Must be Sunday.....

No farmer's markets/road side stands open and I was dodging road apples on my run today.  All the mennonites down here are great with all of the good produce they provide, but they also provide some items in the road that neither smell good, nor provide me with wanted obstacles while running.  I swear if I twist my ankle on horse shit, I'm going to lose it. 

Apologies for no post yesterday- twas a busy day off campus!  Probably a good thing we went to Richmond, forgot yesterday was Yard-Sale-a-Palooza in Bridgewater.  The biggest holiday of the year. I swear I could barely get out of my garage because there were yard-salers all over creation.   

It was great to see the team play against some other people and they did pretty well.  I had some green peppers and guacamole before we played and a Lara Bar in between.  No real lunch for me, but I wasn't starving. So bfast and snacks were all well and good, until we got to the glorious team dinner.  Lasagna, garlic bread, spinach & artichoke dip, pita chips, red velvet cake, candy corn....aaaaaah.  I settled for my homemade chicken salad on top of a salad.  It would've been better if i was eating in solitude. One of the annoying parts about this challenge is that a million people ask you a million questions.  Sometimes it is hard to explain- so I try to keep it simple and sweet. Then they ask if I've lost weight.  Oh jeez, here we go again. 
Luckily, there was fresh fruit out, so I could mingle and snack like everyone else. 

We got back at about 9:15pm or so.  After our bus hit a police check point on campus...normal.  They actually stopped the bus and asked for the driver's license. Really? 

Anyways, got home, watched a little TV and was in bed around 10:30.  I had the best sleep I think I've ever had.  Literally did not move all night; it was awesome.  This morning, breakfast was ok.  I had eggs scrambled with proscuitto and green peppers and a side of tomatoes. Added a little cinnamon to my coffee to spice it up.  Haha get it? I know, lame. 
Had a little date/walnut snack as well, didn't feel satiety from breakfast alone. 

Went to support our volleyball team over lunch, and again wasn't starving, so just had a lara bar.  Oh also got in a run before that. I worked out 6 days this week, something that hasn't happened in a little while.  I usually shoot for 4-5x per week. 

I was in football-cooking mode- so here is the spread for the game: turkey chili, guacamole and salsa.  I need to figure out what to shuttle the salsa into my gob with....green peppers aren't cutting it. Whoever invented Scoops is a genius.  Mind you I consumed these items while those around me had said Scoops, Oktoberfest beer and cupcakes.  Brutal. 

Luckily the Redskins pulled it out! I still do not like Billy Cundiff, but he pulled through when we needed it.  Although, if he would've just hit the 6 yarder he missed earlier, we wouldn't have been in that position. Whatever, a W is a W. 

Hard to believe 3 weeks are down!  I feel like I'm in a good stride now and am easily handling it.  I am actually nervous to be 'finished' and not sure how I will react physically and mentally.  It seems weird to me that I am nervous to finish. Will keep you posted on those thoughts. 

I'm so cool....

I poach chickens on Friday nights. Seriously.  I'm poaching a chicken while watching Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.  Why do I torture myself.
Wait until you hear what I had for dinner....eggs and a freaking carrot.  Felt like a reindeer. 
I'm making it sound worse than it really was.  Probably my worst whole30 dinner, but not gag worthy.  I was left feeling a little unsatisfied. Probably doesn't help that it smells like Thanksgiving in here with the poaching of the chicken.  I want stuffing and leftover turkey sandwiches with cranberry sauce on a homemade roll. 
Ok, here is the poaching extravaganza....I put carrots, onions, celery (the trinity), salt, peppercorns, crushed garlic cloves, rosemary, sage and parsley in a big pot with the bird.  I also stuffed some of the aforementioned items into the cavity of the chicky chicky.  Covered with water, brought to a boil and then turned down to a simmer for about 50 minutes.  Took it off the heat and covered for about 10-15 more minutes.  

