Whole 30: Day 12

      Today was a little bit chaotic evil. Chaotic because everything was set back and crazy. Evil because around 2:00 am, I had a nightmare that kept me up for 3 hours, but I still had to get up early because Ray had to get blood work done first thing this morning. So we didn't eat breakfast until closer to 10:00 this morning. We changed up the pumpkin porridge this time and used almond butter instead of tahini. Everyone really liked the change because it gave it a deeper flavor. We had it with blueberry sage super sausage, and wow was that fantastic! How can you go wrong with blueberries and liver in your morning sausage?


     After chores, I got to play some video games (something I rarely get to do). Then we ate lunch: BLT salad with black pepper ranch dressing and muskmelon.

     After lunch, I could no longer go, so I had a nap while the kids played. After my nap, it was time to get some exercise in. We did a PEM, and it felt awesome. Muscles pulled bones into alignment. My back popped several wonderful times. And then as I was cooling down and stretching out, the muscle in the back of my leg cramped up and wouldn't let go. It still hurts a little now after extra potassium, extra calcium, and a bath in Epsom salt.

     With all of this craziness, pizza movie night got started late, so we didn't do any experimenting with the crust. We just stuck to the meatza crust. But since we were celebrating Harry Potter's birthday, we had to have a special dessert. I ended up making some cinnamon and sea-salt banana chips, and we topped them with almond butter and raisins. It was delicious.

     With the late start, and the fact that Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is a pretty long movie, I got a late start on my blog, and I was already pretty tired, so goodnight.

Whole 30: Day 11

     Today was not a great day. It really could have been better, but I was tired and developed a bit of a backache towards the end of my shift. Once I got home, it got better, but I had to deal with Cranky and the Hyper Boys. Apparently, the kids went to see my parents this afternoon, and while they were there, they had Paleo cookies and smoothies, and they came back wired and didn't tell Ray why. They also wouldn't settle and help out around the house like they're supposed to, which triggered Ray's stress issues. By the time I got home, Ray's sugar was close to 300, and he was in butt mode.

    And the day started off so good, too. We had a delicious breakfast of scrambled eggs with a side of avocado and olives. Once at work, it was pretty calm and I had time to make a list of things I need to do this weekend.


     I had chicken, beet, and carrot salad and my cauliflower hummus with bell pepper slices. It was so hot at lunch, though. It was almost not worth it eating in my car.

     Then as the end of my shift approached, it decided to storm. Thunder, lightning, pouring rain. So I stuck around for an extra 15 minutes, waiting for the storm to pass.

     When I got home, I was greeted by an unusual smell. It turned out to be a combination of smells: cinnamon, clove, muskmelon, and beef bone broth. It was a strange combo of smells that are wonderful when separate, but not so great together. Then there was the cranking and grumping and it was upsetting.

     For dinner, we had leftover beef tongue with carrots and broccoli slaw, and it almost made up for a lousy day. Almost.

     Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day. It's pizza movie night and Harry Potter's birthday. Since it's my turn to pick the movie, we'll be watching Harry Potter and having a little celebration. We'll also be trying a cauliflower pizza crust.

     As for tonight, I'm done. I have lost the ability to can. Goodnight.

Whole 30: Day 10

     Today was another 9-hour work shift, but I started it off with a wonderful bacon onion quiche. Eggs really help me power through my morning. It's rare that I even get hungry before lunch (which I usually don't get to eat until six hours after breakfast.

     Lunch was a Mediterranean chicken salad wrap. It poured down rain during my lunch, and I got soaked, but it was worth it to get out of the building and eat in peace. After lunch, I got to see Ray and Victor. Victor had just been to the dentist: no cavities.

     After work, we had oxtail with kale, onions, and peaches. They were really good, but we're thinking of cooking them differently next time.

     We all just relaxed in the living room together for the little bit of time we had before it was time for the kids to go to bed.

     Ray's sugar has been running a little higher the last two days, and as always, we're not sure why. Living with brittle Type I diabetes if really rough, but we continue to do all that we can through diet and exercise to try to manage it. And one of the things we can do to help is to make sure we get adequate sleep, so it's now time to say goodnight.

Whole 30: Day 9

     I took today off to go with Ray to his doctor's appointment. He recently changed doctors because his former doctor didn't listen to him, and the nurse practitioner he saw before that stopped allowing patients to bring someone back with them to the exam room, and between Ray's memory problems, anxiety issues, and paranoia, that was the worst thing she could do.

    Since this was his first time seeing the new doctor, his anxiety was very high, but she was awesome, and we really liked her. She actually listened and agreed to allow him to try for better management of his conditions through diet after he told her how the Whole 30 was helping him to control his blood sugar. She did, however, admonish him for eating breakfast before coming since she wanted to do blood work, and he informed her that his lab work would have to be earlier in the morning, if she didn't want him to eat because his appointment was at 10:00, but we didn't get back until 11:00, and that is way too long for a diabetic to go without eating or without insulin.

     We still had some shopping to do after that, since we were unable to get our meat on Saturday, so by the time we got home, it was 1:00. We decided to make a quicker lunch than what was on the menu, so we threw the cauliflower in some bone broth and fried our sardines. After lunch, I took a wonderful nap surrounded by my children. After I woke up, Ray and I danced together and then grabbed a shower.

