Week two is in the books. Here is how it went.
Successes this week
- I’ve been waking up easier this week. I’ve been wide awake and ready to work at 8am, even on the weekends. This is not the norm because I usually burn the midnight oil.
- Our pants are a little looser
- We are getting in the rhythm of cooking Whole 30 compliant meals.
- Two weeks have gone by quickly.
- I’m still foregoing kefir, so I’ve actually been 100% compliant on what I’ve eaten.
- I drank more water this week. Grains soak up a lot of water and disperse it throughout digestion, so I was dehydrated last week when I didn’t have any grains. This week I compensated by purposefully drinking more water.
- I made some almond butter with my food processor! 50% raw, 50% roasted almonds
- I’m really good at whipping out a tasty guacamole with the huge mortar & pestle we have.
- Even though we had to pass up the Royal Kirs, we still brunched with Whole 30 compliant food.
Difficulties this week
- Work is ramping up for both of us and we have a lot of extracurriculars going on. Twice this week we ate leftovers for dinner that we reserved for other lunches because we had too much going on too cook. Thankfully we have decent Whole 30 lunch options near where we work.
- Today is Valentine’s Day. We both LOVE chocolate, pizza, fresh bread with cheese and charcuterie, and booze.
- The pear brandy that I’m aging with toasted oak is really starting to open up and smell incredible. I really want to try it.
- I’ve not been eating as much as I should due to my fasting. Compressing all the calories I need into 6-8 hours is tough. I’ve lessened by fasting restrictions when I need to, but it is still difficult. I’m making up for it with eating lots of fat.
- I checked the ENTIRE grocery store. Only 1 out of the 13 varieties of bacon does not have sugar in it. (Pro-tip: It is the Smithfield Low Sodium variety. Just add salt and you’ll be fine. I bought 3 pounds.)
- I haven’t yet figured out how to keep beef from overcooking in stews and soups, so we ate beef vegetable soup with dry, overcooked beef. If you have suggestions, hit me up.
Meals this week
| Day | Breakfast | Lunch | Dinner |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | Chuck: Black coffee and 6 slices of Speck. Amanda: Smoothie with almond milk yogurt, avocado, blackberries, strawberries, bananas, kale, and MCT oil | Chuck: leftover carnitas. Amanda: Gigantic kale salad with veggies and steak | Takeout: Chicken breasts, eggplant, zucchini, and spinach |
| 9 | Chuck: Scotch Egg & Coffee. Amanda: | Apples, pears, oranges, and speck | Homemade beef vegetable soup |
| 10 | Chuck: Scotch Egg. Amanda: Smoothie with almond milk yogurt, avocado, blackberries, strawberries, bananas, kale, and MCT oil | Leftover beef vegetable soup | Skirt steak lettuce wraps and home guacamole |
| 11 | None | Frittata with broccoli, sausage, peppers, and onions | Apples, pears, almond butter, and jamon serrano |
| 12 | None | Brunch bowls with crispy sweet potatoes and onions, avocado, scrambled eggs, and bacon | Cauliflower Fried Rice with okra, chicken, bacon, carrots, celery, onions, and cress sprouts |
| 13 | Chuck: Black Coffee. Amanda: Smoothie with almond milk yogurt, avocado, blackberries, strawberries, bananas, kale, and MCT oil | Leftover cauliflower fried rice | Sous vide pork, roasted brussels sprouts, and roasted yellow squash |
| 14 | Chuck: Black Coffee. Amanda: Smoothie. | Chuck: leftover frittata. Amanda: Salad. | Leftover sous vide pork and roasted yellow squash |
Photos
Again, I didn’t photograph everything. Here is a good mix of what we ate, though.
Cook Like Chuck 