Meaty by Samantha Irby

Meaty: Essays by Samantha Irby
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I love the Bitches Gotta Eat blog and reading this book gave me the same delightful pleasure. I laughed and laughed and laughed. It has a lot of scandalous language so I wouldn't recommend it to everyone I know, but I would recommend it to most people I know.

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preikestolen

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

my thoughts are pretty much the same as with the other two. how do i rate something like this? there are some books that have such beautiful language that reading the sentences feels like rolling around in a warm sunbeam. this is not one of those books.

however, it is another kind of book: the kind that forces you to stay up for several hours after when you intended to go to sleep because you just can't bring yourself to close it, because you simply MUST find out what happens.

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Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

again, not my favorite writing.
again, i don't care.
the story is riveting. i will be checking #3 out from the library tomorrow.

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The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

finally checked it out at the library. not the best writing i've ever enjoyed, but it's a hell of a story.

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Think Like a Freak by Levitt and Dubner

Think Like a Freak: The Authors of Freakonomics Offer to Retrain Your Brain by Steven D. Levitt
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A quick read, but totally fun. I thought some of the logic was flawed, but maybe I haven't done enough research.

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NW by Zadie Smith

NW by Zadie Smith
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Like with "White Teeth", I was captivated by the female characters. I should be more familiar with London and the English to understand more.

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The Dispossessed by Ursula Le Guin

The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I did like this book, but I had some trouble getting into it at first. I re-started it several times, but this time I took it with me for our summer vacation and I tore through it. You have to pay attention to the details to get the feel of the worlds, but after that it is really enjoyable.


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Heavy (like a pregnant elephant)

This is Norwegian Air's overweight baggage tag. Nice.

A gift

On Monday I received a gift certificate for $100 on Amazon, from my aunt Ginny and uncle Jim. The message congratulated me on my new baby "Olivia". My gmail address is just a firstlast@gmail.com, so I tend to get accidental emails intended for other Angela Carpenters. Amazon gift certificates come from Amazon directly, so you don't automatically get contact information of the giver.

After some [light] soul-searching, I decided to inform Amazon so that this new mother could get her gift. Here is my exchange with them:

Me:

hello -- i received an amazon gift card not meant for me. the amount is $100 so i feel bad just adding it to my account. can you contact the seller? can anything be done about this from your end?

Amazon:

Hello,
I'm so sorry for this delivery mix-up.You weren't charged for anything you didn't order.
Please send the information listed below, and we'll try to deactivate the giftcard:
1. Gift card claim code or Gift Card number:
2. Street address or e-mail address where gift card was sent:
3. Name and e-mail address of the sender:
4. Order number (if possible):

Me:

--requested info for #1 and #2

Amazon:

Hello,
Thank you for providing us with the information. We were able to locate the gift card.
Would you like us to:
1. Resend the gift card along with its claim code.
2. Redeem it to your account.

Me:

I would like you to contact the sender. Like I said in my first email, I don't know this person and I don't have a way of getting in touch with them and I feel guilty simply taking the money when it seems to have been sent by accident to the wrong email address.

Amazon:

Hello,
I'm sorry a packing slip wasn't included for you to identify the sender of this gift. Here's the information that would've been on the packing slip: 

Sender's Name: [redacted]
Gift Message: [mostly redacted]
Love,
Uncle Jim and Aunt Ginny 

Unfortunately, for security reasons I am unable to give you any personal details or information regarding the gift sender.
I hope you enjoy your gift! We look forward to seeing you again soon.

Conclusion? I guess I will enjoy the gift.

Lindt Excellent Intense Mint

Approved!

The Poisoned Crown by Maurice Druon

The Poisoned Crown by Maurice Druon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

i'm starting to slow down on these. i'm still into the bigger story, but it felt like not a lot happened in this particular book. it felt like more of a bridge to the next book.

