WIAW: a busily relaxing day?

sharing WIAW, on a Thursday!

 

^^I started the morning off with some bible-ing, journaling, and coffee-ing. accompanied by my bridesmaid bouquet from this past weekend :)^^

^^breakfast was a scrambled mess (the best kind of mess) including eggs, zucchini, and eggplant. banana and almond butter on the side.^^

^^I’ve been all about the jumbo salads this summer! lettuce, cucumbers, celery, carrots, salmon, and salsa.^^

after lunch, I chilled by the pool for a little. And by a little I literally mean 30 minutes because it was SO hot out & I have ADD. I was drenched in sweat just from laying outside.

^^snack time: frozen berries + almond butter. coconut butter + berries is my favorite, but almond butter does the trick as well!^^

Thank you thank you to my amazing parents for this new sleeping bag. PLUS it’s orange. I’m in heaven, and I can’t wait to take it out for a spin (but actually it’s so hot, will I even need a sleeping bag?!)

^^finally: dinner. ground beef, summer squash, zucchini, and tomato sauce.^^

Questions of the day:

Is it dead summer heat where you are yet?!

Pool or Ocean- what do you prefer?

I’m ocean all the way, but that’s 3-5 hours from here!

WIAW…Whole30 DAY 30

Yesterday was my last day of the Whole30. It feels…weird. I honestly thought I would be a lot more excited today. But I’m not…and it’s actually a good thing. If you had asked me on Day 10 I would have told you that Day 31 would be filled with chocolate, gluten free bread, hummus, corn chips, thai food…any number of things I was missing so dearly for a lot of my Whole30.

But in the  week, a great thing happened. I stopped really caring about what I would eat *after* the Whole30. I honestly didn’t really feel a strong craving for any of the foods I cut out (dairy, grains, sugar, alcohol, legumes..). I’m more excited to do the real reintroduction and see what foods are affecting me! I’m going to share a longer post about my Whole30 experience, but for now I just wanted to focus on the food on this WIAW!

 

Breakfast

I kept my morning simple yesterday- eggs, broccoli, spinach, carrots, and a topping of guacamole.

Followed by an apple + almond butter. Pretty standard around here.

Lunch

On Tuesdays I work right through lunch time, but usually can put off eating until after. Long story short, we went to a Chinese restaurant (I obviously did not eat there- it was all teriyaki and rice and miso..soy, grains, soy) and I was starving by the time I had to make my ~40 minute drive home.

I ran into Walmart and picked up a box of Lärabars. Not the best choice, but still a good one in a pinch. I also picked up two hardboiled eggs for 99¢, but only ended up eating one of them. Hardboiled eggs from Walmart…still protein but not the highest quality//best tasting eggs I’ve eaten. It does in a pinch though!

Snack

A little later, I sipped on some Buchi kombucha from Asheville NC. This flavor Unlimited: Apple juice and Lime. The only ingredients are organic raw kombucha, organic apple juice and organic lime juice. It was delicious!

Workout

For my workout, I kept it simple with another at-home circuit in my  apartment. I had taken a walk in the morning and a little circuit was all I needed to round out my workout for the day.

Dinner

For a little break from our constant work//studying, the boy and I headed downtown with some friends for a chill dinner.

^^A rare photo together. We mostly wear workout clothes these days 🙈^^

Dinner was the best way to end my Whole30- salad + a burger.

And there you have it..Day 30!

Whole30 Day 28

Yesterday was Day 28 of the Whole 30 challenge…which means today is Day30. And tomorrow is day 30! I can’t wait to share my thought with you guys!

Breakfast

Chicken sausage, egg, spinach, and spaghetti squash. Lots of goodness on one plate. I loved the chicken sausage (clearly…it’s been on my plate every day since I bought it..) and I hope I’ll have some more soon!

Kale chips. The delicious second half of breakfast.

Lunch

For lunch I heated up leftover Paleo chili. It was a little heavy on the tomato flavor, but still awesome. I threw a little lettuce on top for crunch + veggies.

Lunch, the sequel: apple & almond butter.

Dinner

Dinner yesterday was similar to the night before, but that didn’t make it taste any less amazing! Chicken, zucchini, and asparagus. Topped with mustard because I’m weird & I love mustard. Eat the rainbow..right?

Dinner, part 2. Banana and almond butter… BUT the best part was, I stuck this whole bowl in the freezer for about 10 minutes and when I took it out the cold, frozen banana + almond butter combo was awesome.