 It was awkward getting that thing out of the pot...the meat was literally falling off the bone and it was hot as hell. Took the skin off, burning my fingers about 9 times. Made a chicken salad out of some of the white meat using s&p, chopped walnuts, celery, grapes and homemade mayo.  Will be taking that as my lunch tomorrow.  We are on the road to Richmond for a play day.  Paleo on the road againnnnn.

Once I pulled all of the meat off the carcass, I threw it back into the jacuzzi and brought it to a boil. I'm planning on using the broth to make a soup at some point.  

Ok, off to hit the hay....bathing birds has got me exhausted.  Wish me luck for tomorrow.  I will be packing my paleo cooler for my day of lax.  Leaving at 10am and probably won't be back until 8pm.  Toughest test will for sure be our stop at one of the player's houses- team dinner with lasagna amongst other goodies.  What day am I on again? 

Thirsty Thursday

And then there was one. The other 2 people that decided to join me here on this whole30 mission have decide to discontinue. So it's me and 11 days.

Blogging from my phone, so it's a shorty.
Lunch was chicken, mayo, tomato and portobello on a lettuce wrap. So yum. Dinner was a 'tuna melt' on a portobello mushroom. Also delish. Limiting my date intake since they are super sugary.
Night y'all!

mummy kicks

For those that don't know....mummy kicks are one of the most dreaded parts of the Insanity workouts.  That or push up jacks (basically a jumping jack on the ground with a push up included, nbd). 

Have to admit....pretty tired right now.  The mummy kicks and push up jacks are starting to catch up to me. Highlight of the morning was when one of my players said to me- "Coach you have so much energy!" Loved that. 

The motivation for Insanity, besides proving to my players that this old gal can still hang, was my breakfast after.  Felt like such a good workout deserved a whole sweet potato in my paleo oatmeal.  I also added a few chopped dates to the mash to spice it up.  Had an egg for some protein.  I also meant to mention, I switched from light coconut milk to regular coconut milk.  I add that to my paleo oatmeal and to my coffee- once you get over the weird consistency it's pretty good.  I am actually starting to enjoy my coffee these days. 

Lunch, per usual, was lame-nation. I should clarify, lunch in the dining hall, per usual was lame-nation. We had a recruit on campus today, so my assistant and I joined the entire BC student body (half of them in camo) for lunch.  Had a salad, with 2 hard boiled eggs, balsamic vinegar and EVOO. Supplemented with a small cup of fruit and a water.  Could hardly contain myself. Not. 

Had a banana before practice, just felt hungry and still not satisfied from lunch.  Previously, I remember getting super hungry during practice.  Hungry coach wasn't a happy coach.  Now I'm cruising through.  Even played a little 3v3 with some players before practice got going.  It was a gorgeous day down here in the Shenandoah Valley and practice went well.  

Had to make a Walmart run to fill a prescription for a player, so decided to see what kind of paleo friendly food Wally M had to offer. I skipped the produce section, really trying to support the local farmers by getting that stuff at farmers markets/roadside stands.  I was surprised to find the following whole30 friendly items: coconut milk, dates (new obsession), tuna in EVOO, pumpkin and tomato paste.  

Dinner nailed it- lettuce wraps with baked chicken, homemade mayo and tomato, with a side of avocado topped with homemade salsa.  For 'dessert' I had a few walnuts and dates.  I've been popping dates like they are oversized tootsie rolls. It's crazy how much I've been looking forward to my whole30 meals.  Also crazy that I haven't been concerned with calories at all- which was my previous way of approaching every meal. Feels good to just eat real, whole food and not worry about anything else. Also feels good to FEEL GOOD.  

Tuesdays with Paleo

I have had a lot of people ask me the same question- 'have you lost any weight?' My answer is always- 'I don't know.' The reason I'm doing the Whole30 challenge is not to lose weight. It's bigger than that. I've counted calories, exercised more, cut out carbs, etc.  The goal of the Whole30 is to change my relationship with food and 'reset' my body.  So, I don't know if I've lost weight, because I haven't weighed myself.  A common side effect of the whole30 challenge is weight loss, but it isn't the ultimate goal. To be honest, it has been hard not to weigh myself.  I have been weighing myself every Monday for over a year.  My original thought on that was- knowing that I have to weigh myself every Monday will ensure I make better food/drink decisions on the weekends.  I am anxious though to step on the scale after 30 days are complete.  If, while you are on the Whole30, you are concerned about weight loss- you should really limit snacking, especially on nuts and fruit. 

