Whole30: Days 12-18

honest whole30 review

Last week in this post I shared the first installment of my second round of Whole30.  I have to be upfront and honest that I’m not being as intense this year as I was last year (if you even call that intense… rules are hard!).  My first time trying this reset, I wanted to follow along as strictly as I could so I could not only see all of the benefits of the program but also determine what inflammatory foods were for me (the answer was grains and dairy).

This time I’m trying to follow Whole30 as best as I can but I’m mostly just trying to eliminate grains and diary completely.  I’m going to confess – I had wine during our weekend stay at the Terranea Resort and I had wine on Valentine’s Day. I’m putting it out there!

I previously covered Whole30 by a weekly breakdown (you can see all of those in the “food” category of this site), and this year you guys shared you would be interested in hearing about it again so I’m replacing Friday’s Five with updates!

PROS: 

I feel more focused… but part of me thinks this might have more to do with the bulletproof coffee?

I have more energy – noticeably more. So much so that I’ve been exercising 4 – 5x a week (not my usual).

CONS: 

I’m getting a little bored in the kitchen.

I think I need to hide the almond butter… I put it on bananas, apples, straight spoonfuls into my mouth. I think I’m overdoing it!

I miss the ease of “I’ve had a long work day and don’t feel like cooking, let’s just grab some tacos.”  This may sound crazy, but it makes me sad to go to a restaurant and get a burger wrapped in lettuce.  If I’m going to pay to go to a restaurant I want to get their best dish, not the one compliant dish on the menu. Ya feel me?  I’m a pretty adventurous eater and will eat almost anything, so being limited to roast chicken and steamed veggies just isn’t cutting it – which is why I’ve tried to avoid eating out altogether.

I’m heading to Palm Springs for a long weekend, so resisting nachos by the pool is going to be hard! Thankfully I called ahead of time and there are mini fridges in the rooms, so I plan to bring some things.

FAVORITE RECIPES…

I tried this crack chicken thanks to one of my amazing readers (thank you Charlotte) and it’s the bomb. I visited Whole Foods yesterday to check out the Tessemae’s dressings, sauces and marinades. Thank you guys so much for recommending this line – it is as delicious as you said it was!

I made this avocado salsa for some steaks we grilled and it was sooooooo good.  I’ve also been sautéing mushrooms and onions and putting it on top of most everything. Yum!

I’ve been having this egg salad with added green onions for lunch, and I really love it.

I’ve been roasting butternut squash and topping it with a crispy egg and half an avocado. A really easy and rich dinner. Christian also really loves this!

I made some garlic shrimp (similar recipe here) and topped it over cauliflower rice with onions. It was really good (and quick), and was a great leftover dinner topped with, you guessed it, sautéed mushrooms and onions.  I feel like I’m talking about onions so much I’m beginning to look like Jim Carrey in The Grinch when he takes a big fat bite of a raw onion.

That’s about it for now! Sorry the photo with this post is so mediocre. I cook most of the “prettier” meals at night and it’s already dark out so I don’t snap more than an Insta-story or Snapchat photo.  This was my bulletproof coffee and apple with… almond butter of course (I told you I’m overdoing it, #nutbutterislyfe).

If you have any favorites from your Whole30 journey, I’d love to hear! Thanks so much for reading and I hope all of you have a beautiful weekend – XO –

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16 thoughts on “Whole30: Days 12-18”

  3. I am in the middle of another Whole30 right now..and I have to admit, I definitely cheated with a gin and tonic last night!! #noregrets. Question on your bulletproof coffee…have you been using ghee or butter? Also, did you buy the Bulletproof brand MCT or Brain octane oil?

  4. Just when I was about to join you in taking part of my second round of Whole30 because my skin and sleep were crazy – my naturopath did a food sensitivity test and now I have to eliminate foods those foods that were flagged for a month. I’ll be doing my own kind of Whole30 now but that leaves out onions and garlic!! Reading this post traumatized me again because I could easily give up everything else on my list (like chocolate, sugar and lemons) but garlic and onion, girl!

    1. Oh girl. I am SO sorry! I put onions and garlic in just about anything but don’t fear – think of it as forcing you to find new veggies and flavors you love! Like butternut squash – I’ve fallen in love with butternut squash. Who knew!?

  5. I’ve been debating of giving Whole30 a try and your posts are giving me the extra encouragement I need. I think I saw you have the Whole30 book on snapchat a while back (I may be hallucinating), do you recommend getting the book or relying on the ‘ol interwebs?

    1. Yay for you! I would just recommend getting the Whole30 book. I think it has a lot of essential information.

  7. I’m finishing week two and my husband and I are really over not being able to snack and drink on weekends. Plus my skin is wack – like talking back in middle school – so I’m hoping that gets better asap. But I have SO much energy and definitely feel way less bloated and carb-stunned. (But also I miss pizza.)

    1. You know the “glowing skin” thing doesn’t really happen to me, so you’re not alone there. I agree with everything you said!

  9. Pretty sure I’d have the energy to workout 5x a week, too if I wasn’t guzzling a bottle of wine per night. Exaggeration, but sadly that’s why I’ve never done Whole30 – wine is a thing. ?

    1. I’ve had wine this time around because we have been traveling and… I’m not as intense about cutting it out because I know it’s something I’ll never give up! #winenot

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