Whole30 Day 4: Pancake Salvation and the Timeline

Right, I get it. There are no pancakes for Mom today. There are grains and honey and all kinds of psychological no-nos associated with this breakfast classic, so I'm not consuming. Don't think I fell off the wagon that fast! Buuuuuuuuut....

Soon after I started giving up grains and eating a more paleo-style diet, we still found that we missed our Saturday morning routine of pancakes and sausage or what-have-you (read BACON).
I started experimenting with recipes for gluten-free or grain-free pancakes, and have developed this recipe that the whole family loves. We have never missed crummy, nutrient-void pancakes loaded with pseudo-maple-flavored-can-you-even-call-it-syrup again. This recipe will help the other members of your family make some positive changes while you are doing the same for yourself. If you have kids, these may well save your sanity.

The secret is not in the stack of flap-jacks dripping with syrup, but in the leftovers. I made a huge batch of these this morning for two hungry kids and stowed the remaining pancakes in a container. Now tomorrow, for breakfast or snacks the kids can grab a pancake, smear it with almond butter or peanut butter, a drizzle of honey and bam! Tummy is full. It saves me a whole lot of suffering when they have a really healthy alternative to turn to and I don't have to be involved in the "Mom! I'm hungry!" thing. My kids are not eating a completely paleo diet. I do permit gluten free, nutrient dense (clean) foods such as this.

I didn't really feel tempted by the pancakes. Today. I had another hard-boiled egg. This could get annoying, but since I'm already not a huge breakfast person, hard-boiled eggs are normal fare for me anyway. I don't need a lot in the early part of the day. I'm also finding that adding a teaspoon of coconut oil and some unsweetened coconut milk to my coffee almost negates any need for breakfast. Today I was not hungry until 11:30 AM, at which point I ate the egg. But that's just me. I suppose for some it may be a very challenging meal to have to constantly negotiate.

So, it's day 4 and I feel like I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop. Whole30 is kind enough to publish a timeline that tells you what to expect, and so far I'm having a very easy time of it. Day 4 is the "Kill all the things" phase. I didn't want to kill anything today, so I think that's, you know, pretty good. Maybe tomorrow something will die, but honestly, I felt pretty amazing. I felt a bit sluggish during my WOD and apparently forgot how to count to ten, but never mind. It happens. Here is today's log entry:

Day 4:
B - BP coffee, 1 egg
L - Chicken broth with gelatin added YUM! Steak and spinach
D - leftovers, so another taco sweet potato. no guacamole. sad.
S - almonds, 2 slices ham

WOD:
2 RM power clean 105# (lame-o. It's all in my head!)
3 rounds with 9-minute time cap
   5 cleans
   10 knees to elbows
   15 KB swings
max burpees in time remaining: 17

Whole 30, Day 2

Oh my aching back! This has nothing to do with Whole30 except that I did a WOD yesterday and 40 heavy-ish deadlifts and 1000m rowing later--I'm a tad sore. Nothing injured. Just sore.

Today I decided to mobilize and rest the tired back, and will hopefully get into the gym tomorrow afternoon.

Dinner going in

Day two of Whole30 has been good. Slept really well last night and from past experience, I can say that this is the thing I look forward to most in the coming weeks.

Breakfast: bullet-proof coffee made with coconut oil and unsweetened coconut milk
(This must have satisfied me for a while because I wasn't hungry for anything else until about 11:00 a.m. when I had a hard-boiled egg.)
  

Just out of the oven!

Lunch: ate fairly late and had leftover sweet potato and steak from dinner last night. Mug of organic green tea

snack: handful of almonds

Dinner: Baked chicken thighs with artichokes and kalamata olives with herbed lemon and olive oil, green beans, and salad.

This was really, really good.

I thought the biggest challenge would be not having half and half in my coffee, but that is not it. It's the SCALE!!! I am not sure why Whole30 doesn't want any stepping on the scale for 30 days--No, I get it, this is supposed to be about much more than weight loss, but come on! I want to get to see some progress along the way. I know it will happen, and it's kind of fun and inspiring to see those numbers go down. I'll admit that I couldn't resist the urge to see if maybe, just maybe, even after only one day...pleeease? I won't say what the outcome of that was because I don't want to tempt you.