Treat

JK! I didn’t give up the Whole30 life yet…30 days for myself! These were on sale at the Swamp Rabbit Cafe & Grocery for $8.99.. not the cheapest ice cream but $2+ less than usual (especially at Earth Fare..they sell Jeni’s for $11.99 a pint ridiculous). As far as ice cream goes Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams are …pretty much the best. They get their milk from grass fed cows, and they prioritize fair trade, natural, quality ingredients that also taste amazing. If you choose to indulge in a frozen treat, Jeni’s is one you have to try!

Questions of the day:

Have you tried Jeni’s Ice Creams yet?

What is your favorite frozen summer treat?

WIAW: The Last of Whole30.. +hashtags.

This is my last WIAW while officially on the Whole30.. woah. It’s flying by. There sill be ~12 days after the 30 while I ‘reintroduce’ individual food groups to test my own reaction to them, but those will fly by as well I’m sure! Not going to lie… I could really use a piece of chocolate 😍

Breakfast

 

Eggs, peppers and spinach. #yum #alltheveggies #eggsforever

Banana and almond butter. #classic #cantbeatit #nutbutterlover

Lunch

Lunch out for work meant chicken and veggies. #whenindoubtgosimple

Snack

An apple and almond butter. So much nut butter yesterday, but I was running low on food! #thestruggle #whole30probz

I loved this.. zombie family > regular family.

Dinner

 

Burger, plantain chips, lettuce, mustard. I didn’t plan ahead enough to eat before babysitting, so I had to wait until after all the kiddos went to sleep before I could eat (~8:40). Needless to say after running around for 3 hours and carrying kiddies on my back, this dinner hit the spot.. #allthecarbs #simpleisbest

Question of the day:

What hashtags describe your best eats this week?!

Whole30: Day 22

I am in the final stretch of my Whole30.. how crazy is that. I thought these 30 days would pass all too slowly, but I am in my last week and happy to say that I am feeling great. I definitely want some chocolate..but I will have to share more about my experience soon!

Yesterday had some great eats, and a really amazing workout.

Breakfast:

I ate breakfast pretty late after unpacking and keeping busy all morning. I had my coffee and wasn’t too hungry, so I just held off till I needed something.

Eggs & spinach. Topped with EVOO and salt after cooking. This breakfast didn’t really fill me up, so I followed it up with some pistachios, which left me full and satisfied for hours.

After finishing up most of my unpacking and setting up the apartment, I grabbed a little snack before heading to the gym.

Snack

Frozen strawberries…yesplease.

  

Workout

For my workout, I followed the programing from EPLifeFit— The Everyday Paleo//JassaFIT site. To start off my workout for the day started off with 3 minutes of walking, followed 10 minutes of sprints.

I did 30 seconds light//jog followed by 30 seconds of sprints at 95-100% effort. It was intense.

For my heavy lifting of the day: 3 sets of 10 reps for heavy shoulder presses. I did a few reps first to determine my 1RM (60lbs right now) and then did the sets at 50% of that weight.

To finish off the workout I did 12 sets of 2 burpees-4 squats-6 box jumps.

I didn’t think I workout too hard at the time but my shins, quads, abs, and shoulders are all so sore today.

Dinner

For dinner, the boy and I whipped up a quick meal together. Chicken, asparagus, zucchini, and yellow squash. I finished everything up with a topping of EVOO and salt. It was amazing. I am loving a little olive oil to finish meals these days.

 

Beautiful flowers, courtesy of my boy. They are perfect for brightening out the new apartment.

Question of the day:

What workout are you loving lately?

WIAW Whole30: Weekend Style (day 13).

For my WIAW today, I am skipping ahead to my Whole30 eats this Saturday. My days have been pretty similar lately, and this one is a little more fun! This past weekend one of my friends came into town to attend a wedding. On Saturday morning, we decided to go to the Farmer’s Market together.

I was up early so I went for an hour walk, and then threw together this breakfast plate. 

Cauliflower rice, and 2 eggs. Simple. I only ate about half of it before we headed out

At the Farmer’s Market we explored the different booths. I’m a regular attendee of the market, but my friends had only been once or twice before. I’m always shocked when people tell me that. Such an amazing source of fresh produce and meats right downtown, why wouldn’t you go? But then I remember that for most college students the proximity + price >> value//health//supporting local farmers. (even though produce here is usually cheaper than in-season produce at the grocery store!)

Left: smoothies//Right:Pasta

Plant shopping! 

I will definitely be back to test this cute hole-in-the-wall store out.

More plants. I almost caved, but not this time.

Obligatory stop in Antrhopologie. I mean, when there’s a 15% off sale..you just have to. I bought an Angel Food Cake candle that I have been lusting after for over a year now.