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Naan

I had some naan today. It was tasty but I feel kind of gassy and constipated. Hopefully it is the reminder I needed about what gluten does in my particular GI tract.

Need to refocus

The last couple days it feels like all my hard work in the Whole30 has been for naught. I have added honey to my tea, and eaten a ton of snacks, and had cake again. I haven't made cake, yet I have had access to it all week it seems. And I keep having "just a little" dairy, instead of eating cleanly.

I need to focus on more vegetables and more water and less dairy.

So good

Joëlle made chocolate mousse tonight! So delicious! And maybe it is the fat content, but the crappy sugar crash isn't as bad as from the cake yesterday.

Mixed success today

I pretty much avoided dairy (except I ate some of lumi's hot dogs and they have milk added) and I feel much better snot-wise. I'm not nearly so stuffy.

But we had a fun meet up at a local playground and one of the mom's baked a potato flour cake and I ate some of it, so I definitely had too much sugar.

On the upside, we had a pretty healthy dinner: chicken breasts thinly sliced and fried in olive oil, sautéed zucchini, and only partially thawed mix of broccoli, carrots, and cauliflower. Lumi had about 100g of chicken and then tons of "frozen vegetables" which she would not stop eating. Go figure.

More advances

I don't think a small amount of gluten feels like a problem for me, but I think I need to remove dairy again and see how it goes. For this re-intro, you are supposed to sample some, then go back to the Whole30 structure. But I have been weak and have been eating quite a bit of dairy. It just feels like such a relief to be able to eat it again! Of course, the problem is that I have been a little bit stuffy ever since. My nose has been running. I don't know why I have had such a problem sucking it up and stopping for a couple more days.

But now I have finished my kefir (which only I consume in the house), so I am going to spend the next two days avoiding dairy again. If my stuffy nose goes away, then I will know what the problem is. 

...and sugar

i made rhubarb pie today, using white sugar. it was delicious. i would like to try kind of a 6 days on, 1 day off type of schedule to see how it works for me. do i have the willpower for it? i don't know.

Gluten!

Today I wrecked the careful experimentation. I had chocolate that had a bit of gluten in it. I guess tomorrow I will be able to tell something, but it was a very little bit and I'm not sure I will be able to separate chocolate effects vs. sugar effects vs. gluten effects.

Either way I have been itching to try some of this stuff. I think I am not very sensitive to gluten, but I have been feeling better since I stopped eating it. Is it because it is inflammatory? Maybe. It might also be because it means I eat fewer carbs and sugar overall and thus I'm a little less weighed down when I avoid gluten. I recently read a blog post by a guy who says he needs one cheat day per week to really feel good on the other days and keep the magical paleo effect going. It's an interesting concept. Could I limit myself to gluten and sugar and such only on Saturdays? It would be worth trying.

Day after legumes

After the lentils experiment I am going back a couple of steps. I ate mostly clean today, well, my old version of clean: I had some yogurt, and I definitely had added sugar. I had worcestershire sauce and I had a bit of mixed berry jam.

Right now I am feeling bored with my meal choices. I'm planning to try to make Indian food at home this weekend, and that sounds fun. Spice shopping soon...

More on legumes

The baby definitely cried more than usual last night, with many unhappy wake ups. I am blaming the lentils.

Reintro: legumes

This evening I cooked a lentil dish I used to love: http://www.food.com/recipe/monastery-lentils-41384

It's tasty and easy to make (though I did leave out the sherry and it wasn't as good that way). It has only been a couple of hours since dinner so I can't give a full report, but the baby seemed unusually scream-y at bedtime (though in fairness that could be due to a crazy schedule today with insufficient napping). My belly feels okay. Maybe a tiny bit bloated?

No news is good news

I'm just on auto-pilot today. I had a couple pieces of apple and banana, and am only a little gassy. I had rice in my breakfast, but otherwise it was a mostly whole30 day. Tomorrow I want to try to introduce legumes.