So today was a typical day.  Breakfast was scrambled eggs, 1/2 avocado and campari tomatoes. I played basketball and lifted at lunchtime (guaranteed to be sore in the glutal/hamstring region tomorrow- haven't done good mornings in a while). Lunch was pretty great, and different.  Yellowfin tuna packed in EVOO mixed with my homemade mayo, celery, garlic powder, S&P.  I had that in boston lettuce leaves....so good.  Side of tomatoes and the rest of the avocado from my bfast.  Good little lunch. 

Oh I also had a kiwi as an afternoon snack.  Felt ok doing that since I had a pretty good workout beforehand.  Side note- have you ever tried eating a kiwi with the skin on? I know it sounds disgusting, but my assistant says that's how they do it in Australia, so mate, put another shrimp on the barbie.  It's actually really good.  

Pictures are being weird.  We had off from practice today, so I went over to watch JMU practice.  It is awesome to be so close to such a great lax team, and even better that the coaching staff is awesome enough to let me creep on the sidelines. Also gave me a good excuse to head over to my new fave paleo friendly fast food chain- CHIPOTLE.  I thought I was at JMU's freshmen orientation when I walked in; I tried to fit in by just tweeting the entire time I waited in line. I also did have sweats on, so that may have helped my cause. Got the salad with caranitas, and loaded up on the guac. I am really crushing avocados on the whole30.  Added a little of my homemade salsa for a finishing touch and went to town.  It was all I hoped it would be. Resisted the urge to have a little date/walnut snack afterwards and chugged some water instead.  Not regretting that choice.  

Up early for conditioning tomorrow- the team is doing INSANITY and apparently I am insane because I am joining them.  Please keep me in your thoughts tomorrow at 7am.  

Half Way Point

So today, as I was strolling down the aisles of the local Food Lion, I stopped to stare at the Pretzel M&M's.  I admit it, I missed my little chocolate pals.  Welp, karma got me for even taking a peep.  Crushed my shin on the mini cart before I could even take in the glorious site.  Keep Calm and Whole30 On.

I decided to branch out with my picture postings and do more than post just my culinary creations.  (sorry for the flash) Here is what is actually in the mayonnaise most of you are consuming: 

The best part is the asterisk* ingredient not normally found in mayonnaise.  Then why is it in there? And why is sugar in Mayo? Here is a challenge for you all...check your labels every once in a while, if you can't pronounce an ingredient (or worse, more than one) don't eat it! 

Besides the Fred Flintstone type lump on my shin, I returned home from the grocery store with the following: 

(Yes that's a whole mini chicken...the plan is to poach it later in the week)

(Also, finally found tuna without soy in it! Success!)

If you are concerned about my meals today, and miss my photos, here they are.  If you've been a loyal (or recent) follower, I'm sure you can guess what was included in my breakfast. 

Dinner was a salad with tomatoes, a portobello mushroom and shrimp.  EVOO for dressing.  Lunch isn't really worth mentioning, but I will since now you are probably curious. Dining hall salad with 2 hard boiled eggs, although I did use sesame oil and vinegar as a dressing.  Told you, not that exciting. 

Currently, I sit in a classroom monitoring student-athletes who have fallen below a 2.0 GPA.  If you know me, you know the face I am making right now.  While they are pretending to study while simultaneously browse Facebook, I am blogging and drinking seltzer water with frozen berries in it. #winning

Flowchart

Sunday Funday

Weekends are hard.  I am such a grazer on the weekends.  The goal of today was to relax, clean the house, run a few errands, make a few things and go on a run.  All items completed except the run. 

The breakfast of steak (leftover from dinner last night), a fried egg, and my new sweet potato/banana oatmeal left me happier than I should've been from food.  Eating real food feels good! 

