Whole30 Day 22-24

Am I cheating on my recaps if I combine three days into one recap? I sure hope not because this weekend that is the best I can do. This week has been all about testing and perfecting my state fair recipes and it has been quite time consuming. I think I made four loaves of bread this week before making one today that I actually felt was fair-worthy. I'll be entering a grain-free Ginger Zucchini Bread with Golden Raisins and Coconut Covered Brownie Bites (basically date balls with cocoa powder, pistachios and pecans, rolled in coconut). You may remember that last year (before  my grain free, added sugar free, processed food free days) I won a blue ribbon for my Lemon Lavendar Sugar Cookies. It would mean SO much more to me if I won a ribbon this year, because I am entering an all-natural product and will be going up against standard recipes. I'm trying not to get my hopes up, though.

Back to the Whole30...Thursday morning started with a few laps in the pool and some leftover Persian Spiced Lamb with Carrot and Fennel Slaw. When I got to work, I also had a banana. For lunch I had a salad with spinach, mixed veggies, avocado, salsa and some leftover Easiest Ever Lamb Roast. I was having one of those days where I pretty much stayed hungry all day so I had a fruit cup and a Lara Bar later in the afternoon. It was family dinner night (yea!) and my Mom made taco salad. I was still hungry so I had my salad atop a baked sweet potato. I guess that finally did the trick because I wasn't even craving my evening snack.

Thursday's Breakfast

Thursday's Lunch

Thursday's Dinner

On Friday, I woke up and tried my first "brick" workout in my tri training. I kept it pretty short  because I just wanted to get a feel for it so I rode the bike at the gym for about 15 minutes and then ran on the treadmill for an additional 15 minutes. My sweet husband prepared breakfast Thursday evening so all I had to do was heat it up and fry a few eggs to get breakfast ready. He made an awesome veggie combo with cherry tomatoes, onion, zucchini and fresh herbs, cooked in balsamic vinegar. 

When I got to work, I sipped my daily Iced Americano and ate a few dried figs. Lunch was at California Pizza Kitchen to catch up with my old co-workers. I was happily surprised with their selection of salads. I had a Moroccan Salad with chicken, dates, roasted peppers, carrots, beets and almonds. 

My afternoon snack was the last of my Whole9 Cashew Hummus, salsa, sun-dried tomatoes and a sliced cucumber. 

We had some awesome swordfish filets from Trader Joe's that Kevin broiled with sliced peppers. I was in charge of side dishes so I made a big salad and some roasted sweet potatoes. I didn't think it was possible to eat too much fish, but those were some huge filets and I was way too full after dinner.

Today (Saturday) I got to sleep in...until 6:30! We didn't have to be at CrossFit until 9:30 so I made a smoothie with espresso, banana, pumpkin, spices and coconut milk to hold me over until after class. I also snacked on a bit of the jerky Kevin is making for the state fair. 

Today's WOD was outdoors with the sun blazing in my face and consisted of a lot of running and a lot of deadlifts so I was a happy girl when I settled into my booth at Hillbilly Tea for brunch. I had a mint-green tea and loved it! For brunch I had the herb scrambled eggs with sweet potato, bacon and braised greens. We stopped on the way home for a little caffeine. :)

I thought I would not want to eat again until dinner, but I got hungry again about 4:00 and finished off the  salad from last night's dinner.

Kevin and I decided to go out tonight and celebrate my new job and new student status. We dined at a new French restaurant called La Coop. I had to get a little creative with the menu to comply with my diet, but we started with pork belly and whipped sweet potato topped with frisee and a tomato. My main course was short rib with onion confit and a side of ratatouille.

I also did something that I haven't really done throughout this whole process...I had a glass of wine. Gasp! I almost didn't order it, but today was a day for celebrating and the occassion deserved a toast. I realy don't feel bad or regret it. I went almost 30 days without a drink and I don't feel like one little drink is going to throw me off course. It would be nice if I could say I made it through the entire 30 days without asip up, but if I was going to have a slip-up, this was the way to go.

After dinner I sampled a bit more jerky and had an apple so I could stay up late and finish up my state fair entries and write this blog post! :) Have you ever entered anything into your local fair? I love walking around our fair and seeing the food, art and photography that people enter.