No dairy and no fruit

Today I had no dairy and no fruit. The gas is gone. So, success? I don't know. I miss the fruit of course because of the taste. And the ease of grabbing an apple. But what about the vitamin c? I worry about that.

UPDATE: I completely forgot about the half a grapefruit I had in the afternoon. No ill effects so far.

Oh and I am eating tons of broccoli these days. And we eat red peppers. That should do it for vitamin c, right? I should eat more spinach and dark greens, but they aren't easy to come by at the local grocery store so I get lazy about it.

Another day, another experiment

OK so I'm definitely not following the pattern you are supposed to for the Whole30 reintro. Today I had fruit (banana, grapes, kiwi) and no dairy and no rice. By midday I was gassy again. So I think I can safely conclude that as long as I am not having something like rice in my diet then fruit will make me gassy. Especially sweeter fruit like grapes.

I hope I'm not feeling stuffy tomorrow. If I feel fine again then I think I have to conclude that dairy makes me stuffy. And that is really sad: I love dairy! I love milk in my tea and cream on my berries and creamy soups and cheesy quiche and lots of other things.

The Light Princess by George MacDonald

The Light Princess by George MacDonald
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

charming and fun to read.

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Stuffiness

I am definitely a bit stuffy today. They say that's a common response to dairy. It's not really bad, but it's definitely something I don't want to deal with all the time. The question is this: is it better to be stuffy and get to eat cheese, or is it better to not be stuffy but never eat cheese?

But the bigger issue is that last night the loose stools got to be too much. I'm breastfeeding, and staying hydrated is hard enough without that draining water and nutrients. So I ate rice. I had some rice last night, and then more with our traditional fried eggs and rice for breakfast. And I didn't eat fruit today, just to see what would happen. So far the gas and gross poo have slowed significantly. I don't know if that's due to the addition of rice or the lack of fruit.

I miss the apple slices and oranges and the like, but I thought I had to try this for a day to see what happens. Tomorrow I would like to maintain the rice but try to have fruit too to see what happens.

The Strangled Queen by Maurice Druon

The Strangled Queen by Maurice Druon
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

i'm hooked now, and i can't wait for book #3. my only regret is not knowing more french history.

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Continuing dairy re-intro

I don't feel great. The gas and weird stools have increased. I had kefir again today and also a cream-based soup and also some feta cheese.

Whole30: Reintro: Dairy

I started out the morning with a glass of kefir. It's not the world's best taste, but I developed an affinity for it while living in Prague. Plus I can get organic full-fat kefir here (though not organic whole milk, which is just weird). After I drank it I felt great. And the gas and super-soft poo stopped almost immediately!

And then I ate some of that so-mild-you-can-barely-taste-it "Gulost" cheese for lunch. It seemed heavier and not as nice.

Who knows what that means? Maybe I should still try to minimize the non-fermented dairy? I don't feel terrible, but I also felt like that cheese was kind of a waste for me. Tomorrow I plan on having more kefir and some yogurt and perhaps skipping the cheese.

And I obviously haven't gone to bed yet so maybe I will put milk in my tea today.

Whole30: Day 30

I did it! I didn't have dairy or legumes or added sugar or white potatoes or grains or alcohol or msg or paleo versions of grain-based treats (read here: banana-egg pancakes).

I feel good, but I feel ready to re-enter some of these food categories. The added sugar hasn't been too hard, actually. It's not hard to say no to someone's cake when I can say "no, I'm doing a crazy diet right now". As I mentioned yesterday, it's about the packaged sauces. And I know they aren't healthy, but the ease of use of a bouillion cube is fabulous.

But tomorrow morning I plan to have milk! And cheese!

