My energy comes in ebbs and flows. Today, I felt much more energetic.

I decided to try a new coffee “creamer” recipe. One tablespoon coconut cream, one tablespoon coconut oil, a dash of cinnamon. Blend it together with coffee. (It also called for 100% cacao, which I didn’t have but would probably be even better).

This would have been much better with a milk frothed, but it was tasty and creamy.

Breakfast was poached eggs and “home fries.” Drew brought home some farm fresh eggs, proclaiming, “Jamie’s doing Whole30! She’ll LOVE these!” And love them I do. There’s something about brown eggs that make them seem so much cooler. And they make me dream of the day we have lots of land and a tiny farm. I want chickens. And speaking of chickens, we took an afternoon trip to Ace Hardware for a few things today, and they have bins of BABY CHICKENS. I don’t know why I didn’t get a picture.

So pretty.

I also had some blackberries and raw kale with breakfast. I could only take a few bites of plain kale. That stuff needs some dressing to sass it up.

Not much of a lunch today, because we slept so late that breakfast was basically brunch. I had a mid afternoon snack of a banana, almonds, and a couple slices of prosciutto.

Later in the afternoon, I decided to make chicken soup for lunches for the week. I had some chicken broth that I needed to use up, and chicken was BOGO at Publix. Score. Throw in some potatoes, carrots, celery, and garlic, and voila. I let it simmer for a couple hours. The house smelled AH-MAZING.

Lots of fresh ingredients

I hope this tastes as good as it smelled.

For dinner, we baked some grouper we had in the freezer. We bought it from My-Way Seafood last month. It’s this little shack near the ocean, and they sell super fresh seafood. We took a cruise down there in the convertible and bought a filet of grouper. That sucker was HUGE. We got three meals out of it. Even frozen, so flipping good. Baked up a few sweet potatoes and sautéed some brussels sprouts to go with it. I put some clarified butter on the potato (the only dairy allowed) and sprinkled some cinnamon. It tasted like heavenly dessert. (But I’d still kill for a slice of chocolate cake.)

Yum.

I’ve been anxiously waiting for the benefits of this thing to kick in, which I know will take time. But one thing I did notice today, I have not had any ear pulsing since I started this. I was diagnosed with pulsatile tinnitus several years back, which leaves me with this annoying pulsing in my ear some days. Not daily, luckily, but enough to be really annoying. Some times it’s so bad I have trouble falling asleep. Or, when I do yoga, it almost hurts to hold poses cause it pulses so bad. I can’t recall having any ear pulses since last week. So, that’s one small win. Or big win.

I had my first dining out experience. I HATE being the person at a restaurant that orders off menu. I’m usually pretty easy. I was stressed about having to explain my crazy diet.

I arrived at breakfast and looked at the side items menu. I had decided to be easy and just get some scrambled eggs with a side of fruit.

“How are your eggs cooked? In butter?” *nervous laugh* “I’m doing this weird elimination diet…”

“Oh, Whole 30?”

Thank God. Not having to explain this crazy diet makes it easier.

Unfortunately, they cook their eggs in soy, which isn’t allowed. She was kind enough to check if they had an olive oil. They didn’t. I told her not to worry about it. I was hungry and needed protein and didn’t want to be that customer. I figured a tiny bit of soy wouldn’t kill me. Shhh… don’t tell.

About an hour after breakfast I started feeling off. I was jittery and weird. I thought to myself, “The soy IS going to kill me!” Then I remembered I had three cups of coffee while catching up with my friend. Ahhh…

Lunch was a big salad with salmon and a sweet potato. Later I was still hungry so I had a banana and some almonds. Later I made a fried egg and a potato. I’M STILL HANGRY, OKAY?

For dinner I played with a kitchen tool that I haven’t used yet. The veggie pasta spiralizer. Who needs pasta when you have zucchini?

I made pasta sauce out of canned tomatoes and threw some shrimp on top.

Pretty good. I was still hungry though and nuked another potato. Don’t judge me.

I was so tired yesterday that I didn’t even blog. So here’s my recap of day 5

I am quickly approaching this stage.

The day started out fine. Breakfast: fried eggs, potato (microwaved for a couple minutes), and avocado. The runny yolk is yummy with the potatoes.

The Whole30 website has a timeline of what to expect during the month. Days 4 and 5 are dubbed “Kill all the things.” Grumpiness settles in, and it did begin to settle in on day 5. Especially right before lunch. I got a little hangry. Lunch (leftovers) subsided the murderous urges.

Drew commented that my grumpiness isn’t really that bad. I generally just get really quiet. I internalize my rage. I may look happy, but I’m visualizing body slamming the person that cuts me off in the produce section while grocery shopping.

Lunch was leftovers and unfortunately I forgot to pack a snack. By the time I got home I was hungry and wiped out. Fatigue is common during the first couple weeks of Whole30, and I am starting to feel it.

When I got home, I couldn’t bear the idea of cooking. I opted for the easiest options I could find. A weird concoction of leftovers and easy things I could pull together. I threw half a can of tomato paste on top of leftover spaghetti squash. For protein, I went super easy.

Whole30 approved hot dogs!

This felt like cheating, but I double and triple checked that these were safe. I microwaved a couple, chopped them up and threw them on top.

I have hit the I give up stage of Whole30.

I topped it off with a handful of spinach straight out of the bag and a small baked sweet potato. Not fancy, but all compliant!

I think the cravings are coming.

A co worker came into my office today with a bag of Doritos. When he was done, he asked if he could throw the bag away in my trash, which I keep under my desk. I pulled the can out and as he dropped the bag in I caught a whiff. I’m not a big Doritos fan, but a fleeting thought to lick the bag crossed my mind.

The energy I had yesterday has evaporated. I struggled to stay focused all day. No headaches luckily, but serious sleepiness.

Breakfast: scrambled eggs and an avocado. Quick and easy because I needed to get out the door for a chiropractor appointment.

Lunch: salad with salmon. I tried to mix it up with tuna, but when I read the can I noticed there was soy in it. Wah- wah. Salmon it is.

Dinner: I really didn’t feel like cooking, so I kept it simple-ish. Spaghetti squash with meatballs and green beans. I had some sauce leftover from Monday’s dinner (I knew better than to throw that away) so that cut down some prep time. The meatballs were simple ground beef, salt and pepper, basil, oregano, and an egg. They were incredibly runny and they kind of melted into the pan. I’ll have to find some kind of bread crumb substitute.

The spaghetti squash was new territory. I pulled it out and realized it falls under the “How the hell do I cook this” category.

What the *%$# do I do with this?

Turned out to be pretty easy. Slice in half (Drew did that part cause I’m weak and knives scare me), drizzle olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and bake for 40 minutes. Scoop out with a fork. It seriously looks like spaghetti and scooped out super easy. It was a little al dente but pretty good.

Baked spaghetti squash

Best part is there are leftovers! Yay for a  non salad lunch!

Spaghetti squash with gloopy meatballs

Drew made a comment that he should start a blog for Whole30 victims… the poor people that are stuck with the weird dinners. Poor man.