Whole30 – Day 20

Getting up is getting harder 🙁 Crawled out of bed and into the shower; found an omelette waiting for me when I got out. Made it to work in plenty of time tho. Hit a bit of a dead end workwise mid-morning so got a cup of lemon tea from the vending machine (not terrible) and a plum.

Held out until 1pm for lunch – smoked mackerel with broccoli, almonds and tomatoes. Plenty of protein and good fats there.

Wasted most of my afternoon trying to fix my laptop, again, and ended up having to stay late while it rebuilt. The fruit bowl was right in front of me so scoffed most of a bunch of grapes and a small orange out of boredom. Really wanted some cheese by the time I’d given up and decided to go home. Added yet more fruit by making pancetta wrapped pear wedges when I got home.

Got started on dinner pronto to stop me snacking; aubergine lasagne. A cross between melanzane parmigiana and a Ragu lasagne, but no béchamel sauce or cheese allowed so topped it with a few spoons of macadamia nut butter instead. Pretty satisfying. Was still wanting cheese after that so had some more water and rode out the craving.

Was falling asleep by 9:30 so hauled off to bed and tried to read for a bit. Zzzzzzz.

Whole30 – Day 19

Definitely more of a struggle to get out of bed this morning. Black tea and an omelette then on the road in about 15mins. Bit of a stressy morning with technical issues – hate when this stuff is outside my control. Not much I could do except wait, and have a coffee and a banana. Not a big fruit-eater but something to do.

Lunch with the team was nice. Had my madras chicken salad on romaine leaves with a few cherry toms – pleasant change to have people talk about my lunch without a derisive sneer about “Atkins v2.0”. I seem to have joined a foodie group!

Starving by the time I got home (this work malarkey is tiring!) so got cracking with dinner straight away. White fish roasted on top of ratatouille, from a batch I made last week, with a plum for “dessert” while we watched a movie.

Meant to go to bed at 10pm but ended up half-watching the news and half falling asleep on the sofa so got to bed at 10:30 and out cold!

Whole30 – Day 18

Bit of a scramble to get out on time, but ended up being early for work. Black tea and an omelette for breakie, time for a shower and even managed to blow dry my hair. Am I becoming a morning person?!

Actually took an hour break for lunch, but spent most of it catching up with people over tea. Guzzled my lunch salad (mackerel, beetroot and egg) at my desk in about 5mins but felt well rested.

Was peckish when I got home so had a couple of slices of prosciutto before heading to Waitrose for a few more salad bits. I always prefer to under-shop for perishables like that, and it gives me an excuse to have a mooch around Waitrose 🙂

Nice, spicy jerk chicken for dinner with plantain chips and mango salsa to perk me up. Was getting a bit distressed by the lack of piccies this week so, ta dah!

Yes, it’s an old picture. Was too hungry to pause for camera.

Knackered but only hauled myself to be at 10:30

Whole30 – Day 17

Back at work. Up early – and it felt very early to me. Omelette and coffee served by Hubby. Normal morning service resumed after 6 months 🙂

Had a couple of cups of black tea during morning meetings, and a plum. Earl grey tea from the machine is marginally less disgusting than the “English Breakfast” and at least I’d save a small fortune on coffee bar lattes!

Bit of a late break for lunch, due to meetings and the like, but luckily I made a packed lunch so didn’t have to worry about eating. Having worked here before I knew that the canteen can be sadly lacking in options. Got a cup of coffee with the new boss, but that was my lot for the day.

Home at a reasonable hour and instructed Hubby on how to cook dinner. A rustic Spanish pig’s cheek stew with lots of carrot, onion and smoked paprika served with celeriac (leftover from the whole celeriac I roasted on Saturday night) to mop up the sauce. Mmmm 🙂

Carrillada

Very tired but only got off to bed at 10:30 Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

 

Whole30 – Day 16

This was going to be another tricky day. Family lunch to celebrate 2 birthdays – which normally means fizz and cake. Filled up on gammon and eggs for breakfast, then tucked into cold roast beef and ham with veggies for luncheon swapping the cake and ice cream for some fresh raspberries. Simples and plenty filling. Not having cake wasn’t a problem (not really a cake person) but no horseradish sauce on beef – aaargghh!!!

A quite pre-evening of laundry and reading, accompanied by some ginger tea (not had any for a while) and preparing packed lunch for tomorrow. Even though it’s Sunday, I really didn’t miss a glass of wine. Hmm, must be personal growth!

For supper I had some more ham-wrapped peaches and leftover roast chicken, followed by kippers with poached eggs. Bit of nursery food 🙂

Whole30 – Day 15

Yay! Hump Day! Somehow managed to sleep until 10:30

No idea how that happened. Wasn’t a late night and it’s not like I did much yesterday. Skipped breakfast as it was so late and I has food shopping to do. After a dash around Sainsburys, made greens, eggs and ham for lunch (the last of the kale with crispy prosciutto) .

Then popped out for a 5km walk. Picked up some dried apple and pear to nibble on. Might have been a bad idea as ended up with a bit of a sugar rush.