And I want to add rice and white potatoes soon, especially in a cooked-and-cooled fashion, as apparently that produces "resistant starch" which isn't digested in the stomach or small intestine, which means that it doesn't send your blood sugar up. This sounds wonderful and magical to me, and also would explain why I don't remember feeling bad after our breakfast eggs-and-rice dish, or after pytti pannu (kind of a hash involving leftover boiled potatoes and various meats).

fried eggs
banana
beef, cucumbers, tomatoes, coconut pumpkin soup, blueberries
cashews, raisins
pork marinara sauce with celery root noodles
orange
tea

Whole30: Day 29

I am almost there! It was a good day, though I think I had too much fruit in the evening (I couldn't resist that pineapple) and am gassy again.

Naturally, I am giving a lot of thought to the re-intro and what I want to start eating again. I really miss dairy and that is my number one priority. And I would like to include rice, especially in the context of breakfast. But otherwise? I don't miss the sugar very much and I feel just fine not having it. I miss the social aspect of a treat now and then, and the idea of not eating chocolate sounds sad. But really on a daily basis I don't miss it. The hardest part of that "no added sugar" rule has been the weird things it has eliminated: Worcestershire sauce, taco sauce, pasta sauce, mayonnaise, fish sauce, etc.

For most or all of those things I could make substitutes by hand. Pasta sauce is easy, of course; it only requires a bit more planning and work. Mayonnaise is easier than I had expected and I think I might continue to do it just because I like the taste. But taco sauce or salsa is not easy to make myself here in Norway because the ingredients are hard to find. And Worcestershire sauce sounds challenging to make and is such an easy way to flavor meat for burgers or in the slow cooker. So I don't want to keep up the no sugar rule for these little things, but I will try to eat less overall. And Kimmo claims he prefers my homemade pasta sauce, so I guess we have to go with that now (and in case you're wondering, the kid and the husband eat it over pasta whereas I usually just scoop it over meatballs or [just lately] experiment with zucchini noodles or celery root noodles).

boiled eggs
chicken, sweet potatoes, broccoli
apple, cucumber and tomato salad
pork and cabbage stir fry, tomatoes
pineapple, orange
tea

Whole30: Day 28

This morning the weather was beautiful so we went on a hike. I had Otso in the baby carrier, so going up was quite a workout. We had a picnic at the top of the mountain and then we went back down. On the way down I was feeling wonderful, like people talk about when the talk about the Whole30. What was different? I got some real exercise and I ate only a light lunch. And I am starting to believe that I am eating way too much and snacking way too much to have a really effective Whole30.

So, what is my trigger? Basically, it's boredom. The Whole30 emails have suggested a little worksheet where you map out your eating triggers, and mine is most definitely boredom. They suggest that since I'm aware of this, I should find something to do instead of snack (read, play a quick game of something, watch a video on youtube, etc.) because most cravings only last a few minutes. And here is the problem: I spend my day with a baby and a toddler. And it is really stressful and a lot of work to keep both happy and occupied and growing, but that doesn't mean it isn't boring. Playing doctor for the millionth time? Boring. Playing peek-a-boo for the millionth time? Boring. And I can't just get online and do something that I might enjoy like read an article or study up on some database stuff, because then the baby would cry or the toddler would ask me to come play or something. So I grab a snack. How do I express any creativity these days? By cooking something new and delicious.

With this in mind, I would really like to try this kind of experiment again in a few months when I go back to work and have a bit more control over my daily schedule and I'm not breastfeeding all day long (which is another snack trigger, I know). I think I would like to try a modified version, since I am pretty sure that I don't have any physical problems with dairy or potatoes or grains, especially rice. So maybe I could just try to eat low carb but maintain access to things like yogurt and milk and cheese, and only eat rice early in the day when I am most likely to actually use the extra calories?

fried eggs, grapefruit
apple, banana, kiwi
tuna, boiled eggs
beef, salad, carrot/cauliflower puree, broccoli, cauliflower, mayonnaise
pineapple

Whole30: Day 27

I'm so close to the end! Today I was really missing the opportunity to drink juice because my throat has been hurting. I feel like I am not drinking enough and usually sweetening my water with some juice is enough to get me to drink bigger quantities.

boiled eggs, grapefruit
apple, banana
meatballs, sweet potato, carrots, broccoli
cashews, kiwi, carrots
shrimp, broccoli, pumpkin coconut soup
pistachios
tea

Whole30: Day 26

My throat is hurting and has been for a couple of days. Normally I would be medicating with honey in my warm tea and warm juice, but both are outlawed right now. I am definitely missing them!

