday, we decided to eat whatever we wanted, in secret hopes that it'd make us feel shitty and we won't want them again.

Let me tell you, it totally worked. For lunch, we went to BarHop and had fried pickles and french fries to start. Then I ordered one of my favorites, a Reuben sandwich, with a Cesar salad on the side (I didn't think I was going to be able to do that many fries...). It was all very, very delicious but this was how much of my lunch I was able to eat:

 

Yup, that's it! I managed half of and half of a sandwich and a few big pieces of lettuce. It was so good but almost instantly, I started to feel too full and really, really gross. it didn't help that before lunch Jake wanted to get donuts (Canada, if you didn't know, is pretty famous for Tim Horton's. It's like the Canadian Dunkin Donuts but way, way better. The donuts are absolutely to die for and we wanted one...or two...).

 

After getting our lunches wrapped up to take home, we stopped by Shoppers (Canadian version of Rite Aid) to get some Tums...and Easter Candy (we thought, hey go big or go home). We stumbled home and crashed on the couch, both to take a food-induced nap to help settle our tummy's.

 

The nap didn't help.

 

About 3 hours later, I felt like someone had inserted a beach ball into my body and was slowly blowing it up. Last night I couldn't help thinking, "I can't wait till I get to eat carrots and hard boiled eggs tomorrow."

 

All in all, I'm glad we felt like shit last night. It made me shudder at the leftover box I saw in the fridge this morning as I reached for my orange and hard boiled eggs for breakfast.

 

I don't think I've lost a ton of weight over the past month. I started working out more (about 6 days a week) and am feeling better. I sleep great and I never, ever get that too full, gross feeling after I eat. I'm excited to continue with paleo this next month and work out more. I think after the next 30 days, we'll allow ourselves another cheat day. I'm looking forward to some wings in 30 days!

 

Jake with his tiny beer!

I felt miserable in thsi picture...

 

My first real beer in a long while...so good!

Fried pickles and french fries.




 

 

 

Daily-O Paleo: Week 2 Round Up

Wow, I had to take a second to remember what week of paleo I was on! I take this as a good sign, I think it means that I'm adjusting well. It feels like we've been doing this forever!

I'm going to be honest, I didn't write down every single thing I ate this week. I started to, but then it seems I forgot and stopped at Tuesday. Oh well. I did, however, start a new blog (if you haven't heard yet) and attached it to this one. I wanted a place for just recipes. So I made one! Check out From My Kitchen, With Love. If you don't you're really lame.

Sweet potato hash, 2 eggs,
bacon crumbles and avo. Yum.

Anyway, I've been enjoying paleo so far. Week one was rough adjusting to not having everything I wanted. But now I'm feeling better. I've been sleeping really well, no waking up in the night or having problems falling asleep. I do find that because I'm eating a full breakfast, usually eggs, a veggies and a meat, that I'm not so hungry throughout the day. I snack a little, mostly because I  love dried fruit but I need to knock that right off.

Bora Bora, you are delicious. 

I'm starting at the gym today. I have the whole week off so I plan on spending that time working out, catching up on my correspondence with family and reading a lot about how to manage my time with paleo. I want to develop a system so that I'm not cooking all the friggin time!

Oh, I just remembered one of my other favorite dishes that we had last week! We had spaghetti squash with meat sauce. It was just like eating pasta but more interactive and fun. I loved roasting the squash then shredding it. It was really cool. Watery, yes, but delicious. We're going to have it again this week.

I have noticed with this past week that I wonder why not everyone lives like this. It's really easy and eliminates a lot of foods that aren't super good for you. I think, if I feel like it, I may incorporate beans back into my diet when the initial 30 days is up but at the same time, I want to see how long I can keep this up. 

I do think traveling will be difficult. Like when we go to Vegas in June, how easy will it be to have access to eggs and avocados every day. Plus, I plan on being hung over most of the time! Hey, at least I'm being honest.

Here's to the beginning of week three!

Daily-o Paleo: Week One Round Up

Last week, I started on a voyage into the Paleo world. While it already feels like I've been doing this for a while, it's only been a week. I've already faced a few challenges but have maneuvered through them and come out the other side a little bit stronger. Here is a recap of my week:

Day One (Tuesday): 

Breakfast: Frittata (bell peppers, onions, garlic, mushrooms, bacon) with avocado slices

Lunch: Shredded herb chicken (home roasted) and balsamic mushroom lettuce wraps (with tomato, cucumber and carrot)

Snack: Turkey rolls ups (deli turkey rolled up with assorted fillings, like apple and red cabbage, cucumber and carrot, etc)

Dinner: Spicy Stuffed Bell Peppers

Day 2: Mexican Stew.

Day Two (Wednesday):

Breakfast: 2 eggs sunny side up, 2 rashers of bacon, half an avocado and homemade Pico de Gallo (which was fantastic)

Lunch: Tuna (celery, pickles, dill, homemade mayo, salt and pepper) mixed with tomatos in an avocado

Snack: Almond butter and celery with raisins and coconut chips

Dinner: Mexican Slow Cooked Stew

Day Three (Thursday):

Day 3: Lunch.

