Looking back on these 7 days as a whole I felt challenged a lot but I’ve also started to see some real results, which is exciting.

 Day 8

 Breakfast

• Green Smoothie (kale, spinach, romaine, cucumber, frozen mixed berries, banana, unsweetened coconut milk, chia seeds, matcha powder)
• Cold brewed coffee with unsweetened coconut milk

Lunch

• Chicken, Zucchini & Red Onion Sauté
• Celery Sticks & Cucumber Slices

 Supper

• Booster Juice “Spinach is In It” Smoothie

Snacks

• Banana

 Perspectives: My high energy yesterday resulted in me staying up late and not getting as much sleep but I didn’t feel too bad in the morning. I was pretty wiped by evening though and neither of us was in any mood to grill supper like we had planned so we had smoothies instead. I’m feeling a little guilty about this day for having not one, but TWO smoothies as they are discouraged on the plan. I also found out that the acai juice in my smoothie is considered off limits. Double fail! Smoothies have always been a go-to for me as they are a quick way to get extra vegetables and they are easy on my stomach. I will need to look into a way to work them into my plan without relying on them or consuming anything I shouldn’t be. I am going to keep moving forward and keeping extra eyes on my ingredient labels.

Day 9

Breakfast

• Over Easy Eggs
• Bacon
• Cold brewed coffee with unsweetened coconut milk

Lunch

• Chicken, Zucchini & Red Onion Sauté

 Supper

• Roasted Chicken
• Grapes
• Carrots

 Snack

• Banana
• Larabar

 Perspectives: I’m feeling a little nervous today as my first real challenge is coming. We are travelling this weekend which means we will have to be extra disciplined. I have been reading a lot of restaurant nutrition guides to plan an acceptable meal and we will be doing a mini grocery run for Whole30 approved eats to bring with us.

Day 10

Breakfast

• Booster Juice “Tropikale” Smoothie

Lunch

• Roasted Chicken
• Carrot Sticks

Supper

• Montana’s Salmon Salad (greens, onion, avocado, tomato, Italian dressing)

Snacks

• Larabar
• Watermelon
• Baked Potato “Chips”

Perspectives: I found an approved rotisserie chicken at the grocery store which made for an easy protein source on the go. We ate supper at Montana’s and it was hard to order salad but I did it. I was snacking a lot this whole trip because we couldn’t sit down for a proper meal whenever we wanted. I did find some new Larabar flavors that I really enjoyed, as well as baked chips with only three approved ingredients. Junk food is off limits on the Whole30 but I had a few of the chips and then felt guilty the rest of the night even though they were baked and the ingredients were allowed. I definitely felt like I was on a slippery slope with snacking all weekend.

Day 11

Breakfast

• Larabar
• Carrot Sticks

Lunch

• Subway Chicken Salad (greens, spinach, red onion, cucumber, Italian dressing)

Supper

• Fried Eggs
• Bacon
• Roasted Potatoes

Snacks

• Baked Potato “Chips”
• Carrot Sticks

Perspectives: This might be the hardest day I’ve had yet. Yesterday’s snacking had me craving everything all day today. I ordered an oil and vinegar dressing for my salad only to find out later that it had trace amounts of gluten. I was super disappointed and was beating myself up all day over it. SO FRUSTRATING. Whyyy would dressing have gluten in it, ever ?! As the slipup wasn’t intentional and the amount was very minimal, I am going to keep going and I will test gluten last in my reintroduction phase so that my results are as accurate as possible. It’s so hard being on a road trip and not just eating whatever we want but I am trying to remember the successes we’ve had.

 Day 12

Breakfast

• Over Easy Eggs
• Bacon

Lunch

• Roasted Vegetable Medley (kale, zucchini, red onion and bell pepper seasoned with olive oil, dill and salt)
• Apple with almond butter

Supper

• Chili (ground beef, crushed tomatoes, onion, bell pepper, spices, salt)
• Banana

 Perspectives: I was so happy to be back home and in my regular routine today. I really disliked how little control I had on my meals on the road and I realized how much I enjoy planning out what we eat and knowing exactly what’s in it. I didn’t have any meat available for lunch and was starving most of the day. I’m much more satisfied when I have protein, I’m learning. Also, I miss beans. Chili without them just isn’t the same.

Day 13

Breakfast

• Green Smoothie (spinach, cucumber, orange juice, frozen berries, matcha, chia seeds)

 Lunch

• Leftover Chili

 Dinner

• Pork Tenderloin (marinated in lemon juice, red wine vinegar, olive oil, salt, garlic, spices)
• Roasted Potatoes & Broccoli (olive oil, salt, pepper, herbs)

 Snacks

• Larabar
• Carrot & Celery Sticks

 Perspectives: I think I need to start hard boiling some eggs to have in a pinch when I need some protein. I was hungry when I didn’t include it with breakfast and then resorted to my emergency Larabar to keep my stomach from grumbling. A lot of the things I ate today tasted different to me, which was odd. I’ve also noticed that I sleep like a rock now, which is a welcome development.

Day 14

Breakfast

• Green Smoothie (spinach, cucumber, orange juice, frozen berries, matcha, chia seeds)
• Mixed Nuts

 Lunch

• Leftover Pork, Broccoli & Potatoes

 Dinner

• Salsa Chicken Salad (chicken, greens, onion, salsa)
• Larabar

 Perspectives: I’m starting to “miss” different foods. I wanted my favorite iced latte from Brewed Awakening. I wanted sour cream on my salad. Hopefully this phase passes quickly. We aren’t even half done yet! All I want to do is make a chocolate cake, take photos of it and blog about it. I’m missing the good old days of throwing together a batch of cookies “just because”!

On to the next week. Thanks for following along!