I did a purge of our frying pans today. The scratched teflon one went to the playroom to be used as a toy. The big cast iron one that is too wide for our burners went in the closet. Hopefully those are healthier choices.

scrambled eggs, sweet potato
cashew
cod in coconut milk, pumpkin, tomatoes, cucumber, fennel
orange, cashews
poached chicken salad, leftover meatballs, carrots
cashews, blackberries, coconut
tea

Whole30: Day 25

I didn't get much exercise today, which is too bad. Last week I was doing a good job drinking enough water and I am not doing a good job now. I'm not sure how best to step that up. Try to drink a glass every hour? I swear that's the thing that makes the big difference between feeling ok and feeling great.

scrambled eggs, beef and cabbage stirfry with mayo
banana
celery, chicken, cucumber, tomatoes, fennel
almonds, celery with garlic mayonnaise
meatballs, celery root noodles, marinara sauce
tea

Whole30: Day 24

One week from today I am going to start the reintroduction. So I am really trying to make this last week a good one! The salad of tomatoes and cucumbers is something I should have done earlier. It's easier to grab and is refreshing and goes with everything.

scrambled eggs
carrots
beef and cabbage stir fry, tomatoes, cucumbers
almonds, coconut
apple, chicken breasts, broccoli blend, sweet potato
blackberries
tea

Whole30: Day 23

I am still feeling good, but still not feeling unstoppable. I was grateful to read a recent blog post about other people on the Whole30 not feeling the advertised "Tiger Blood". Maybe it would be better if I wouldn't eat so much fruit? I don't know (and yes, the dried apricots are making me gassy but my husband is out of town so I figured now is the time to enjoy that while I don't have to worry about disgusting anyone I want to have sex with).

I think I would like to try this experiment again in another year or so when my breastfeeding load is lighter and also hopefully I won't be cooking 3 meals per day for a family of four (okay, three + baby). Right now I just want some yogurt or kefir or something...

boiled eggs
almonds, apple, banana
chicken curry, vegetables, dried apricots, sauerkraut
almonds
chicken curry, tomatoes, cucumbers

The Iron King by Maurice Druon

The Iron King by Maurice Druon
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

i enjoyed it. am i jumping on the bandwagon? sure. is it my favorite book of all time? no. but i currently spend my days with a toddler and a 6 month old baby, and this is the first book i have actually read since the baby was born. that's how you know i was excited about it and hooked on the story. my personal time is very limited and i managed to find the time to read this.

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Whole30: Day 22

I have 8 days left. I made it through the trip, but I'm still not where I want to be in terms of fitness. What do they say does the trick? Sprint workouts. So I need to incorporate this somehow.

scrambled eggs
beef and cabbage stir fry
berries with coconut milk
roasted chicken, broccoli blend, sweet potatoes
rooibos tea

Whole30: Days 20 and 21

We took a trip to Kristiansand to go to the zoo. This was my first time really eating out, and it was challenging and annoying. I am confident there were traces of dairy and gluten and other things in what I ate, but I hope it was minimal.

And at the zoo today there were literally no choices for me: no salad, etc. And it is Easter so all the stores we closed so it's not like I could pick up other snacks. I ate apples and bananas and almonds that we had brought -- not so great for nutrition and blood sugar.

On Saturday I ate:
scrambled eggs, berries, squash, chicken, grapefruit
raisins, carrots, egg, apple
steak, root vegetables, balsamic reduction, scallops, sparkling water

On Sunday I ate:
soft boiled eggs, kiwi, orange, salami, red pepper, cucumber, sunflower seeds, raisins
almonds, apple, banana
dried apricots
sausage, cucumbers in vinegar, sauerkraut

I am really looking forward to reintroducing dairy.

