NO'TMEAL & ZUCCHINI POPPERS {Whole30 Week2} {Recipe Files}

Hey there, ladies, how are you doing today? Feeling a lil more back on track after losing that hour on Sunday? Monday morning was a bit rougher than normal at first, but by the time I left for work I felt fine. I honestly 100% attribute that to my Whole30 program. I'm in no way trying to be preachy, beacuse let's face it, I haven't compeleted Whole30 yet, but I can tell a huge difference in my energy levels.

Monday marked our HALFWAY point and y'all, I'm stoked. I do so much better going down that mountain than up the mountain [lil soccer conditioning terminology, ha]. So far things are still going well and I'm feeling pretyt good overall. I had a couple off days this week, which wasn't fun but they are all in the past and I'm still trucking along with the program.

We had a snow day last week and I decided to switch up my normal smoothie with a big bowl of No'tmeal. I love oatmeal and cream of wheat, which unfortunately are on the no no list, so this was a great substitute for that particular craving. I used *this* recipe and it was super quick and uncomplicated which I loved. We didn't have any almond meal in the pantry, so I just used our Ninja to pulverize almonds which worked nicely. If you're looking to switch up your breakfast routine, I highly suggest trying this recipe.

Last week I also made these delicious zucchini poppers. Basically they are small meatballs with zucchini and taste super fantastic. I will be making a batch of these every week, for lunches or just to snack on when I'm munchy. Heck, I'll probably bring them as an appetizer to my next party, they are that tasty.

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I know I don't have any pictures of recipes I've tried, but last week was kind of busy trying to prep everything, I kind of forgot to take pictures. Don't worry, I'll have a few for you in the next few weeks. Whole30 recipes are actually incredibly delicious and I'm excited to share more with y'all.

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Whole30 Week 2 Thoughts
I'm choosing to document my journey daily so I have something to look back on at the end of the program. I didn't just do this program for Lent nor did I just do it as a diet. I really wanted to try and test my willpower and see what happens when I actually stick to something for 30 days. Feel free to skip if it's too much text, I totally understand. 

Day 8 [Monday]: My coworker called me skinny!!! She literally told me I looked tiny :). I don't feel any different in my clothing, but I'll take it. Last night I had soooo much energy I didn't go to bed until after midnight and then woke up at my normal time today. BUUUT, guess what, there wasn't the normal headache and tired feeling I normally get when I'm tired. I think I'm sleeping better, too which is awesome. We had a mix up for dinner tonight, so we made sliders and they turned out really well. I think I've figured out how to make sweet potato chips without burning them, woohoo!

Day 9: So maybe I finally experienced the extra energy the timeline talks about. Last night I was up super late again but had tons of energy. I'm finally moving everything I had stored at another apartment and I kept the energy much later than I expected. A fellow blogger told me about http://www.rantsfrommommyland.com/ this morning and I'm super stoked! She is a a few days ahead of me in the program, but has a lot of great recipes. I plan on trying the zucchini poppers tonight to prep for tomorrow.

Day 10: Slept really well last night and tried almond milk in my coffee today. It was alright, but nothing super awesome. I'll probably switch back and forth depending on my mood. I forgot the banana and peanut butter in my morning smoothie and was actually hungry before noon. The zucchini poppers were awesome, I will definitely be making these every week. Today was the first day in awhile that I had a semi-craving, not sure exactly what it was, but I knew I didn't just want a clean dinner. But, that's what we ate and I felt good at ballet. I"ll probably be working from home tomorrow, so I'm hoping to try another recipe or two.

Day 11: Snowy work from home day today and it finally gave me a chance to make this NO'TMEAL. Super easy, really tasty and a great substitute for oatmeal or cream of wheat on a snowy morning. I wasn't too snacky today, but kept wanting a cup of hot cocoa. I stayed strong and ate clean though. My plan was to prep for this weekend with more zucchini poppers but wasn't able to get to the store like I hoped. We also don't have ghee [don't know where to buy it] so I couldn't make my crackling chicken, but I'm looking forward to it this weekend. I was really nappy today, not sure what that's about, good mood through out the day.

Day 12: Woke up tired for the first time since starting this challenge and it was no fun. Maybe I'm in the normal 7-8 tired I want a nap days. I had my smoothie this morning when I tried to drive to work [which did not happen, turned around because it was scary] but was still pretty munchy at 11am so I made eggs and bacon [yummy!]. I also made bacon for my bacon wrapped dates and they turned out pretty well. Sweet and salty which can be a great snack. After work today we headed down to Lynchburg and man was the diner for dinner a bit of a bust. It was hard ordering clean when I'll could smell was nachos and bread, but we stuck to the program. Hopefully it will help me sleep better.

Day 13: WOW, today was kind of all over the place. We slept in but I didn't sleep well last night which bummed me out. And honestly, frustrated me. I didn't cheat so I don't understand where the good sleep has gone. I made a huge mistake today because I tried to IF with Le Husband and that meant no food until 1pm, yeah, woof not a good idea. Our breakfast sucked which was a shame, I had high hopes for the diner we went too, but again we were let down. Thank goodness I had packed clean snacks, they were my life saver. I wish I could have drank hot cocoa at the night game, the stadium coffee was pretty bad. The dinner we bought the team was pretty good, though. The cold made me less hungry than normal, but I ate everything [including a few pieces of hidden cheese by accident, DRAT]. I'm so glad today is over food wise, it sucked.

Day 14: Bah, daylight savings time was not my friend this morning. But, I'll be honest, I probably would have felt twice as awful if I had drank three things of hot cocoa and alcohol last night. Glad my willpower is serving me well. I'm a bit burned out of black coffee, but need the caffeine in the morning. I'll have to check out coconut cream or almond milk again, I need a new taste. We went to IHOP for breakfast today and it was a huge test. I didn't crave or need a pancake, but I know one would have tasted good. We both got awesome omelets and finally felt satisfied at breakfast. Le Husband was asked to stay for part of the Sunday game so we left a bit later than planned. There was a stop at Wegmans on the way home and we both got a salad to snack on. It was the first time I ate something I didn't want to eat. I really wanted a piece of pizza or sushi, but I knew the salad was what would make me feel better and it did. Food is a choice and I'm finding out more and more that sometimes the quick 'easy' meal isn't the best and that whole foods are the way to go. Food prep tonight STUNK, I just wanted to sleep, but I did what I needed to do for Monday, go me!

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