What I Ate During My Whole30

There have been some friends who have expressed interest in doing a Whole30 so I thought it would be helpful to write a post about what some of our meals looked like while Danny and I completed our first Whole30…

It is important to be mentally and physically prepared to complete a Whole30.  Days will be busy, temptations will be strong, and willpower may get weak!  

This is where meal prep comes in handy. 

My friend Emily who also completed a Whole30, was really good at meal prepping.  I did not meal prep as much, which meant I was in the kitchen more.  

If you set aside some time at the beginning of the week to put together some meals for you to grab for those times when you know you will be busy, it will help you out tremendously.  

One important tip that I recommend is that you plan a menu…for all three meals of the day.  I've always been good at menu planning, but before my Whole30, I would only plan our dinners.  During our Whole30, I would plan all three meals of the day for a week at a time.  Sometimes we would stick to it exactly as planned, other times we would just have leftovers for lunch.  But having a menu plan, and then shopping for the ingredients based on your menu will help you to stick with it, as you will have a stocked fridge and pantry with Whole30 compliant ingredients.  

Here are what some of our breakfasts consisted of:

I never tired of scrambled eggs.  I would always throw in whatever veggies I had on hand…usually any combination of spinach, tomatoes, sautéed sweet potatoes, zucchini, and/or mushrooms.  I'd usually pair it with some fruit and some almond or sunflower seed butter.  

Coconut Chia Pudding is something that was new to me, but has become one of our favorite breakfasts.  This is a good one to prep the night before a busy morning, when you know you won't have time to make a breakfast.  You take 1/2 cup of coconut milk (from a can, not the carton), and add 2 tablespoons of chia seeds to it.  I would also add whatever fruit I had (strawberries and blueberries were my favorite combo).  You stir it around and cover it, and let it sit in the fridge overnight.  While it sits in the fridge overnight, it firms up because the chia seeds turn the whole thing into a pudding-like consistency.  I left one of them unmixed to show you what it looks like.  In the morning, I would just throw some unsweetened coconut flakes to the top and eat it with a side of almonds.  

These frozen bags of pineapple from Trader Joe's are helpful to have on hand in the freezer because they can easily be thrown into things like the Coconut Chia Pudding.  And they are less than $2 a bag!!!

Another yummy breakfast is an omelet topped with any veggies! It's simple and doesn't take too long to prepare. Just make sure you also add a healthy fat as well.

Egg/Veggie muffins with sliced fruit and almonds on the side.  I love tossing chia seeds onto my fruit for extra nutrition.  You can read all about how amazing chia seeds are here.  

Having hard boiled eggs ready to go is also helpful for busy mornings.  I recall a few Sundays where I literally ate them in the car on my way to church.  

Sometimes we would also have bacon or breakfast sausage as our protein in the morning when we needed a break from eggs.  It's very important to check ingredient labels to make sure no sugar is added to those meats, because almost all of the bacon and sausage at conventional grocery stores do contain sugar.  We are fortunate enough to have bacon and sausage that we bought from a nearby farmer that we had the butcher prepare for us that does not contain any added sugar.  

It's important to try and include vegetables somewhere into your breakfasts as well.  Try and sneak it in somewhere, whether it's in your eggs, or even just plain!  Sometimes we would also have celery with almond butter alongside our protein.

One tip I learned while researching the Whole30 prior to starting was to make sure you get enough healthy fat with your breakfast in the mornings.  This really effects you throughout the day.  When you have enough healthy fat in the morning, you stay fuller longer.  It's a tip that really worked for us.  Healthy fats for us in the morning usually included avocados or almond or sunflower seed butter.

Now, onto lunches:

I always tried to make enough at dinner so that Danny and I could eat the leftovers at lunch.  It's just easier that way.  I know there are some people who don't like to eat leftovers, but I actually like to.  

When we didn't have leftovers, I would sometimes make a compliant tuna or egg salad and have it with lettuce in place of the bread, or a chicken burger like pictured above.  That particular day, I roasted a pepper and threw it on my burger, along with some guacamole and used lettuce as the "bun." I paired it with some organic pre-cooked, sliced beets that I got from Costco.  