Whole30: Day 19

Some random thoughts on the diet and effects in general:

Raisins made me feel bad because I had a sugar high and then a low.
I love not needing honey in tea.
I love having pasta sauces or curry over vegetables and not rice/pasta.
I miss eggs and rice in the morning.
I miss rice cakes and joining in on the voileipä ritual.
I don't miss chocolate very much at all. This is surprising!
I miss having dairy-based sauces.
My belly is less pudgy and I am happy about that.

We had friends over for dinner and the pumpkin coconut soup (new recipe for me) was delicious.

scrambled eggs, beef, grapefruit
leftover curry, pumpkin
apple
chicken drumsticks, salad, pumpkin coconut soup, roast beets
berries and coconut milk
orange black tea

Whole30: Day 18

I had a good day today. We went to a playdate and Lumi enjoyed some delicious-smelling waffles and I ate some meatballs I had packed with me. I'm getting better at saying no, though I have to say it's easier this month because I can say "I'm doing this crazy diet right now". I'm not sure how that will go when it's just me. Maybe I can keep saying "I'm doing this crazy diet" forever?

I still feel good, and the gas and gross poo seems to have stopped or paused, despite me not really cutting back on fruit. I even had some raisins last night after the blog post and felt fine.

The key is to drink a ton of water and to stay distracted. That is not easy when I'm just home with the kids but if we can keep busy then I don't snack as much.

boiled eggs, grapefruit
meatballs, tomato sauce, banana
cashews, apple
roast chicken, root vegetables, butternut squash
rooibos tea

Whole30: Day 17

I am still feeling good. Not super-fantastic and unstoppable, but good. I felt like snacking a lot today. I am trying to control that, but some days I feel like the priority is to be peaceful and loving with my family and stay within the plan guidelines. The theory is that you should be avoiding snacking, but sometimes I feel like that's the difference between cranky and not cranky.

I do have more solid energy, though, and I've been trying to spend it doing fun roughhousing sessions with Lumi.

fried eggs, leftover roast
orange, almonds, meatballs, apple
hawaiian pork, broccoli
cauliflower, basil curry
orange, raisins

Whole30: Day 16

I'm halfway done! I found one thing I quite like doing (though it's definitely not low-carb, so it doesn't help as such with the weight loss) is cooking a big squash and then eating bits of it with my meals when kimmo and lumi are having bread or rice. For example, for lunch today we had leftover thai curry. I took out the container of cooked squash and added little (not even warm) bits into the curry.

My little daily exercises I do (pushups, crunches, etc) are getting easier and I find myself not just getting through it but adding reps for the hell of it. This is also because I started doing them on the living room rug next to Otso and he seems to like it.

I feel like I ate well today. I happened upon a delicious vegetable mix for dinner. It made a great base for meatballs and tomato sauce.

fried eggs, orange slices
hard boiled egg, mayonnaise
curry, squash, carrot
apple
meatballs, leek-parsnip-zucchini pan fried, tomato sauce

Whole30: Day 15

I have very mixed feelings right now. The past couple days I have felt good. Not amazing, but good. And as predicted by the Whole30 Timeline, I am interested in foods I'm not normally interested in (old favorites, gluten-filled things like cereal). But I still haven't solved the problem of gassy vs. not gassy. The thing that I remember about doing the South Beach Diet with my stepmother back in 2007 is that I was not gassy for basically the first time in my life. I remember being surprised that without the food pyramid's base of "essential" fiber from grains I was actually pooing better than ever and not farting. So I expected similar results now. But it's the opposite! I'm having smelly gas and unpredictable poos. I could cut out the fruit entirely but that seems dumb from a long term perspective and also I am scared of missing nutrients like vitamin C because I'm not having a multivitamin now (due to starches and other random things in the pill). Ordinarily I would just go for it but I'm trying to be especially careful given that I am breastfeeding Otso for 98% of his diet.