Lunch was my paleo version of a chicken sammy.  Chicken breast on top of a portobello bun, topped with homemade salsa.  Honestly, it looked better than it tasted.  I mean it was good, but it wasn't my breakfast, or my dinner from last night. I'm starting to become a whole food snob. 

Fun with the food processor!  

Homemade mayo to the left, to the left. (room temp egg, lemon, dry mustard, salt and Light Olive Oil). Don't ask me why I made enough to feed the entire campus. I may try to make variations of the mayo, maybe a little basil, maybe a little  cilantro.  I don't know, I don't know if we'll have enough time.  (Old School reference for those that are slow)

Right side is homemade salsa (tomatoes, red onion, cilantro, lime juice, salt, pepper, garlic, splash of EVOO). Somebody please tell me if I'm starting to channel more Rachel Ray than Julia Childs. EVOO is just easier to use than spelling it all out. 

Dinner was a surf and turf combo.  Broiled ribeye steak, shrimp sauteed in EVOO and garlic and fresh greens with homemade salsa as dressing.  Steak is quickly becoming my new bestie.  

So back to the grazing.  The book recommends limiting snacking.  It's hard to limit when you're just milling around the house all day.  Had a few handfuls of walnuts, a Lara Bar (might as well be a Snickers at this point), and some dried apricots and dates.  Dates (of any kind) are so underrated. 

Tomorrow is day 15.  Holy Halfway Point.   

Yummmmm

To die for breakfast and pumpkin pie.

(Coffee mug was a gift...thanks Vik!)

Lunch sucked...

but breakfast and dinner nailed it! 
Got to 'sleep in'...but good ole alarm clock in my head woke me up at 7:30am.  No worries, felt well rested and ready to tackle the day.  Went for a run before breakfast, bad idea.  I was starving about 20 steps into the run.  Nonetheless, I forged through and got a decent workout out of it. Breakfast was probably the best I've had in years.  I would compare it to chocolate chip pancakes in my pre-paleo life. Scrambled eggs with proscuitto and a side of 'oatmeal.' I mashed sweet potato and banana with coconut milk and cinnamon and topped it with walnuts.  I could not get enough of it. I wish I had it right now. 

Lunch sucked.  It was families weekend on campus and we had a bunch of recruits staying overnight, so my assistant and I visited the overcrowded, not-so-paleo friendly dining hall. I had a boring salad with balsamic vinegar and EVOO on top.  The most exciting part of it was watercress.  Exactly.  Watercress- not gonna seal the deal for me. 

Dinner has been planned for about a week now.  There is an awesome restaurant in Harrisonburg that only serves local and grass-fed, organic food- The Local Chop and Grill House.  DELISH.  I had a Ribeye with gazpacho, steamed asparagus and veggies.  I haven't had a steak yet on the whole30....not sure what I was waiting for. 

A little red wine would've gone nicely with this one....instead, settled for a soda water with lime.  Could've sworn it was Sprite.  My taste buds have started to transform.  I find my mouth watering about certain fruits, and now about my sweet potato/banana oatmeal concoction. I'm feeling stronger and have more conviction every day about this challenge. After Monday I will be half way through.  Piece of cake.  mmmm, cake.  Damn!

It happened.

Sorry for the delay Ace.  It's been a busy last 2 days- trying to build a dynasty, complete the whole30 challenge and keep my audience abreast is a bit taxing.  

It happened. I had Chipotle for dinner tonight.  I know, you didn't think I would do it, had complete faith in me, yada yada yada.  Oh wait, did you think I cheated? Nope. 
NEWSFLASH: CHIPOTLE IS PALEO FRIENDLY! 
Huge discovery.  HUGE.  All of their meats are organic and grass fed.  Whole30 goers are limited to their carnitas (pork) because the chicken and steak are cooked in soybean oil.  The pork was actually raised locally, less than 60 miles from Harrisonburg. 
Had to keep a drool bucket with me as I waited in line at the local Chipotle....which also happens to be directly across from the campus of JMU. Hello leggings, oversized crew neck sweatshirts and liquid eye liner. 

