Ah, another week of eating well and chowing down on all of those awesome Whole Foods… And I have to say, I think it’s my best week yet! #ThankYouTigerBlood
Weekly Ranking (1-10)
8.5
Pretty great week! My body is now realizing, “Oh hey… THIS is what we need to function!” and I feel good physically AND emotionally (see below for victories.) Overall, I’ve been less of a jerkface to the people in my life (aka, husband and Tiny Humans) and already experiencing more joy. (Seriously, I still can’t believe that’s a non-scale victory that can come from our food!) 
On My Menu
Decent chow this week… Nothing like “HOLY CANNOLI, I want to eat all the things!” but definitely didn’t struggle like last week. I tried a new recipe from the Whole 30 Cookbook… Beef & squash enchiladas (wrapped in collard greens.) It was a pretty complicated recipe so rather time consuming, but tasted delicious. (I seriously thought I was eating fancy cheese and beef ravioli. Not sure why it tasted like that, but I’m not gonna argue.)
Went back to my classic Madras Chicken Salad for lunch (good choice) and tried something new with oven baked sweet potatoes (Side note: Oven baking the sweet potatoes vs. microwave is a WORLD of difference.)
I got a little annoyed with breakfast this week, so I changed things up. I had those aforementioned oven-baked sweet potatoes and saw somewhere that they were pretty delicious with toasted almond slivers and (unsweetened) coconut flakes. Well– that is TOTALLY correct. It created powerful and simple flavors PLUS added variety to the texture. Definitely a winning discovery. (I ate the baked potato with left over “roast beast,” just to take a brief break from eggs.)
I also cooked a ton of food during prep, so I literally only cooked like three times this week #SoManyLeftovers #NotComplaining
Victories
Lots of super awesome victories this week! Most of them would be non-scale and emotional. First, as mentioned above, I was way less of a heifer to my family. There’s some weird (awesome) unspeakable joy bubbling to the surface and I laugh much easier. I am also more patient, especially as my beloved husband is working some pretty intense hours and I’ve been on my own parenting these two little humans. Bedtime is the most intimidating because Malick was going through his 3-month growth spurt this week and the fussiest, anti-sleeping-est I’ve seen him yet. BUT… I was able to keep my cool and seriously felt clearer/closer to God as I prayed for strength to take care of my kiddos. Overall, just more level/balanced and less all over the place. I am loving it!
Also– the energy required to do my mama-duties has increased. I no longer feel like I am totally D-O-N-E at the end of the day aka, by 4:30 pm. I’ve managed to get the kids to bed (sometimes multiple times) by myself and still have energy/brain clarity to work on homework in the evening. And I enjoy it! (Can’t hardly believe that!)
Sleep: Per the Tiniest Human in our house, sleep habits have been disrupted (again.) BUT– the sleep I DO get seems to count for more… I fall asleep much faster when I get into bed (less laying awake worried/fretting) and sleeping deeper. (Another side note: When I fall into bed at night, it’s not like desperation/relief sleep. It’s more like, “Ah, I’ve made it” victory sleep.)
Other health victories: Morning headaches are gone, I am completely off my heartburn medicine and some other body systems are “regulating.” (Sorry if that’s TMI… HA.)
Struggles
For me, keeping my cool with time management for food prep/groceries and working out is the biggest issue at the moment. I get it all done, but I have to say it is tempting to scrap/skip it– but I remember how much better I feel after making my physical self a priority.
Tweaks for Next Week
I think I am going to modify/simplify my menu a bit. As I started working on my doctorate degree this week, I am realizing that Whole30 is a HUGE blessing for my brain clarity and energy levels, but I definitely don’t have as much time to prep super fancy/complicated meals. So I am going to swap lunches for simple “cold” salads (next week will be Whole30 compliant tuna salad, because it sounds good and its already ridic hot in Georgia.) Also, I am pushing a couple of meals from this week to next since I still have non-perishable ingredients but didn’t actually need to cook the meals.
Friends: If you are on this journey, how’s it going for you so far? If you are following along, what surprises you most so far? Leave a comment– and swing by next week for another recap post of this crazy-awesome journey to health.
