Whole30 is completed! We are done and there was much rejoicing. I’m ready to do some baking again. These 30 days have actually gone by quickly and the overall experience has been pretty fun, dare I say.

Reminder: Who exactly is doing this challenge?

My husband and myself and our 16 month old and 3 1/2 year old. The kids are eating what we eat for the most part but the 16 month old still eats oatmeal for breakfast (no dairy in it though) and on occasion a rice cake. The 3 year old has an option of oatmeal for breakfast, but she’s only had a couple of bites. She used to love oatmeal, but it just hasn’t been her thing lately.

How Did We Feel?

Okay, so we all felt great again during the last part of our Whole30. The big difference for me though, is that the last week I’ve just been ready to be done! Weeks 2 and 3 I really didn’t think about off plan foods. This past week I have! Peanut butter, cheese, baking, oats, chocolate, beans are just a few of the things that have been filling my mind. Physically I’ve been doing great though and have had enough energy to get through my to do lists even on little sleep.

Afterwards!

What’s the plan going forward? I’m looking forward to incorporating legumes and cheese back into our diets. We will also add back in grains and wheat but hope to limit the quantities. We’ll also be watching how our bodies respond to these foods more closely now and hopefully adjusting as we need to.

What Did We Eat?

Chicken Salad, Sweet Potato Hash browns, Sweet Potato Breakfast Casserole, and Chicken Curry Soup 

Breakfasts: for the last 9 days we ate leftover sweet potato breakfast casserole (still my favorite), scrambled eggs, hash browns (made from sweet potatoes is my other favorite breakfast food), and scrambled eggs and veggies baked in muffin tins.

Lunches: The trends from the first weeks continued and Shaun and I had salads while the kids had leftovers or sweet potatoes for week day lunches. We also had Rosemary Chicken Salad served on lettuce and Paleo Sweet Potato Chili.

Suppers:  We had a Ginger Beef/Broccoli/Carrot stir fry type thing, Chicken Curry Soup, Chicken and Veggie Soup, Crispy Chicken Thighs (recipe coming this Friday), and leftovers of all the above. Leftovers rock! I’ve been spending way more time in the kitchen for breakfasts and lunches than I normally do, so leftovers are a life saver.

Snacks: Nuts, dried fruit, fresh fruits and veggies

Just for fun, I asked my husband and daughter what food they want the most after the 30 days are up. Shaun’s request – pizza. Kenna’s first thought was bread with peanut butter. When I asked her if there was anything else she added “snack supper with popcorn and homemade ice cream”. What I want is alfredo sauce. I don’t even care about the noodles. I’d eat it plain or over sweet potatoes – I just want the butter and cheese. 🙂

The Results:

Number wise, over the last 30 days I lost 10 pounds and 1/2-1 inch on my thighs, hips, waist. I have also spend the past 30 days exercising 5 days a week – power walking with the double stroller and doing 10 minutes of pilates, so I’m sure it has been a combination of the two.

And that’s our last Whole30 recap! Even though is has been time consuming, expensive, and a little hard with social events it has been good and worth it!

Linking up to these fun parties!

This menu is the last of our Whole30 meals! We will have officially made it through all 30 days the middle of this week! Hooray! That means Tuesday will be our last weekly recap. Hard to believe a month has gone by. Perfect timing since we are done just in time for my sister’s wedding and all the yummy (not Whole30) food that will entail.

My current read and the perfect place to get a few more pages into it: let the kids play and burn off energy while I read. Win win. 

It actually felt like fall for most of this week. It was incredible and even a little chilly one day. It makes for a much more enjoyable power walk while pushing a double stroller. Of course we are back up in the 80s this week but at least there’s hope. Fall is on its way. I’m looking forward to welcoming it in with some baking once we complete our Whole30. I’m going to try and pace myself though so I don’t go overboard and lose all the traction we gained the last 30 days. 🙂

Rosemary Chicken Salad (with homemade mayonnaise) topped with avocado.

Suppers:

• Chicken and Veggie Soup x 2
• Leftover Paleo Chili
• Crispy Chicken Thighs (recipe coming Friday)
• Leftovers

Lunches:

• Paleo Sweet Potato Chili
• Chicken Salad on lettuce made with homemade mayonnaise
• Salads for Shaun and me
• Leftovers/sweet potatoes for the kids

Breakfasts:

• Scrambled Eggs
• Hash browns (sweet potato for everyone except Shaun)
• Egg Muffin Cups

Goals:

• Continue Pilates and Walking (did it all 5 days again last week)
• Read a couple more chapters in (aff link) When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor . . . and Yourself
• Finish memorizing two Bible verses
• Work on craft show projects
• Write 2 more posts and brainstorm a subscriber freebie

What’s on your menu this week? Has the weather cooled off where you are at yet?

Linking up to Menu Plan Monday

It’s October this week and there’s less than 3 months into Christmas! Slightly scary. I’m ready for the highs to be in the 60s and 70s but it’s not going to happen in the 10 day forecast. Hopefully it doesn’t go from hot to cold. I’m hoping for a decent amount time of perfect fall weather. 🙂

We went to a new corn maze with the kids on Saturday. The liked wondering through the paths for the first half and then it got a little miserable when we were all red and hot with the sun beating down on us. Definitely more enjoyable when it’s 10 degrees cooler. They enjoyed playing in the dried corn pile, riding on the horse tire swings, and going down the slide. It was a fun place to go for little kids.

Last week we seemed to get into a really good rhythm for being productive, staying on top of things, and just over all having a good week. Hopefully it will carry over to this week. Sunday I baked sweet potatoes for the little guy’s lunches, prepped salad stuff for the week, and got the Paleo Breakfast Casserole put together to bake this morning (and we’ll have leftovers for the next several days). A little prep work can go a long ways for having a smooth week.

Slow Cooker Moroccan Chicken

Suppers:

(There’s a lot of winging it when it comes to meals this week!)

• Paleo Tex Mex Casserole x 2
• Spinach and Chicken Stuffed/Topped Sweet Potatoes
• Beef and Broccoli over Spaghetti Squash x 2
• Chicken Curry over Spaghetti Squash x 2
• If we run out of leftovers – chicken salad with homemade mayo

Lunches:

• Whole roasted chicken with acorn squash and carrots
• Leftover Moroccan chicken from last week
• Leftovers and sweet potatoes for the kids
• Salads for Shaun and myself

Breakfasts

• Sweet potato boats
• Paleo breakfast casserole
• Eggs and sweet potato hash browns when we run out of the casserole

Goals:

• Continue with pilates and power walking with the double stroller Mon-Fri! (Did it all 5 days last week.) Thinking about signing up for this for extra accountability.
• Read a couple more chapters in When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor . . . and Yourself and maybe start another book.
• Write 3 more posts
• Work on Bible memory (worked on a few verses last week, going to continue with them)
• Clean/declutter/organize our bedroom
• Work on ponytail holders and promotional items for the next craft show

What are you cooking? Any plans for the week?

Linking up to Menu Plan Monday