I am very curious about the re-intro. I believe I will start with dairy and hopefully the yogurt and kefir will help get me back on track.

boiled eggs, half kiwi
apple, sauerkraut, mayonnaise
chili, squash
cashews
hawaiian pork with salad
berries and coconut milk

Whole30: Day 14

I am feeling okay, but not wonderful with "boundless energy" as advertised. I do feel overall good, but right now I am just a little stressed about meal planning. This week is Easter and the Norwegian grocery stores are closed for 5 consecutive days. I am panicking, thinking about what if I run out of eggs or meat or something.

scrambled eggs, chicken
cashews, hardboiled egg
salmon in coconut milk, squash
orange
vegetables and chicken curry
rooibos tea, black tea

Whole30: Day 13

I felt sluggish and really hungry this morning. I have been really trying to minimize fruit to see if it helps with the gas, and now I have that low-carb fatigue.


scrambled eggs, chicken
berries
chicken wings in bbq sauce, salad
hard boiled egg, cashews, apple
roast beef, carrots, beets, turnips
rooibos tea

Whole30: Day 12

I stayed up too late last night and today I was sleepy.

I tried to minimize fruit today (except for the peach halves with tuna on top which sounded gross to me but was delicious) and it may be helping with the gas. I am eating too much, but mostly because I like the taste of what I am eating. I did the whole30 worksheet on day 7 and wrote that I eat when I am bored and that's definitely true. I am at home with the kids and I can't just tune out and read a book or listen to a podcast or other things I would normally do when I am bored, but somehow it feels like food preparation is "legit" and therefore I can step aside from the repetitive play and do something for "myself". Maybe what I need to remember is that it's not really benefiting me in the long run. Maybe I should instead chop vegetables to use for later?

scrambled eggs with chicken
peaches with tuna (sounds gross but was actually delicious), meatballs, carrots
pistachios, berries with coconut milk
spicy slow cooker meat in lettuce wraps, tomatoes
rooibos tea, digestion tea

Whole30: Day 11

Still feeling good, but still feeling gassy. So the plan is to cut out fruit sugars, which is intimidating. I have really been enjoying sharing oranges with the family (Lumi just started appreciating them) but I am going to try to do without for a couple of days and see if it improves the gas.

orange, boiled eggs
almonds
beef and cabbage stirfry, sweet potato
cashews, sauerkraut
pork chops, zucchini
blackberries, coconut milk

Whole30: Day 10

It was a good day, with lots of energy (so the Whole30 is living up to the hype so far). I even fed the baby then got out of bed at 6:00am to do hill sprints. My skin is still looking worse, but hopefully that will clear up soon.

I ate:
scrambled eggs, apple
meatballs, vegetables, hard boiled egg
almonds, cashews, orange
chicken basil curry, asian vegetable mix
rooibos tea

Whole30: Day 9

I think I did much better today. My snacking and portions were more controlled. For some reason, I was really wanting juice, though.

boiled eggs
chili, meatballs
almonds, cashews
roast chicken, sweet potatoes, root vegetables
rooibos tea

Whole30: Day 8

I was ravenous today. I felt like I couldn't eat enough. Or drink enough water. Though the menu looks pretty familiar, the quantities were much much bigger.

scrambled eggs
hard boiled egg, mayonnaise, apple slices
leftover beef roast, squash, carrots
cashews
beef and cabbage stir fry, zucchini
melon, coconut
rooibos tea

Whole30: Day 7

I feel a bit sluggish, as the program promises. I went on an afternoon walk with Otso just to get him to sleep but I felt hungry and thirsty most of the day.

