Day 12 Whole30

Today I was craving chocolate hard!!! That time of the month is due so I'm not surprised, I just really really really wanted chocolate arghhhh! I didn't cave, stayed strong but I probably ate a bit much fruit.

7 hours sleep

7am: 3 small soft boiled eggs.  Blueberries, banana with cinnamon toasted coconut and almonds

1pm: Grassfed Beef mince and pure lamb sausages with Italian seasoning, red peppers, mushrooms & kalamata olives with butter crunch lettuce

7pm: Mushroom soup made with homemade chicken broth and coconut cream, apple slices with almond butter, macadamias and coconut manna

Day 11 Whole30

I'm finding my grove with this Whole30, plenty of variety in my diet and a ton of veggies! Day 11 wasn't super smooth, I had a few cravings and found myself wishing I could just have a piece of 85% Lindt and Nespresso with cream, however I didn't as I don't want to short change myself, I need to remind myself why I'm doing this Whole30. 

I wouldn't say it's hard but it's not easy either, when hubby is sitting there eating chocolate and I'm not then yeah at that moment it feels hard but it's all relative, it really isn't that hard, it's just changing habits and not being so emotional with food. I feel like things are changing for the better, still can't believe I've gone 11 days without chocolate or dairy, I'm over a third of the way there :)

8 hours sleep

7am: 3 egg omelet filled with sautéed kale, red peppers, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, bacon and walnut pesto

12pm: Lamb and Pumpkin coconut curry with green beans & cashews

6pm: 1 tablespoon of Coconut Manna

8pm: Cajun steak with avocado/mayo onto of a large salad, mesclun, cucumber, yellow peppers, radishes, cherry tomatoes

Day 1 Whole30

So I completed my first day of a Whole30! I'm excited about the challenge and a wee bit nervous about it, I don't think I really ever wanted to admit to myself that I rely far too heavily on dark chocolate or dairy.  I have always justified my Lindt 85%, after all dark chocolate is pretty healthy but at the end of the day it's still become a wee bit of an addiction. I would generally have one square after each meal (including breakfast) and sometimes more during the day when I was feeling a bit peckish. When I first started Primal nearly 5 years ago I never consumed the amount I do now, it's a little out of control. 

As for my beloved decaf Nespressos...no sugar and no cream arghhh! I'm not a fan of black coffee but am willing to give up the cream and sugar because I don't do things half assed, I'm either doing the whole30 or not doing it, no exceptions. It's strict but I like that, after a few bad habits that have crept in over the last 6 months I need a few boundaries to reset my ninjaness!

So day 1 was kind of tough, mostly because of the chocolate.  You just don't understand how strong of a hold some foods can have on you until you give them up, not only of a physical nature but also the psychological aspect. I will admit on Friday night I went to bed a bit cranky because like a child I wanted my chocolate fix!  Seriously though I did know this would be a challenge, I know I can do it, I'm so damn stubborn and I know I will succeed.

I do love the concept of a Whole30 (brief outline):

No weighing or measuring yourself

No calorie counting or weighing food

3 meals a day (4-6 hours apart) - no snacking if you can help it

A palm or two size of protein (high quality - grassfed, pastured etc)

Add Fats, choosing 1-2 fat sources per meal as below:

1-2 Tablespoons of fat like coconut oil, ghee, olive oil

A handful of coconut flakes and olives

1/4-1/2 of a 14oz can coconut milk

Half to one Avocado 

A little bit of starchy veggies (like pumpkin, parsnip, sweet potato etc) 

1-2 small servings of fruit

The rest of your plate should be fibrous veggies, like 2-3 cups per meal, per day! Talk about an abundance of food, I am going to be Well Fed alright. I am very interested in getting my hormones balanced and my circadian rhythm working better.

