Low Carb Whole 30 – Week 2

Here is my link to the first week of my Low Carb Whole 30, which has more details about the overall program. My dad is so cute – he is on my mailing list, and when he saw last week’s post he skimmed the top section then immediately called me. He saw I fell off the bandwagon (hence why I’m doing this challenge) and called me to tease me (and let me know he’s on a diet right now – he’s a self admitted sugar addicted cookie monster). I’m back on the bandwagon now, Dad! HOW IS YOUR DIET GOING? TEEHEE!!!

Day 11 is when it really hit me. According to the “Whole 30 program”, Day 10 is when people start to struggle. I had no problem Day 10. Then Day 11 occurred. Also, my period starts this week. I was ready to attack someone for chocolate. I was also standing in line in our work commissary, ready to fill my cup with Coke Zero like I normally do until I caught myself and filled it with water. So that is a GOOD thing, since a big part of the reason I’m doing Whole 30 is that I wanted to break up my routine. So catching myself in the middle of a routine and stopping = yay!

Here are my meals (and I’ll post a shopping list below) for the week. I hope this is helpful for anyone looking to transition to a whole (non processed) food eating style in the low carb / high fat manner.

Thursday:
Breakfast: None, my tea tasted off so I didn’t drink it and ate lunch at 11:30

Lunch: Salad with bacon, spinach, grilled veggies covered in olive oil

Snack: Avocado

Dinner: Final rib eye (yeah yeah, no veggies or anything else. I didn’t want to deal)

Snack: A few tablespoons of almond butter aka crack (be careful, this is a slippery slope)

Friday: Stayed home from work, slept in so no breakfast. I also had a double fail today by not checking ingredients before eating.

Lunch: Went to Chipotle and AFTER the fact, found out that the only ‘Whole30’ compliant meat at Chipotle is the carnitas. I got a salad bowl with carnitas, steak, tomato salsa and guacamole. Apparently almost all the meats, except the carnitas, are cooked with “rice bran oil”. Never heard of it, but since it’s grain-based, it’s a Whole30 no-no. The carnitas are cooked with sunflower oil, which isn’t prohibited but should be used in moderation. You would think I would have learned my lesson by now to always read before making judgement calls. So let my mistake educate you!! Carnitas only!

Dinner: Shrimp curry on cauliflower ‘rice’ (link goes to the seafood version of this recipe)

I used Trader Joe’s Coconut Cream Extra Thick & Rich in my tea and curry today. AFTERwards I noticed that it not only had xanthan gum (which is allowed for Whole30 in moderation) but something funky called ‘sodium carboxymethyl cellulose‘. Trader Joe’s coconut cream is NOT Whole30 approved and is one of those creepy, multi-industry use ingredients (notably, used in the drilling industry to drill mud) that you don’t want eating (and is against the purpose of Whole30). Trader Joe’s – you already have the xanthan gum as a thickener… why the funky chemical as well??

I’ll post the recipe next week, but I chopped up several red bell peppers and some spinach (from the ‘giant vat o’ spinach’ I bought earlier in the week) and shrimp.

Saturday:

Breakfast: Using leftover chopped up red bell peppers and spinach, I made an egg scramble with a side of bacon. Had hot tea with coconut cream and coconut oil mixed in for added fat.

Snack: A handful of cashews

Dinner: Leftover Shrimp curry

Dessert: Strawberries in coconut cream

Sunday:
Brunch: Went out with friends, ordered 3 scrambled eggs with bacon and a side of fruit. Also had tea with coconut oil and cream in it.

Dinner: Salmon with Brussels Sprouts (overly, woops) roasted in bacon grease (YUM). Make sure to pop some butter on your salmon for extra fat! I did make double portions of the salmon but fed a friend. I made a HUGE batch of the Brussels Sprouts to last the next few days.

I also took this opportunity to cook up a batch of bacon to have for the week for breakfast.

Monday:
Breakfast: 2 strips of bacon and tea with coconut cream

Lunch: Spinach salad with veggies covered in olive oil with a chicken breast

Dinner: Grilled up two large rib eye steaks, cut them in half to eat for the next few days. Had one of the rib eyes and re heated some of the sprouts from the prior night. I also had a huge sack of carrots I had prepared a few weeks ago from a CSA basket and sauteed them in ghee until they were nice and caramelized. I mixed those in with my sprouts.

Tuesday:

Breakfast: 2 strips of bacon and tea with coconut cream

Lunch: Spinach salad with veggies covered in olive oil with a chicken breast

Snack: Avocado

Dinner: Rib eye steak with sprouts/carrots mixture.

Wednesday: (today)
Breakfast: 2 strips of bacon and tea with coconut cream

Lunch: Spinach salad with cucumbers, celery, golden beets, and a sprinkle of sunflower seeds covered in olive oil

Snack: Avocado

Dinner: Rib eye with sauteed vegetables. I got my CSA basket on Tuesday, so I think it’ll be red bell peppers, radishes, broccoli and some kale sauteed in coconut oil.

Shopping List (please note my workplace feeds me lunch, so this list does NOT include lunch items and this is for a single female feeding only herself lol):
-1/2 lb bacon (reserve bacon grease after cooking in a tupperware container for future use)
-1 lb salmon
-2 cans full fat coconut cream
-2 large rib eye steaks
-5 avocados
-1 head cauliflower
-Shrimp
-Curry packet
-Assorted veggies that you like to eat (bell peppers, brussels sprouts, spinach)
-Eggs
-Any cooking fats you currently don’t have – olive oil, coconut oil)

Let me know if you have any questions!!