So now we have two slight points of contention: smoothies and the scale. 

Whole Life Challenge is Coming

Beginning on February 16, I plan to take part in something called "Whole Life Challenge" (WLC) with others at my box. It's a challenge to help you recognize the areas of your life that need some tweaking with regards to health and fitness, and hold you accountable as you make changes. One of the key challenges is in how we eat. It encourages a paleo-style diet for 8 weeks, and I will admit that, while I am 80% of the way there, I am nervous about surrendering those last little things that I will have to give up. This style of eating means no grains, no sweeteners, and no legumes. I realize that for many of you I just listed your diet. It seems intimidating at first, and it has taken a while to adapt to the concept of a paleo diet, and the changes have come very gradually. I think I'm finally ready to take on the final step and do WLC.

One of the things I want to work on the most is increasing the variety and flavors of vegetables in my diet. Tonight we made something so quick and easy, but so delicious, I am going to put it on the top of the list of paleo-favorite meals. I'll call it "Warm Southwestern Cabbage Salad." I served it with a very simple chicken in chili-verde sauce that we blasted in the pressure cooker. That took all of 8 minutes and turned out better than if I had put it in the crock pot all day (love the pressure cooker!) I served it to my husband who loved it, to my daughter, who also loved it, and to another girl who is not of my flesh and blood and she loved it too, so it is kid-tested and approved!

Warm Southwestern Cabbage Salad (Paleo, WLC)

(From the Kitchen of Kelly Mine)

Ingredients

bacon fat, lard, or other high-heat cooking oil, just enough to lightly coat pan and vegetables to prevent scorching

1/2 head green cabbage

several carrots

1 tsp salt 

1/2 tsp pepper

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

juice of 1/2 - 1 lime

enough olive oil to lightly coat salad

3 TBS apple cider vinegar

sliced avocado

Procedure

Shred cabbage and carrots in food processor or by hand

Preheat pan, allowing oil to get hot, but not smoking

Add shredded cabbage and carrots, salt, pepper, and cilantro, tossing in oil until tender, but still crisp (about 2-3 minutes)

Remove vegetables from heat and toss with olive oil, lime juice and apple cider vinegar

Top with sliced avocados

My Favorite Recovery Meal: Sweet Potato Tacos

This meal has become comfort food for my family. I love to serve it on days we have worked out hard, and when dinner is done, we all feel completely happy and satisfied. Since we all love tacos but are avoiding grains, we had to find a new way to enjoy a taco-like meal while maximizing the nutritional content. If possible, choose organic vegetables for the recipe, and definitely use organic meat. It's easy and makes plenty of leftovers for breakfast omelets or lunch the next day. Serve with a salad or green beans.

Ingredients:
4 baked sweet potatoes (bake at 425 for 45 minutes)
2 lbs ground organic, grass-fed beef
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper 1 medium onion, minced
2 large garlic cloves minced
2 TBS chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp ground coriander seed
15 oz. organic tomato sauce
hot sauce to taste
guacamole
organic salsa
seasoned salt (no MSG)

Sneaky mom trick - puree some spinach or kale in the vita mix or blender and add to the tomato sauce to boost up the green veggie content of the meal. Shhh. Don't tell. They will never taste the difference.

Dairy option: shredded cheese, sour cream or plain yogurt

Saute onions and garlic, add ground beef, salt and pepper. Drain fat.
Add seasonings, chili powder, coriander, cumin, hot sauce if desired, stir in tomato sauce.
Allow to simmer until potatoes finish baking, make guacamole

Open sweet potatoes and season with butter and seasoned salt. Add ground beef, salsa, guacamole, and if dairy is permitted, then a bit of shredded cheese and / or sour cream or plain yogurt. Serve with a salad or green beans on the side. Yum!