     I finally got a chance to finish the menu for the next 10 days, just in time, so here it is:



Day 11:
Scrambled eggs with olives and avocado
Chicken, beet, and carrot salad
Leftover beef tongue with carrots and dates
Snacks: peppers w/cauliflower hummus, apple

Day 12:
Pumpkin tahini porridge w/raisins; blueberry and sage super sausage
Bacon, lettuce, and tomato salad with black pepper ranch
Meatz and salad
Snacks: melon, apple

Day 13:
Bacon and egg salad w/baked bananas
Pineapple burger with braised kale
Chicken fajita lettuce wraps with guacamole and butternut salad
Snacks: carrots w/red pepper cauliflower hummus, apple

Day 14:
Fruit salad with pistachios
Broc-cauli chowder
Fried eggs w/roasted Brussels and onions w/sweet mustard dressing
Snacks: pepper w/ranch, apple

Day 15:
Ham and butternut quiche
Caesar salad
Chicken livers w/plantain and apple fritters
Snacks: bacon jerky, apple

Day 16:
Coconut milk yogurt w/blueberries; bacon
Olive, tomato, an avocado salad w/sardine dressing
Meatza and salad
Snacks: devils on horseback, apple

Day 17:
Fiesta quiche
Chicken, avocado, and pepper salad w/date vinaigrette
Barbeque chicken stuffed sweet potato with broccoli and ranch
Snacks: carrots w/ranch, apple

Day 18:
Apple streusel quiche
Ham and sweet potato salad
Pan-fried sardines with baked butternut squash
Snacks: peppers w/baba ghanoush, apple

Day 19:
Egg cup with fermented carrots
Turkey, roasted turnip, and bacon salad
Ox tail w/onion jam and braised baby spinach
Snacks: carrots w/baba ghanoush, apple

Day 20:
Eggs w/breakfast bacon stir fry
Cucumber, tomato, sardine salad w/"cheesy" paprika ranch dressing
Bacon burger w/barbeque sauce, baked butternut squash, and pickles
Snacks: sweet potato chips, apple

     So far, the Whole 30 is really going well, and Ray and I are going to try to incorporate more Paleo-based exercise into our lives since we have more energy. On the days that I work 9 hours, Ray is going to try to make sure and move around, walking for a few minutes every hour. On my days off, we're going to try to get in at least one HIIT and one PEM, but we also love to dance.

     Well, it's late; I'm tired; and I have work tomorrow, so goodnight.

Whole 30: Day 8

     I don't know if it was me, but work was surprisingly chill today, even though it was busy. But before that, I started the day with green egg and ham quiche.

     And as always, I had lunch in my car. Ray made some delicious barbeque chicken and barbeque sauce that is made from tomato paste, blueberries, coconut aminos, and spices. We paired it with a tasty broccoli slaw and carrots with homemade ranch dipping saw.

     After work, I was awarded the site of an awesome VW Beatle. It was yellow with flowers painted on. The back windshield had a peace sign, and Woodstock '69 was painted on the back. It was truly far out.

     Back at home, the family got the kitchen and the bathrooms cleaned. They've been feeling a lot better and have had more energy, too.

     When I got home, we had chicken with bacon-y winter squash hash and relaxed. A delicious end to a pretty good day.

Whole 30: Day 7

     This will be a short post. For one thing, I didn't take any pictures today, and for another, I'm exhausted. Today was an exhausting day at work, but I did have the energy to make it all the way through with only a 30 minute break for lunch in the middle of an 8-hour work day.

     Sundays are our vegetarian days because I found that eating meat seven days a week was making my toe hurt, which made me a little paranoid that it might be the onset of gout. So today we had fruit salad and pistachios for breakfast. I have a hard time with certain nuts, but these are on my okay list. I cannot eat pecans, walnuts, or macadamias, the latter making me very sad because I love macadamias. Lunch was a divine homemade roasted butternut squash soup seasoned with Chinese five spice. I plan on posting this recipe as soon as I can get a decent picture. I had planned on taking a picture of the soup at lunch, but I was having trouble keeping more than one thought in my head at a time, so I was halfway through dinner before I had this realization, and it was too late to take a picture of dinner, either. Dinner was winter squash hash with eggs.

     Other than having the dumb today, it was a really great day. My favorite parts were being home with the family and having Ray rub my very tired feet. Goodnight.

Whole 30: Day 6

     Mornings when the kids go to my parents' house are always hectic, and today was no different. We got everyone up early and had breakfast. Ray, Victor, and I like our eggs sunny-side up. Lydia likes hers fried, and Alex likes his scrambled. Ray makes them to order on the griddle all at the same time.

     After breakfast, with the kids gone, we had a couple of hours before we had to start lunch, so Ray took a nap because he was really sleepy, and he was going to drive us all to Dothan. I started working on the menu for the next ten days.

     For lunch, we had pan-fried sardines with sweet potato chips, and it was fabulous. Then we put together a snack and headed for my parents' to pick the kids up for a special treat, a surprise.

     We have an awesome 2nd-hand store in Dothan that holds all sorts of events, and today they held Harry Potter's birthday party. The kids were sorted into houses and able to make their own wands and golden snitches and answer trivia questions from the books and movies.


Ravenclaw

Gryffindor

Hufflepuff

     After everyone else left, Ray, my mom, and I were allowed to get badges and sorted into houses as well. Ray got Slytherin. My mom got Hufflepuff, and I got Ravenclaw.

Only a Slytherin would wear that T-shirt

Typical Ravenclaw with an armload of books

     I found a cool seasonal cookbook that I'm going to use as inspiration for Paleo recipes, and my mom got me a really awesome sugar skull bag. Once we left there, everyone started talking about how hungry they were, so we broke out the rest of the bacon jerky and some watermelon and raisins for Ray because his sugar was dropping.

     We got our groceries for the week before making it back home. We threw our dinner into the pressure cooker, and just relaxed. We had chicken with broccoli, onion, and mushrooms, and for dessert, we had fresh diced peaches in coconut milk. This day went by too fast, and now it's time for bed, so goodnight.