Sometimes I would make soup for lunch.  Chicken and Vegetable soups are easy to throw together, and I also recall making a Tomato Basil Soup one day when I was craving it.  It is very important to check ingredient labels when buying chicken broth.  Even the organic chicken broth from Safeway has added sugar in it!  The only compliant chicken broth I found was the organic Kirkland brand found at Costco, sold in the cartons (you can see a carton of it sitting behind my almond jar in the picture below).

I have never been a big salad person, but there were a few times when I made us Chicken Salads.  Whenever we did have a salad, I would make a simple dressing of Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar.  

Lastly, onto dinners:

These Chipotle Chicken Sweet Potatoes were so good!  It was probably one of my favorite dinners!  I always try to fill half of our plates with steamed or roasted veggies.

Another night we had these Bahn Mi Meatballs with Califlower Rice, Zucchini, and Pineapple.  

Spicy Tuna Cakes, Asparagus, and Mango.  These tuna cakes are a good thing to make ahead of time, and would also make a good lunch!

One night I made Zucchini Boats, and I used this compliant Marinara sauce from Costco.  It has real ingredients, with no additives.  It's good stuff!

Roasted veggies are something you can prep ahead of time and just keep in the fridge until you need to add them to your meal.  Above is some roasted zucchini, cauliflower, and onion.  

Here are some additional things that really helped our Whole30 experience…

Organic Baby Spinach is something we just always buy, because you can add it to many things, including eggs, smoothies, and even ground meats.  

I discovered these Flavor God seasonings from other people in the Instagram community that were also doing the Whole30.  What's nice about these Flavor God seasonings is that they don't contain any anti-caking agents, and contain only clean ingredients. There are 4 different flavors you can buy, but I ordered the spicy one because I love spicy food.  It added great flavor overall to so many of our meals!  You can find the website to order them here.  

Raw almonds!  Even prior to the Whole30, we munched on almonds everyday.  I keep them in a big jar in our fridge to keep them from going stale.  I like to buy them from Costco because that is where I have found them to be the best price.  These are a good source of healthy fat that you can add to your plate if your plate is lacking.  

Larabars are so good!  Every once in awhile, Danny and I would split one when we were getting "hangry." But, not all Larabars are Whole30 compliant, so you have to check ingredient labels! Our favorites are Carrot Cake, Blueberry Muffin, Key Lime Pie, and Lemon Bar.  None of our favorites are pictured here because our local health food store was sold out.  These other flavors are also really good.  Obviously, the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough is not compliant (but it is so good for when you are not on the Whole30)!

Here are some of my favorite items from Trader Joe's that are Whole30 compliant...  

Coconut Oil - it is the best price at Trader Joe's! 

Plantain Chips, which I have not actually tried yet, but we just bought some for our next round that we are starting soon.  I saw some people that have used them in taco salads because it adds a nice crunch! 

These Chili Chicken Lime Burgers you can find in the freezer section at Trader Joe's.  They are $2.99 for a box of 4 - really great price!  They only have a handful of clean ingredients, and quickly became a favorite.  

I also love buying their diced green chiles.  I love the flavor of green chiles, and you can add them to soups or scrambled eggs.  

Their Almond Butter and Apple Sauce is also great to buy there, because each of them only contain 1 ingredient.  

You can always check out my Pinterest board, where I found many of our recipes. You can view it here.  

Just remember to make sure you have a plan for yourself everyday, and you will be successful!

Keep your end results in mind whenever you get tempted or discouraged because there are so many wonderful benefits from completing a Whole30!

Good luck!

My Whole30

Over the past few months, I had my fifth child and turned 30.  

My metabolism is very different than what it used to be.  I used to be able to eat a super chicken burrito the size of my face frequently and still maintain the same weight because of how active I was.  Now, it's a different story. 

