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Whole 30 Day 4

Whole 30 Day 4
Thursday, July 24th

Today was a real test of my willpower, and the beginning of a weekend full of tests. This is the first day we have the girls since beginning the Whole 30. So now I have to feed two little girls things that they’ll actually eat, and avoid eating those things myself. Like me, the girls are pasta lovers. Our dinners often include pasta or rice, and tonight was no different. One of their favorite dinners is chicken strips, mac and cheese, and broccoli. So that’s what I made tonight. It was so difficult to make a pot of cheesy pasta and not partake. I made the chicken strips with almond meal. I happened to have a package of blanched and a package of whole almond meal in my pantry so I breaded half the chicken with each for a taste test. I had briefly looked at almond meal chicken strip ideas so I was expecting it to be a little sweet. I could also tell during breading that the consistency would be different. When I pulled them out of the oven halfway through cooking is when I started to worry about dinner. They did not become crispy by any stretch of the imagination. The sweetness was almost overpowering, and although I knew I was using almond meal, for some reason I couldn’t get past the almond flavor. I think it was a combination of the almond flavor and the unpleasant texture that really bothered me. I love the taste of almonds, but I guess when using in a savory application, I expect them to be crunchy and salty. I ended up scraping off the breading from my chicken pieces so that I would actually eat them.

I was so disappointed in my dinner. I could feel my stomach becoming full because I was eating, but I was far from satisfied. I think I’ve reached the Kill All The Things stage and I completely understand what The Whole 30 timeline means when it talks about our brains being unhappy when denied favorite foods. This weekend is not going to be easy. Friday nights are usually pizza and movie night. That has been called off! Movie, yes. Pizza, no. We have Saturday Starbucks, Sunday family lunch and family dinner. Bonus! I’m going to dinner at an Italian restaurant on Saturday night. Italian. Sigh. My favorite.

I’m preparing mentally and I’m meal planning to ensure that I have on-plan foods at arm’s reach all weekend. I will stick with this challenge! Even though I just want to eat the cold mac and cheese which is currently in the fridge and waiting to be lunch for the girls tomorrow.

Breakfast: I finally had a true Whole 30 breakfast this morning! It was scrumptious. Today is the first time I’ve made scrambled eggs with no milk or butter in at least four years. I knew I would still enjoy them, but I also knew they wouldn’t be quite as good as usual. Boy was I wrong! I crisped some prosciutto in a dry sauté pan. Then added a tiny splash of extra virgin olive oil to cook the eggs. I took the first bite and nearly dropped my plate from the shock. My eggs were perfectly buttery, creamy, and oh so satisfying. I may never be able to cook eggs without prosciutto fat again. I also had half an avocado and a banana along with my fabulous eggs.

Lunch: PLTAs. Prosciutto, lettuce, tuna, avocado. I made a batch of mayonnaise, mixed a bit into some tuna, then scooped that into romaine leaves, and topped with avocado and some more crispy prosciutto. Small bowl of grapes on the side.

Afternoon Snack: 1 pluot and 1 small handful of pistachios while making dinner.

Dinner: Chicken strips coated with almond meal, steamed broccoli, homemade mayonnaise.

Dessert: 1 small apple, 1 banana, 2 tablespoons cashew butter.

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