Whole 30, Week 2: What We Ate, What to Expect

As I write this, we are currently on day 15 (halfway, yay!) Week 2 went well, and we are getting into a rhythm with this whole thing.

In case you missed it, here is how it went the first week:

Week 1 Recap

And here are some shots of things we ate this week:

BREAKFAST:
-skillet sweet potato chicken hash with eggs (recipe here)// we ate the over easy eggs one day, then I had leftover hash so we paired it with hard boiled eggs to bring along on an overnight trip to the waterpark with our kiddos
-leftover bacon sweet potato frittata (see week 1 recap for recipe)
-scrambled eggs with salsa, sausage and fruit (sometimes sauteed peppers too)

LUNCH
-Chipotle Whole 30 bowl // Chipotle recently released a W30 compliant option! It is only available for carry out, but we just went in and ordered all the same ingredients in a salad bowl: lettuce, carnitas, tomato salsa, grilled peppers, guacamole. DELISH! (And nice to treat ourselves to a meal out!)
-chicken and avocado soup (recipe here) // incredibly flavorful and filling, even though I didn’t have a ripe enough avocado to add to it
-cobb salad with dressing (made with avocado oil and balsamic vinegar with lemon juice, minced garlic, salt & pepper, herbs)
-tuna salad on romaine hearts with carrots and guacamole cup

DINNER
-Zoodles with marinara and homemade meatballs (I have this spiralizer attachment for my Kitchenaid mixer. It is THE BOMB.)
-Burgers with toppings (lettuce, tomato, mustard, sauteed onion), roasted potatoes and brussel spouts with lemon
-Pork tenderloin with sauteed green beans
-Lemon garlic shrimp with veggies over cauli rice (from Whole 30 cookbook)
-Italian sheetpan chicken and veggies (recipe here) // love me a one sheet meal!

Top five things learned this week:

1. Don’t weigh yourself. The book says just to weigh in at the start and end. But I am a cheater and am always curious. I lost a decent amount of weight week 1, and not as much week 2– so I can see how that plays with your head as you work through the 30 days. Instead, go by how your clothes are fitting and how you feel.
2. All the feels. I am feeling SO good. Like sleep is improving, skin is looking better (win!) and just have better energy and mental sharpness overall. It is amazing to see what good foods can do in your body…
3. Mix it up with food. It may be easy to eat the same thing for meals (scrambled eggs, anyone?) but having variety really helps. A friend of mine from church is doing W30, and I look to her for recipes, fellow bloggers, and have found great ideas on Instagram (@whole30 or #januarywhole30), Skinnytaste and RealSimpleGood websites and the W30 cookbook.
4. Grocery budget be like, whoa. Your food budget is going to be big. But it’s definitely worth it. I try to stock up on meat at the grocery store when it’s on sale and keep it in our freezer chest downstairs, and buy in bulk at Sam’s/Costco. Then I shop at Aldi for all the rest like fruits and veggies. We haven’t gone totally organic in terms of our meat yet, but that would add to the budget for sure. I’ll be curious to compare our food spend at the end of the month versus other months (which included eating out and groceries) to see how it lines up.
5. Share your journey. It really helps to go public with your W30 journey. Find support and do it with your spouse or significant other, and tell others- in person, on social media, etc. It really helps keep you accountable and motivate you to stick with it!

Week 2 is in the book! We even successfully navigated a football get together with friends (brought bacon wrapped chicken bites and carrots with guac with flavored seltzer water), AND an overnight trip to a waterpark with friends (we offered to bring the dinner since we had kitchens in our rooms and opted for a compliant pot roast, and packed some snacks, breakfast and cobb salads for lunch).  T even resisted several work temptations (bagels and cream cheese, client lunches, etc.) BOOM!

What questions do you have on W30? Any graduates have tips or recipes to share? Let me know what kinds of things you want to see in these posts…I’m all ears!