Day 1:

Awake at 6.30am

7am: 3 hard boiled eggs mashed with homemade ghee and salt, bowl of blueberries, raspberries, shredded coconut and coconut milk. 1 Tbsp Coconut Manna

1pm: Chicken Salad with homemade mayo and leftover sweet potato, Black decaf Nespresso, a few raw macadamias

7pm: Roast Chicken and Lamb from the Weber BBQ, kumara (nz sweet potato), carrots, broccoli with ghee and lemon juice. A few raw cashews.

Asleep by 10.30pm

Yes I missed my chocolate, however it was very interesting to see how attached I had become to it.  Overall I felt pretty good, my blood sugars felt unbelievably steady, didn't feel any fluctuations in energy, so it was a relatively smooth day 1.  I did have a headache on and off throughout the day, I'm guessing it was possibly a wee bit of caffeine withdrawal, because of the amount of dark chocolate I normally consume. 

If you are considering doing a Whole30 then I really suggest you read "It starts with Food".  I had read all the posts on Whole9life.com and there is some great data there, all over the internet you can find other peoples successes and testimonies, literally everywhere! However it wasn't until I read this book from beginning to end that I really understood why I should do this.  I had ideas of doing a Whole30 but allowing myself the chocolate and the cream in my coffee, I was convinced that I didn't need to give these up for 30 days, like really how much of a difference will it really make? Listening to this podcast and reading the book has really opened my eyes, I highly recommended "It Starts With Food", to date it's the best book I've read.  I'm a HUGE fan of the books from Mark Sisson, Nora Gedgaudas, Robb Wolf, Loren Cordain and Paul Jaminet.  There is something about this book and the way it's written really spoke to me and I now understand the huge Whole30 movement that is going on around the World, it's very exciting :)

Toasted coconut & almond chocolate

Ingredients:

200gms 85% Lindt

100gms 70% Old Gold

(you can use any brand, I just try and keep the percentages high so that it's richer and I eat less ;))

150gms Butter or Coconut Oil

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

100gms Sliced Almonds

100gms Coconut chips

Prep work: Preheat your oven to grill 200C, Line a dish with parchment paper.

Directions: 

Melt your butter or coconut oil, once melted then take off the heat and add in the chocolate, this will ensure you don't cook the chocolate and then you will have a melt in your mouth consistency. Add 1 tsp vanilla extract.

Put your almonds onto a baking sheet and place under the grill to toast, watch it very carefully as they will burn, check constantly and turn to ensure most of the almonds get toasted.  Do not burn or it will ruin the chocolate.  Next do the coconut, you need to watch the coconut even more or you will burn it, coconut has a very high fat content and will toast much faster than the almonds.  This will get your house smelling amazing too I might add! This can also be done in a non stick frying pan but I find it is easier to mess it up plus you don't always get an even toasting.

Add your toasted almond & coconut to the chocolate mixture and then pour into your lined dish, pop in the fridge for several hours and then cut when it's nearly set, place back in the fridge and then break it up and put into a container and store in the fridge. 

Rum & Raisin Truffle Chocolate

This chocolate is ultra rich and very decadent, you could almost get drunk from it ;) it has a truffle like texture and I promise it will take care of any sweet cravings you have! If you don't like super rich dark chocolate then use all 70% and add some form of sweetener.

• 2 x 100gm blocks 85% Lindt
• 1 x 100gm block 70% espresso chocolate (or just use normal and add a shot of coffee if you like it, won't matter to leave it out)
• 1/2 cup Coconut Oil
• 1/4 cup Appleton Estate Rum
• 1 cup Raisins

Melt the coconut oil, once melted take off heat and add chocolate and let it melt, if needed pop back on heat but not on high or the chocolate won't melt in your mouth once it's set!

Add the rum (less if you don't want it so rich), mix well and then add raisins.

Line a tray with baking paper, pour in mixture and refrigerate for several hours, remove and cut into pieces!

Tip: the way it tastes in the pot is the way it tastes once set so adjust ingredients while you can!

