Well really, this is week 4 plus 2 days.

Days 22-30 for the whole 30 days! Woot woot! I finished! More on that later!

First to the recipes!

As always…

In the interest of saving time, I’m just going to copy/paste the intro from week 1 meals (which you could read here, and week 2 meals here, and week 3 meals here) and head right to the dishes!

Usually, I would take the time to blog each recipe and make a recipe card for it, but there are just too many to do! So I’ve decided I will just give you some basic info, and links to recipes that I modified (and list what modifications I used.)
First, a refresher!
Whole 30 is a diet challenge. I’m not going to go into all the details, but you should know that it restricts dairy, grains, soy, legumes, any added sugar (artificial or not. 100% fruit juice being the only exception), vegetable oils, and specific additives: MSG, sulfites (except those naturally occurring), and carrageenan (found in almost all lunchmeat and some almond milk). Oh and alcohol. All kinds. Cooking, drinking, vanilla…ALL kinds! And any “sex with your pants on” foods. That’s what the program calls restricted foods made with compliant ingredients. Like ice cream made with bananas, cauliflower pizza crust, banana pancakes, etc. These foods are not allowed in any form!
Click here for a complete rundown of the rules if you are interested.
So why am I telling you this? So that you know every meal I post on this page DOES NOT contain these ingredients. They are 100% WHOLE FOOD. Clean eating. No (or very few) additives. All are gluten-free, diary-free, and most comply with the Paleo lifestyle. And best of all…they are all good! 🙂
As you will notice…this is not your typical diet food. I am just starting out with this clean eating concept, so the thought of baked fish and roasted veggies every night is extremely unappealing to me! So I am doing this challenge, but I am doing it in a way that I can stick to! Cooking the things I like and that are appealing to me! Eventually, I assume eating a plate full of vegetables will be appealing to me, but that day is not today! So here we go!
A few things you should know about my kitchen and how I cook:

1. I am horrible about planning meals and will usually decide mid-day what dinner that night will be. And it will be whatever I have in the house! I tend to just look at my available ingredients and put something together.

1. I buy my meat in bulk and freeze it, So I always have something I can pull out of the freezer. 

1. Butter is outlawed on the program but “clarified butter,” or ghee, is allowed. I always have some in the refrigerator, and when I list butter in these recipes, I mean clarified butter. (Here is how to clarify butter). Of all the other acceptable cooking fats (coconut oil, olive oil, lard, bacon grease) I only use olive oil or coconut oil. And I, of course, always have those in the house. 

1. I have a very healthy selection of herbs and spices so I rarely have to buy something new. And I salt and pepper everything! I may not say it in a recipe, but really…everything!

1. I try to make extra for dinner and eat it for lunch the following day. Some days I get 2 lunches out if it!

1. I rarely measure! My measurements are “some”, “a little”, or “enough.” I just cook by taste and sight. So add as much or as little of an item as you want according to your own tastes!

1. Because of this challenge, I will not purchase any brand that has added sugar. You’d be surprised what sugar is added to! So check your labels! There are very few compliant prepared meats. Most lunchmeat, sausage, and bacon have some form of sugar. My packaged fruits are all no sugar added. I make sure my tuna does not list soy, and all condiments and spices must not have sugar, honey, MSG, etcetera. 

Ok, I think that’s enough background. Now on to the meals!
(I try to take pictures every day just to remember what I ate, but sometimes I forgot. And some pictures were just shoot and go,  so not every meal or picture was Instagram worthy!)

