Monday, February 06, 2017

Final Day of Whole30 with My Top Five Dishes from the Past Thirty Days

Picture of Calendar View of #Whole30 Countdown and Final Day

Our last day on #Whole30. I feel somewhat sad that the first month on this journey has ended. I have enjoyed the process. I have really liked all the food that Carrie has fixed. I enjoy the way I feel now and enjoy how I felt throughout the process. I feel really good! It sounds odd, but it is true! I cannot explain it any other way than I feel like I have a lot of energy.

Tonight though is about my top favorite foods during the #Whole30. This is proving to be very difficult as I review all of the various dishes that Carrie fixed. I think between the two of us, we can think of maybe two dishes that we would not make again. Or, might make but with major changes to the recipe.

I could rank each of the five, but instead, I am going to post them in no particular order. If interested in the recipe for any of these, or others posted on @whole30loulou, please let me know.

To begin, I will select the meal we are having again tonight on our last day of #Whole30. It is Mexican Stuff Acorn Squash. Great flavor and I give it a kick with a jalapeño which really accents the dish. Highly recommend this for your #Whole30 or for meal.



Next, we look at the Sole meunière. Everything about this dish was delicious. It was one of those dishes where when I finished, I could have eat all of it again. Not that I was hungry, but it was that good! The fish, green beans, and then new potatoes were the perfect combination and end to a good night.

A photo posted by CarrieloulouEats (@whole30loulou) on


The BLT salad is another favorite. Yes, if you follow my blog, you would have seen this on the posting from this past week. We had this at least twice during the #Whole30 program. The BLT salad looks cool with soft-boiled eggs and then the flavors explode and taste just like a BLT sandwich. One of my favorites that I hope the cook continues to cook.

A photo posted by CarrieloulouEats (@whole30loulou) on


The roasted butternut squash with roast chicken is always sure to please. The soup had excellent flavor and paired with the roast chicken was perfection! Another one of those meals where when I finished, I was hoping there was a bit more for dinner. No, we kept the rest for lunch the next day... which was fine! Something to look forward to at noon.

A photo posted by CarrieloulouEats (@whole30loulou) on


It is not possible to go wrong with a pot roast. Eating this meal, it did not feel like we were on #Whole30 or any diet program at all. Great combinations and the flavor was excellent. The best part is that we were able to enjoy this for a few days following as there enough leftovers. Enough leftovers where I was able to have a extra helping the first night for dinner too!

A photo posted by CarrieloulouEats (@whole30loulou) on
There are so many wonderful dishes we have had during this journey. However, I said I would pick five early into the program and that's what I am staying with for this post.

A little bit about what we do now that we are done with the first month of #Whole30. Our plan is to take a short break and begin again in about a week. Carrie selected the start date for the next round and I told her I was fine with the selection. We will begin again on February 14. That puts us sometimes in the middle of March that we will finish the second round of #Whole30. The cool kids on the block call it the #Whole60 (i.e. Twitter) as we keep going through the process.

I still plan to continue working out. Although, this past week has not been the best for me working out. I only made it to the gym once last week. I plan to get back at it this week although looking like it will be Wednesday might be the only day I made it to the gym.

Hopefully these posts will help you through your journey. I know I have been searching for and reading other Twitter posts using the #Whole30 hashtag and have connected with people just starting out, just finishing, or going through for their second, third, etc. time through the process.

Until next time, happy #Whole30...

Sunday, February 05, 2017

Twenty-nine Days Completed for Whole30 and Favorite Foods from Past Week

Picture of Whole30 Board with One Day Remaining

Last full week of #Whole30 is done. We only have really one day remaining as it ends on Monday. Hard to believe it has been thirty days already. Yes, both Carrie and I have both lost weight. We can both tell differences in our clothing and how we feel. I mentioned it before and I will mention it again, I feel better than I have in years over a 30 day period.

This update is about my favorite meals from the past week cooked by @whole30loulou. Another post will be posted Monday (our 30th day) with my top five favorite meals from the past thirty days. That will be really difficult. There have been so many great meals Carrie has cooked for us!

I had mentioned in a previous post that after we finish this first session of #Whole30 that we plan to take a short break and then do it again for another thirty days. I asked Carrie if she is going to keep posting to Instagram for the next round and she said that she will. Only once during the thirty days did I not think we were going to eat "healthy" that day. It was after a long day for us both, but Carrie forged ahead and prepared a wonderful meal. During this thirty days, neither of us have broken from the routine. We did not sneak a bite of sweets, have a swig of beer, etc. We stayed with the planned routine and intend to do so for the second round too.

Enough of the background, now for the pictures of favorite dishes during the past week.

This one is so good! Quick and easy and does in fact taste like a BLT.

A photo posted by CarrieloulouEats (@whole30loulou) on


This is a favorite because it is good and because Oliver is in it too! A comfort food based off of a recipe my Mom use to make for me when I was a kid with hotdogs and zucchini. Carrie was able to find hotdogs that meat the requirements of the #Whole30. It was delicious!



Carrie has mastered the making of soup from vegetables. No, I am not sure how she does it, but they are fantastic. As Carrie stated in her description, this soup was "velvety & amazing." Fantastic and I know she will make more of these in the weeks to come. I believe she has made this type of "velvety & amazing" soup three or four times during this past thirty days. Really good and easy to eat!



Can never go wrong with pot roast.... So good! We had this for leftovers for a few days following the initial meal. Yum!

A photo posted by CarrieloulouEats (@whole30loulou) on


I am always a fan of breakfast for dinner and this one fit that mold. Light and refreshing once again. Carrie was able to locate bacon that meets the #Whole30 criteria. Believe it or not, but regular bacon from the store does not meet the requirements of the #Whole30, but this one she found is really good and meets the standards of the program. If interested in the brand, post a comment as I would need to get that from Carrie.

A photo posted by CarrieloulouEats (@whole30loulou) on


Roast chicken, green beans, and buttercup squash... Mmmmm....

A photo posted by CarrieloulouEats (@whole30loulou) on


This is a breakfast we had before we were on #Whole30 and it remains to be very good and enjoyable to eat.

A photo posted by CarrieloulouEats (@whole30loulou) on


As you can see, we have had some great meals during this past week. Follow and check out the other pictures from Carrie on her @whole30loulou account.

Reminder that Monday, I will have a post of the top five favorite foods from the past thirty days. I expect it will be very difficult to pick the top five favorite and I know that many great dishes will be left out of the selection. I am up to the challenge and ready.

So you know, Carrie and I have a deal where she cooks and I clean up. I do dishes, unload dishes, and prepare the kitchen so she can cook. I was not doing enough to keep the counters clean which she informed me about Friday night, so yesterday (Saturday) I cleaned the counters to make it so she could cook in style. I think we have a good agreement! Works out for me as she is a great cook and cooking healthy meals for us to eat.

Until tomorrow...