Cashew & Almond Butter Dark Chocolate

Cashew & Almond Butter Dark Chocolate

• 150gms Butter
• 200gms 70% Cadbury Old Gold
• 100gms 85% Green & Blacks
• 2-3 Tbsps Almond Butter
• 200gms Salted Cashews - chopped up
• (optional: coconut, dried apricots or other dried fruit)

Melt butter, add the broken up chocolate so it melts but no need to boil, you just want to melt the chocolate.  Add the almond butter so thoroughly combined, put in the cashews and pour into a lined dish, pop in the fridge and it should be ready in roughly 3-4 hours.

ENJOY!!

Sweet and salty chocolate!

Sweet and Salty chocolate

• 3 x 100gm blocks of 85% Green and Blacks 
• 125gms Butter 
• 1 Tbsp Honey
• 200gms of Salted Cashews or any other nut 

Melt the butter and honey on a low heat in a heavy based pan and break up the chocolate and add, stirring until melted and all combined.

Chop the nuts or leave them whole and add into the melted chocolate mixture.

Pour into prepared rectangle tin, and spread out and flatten as much as you can.

Cover and refrigerate for a few hours before cutting.

Makes about 20 pieces

**Please note this is a primal version of Nigella's Sweet and Salty chocolate.

Chocolate lava cake!

Before I start all the credit goes to this awesome blog! http://healthfreakrevolution.com/?p=607

This is my second attempt at the best chocolate pudding ever....it's now lava cake!
This is revolutionary and I'm so happy I stumbled across the recipe, thanks to Joanne from Bellatrix Nutrition for sharing it! https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=456968350997260&set=a.306377172723046.93130.149444195083012&type=1&ref=notif&notif_t=photo_reply&theater

It's definitely considered a 'treat indulgence' even though dark chocolate and eggs are super foods I don't recommended having this all the time..have it when you are really feeling like a treat or everyone else is having something non-primal then you could indulge in this.  A very high fat, high calorie treat, maybe half it if you are trying to lose weight!
I'm a real lover of super dark chocolate so if you aren't I suggest going for a 70% cocoa content, this version is very rich!

My little tweaks:

• 14 pieces of 85% Green and Blacks
• 2 pieces of 70% Old Gold
• 1 square of 85% Lindt
• 1 whole egg
• 1 tablespoon Coconut Oil

Melt chocolate and coconut oil in a mug, microwave on a medium setting for about 2 minutes, the coconut oil will stop the chocolate from burning and makes the pudding taste unreal!
Let the melted chocolate cool enough to add in the egg without it scrambling.  Place the square of lindt in the centre and microwave the whole thing for 60 seconds.  
Tip out on a plate, it doesn't stick at all and then serve with whatever your heart desires.  I love pears with chocolate, it reminds me of an old favourite "Upside down pear pudding".

Nutritional stats for this chocolate lava cake are:
Calories: 616
Fat: 52gms
Carbs: 25
Net Carbs: 18
Protein: 11
 

The best chocolate pudding ever!

This chocolate pudding is unreal! I just had to share it with you guys...I found it here: https://www.facebook.com/BellatrixNutrition#!/photo.php?fbid=456968350997260&set=a.306377172723046.93130.149444195083012&type=1&theater

I just followed the instructions and it came out perfect except next time I'll cook it a little less and add some more unmelted chocolate into the centre to make it like Lava Cake!  I used 70gms of 70% old gold, I also let the melted chocolate cool a bit before adding the egg so it didn't scramble, I cooked mine for 1.30 minutes, next time I'll just do a minute.  I halved the pudding as above and then served it for husband and I with some pears and whipped cream, simply AMAZEBALLS!!!!