We ate well -- I tried a new salmon dish and it was a success.

fried eggs, leftover fruit salad
salmon baked in coconut milk, sweet potato
cashews, pork
salad with chicken
honeydew melon
rooibos tea

Whole30: Day 6

Feeling pretty good, but still gassy. I am having the most trouble with the little things that didn't seem important to me before. The huge amounts of tea with honey and milk? Not a big problem and though I miss it a little, it hasn't been too bad. But on the other hand I am resenting not being able to take a sip of Kimmo's wine to taste it, even though I am not interested in a full glass.

My snacking urges are declining in the morning, but in the afternoon I am ready to eat a big meal by 16:00. Maybe a planned snack? I'm not sure what the solution is here.

We had a delicious dinner: the first grilled steaks of the spring!

breakfast: boiled eggs, mayonnaise
snack: pork
lunch: roast beef, squash, roast beets, broccoli mix
snack: pistachios, fruit from fruit salad
dinner: steaks, fruit salad, lettuce salad
other: rooibos tea, chamomile tea

Whole30: Day 5

Still feeling good, though not as skinny as I'd like. And still crazy gassy, even though I avoided dried fruit all day. I shared only 1 orange and had 1 apple. I googled a bit and one suggestion was a probiotic. I will need to look into that.

I made "pasta" out of strips of zucchini. It was okay, but not really worth it. I'd rather just have the meatballs and tomato sauce. Maybe it works more for other pasta-ish dishes.

Food:
breakfast: scrambled eggs with leftover beef and cabbage, mayonnaise
lunch: curry, broccoli, hard-boiled egg, apple
snack: almonds, cashews, sweet potato
dinner: meatballs and marinara sauce with zucchini noodles
dessert: berries and coconut, orange
other: rooibos tea

Whole30: Day 4

Today is supposed to be part of the "kill all the things" phase, but I wasn't feeling grumpier than usual, that I noticed. I feel overall pretty good, though I am pretty gassy.

fried eggs, homemade mayonnaise
almonds, apple slices
roast chicken, sweet potatoes, broccoli mix
cashews, almonds
beef and cabbage stirfry, zucchini
orange
rooibos tea

Whole30: day 3

I am feeling good today! And I made my own mayonnaise. I am weirdly gassy, too. Maybe that is the fault of the raisins?

scrambled eggs

hard boiled egg with homemade mayonnaise

Thai curry

cashews with raisins, orange

salad with leftover chicken

berries and coconut, orange

Whole30: Day 2

I ate:
breakfast: soft boiled eggs
lunch: roasted chicken, root vegetables, butternut squash
snack: almonds with raisins
dinner: olives, carrots, parsnip hummus, chili
snack: orange

I drank rooibos tea and lots of water.

Both kids are under the weather so we had only a short walk to the grocery store, plus a few pushups and whatnot at home.

I am feeling fine. A little headache today (no doubt due to missing my tea), but otherwise I am not seeing the "hangover" promised by the timeline. I hope that is a good sign!

Whole30: Day 1

I was going to start on April 1, but when I started meal planning it seemed easier to start at the beginning of the week.

I ate:

breakfast: scrambled eggs in olive oil

snack: bites of a banana

lunch: pork roast slices leftover from dinner yesterday, broccoli blend, apple

snack: almonds with raisins, cashews

dinner beef and cabbage (with carrots and onions) stir fry, broccoli with olive oil and salt

dessert: blackberries and coconut

i also drank earl grey tea.

for exercise, i walked to otso's nurse appointment then to storhaug åpen barnehage, and back home. i also did 5 pathetic burpees and some crunches.

i am feeling physically fine, and a little bit good without my blood sugar going up and down. i took a "before" picture. it was a rough day with the kids. i think the cabbage bothered otso in the evening and also he got a couple vaccinations today so he isn't feeling great. lumi had a horrible grumpy morning and i'm just hoping she doesn't repeat it on my really hard days.

Daily exercise

Pushing a double stroller around a hilly town is a workout. One week back and my shoulders are really feeling it!