Operation Not Have My Hunter Rainboots Suction-Cup To My Calves: Days Four, Five, and Six

Hi Everyone!!

Ok, first of all, so sorry for not posting over the weekend. My computer at home sucks and won't let me post gif's, which is obviously a necessity.

Second of all:

I said BRR, it's cold out here!!! At first I was really excited for the snowstorm because I always think that I love the snow and it's going to be beautiful and I will be appropriately dressed and become one with nature and look like this:

Expectation.

But then I went to leave this morning and couldn't find my hat and my puffy coat wouldn't zip so I had to wear my lighter one and I forgot my scarf and it was pretty much exactly like this:

Reality.

Basically, this weather is stupid. Unless shivering burns calories? Someone look into that and let me know please - if so I will be out there in a bikini just chillin. Literally. Hehe.

Moving on. So I had my first weekend without any alcohol in probably...12 years? At least. Is that bad? Whatever it is, let's just say it had its ups and downs. Friday night watching tv with a mug of tea even though I could sleep in the next day was definitely a downer, but luckily it was a first season of Homeland marathon, and Brody's torture scenes really put any wine desperation in perspective so I chilled the F out. Plus, waking up on Saturday morning without even a hint of a hangover was glorious. In the past, weekend mornings with nothing to do = might as well be hungover!

But waking up on Saturday fresh as a daisy with a whole day ahead of me was a beautiful thing. I walked the dog, made coffee, made breakfast, cleaned the kitchen, and got a mani/pedi all before noon. Then Chris and I took a stroll to Soho where we enjoyed a lovely booze-free lunch at a cozy restaurant, walked around and did some shopping, then came home to relax and make dinner before going to bed at a reasonable time for a deep 10-hour sleep.

Everything was shining, shimmering, splendid...until Sunday when things got a little harder. With Whole30 every turn is a surprise. Sometimes the cravings and hunger are indescribable feelings. Ok, I will stop that now. But so Sunday we had friends over for lunch and it was awesome. Everyone was so fun, the food turned out great, and I was actually totally fine drinking tea while they had wine, which was unexpected. It wasn't until after they left that Chris and I had simultaneous temper tantrums about being hungry but not wanting anything we could eat. I didn't want meat and he didn't want vegetables so we just stared at each other with hatred for about 20 minutes.

Eventually we both had some applesauce and put down our weapons. Seriously, if you are going to do a Whole30 make the Homemade Slow Cooker Applesauce, it's a life saver when sweet cravings come to town. I honestly felt like I came back to life after a few spoonfuls. But it was a rough night...only made better when we weighed ourselves the next morning and realized it's all worth it. But you have to check in tomorrow to find out how much we lost!!

Until then, here's what I ate!

FRIDAY

Breakfast:

3 scrambled eggs

2 slices crispy bacon

Deliciousness:

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. This breakfast makes me so happy.

Lunch:

Leftover Prosciutto Wrapped Chicken with leftover Brussels Sprouts and Bacon Salad

Deliciousness:

This prosciutto chicken really lasted! It got better every day when the flavors set in so I would highly recommend making at the beginning of the week and using for lunch with some roasted veggies on the side.

Dinner:

Rustic Chicken with Garlic Gravy (I used chicken broth instead of wine, ghee instead of butter, and Tapioca starch for the flour)
Wilted Spinach Salad with Caramelized Shallots

Deliciousness:

This chicken is one of my favorite things I have made so far. That gravy is BOMB. My one suggestion would be to buy garlic already peeled if you can find it, because I couldn't and my hands still smell from that fool's errand. Also, I would have loved to have paired it with mashed cauliflower since seriously, that GRAVY, but when I got home I realized I was out of my bff cauliflower which like, never happens. But I had spinach and shallots so I found a recipe online and it turned out so well that I'll definitely make it again, but I think it would have paired better with something more like a steak. Overall though, it was a total success.

SATURDAY

Breakfast:

Poached egg on a Sweet Potato Bacon Patty with a side of spinach and fruit.

Deliciousness:

Omg, so delicous. And filling!!  I had a ton lefotver since I had planned on having 2 but could only finish one. The sweet potato batter stays in the fridge for a couple days as well, so you can have it for breakfast more than once! Which trust me, once you taste this you will want it like every day.

Lunch:
Food at an actual restaurant, my stars! Chris and I shared the grilled calamari to start, then I had the grilled veal and vegetables and he had a steak salad.

Grilled Calamari

Steak Salad

Grilled Veal

Deliciousness:
Really good! The calamari was amaze-balls - it had some sort of spicy viniagrette on it and I ate my half in T-.2 seconds. The entrees were on point as well - the only bad part was not imbibing. We both  had coffee and water. It was weird. I noticed we were the only people in the entire restauarant without drinks and I felt unnecessarily bad for our waiter, but we left feeling fantastic!

Dinner:

Lettuce Wrap Tacos. The easiest dinner ever - just ground turkey (or beef) with taco seasoning and onions, put in a lettuce leaf with salsa and guacamole. Just be careful with your taco seasoning - I had some from WholeFoods which was fine but a lot of them have a sh*tload of preservatives. If you can't find any that work in your grocery store, just know that Cumin is the ringleader and Paprika, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, and Salt are its groupies. Just throw them all in with the meat and adjust to taste, and you will probably end up with something better than store-bought.

Deliciousness:
This is a favorite in my house, because it always tastes good. I didn't take a photo though because as hard as I tried there is no way to make lettuce wrap tacos look appetizing to the eye who has never tasted. So just make your own and take my word for it.

 SUNDAY

Breakfast:

3 scrambled eggs

Deliciousness:

I mean, it's fine. But it was definitely missing something.

Lunch:
Herb Crusted Roast Beef
Recipe: I got a 4 lb Roast since I was serving 7 people and also wanted leftovers for lunch on Monday. I put a bunch of salt, pepper, 4 cloves crushed garlic, and chopped thyme and rosemary in a bowl and rubbed it all over the meat, before roasting it for about 2 hours at 350. It came out perfectly.
Mashed Cauliflower
Roasted Brussel Sprouts - just cut them in half, spread on a rimmed baking sheet, and spray with olive oil. Add a generous amount of salt and pepper and roast at 400 for about 30-35 minutes until crispy, taking out once halfway to shake around.

Deliciousness:

My friends were super impressed.

Dinner:

This is when we were having our temper tantrums and I ended up having a few bites of leftover Rustic Chicken with Garlic Gravy, a leftover Sweet Potato Bacon Patty, and a bowl of applesauce. 

Deliciousness:

Totally random but it got the job done.


And that's what I ate! Check in tomorrow to see how we are faring during a snowday with no hot chocolate, wine, or take-out. Should be depressing interesting. Leave comments to cheer me up!