The original recipe post is here: http://healthfreakrevolution.com/?p=607

Nutritious Chocolate Cake: 2 ingredients, 5 minutes

"It is a healthy variation of the popular 5-minute mug cake. This recipe is very simple, and makes a lot of sense when you begin to understand how ingredients work together to create new ...textures. "

Serves one (decent sized dessert)

Ingredients:
40-80g of Dark chocolate* (as dark as you can enjoy)
one egg

Less chocolate will create a lighter ‘cakier’ texture, more will create a denser brownie-like texture. I recommend starting with 70g on your first time. If you want a massive cake, experiment with upping the ingredients, and feel free to put it in an oven (oven tray not coffee mug though).

[* if you're using Lindt chocolate, 1 square = 10g
so 7 squares = 70g]

Optional:
baking powder can help it rise a little more
nuts
honey
serve with fruit, banana is good
serve with cream

Method:
Melt chocolate in a mug using your microwave. If you cant do this without burning go learn.
Beat your egg into the melted chocolate.
Microwave again, 30 seconds at a time to check how fast your microwave works, won’t take more than 1:30 seconds.
Tip on a plate or eat it out of the mug after letting it cool a bit.

Food Journal Week 7

Friday 4th March 2011
1pm 1 pork sausage and 1 chicken + cheese sausage, 4 pieces 85% Lindt.
6:15pm 2 slices Pork Meatza made with tomatoe paste, sundried tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, green capsicum, pepperoni, bacon, pineapple and mozarella cheese.

Saturday 5th March 2011
8am 2 slices leftover Meatza, MacBar
1pm Decaf Flat White w 1 sugar, Chicken + cheese sausage
7pm Sushi Ninja: Sashimi 6 pieces Salmon, tuna, white fish, chickumayo, edamame, 2 crumbed prawns and mayo.  MacBar

Sunday 6th March 2011
9am Scrambed eggs, 4 pieces Bacon, 2 pieces 72% Dark Gharna
11am Decaf Flat White w 1 sugar, 2 x MacBars
4pm 2 pieces Bacon
7pm Homemade Thai green chicken curry with cauliflower rice. MacBar, 3 pieces 72% Dark Gharna

Monday 7th March 2011
10am Coconut flat bread (2 pieces) fried in butter topped with cheese, egg, bacon and avocado, 2 pieces 85% Lindt.

12pm 1 hour BodyBalance
6:30pm Lamb Rump, roast pumpkin and parsnip, silverbeet + beef/cream reduction, 3 pieces homemade MacChoc.

Tuesday 8th March 2011
8:45am 2 egg with cream Omelet filled with bacon, cheese, tomato, corriander, 1 piece Lindt + 2 pieces homemade MacChoc.
3pm 1/2 pork sausage with BBQ sauce, 1 piece 85% Lindt.
6:30pm 1 hour Pilates Class
7:45pm Angus Pure Scotch Fillet Steak with homemade pepper sauce (cream reduction with pepper), large saland with spinach greens, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, avocado and feta, 2 pieces 85% Lindt.

Wednesday 9th March 2011
9am 2 poached eggs and 4 pieces bacon
10am Decaf Flat White w 1 sugar, 1 MacBar
6:30pm 1 hour SwissBall Class
7:45pm Roast House: Roast Pork with crackling, chicken, roast pumpkin, beans with traditional gravy, 1 MacBar

Thursday 10th March 2011
8am Decaf Flat White w 1 sugar, 2 pieces 85% Lindt
9am Scrambled eggs and 4 pieces Bacon
4pm 2 almond crackers, 2 pices 85% Lindt
6pm Chicken and Bacon homemade Carbonara, Zucchini instead of Pasta with roast pumpkin, pinenuts, sundried tomatoes, cream cheese and cream.  2 pieces homemade MacChoc.

Friday 11th March 2011 Weigh in 68.9kg so a 400gm gain
Not exactly a weight loss week this week, still pretty primal but just too much food in general aswell as that time of the month! A little emotional eating with the chocolate, hopefully next week I can rein it in a little better :)  Hope your all still enjoying the food journals feels a little boring to me but it's keep me motivated and I'm sure there will be some people that will find it helpful!