After walking around all morning and taking our sweet time in Anthropologie, everyone was ready for a meal. We hopped over to Tupelo Honey Cafe and enjoyed some brunch fare.

Omelet and potatoes for me. White potatoes: now Whole30 approved 🙂

After we returned from downtown, I spent the afternoon studying, packing up my apartment, and a quick break for painting my nails. I threw a workout somewhere in there, the perfect break from being stuck in my apartment all day.

I love summer colors- blue is the best.

For dinner, the boys and I stopped by Whole Foods to grab our favorite dinner before doing the weekly grocery shopping at Trader Joe’s. I scored some blackened cod right as they were putting it out. So delicious!

Later that night, after packing up my apartment for a few hours, my friends Mary, Bevin, and I headed down to Sip to check it out. Mary met us there after attending a friend’s wedding, so we got the dish, and enjoyed chatting together. I didn’t have anything there (driver + Whole30) but it was overall just a fun place to hang out. There were little couches and tables, as well as some standing tables, and a giant picnic style table in the middle for a more social seating. We hung out on our own little couch for a couple of hours, before calling it a night!

 

See- you can still have fun on the Whole30!

Whole30: Day 11

Whole 30 Day 11! I can’t believe how far I am along.

Breakfast

Cauliflower rice, peppers + onions, and a few eggs. I cooked the cauliflower rice in ghee and it was on point, as usual. For the eggs, I heated the veggies in a pan first, then cooked the eggs over them.

Lunch

Prosciutto, avocado, peppers, and spaghetti squash. A delicious protein + veggie packed meal.

 

 

Snack

Berries + pistachios. This combo of sweet fruit and salty nuts is SO good.

Dinner

Another fantastic meal, cooked with the boy. Spaghetti squash (pasta for him), chicken, sauce, and amazing, amazing asparagus. This meal was so filling (that spaghetti squash has volume).

 

Questions of the day:

Have you tried spaghetti squash? It’s ah-mazing!

Whole 30 Day 10

My Whole30 is rolling right along! Let’s check out Day 10 eats.

Breakfast

Frozen veggies are a life safer. They cook so quickly, and I always have a few bags around for when my fresh veggies run out and//or I don’t want to prep anything.

This was eggs, frozen peppers + onions, and some cauliflower rice cooked in ghee. Cauliflower rice + ghee is my favorite. It has so much flavor!

Breakfast also included banana, almond butter, coconut milk, and cinnamon. Pretty much the usual lately.

Lunch

For lunch, I grabbed a salad at Upcountry Provisions. I had avocado, peppers, cucumbers, and some fried thing on top. I didn’t realize it came with a ‘topper’ so I just did my best to eat around them. Sometimes a good talk with a friend is just more important.

Snack

That salad left me pretty hungry, so a little later I followed it up with an apple and some delicious pistachios.

Dinner

While we were preparing dinner, I finished the second half of a Kombucha I had laying around. It was the perfect appetizer to our brinner.

Brinner was amazing, as always: eggs, potatoes, spinach, and onions.

Questions of the day:

Brinner: yay or nay?

Whole 30 Day 9

Breakfast

Eggs, salsa, peppers, avocado. Simple but delicious breakfast.

 

 

Lunch

Lunch was random and eaten on the go. After eaten a bunch of pistachios in my car, I had 2 pieces of prosciutto and a peach. Simple and delicious.

Dinner

This was a delicious meal! Shredded chicken, roasted veggies, and cauliflower rice. Simple healthy ‘comfort’ food.

Another delicious day on my Whole30!

Whole 30: Day 8

Whole 30 Day 8… wow the time is flying. Today is actually Day 12 for me, but I’m a few days behind on the food updates. It is going really well though. There are foods that I crave sometimes but I the food I am eating is always delicious. Literally sometimes I’m like wait… is this really Whole30? It tastes too good to be true…

Breakfast

Another breakfast on the go. Eggs, veggies and guac//banana, coconut milk, cinnamon and almond butter. So good.

Lunch

Lunch was a simple mic. Canned wild salmon, guacamole (mashed together) topped with bell pepper. Follower by apple + almond butter. Easy on the go nutrition.

Workout

I was feeling good and did a mix of bodyweight and machine exercises to kill my legs!

Dinner

For dinner, the boy and I threw together a delicious mix. Burgers, greens, and sweet potato fries.

Snack

A little later that night I was still hungry so I threw together a favorite bowl lately. Berries, coconut milk, coconut butter, and some roasted almonds.

All in all a pretty delicious day!