I could hardly contain myself as I approached the counter.  I felt like a kid in a freaking candy shop. Before long, I was loading up a bowl with lettuce, carnitas, green peppers, onions, mild and medium salsa (I know, bold) and a big fat dollop of guacamole. 

UNREAL.

Here are a few images from meals yesterday.  Lunch was spot on with leftovers of the spaghetti squash and marinara and a side of chicken breast.  I may start to jar and sell that marinara to the locals.  I mean, people here sell sandwiches on the side of the road weekly to raise money.  I promise this happens here. I don't know what the deal is, but people around here act like it's completely normal to sell sloppy joes out of their coolers to local passerby's. 

Dinner (on the right) may look boring to you, but it was actually pretty solid. I could eat tomatoes and avocado at every meal. This meal was convenient and easy, especially beneficial since I didn't get home from practice until about 8pm.  It has been really handy to cook a bunch of chicken breasts at a time in case you need a quick meal.  Hard boiled eggs have also been key. 

So I really like to test myself to see how strong my willpower is.  I've added candy to the mug on my desk at work and tomorrow I will be making pasta salad for the team's tailgate. I test myself because I am so confident in my mental strength.  I have always been fairly confident, but now I'm empowered and driven to succeed.  It definitely helps knowing I have a cyber audience to check in with, but even if I didn't blog I know I would stay on track.  It's a pretty cool feeling being able to tackle a challenge that will inevitably change your life.   

Double Digits

Well Jules, you little rascal, you did it again.  Dinner was freaking scrumptious. I believe the pictures are worth 1,000 salivary responses, but just in case: Spaghetti Squash with homemade marinara sauce and turkey meatballs.  Are you kidding me? The food processor really performed tonight.  Roma tomatoes, garlic, sauteed onions, S&P, oregano and fresh basil. 

Oh yeah and a side of kale, who has become that sidekick that you're not sure if you should keep around or kick to the curb.  Luckily this guy has no effect on my social life.  Well, that is, unless he rears his ugly little head into one of my bicuspids and I don't find him until hours later.  Note to self, keep a mirror handy.

Really can't stop thinking about that dinner.  All real food and all real good.

Lunch was good, but left me filling a little empty and sluggish.  Salmon from last night on top of a salad with EVOO on top. Got back to the office and had to have an apple with some almond butter.  Probably will never eat peanut butter again. I'm not sure why Almond has not gotten the love that Peanut has gotten, but I will surely be embracing it from this point forward.  After the apple I chugged a bunch of water with fresh fruit in it and I felt a lot better.  I was up early for a morning workout with the team, so that could have something to do with the lethargy. Anyways, here was lunch: 

Really loving the empowering feeling I have being a third of the way through this challenge! I think it's also helpful that it is all in my control.  Obviously I love being in control.  That's why I'm a coach, to control 18-21 year olds. (Sarcasm....of course that's not why I coach.  I do it for the money.) 

Oh wait, that's not it either :) 

A Rainy Day in Bridgewater

Feel asleep to rain last night and woke up to the same.  Felt like my body should want to stay home and watch Lifetime movies all day, but I didn't.  I'm not having much of a problem getting up in the morning, which is awesome.  
Breakfast was a scramble of eggs, ham and green peppers- something I definitely would've eaten pre-paleo.  I've been having my coffee with coconut milk- it's delish.
Had a few sunflower seeds, almond slivers, pumpkin seeds and a couple raisins to snack on during a meeting this morning.  Played noon hoops for a half hour and got in a lift (actually haven't done that since the Whole30 started)- had energy and felt strong, despite not lifting in a few weeks.  
Got pretty busy at work, so didn't end up eating lunch until 3pm. Or showering for that matter.  Sorry coworkers. It was pretty weird, I wasn't starving the way I 'thought' I should be.  Really learning to feel what my body wants and when. Like I said, wasn't famished, so I had a hard boiled egg, handful of walnuts and a tomato/avocado salad.  For "dessert" I was literally salivating for a mango.  The mangoes (don't know if there is an 'e' in there) I got this weekend were amazeballs. Yes I said amazeballs, if you watch E! News, you know I'm getting that from my girl G.  Can't take the cred. 