After having Reese, I noticed a big change in my body.  The first time I went to the gym after having her, I planned all these exercises I wanted to do but I couldn't physically do them.  It was strange to me because growing up as an athlete, and doing Crossfit in my adult life, I am used to intense physical regimes, yet I could barely do 10 sit-ups at an incline.  

One night about two months ago, I was scrolling through Instagram and someone that I follow had posted something about it.  I was intrigued because I had looked into it years ago, but never did anything about it.  

On the Whole30 program, you cut out certain food groups for 30 days. You eat meats, fruits, lots of vegetables, eggs, and healthy fats like nuts, seeds, and oils.  You can find out more information about it here, (it doesn't cost anything, all of the information is free).

For about a month before I started, I did research on it.  I looked up Youtube videos for testimonials, searched through Instagram hashtags, read blogs, and pinned a bunch of things on Pinterest.  Every person that I read about that completed a Whole30 experienced results that changed their life for the better.   They slept better.  They had clearer skin.  They shed pounds and lots of inches from their body.  They had lots of energy. They had better mental clarity.  They stopped craving junk food.  

I wanted all of that.  I knew it was exactly what I needed.  The more I researched, the more excited I was to do it.

I started to develop very bad habits while I was pregnant with Reese because I was using the excuse that I was pregnant and I could eat whatever I wanted.  After having Reese, these bad habits continued.  Mindless snacking, eating late at night, and downing an entire container of Trader Joe's Milk Chocolate Macadamia Nut Laceys Cookies by myself in less than two days.  

I couldn't wait to get started.  I recruited Danny to do it with me, and he was excited about it as well.  And another bonus, my friend Emily decided to do it as well!  

Danny and I started August 4th. 

There is a timeline on the Whole30 website that pretty accurately describes the phases that your body goes through and is experiencing throughout the journey.  There were definitely difficult times for me when all I wanted was my mom's homemade white bread and butterscotch cookies.  There were also times when I was at out of town for the day and had to find restaurants that served Whole30 compliant food.  That part was a bit challenging, but I was still able to successfully do it.  

Now that I've finished my Whole30, I have found that I want to continue eating like this.  I made my kids chocolate chip cookies after their first day of school yesterday, and that is what I ate today to "break" my Whole30.  And you know what?  It made my stomach a little upset and it wasn't even all that!  Here I had missed these foods while doing my Whole30 and kept telling myself that I could have them when it was over, but now that it's over, I don't even have the desire to put that junk back into my body.  

Some of our Whole30 meals

I have had so much energy.  I don't spend the afternoons dragging because I'm tired.  I get things done. 

I fit back into my pre-pregnancy clothes.  That was huge for me.  Before doing the Whole30, I would try on a pair of pants and not be able to pull it up my leg and it would just make me want to cry!  

I lost a total of 17 pounds, and 8 inches off my body.

Danny lost 10 pounds, and 4.5 inches off his body.

Here is my before/after picture.  The left is 8 weeks postpartum.  

I seriously recommend the Whole30 program to everyone.  My life has changed for the better now too.  I am planning on doing another round soon!

Failure

I have been the crankiest mother in all the land lately.

It's really bugging me, and weighs very heavy on my heart.

I am struggling right now to find balance and energy.

Today I asked my kids, "I have been the meanest mom lately, haven't I?"  

And they all replied, "Yes."

It makes me sad.  

I have to do better.

Delivery Day - Meeting Reese!

Reese was born on Wednesday, May 21, 2014.

I didn't sleep well the night before we were supposed to be at the hospital. I was up at 4 a.m. and couldn't go back to sleep.  I had to be at the hospital at 6 a.m.

I've been induced before, and so I knew what to expect.  As soon as I arrived and checked in, I changed into the hospital gown and the nurses began to get me ready for induction.  One nurse administered the IV into my left hand, while another wrapped monitors around my belly.  One to monitor the baby's heartbeat, the other to measure my contractions.  The nurses checked me and I was already dilated to 3 cm, but my contractions were still very manageable, almost painless.  I was also greeted by my doctor, who had just delivered a baby a few hours earlier.