Breakfast: Eggs and bacon baked into a tomato 

Lunch: Asian Fusion salon on bok choy with cauliflower rice

Snack: Trail mix (almonds, cashews, coconut chips, raisins)

Dinner: N/A 

Day Four (Friday):

Breakfast: Zucchini hash, bacon and eggs

Lunch: Shrimp Slaw (shrimp, red cabbage, hard boiled egg, cucumber, tomato mixed in a lemon dill and garlic dressing)

Snack: Beef Jerky and trail mix

Dinner: Double chicken shawarma on lettuce with tomatos, olives and cucumbers

Day Five (Saturday):

Breakfast: Coffee and a pear 

Lunch: Left over shrimp slaw

Snack: Trail mix

Dinner: Korean BBQ (Bulgogi)  

Day Six (Sunday):

Breakfast: Sausage, 2 eggs and avocado slices with Pico de Gallo

Lunch: N/A

Snack: Trail Mix

Dinner: Chinese 5 spice roasted chicken breasts, Waldorf salad and spicy yam spears

Today makes day 7. 

If I'm honest, I've been enjoying myself. I only had one little challenge. On Friday (Day 4) I had to go out to eat with my coworkers and that was difficult. We went (originally) to an English pub, which if you knew me, is my favorite kind of food. I grew up with that shit. It was really hard. But, long story short, we didn't have enough time to eat there so we got shawarma from a small pita place. That was easier for me.

On Day 5, Jake and I decided to go out to eat. Originally, we wanted to go to this smoke house in the Roncy but there was a hour and a half wait. No, thanks. So we were hungry, it was late and I was getting cranky. We ended up at this packed Korean BBQ place and had such a fantastic meal. We had all those side salad-y things, pickled this and that. The we ordered Bulbogi and Korean ribs or something. They brought out large lettuce leaves and a small BBQ that we cooked our meat on the table. It was great! Absolutely going there again. 

What were my favorite foods eaten this past week?

For sure breakfast. I can totally get behind any meal that centers around bacon. Especially when you buy bacon (and all your other meat) from Sanagan's Meat Locker in Kensington Market. Even though it's expensive-ish, it's worth it if meat is what your life is revolving around.

Other then breakfast (if you like Pico de Gallo, I'll totally send you this recipe I have, it's so good), I loved the Asian Salmon over bok choy with cauliflower rice, which is totally my new favorite. 

The food in general was great...I mean obviously, I made it all (with help from Jacob)! 

What is my one complaint for the past week?

I actually have two. The first is the amount of cooking and cleaning I seem to do every single day. I'm working on a system of what I can do to reduce the amount of time spent in the kitchen each morning.

The second complaint is that my stomach hasn't quite settled with this new diet. Someday's it's fine, other days it really hurts. I know it'll go away with time but...seriously...hurry up, bro.

In summary, that is my first week with the Paleo lifestyle. I'm excited to see what the future holds and to experiment with my food. It's been fun so far, finding replacements for my old favorite foods. Obviously, nothing will replace ice cream or a bagel but I'm hoping this new recipe I found for coconut whipped cream will put a little smile on my berries later...I'l share that next week!

PS: If there is any recipe you are interested in, e-mail me (hammondwf@gmail.com) and I'll send it to you!

Daily-O Paleo: Observations

Welcome to day two of the Paleo way of life!

I know it's probably too soon to have any real observations but I do have a few from just the past day and a half that I feel I should get off my chest as to prevent an explosion.

Cumin is my new fave.

1. The food is pretty great actually: I'm lovin' breakfast. This morning we had two eggs, sunny side up, with 2 bacons, slices of avocado and some homemade pico de gallo. Awesome. Everything else seems to be easy, lunch is normal and having a snack is nice. Dinner's are yummy but weird, mostly because I'm used to having to pair my meat with something. Like tonight we have an amazing tasting Mexican beef stew and I feel like I should be paring it with rice or something. But that's ok, I like meat enough to eat on it's own! 

2. My sweet tooth is lonely: I have SUCH a sweet tooth. I spent a good part of last night at work craving sugar. I think it's because I associate work with candy haha! That'll be a rough one to get over.

3. The cooking and cleaning is a little... excessive: Like I said, it maybe be a BIT too soon to tell but I spent a good part of yesterday cooking and this morning. I finally sat down after making breakfast, lunch and dinner and cleaning the kitchen. That means I spend the majority of my free time cooking and cleaning. I need to find a system and fast. If I have no time to do what I want or what I have to do, that I'll be an angry bird.

4. Avocado and coconut: Two of my favorite foods make daily appearance in my diet and I love it. Coconut and avocados are spectacular. 

Lunch!

Other then that, everything seems to be going alright! I'm just finishing up my lunch, tuna with celery, pickles, dill, salt/pepper, mustard and homemade mayo (which was an interesting experience to make and an even more interesting taste) and tomatoes with an avocado. Then I'm going to get ready for work, pack up my dinner and my snack and head to work...hopefully to get some coure work done.