Channeled my inner Julia Childs for dinner and that little lassie delivered.  Main attraction was grilled salmon with fresh lime juice, EVOO, S&P.  Sides were grilled avocado (new obsession) and sauteed kale with garlic.  Promised myself I wouldn't eat the entire salmon (it was so good) and I succeeded.  Now I have a salad topper for lunch tomorrow. 

Now relaxing with a little Bravo TV and Women's Health mag.  If you haven't checked out Whole9life.com or FletcherFitness.com, check it out.

Tomorrow is DAY 10....double digits!  

Meatless Monday

Portabello mushrooms in balsamic, squash and fries.
Made from turnips. Boom.
Seasoned with EVOO, s&p, and chili powder. Would kill for ketchup, but I can deal.

Crustacean Nation

Reporting from the couch at the home base and happy to say I am fully paleo nourished. 

Friday was a bit of a debacle with my parked car dinner, but I managed.  It is pretty tough eating lots of garlic and onion and not being able to throw any gum in to mask the odor.  Probably not going to help out my lack of social scene. 

Breakfast has been pretty consistent throughout the week...eggs. I think this weekend I ate the same amount of eggs as there are Duggar's.  What are they up to now, 20? 

Saturday I went up to the old stomping grounds for a McDaniel soccer game.  Awesome to see them get a W over the Mules, not awesome to see that the tailgates are still on point. I walked the entire length of the spread to find something paleo....fresh fruit it is. Thank god there wasn't any dirt cake...(sorry Tara). 

From the game went to a family cookout/bonfire, this is where crustacean nation comes in to play. Crabs, scallops and shrimp....my new heaven. I think this was the first time in 10 years I didn't drink a beer while eating crabs.  They were soooo good! Threw in some fresh bruschetta on the side and I was more than satisfied. It definitely was difficult not drinking an Octoberfest at the bonfire; the scene may as well of been from a Sam Adams commercial. Nonetheless, I survived and had a great time. 

Today, stopped at Wegman's on my way back to Bridgewater....it was glorious. I definitely took about 67 laps and had to stop randomly to consult the bible (It Starts With Food). I've gotten really good at reading labels....the longer they are, probably the less you should have it. 

I would've grabbed a lot more, but only had my mini cooler with me.  Quick recap of the items: salmon, portobello mushrooms, grn peppers, organic tomato sauce/paste, coconut milk, mango, spaghetti squash, kale....that's all I got for now. 

So something that caused me the most anguish when I was debating this Whole30 challenge....football on Sunday.  I love cooking and drinking beer while watching football all day.  So, I knew the drinking would be out...but didn't think the food would be so great!  Pleasantly surprised with the paleo tailgate that occurred today.  Pics below are of: grilled chicken drumsticks (later covered in hot sauce), turkey chili and kale chips. 

Jury is still out on the kale chips, one bite I'm intrigued, the other I'm disgusted.  I'm still eating them as I type. 

Overall, I'm surprised it's already been a week. The whole30 has consumed about 60% of my thoughts, but I feel good and know I'll be able to continue for 23 more days.  I'm going to really try to limit my snacking this week and only eat when I'm actually hungry, not bored. Brought a food processor back with me (one of the perks of having sisters get married and register for gifts they'll never use...haha). Still deciding what I'm going to use it for, don't worry I will keep you posted. 

Traveling Paleo

Supplies in the cooler started to deplete quickly. Realized the importance of meal preparation today...
Had to have an on the go dinner in between watching games. Figured I could scrounge up some items in the grocery store. Took me 20 minutes and $20 bucks. Ended up getting guacamole, carrots, tomatoes, pecans and sparking water. Eating like this gets a little expensive.
Pics below are of lunch and my awkward dinner that I ate in my parked car.
Still feeling good.