Ok, that was easy! Now Meals! Some things are a repeat from the previous weeks, so I am just going to reference which day/meal for the instructions, instead of repeatedly writing everything! It will look like this D2 M2 (day 2 meal 2). 🙂

D22 M1: Fried potatoes with Aidells Chicken Apple sausage, a fried egg, and cranberry water.
D22 M2: Leftover knackwurst, baked sweet potato fries, and a pomegranate water.
D22 M3: BBQ chicken (with leftover BBQ sauce from the Whole Sisters), green beans

D23 M1: Fancy Bananas (D10 M1)
D23 M2: Leftover BBQ chicken with guacamole, cantaloupe
D23 M3: Bacon guacamole burgers with smashed potatoes (recipe)

D24 M1: Aidells Chicken and Apple sausage and cantaloupe
D24 M2: Leftover bacon guacamole burger and Naked juice (check your labels! Not all flavors are compliant!)
D24 M3: Had guests for dinner so made a big meal. Mayo pork chops (D11 M3), roasted asparagus, deviled eggs (with avocado, compliant mayo, mustard, and bacon pieces), roasted potatoes with onion soup mix seasoning (Make your own—skip the sugar), salad with dump ranch, and olives.

D25 M1: Fried egg, cantaloupe, and pomegranate water
D25 M2: Leftover burger, deviled egg filling, and carrots.
D25 M3: Roasted tomato soup, fried egg over asparagus. I roasted a basket full of heirloom tomatoes on 350 for a 2.5 hours on a lipped baking sheet. You need something with a lip or sides so the juices don’t run all over. (wash, cut in half through equator not stem, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle some basil, salt, pepper, and some chopped garlic). I started cooking some onion in a large pot and added about a pint of chicken stock. Then added the tomatoes with all juices to a large pot. I used an immersion blender to blend the soup to the consistency I wanted. Add some basil, thyme, red pepper flake, S&P to get the taste to where you want. Add more stock if you want a thinner soup. (I also ended up with a couple bags for the freezer!)

D26 M1: Cantaloupe, cucumber, tomatoes, and cranberry water
D26 M2: Leftover mayo pork and roasted potatoes
D26 M3: Rotisserie chicken and cauliflower/potato mash (D7 M3), cranberry water

D27 M1: Fancy bananas
D27 M2: Leftover chicken and cauliflower mash
D27 M3: Pulled pork over broccoli slaw and applesauce (One of the bags I froze from D10 M3)

D28 M1: Scrambled egg and watermelon
D28 M2: Chopped salad with leftover chicken and dump ranch
D28 M3: burger with avocado, baked fries (sweet potato and white potato…mostly sweet), peas

D29 M1: Naked Juice and Lara bar. They frown on juicing and smoothies on the program, so I abstained for most of it. But as you can see, I was towards the end of the challenge and getting lazy! However, I was still compliant!
D29 M2: Leftover pulled pork on broccoli slaw
D29 M3: Steak and zucchini ribbons. I bought a green and yellow zucchini at the farmer’s market. I used my regular peeler to first peel off the flesh, then peel the rest into thin ribbons, stopping when I got to the core and seeds. I cooked the ribbons in the same skillet as the steak, using some S&P, a bit of butter, and just a squeeze of lime. And some parsley.

D30 M1: Scrambled egg with bacon, and cantaloupe
D30 M2: Leftover burger and a Naked juice
D30 M3: Cornish game hens (stuffed with apple slices, rubbed with S&P, rosemary, butter, and cooked according to directions on package), and sautéed sweet potato and kale. (cook sweet potatoes in a little butter with some S&P, balsamic vinegar, ginger, and cloves. Add in kale towards the end and cook until it wilts.)

The End!

I’m so glad that I decided to take on this challenge! It really does change your relationship with food! As for my results…I lost 12 pounds, over 11 inches (in the 6 areas that I measured), my acid reflux is better, I sleep better, I don’t feel so ragged all the time, my outlook is more positive, and I have more control over my cravings.

It really is a novel experience to have a craving and to be able to say “NO!” I told J that it feels as if I have an inner toddler that pitches temper tantrums and I am just now learning how to tell it NO! Picture a 3 year old stomping “I want! I want! I want!”…before I would just say “OK, here you go”. Now I say “nope! Not gonna happen. You can throw yourself all over the floor. I’ll be in the bath…come and get me when you’ve finished.” Ha! Sorry inner toddler! Time to be an adult and learn control and rein myself in. And really, it feels good to be in control!

Good luck to anyone who tries their own Whole 30! It is challenging, but it really will change your life if you can stick to it!