Nice cup of coffee when we got back. Really wanted a latte but … not long to go now. Downhill from here! Our final 2 days of Whole30 will be in Madrid so not sure how we’ll manage. No problem getting black coffee, but staying away from cheese and sugar might be tricky as well as wasting all that tapas bread. On the plus side, we also get to break or Whole30 in Spain 🙂

Special Saturday night dinner of crudités with tonnato (yes, tonnato) sauce dip followed by steak with roast celeriac. Watched a very long movie so only in bed at 11pm.

Whole30 – Week 2 Summary

Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner

Extras/ Snacks

Saturday

Omelette with avocado and tomato

Smoky bacon, veg and tomato soup

Cauliflower eggs fried rice w/ prawns

Black coffee

Assam tea

Marinated olives

Anchovies

Sunday

Courgette and pepper frittata

Roast chicken, carrots, parsnips, shallots and swede

Supper: Strawberries and macadamia nut butter

Ginger tea

Black coffee

Monday

Omelette with red pepper

Chicken drumsticks with coleslaw

Lamb meatballs with ratatouille

Ginger tea

Black coffee

Toasted coconut flakes

Blueberries

Tuesday

Omelette with yellow pepper

Mackerel, green bean, orange and beetroot salad

Lamb curry with roast courgette and sautéed cauliflower leaves

Ginger tea

Black coffee

Black tea

Coconut flakes

Wednesday

Omelette with mackerel

Chicken drumsticks with coleslaw

Chilled seafood

Ragu stuffed aubergine with kale and roast peppers

Black tea

Black coffee

Earl grey tea

Thursday

Omelette with mixed peppers

Frittata muffins and smoky bacon, veg and tomato soup

Black forest ham-wrapped peaches

Discovery chicken with cocoa dusted cauliflower and kale

Black tea

Black coffee

Almonds

Friday

Omelette with mixed peppers and cherry tomatoes

Bacon burgers with coleslaw

Thai green curry

Macadamia nut butter on apple

Black tea

Black coffee

Almonds

Whole30 – Day 14

Up just after 9am again, but not tired – was just distracted listening to the radio. Omelette with mixed peppers and cherry tomatoes for breakfast. Really like the fresh salad element to an otherwise boring omelette.

Dull weather outside but finally got my “summer” holiday booked last night so something to look forward to. Friday is normally shopping day, but we’ve got a fair amount of fresh veg leftover so I should be able to last until the weekend.

As it’s Friday I’d planned burgers for lunch; bacon burgers. Had a bit of a miz afternoon and ended up feeling down. No choccie or wine to turn to for comfort so had a cup of tea and some almonds. Not the same 🙁

Made a big pot of mild and creamy Thai green curry, with lots of veggies and chicken for dinner. A hug in a bowl 🙂

Friday night and, again, nothing on TV so in bed at 10pm.

Whole30 – Day 13

Woke up late. Not to worry, I’m sure I’ll have this sorted in time for next week 🙂

Omelette with mixed peppers for breakfast, then whipped up a batch of frittata muffins to use up the remaining veggie leftover scraps. The prosciutto cups didn’t even stick to the tray, they just came out nice and crispy.

Had those for lunch with a bowl of smoky bacon, veg and tomato soup. Is that too much bacon in one meal? Nah. Kitchen again looking a bit of a mess – life would be so much easier if I had a dishwasher but sadly no space in my dinky kitchen. Tackled it in about an hour of hard-graft.

Made some yummy Black forest ham-wrapped peaches, crisped up in a hot pan before serving, as pre-dinner snack with olives. Dinner was Discovery chicken with cocoa dusted cauliflower and kale. Yes, more kale! This stuff is never ending – but it is the Chuck Norris of all veg.

In bed at 10pm – nothing on TV again.

Whole30 – Day 12

Late start, due to staying up too late and falling asleep on the sofa. Not good. Made an omelette with smoked mackerel for breakie and downed a strong coffee with ghee (bullet-proof coffee) before heading out to the gym.

Good session but it’ll be my last daytime visit for a while since I start an office based job again next week. Will have to try for evenings and weekends with the other muggles 🙁

Lunch was a no-brainer – roast chicken and coleslaw salad ready in the fridge. Nice cup of coffee then out to run errands.

Enjoyed 2 pots of Twinings Earl Grey tea while abusing Costa’s free Wifi. I didn’t think I liked Earl Grey – turns out I just don’t like it with milk. The things you learn!

I must have resurrected my shopping mojo as I had a strong urge to go out and treat myself to something nice. This time food! Nothing bad. No sweet treats, cheese or booze. We still haven’t celebrated my new job yet so seems like a good enough excuse to me. Quite good fun trawling around Waitrose for Whole30 compliant treats. Settled on some chilled seafood; crab claws, prawns and mussels to have before dinner. Not terrible but not great either. All a bit over-cooked. Shan’t buy it again.

Dinner was roast aubergine stuffed with ragu, served with roasted sweet peppers and some kale.

Need some practice getting up early so off to bed at 10:30. Zzzzzzzz