Pre-pitocin!

Then the nurses administered pitocin through my IV, which made me nervous because I know that is when the pain will gradually increase.  As the hours go by, my dosage of pitocin was gradually increased, so my labor contractions got stronger and stronger.  By about 2:30 p.m., I was ready for an epidural because the contractions were pretty painful and getting very frequent.  

Post-pitocin!

Danny teases that things start to get serious when my hair goes up into a ponytail!  I hesitate to even share that picture above because it's definitely not flattering, but I think the comparison is a little funny.  I am quiet while I'm in labor, but apparently this is what my face looks like.  The anesthesiologist came in my epidural was finished at 3 p.m. 

Right at 3 p.m., my friend Nathalie was being discharged because she had just had her baby the day before so she paid me a visit and I got to see her sweet little baby boy.  Thank goodness I was comfortable and able to visit with her by that point.  She told me all about her delivery, which was neat.  After she left, I rolled over to my side and tried to take a nap.  I was in and out of sleep, but about 45 minutes later, I woke up feeling intense pressure and so I told my nurse.  She checked me and I was dilated at 10cm, and totally ready to go!  They were telling me not to sneeze or cough, and giving orders to call Dr. Elkhoury right away and have him run right over from the clinic!  Then the nurses started prepping the room for delivery.

Dr. Elkhoury came quickly, and suited up for delivery.  I wanted Danny to record the delivery, because I have never had one recorded before, and I wanted to be able to see a delivery actually happen.

I began to push, and after a few pushes, Reese's head was already out.  Danny started recording right before her head came out.

But then what happened next was alarming.  As I watched Danny's face while he is recording, he started to look worried and I heard the doctor telling the nurses that the baby had shoulder dystocia and ordered one of them to come to my right and push down on my lower abdomen. For that next two minutes, it was really scary.  I said a prayer in my head that everything would be alright with this baby and the delivery. The doctor tells me to stop pushing, and then to start again.  He was able to finish her delivery by twisting her head and shoulders and pulling her out.  He placed her on my chest and said, "You have a beautiful girl!"

She was born at exactly 4 p.m., and immediately cried, which is a reassuring thing.  I stared at her in amazement at the fact that I helped create this beautiful person.  She had been growing within me for the past 40 weeks, and she was finally here!  She was absolutely beautiful and perfect in every way!  Dr. Elkhoury asked me if we had a name, and I told him, "I think her name is Reese!"  Reese is a name that I have always loved for a girl.  Danny and I knew that if we had another girl, her name would be Reese, and her middle name would be after my mother, Michelle.  Reese Michelle Fry.  She's perfect, and her name seems to suit her.  Soon after she was born, I noticed that she has the most gorgeous dimples on both of her cheeks, just like her big sister Payton.

What I didn't realize then that I do now is how serious a shoulder dystocia in a delivery can be, and how lucky and blessed we are that everything ended up fine.

This is how Wikipedia defines it…

Shoulder dystocia is a specific case of dystocia whereby after the delivery of the head, the anterior shoulder of the infant cannot pass below, or requires significant manipulation to pass below, the pubic symphysis. It is diagnosed when the shoulders fail to deliver shortly after the fetal head. Shoulder dystocia is an obstetric emergency, and fetal demise can occur if the infant is not delivered, due to compression of the umbilical cord within the birth canal.

I have read other articles about shoulder dystocia in delivery and they all remain very clear as to how dangerous that situation is.  What is so scary about it is that if a baby is not fully delivered before 5 minutes once the head is out,  it starts to compress the umbilical cord, causing possible asphyxia, nerve damage, and even fetal death.

Not only was Reese delivered safely, but she also hasn't showed any signs of nerve damage to her left arm, which often happens with babies that experienced shoulder dystocia during delivery.  We were truly watched over.

Our first selfie together :)

Feeling so blessed!

I feel so beyond grateful for Dr. Elkhoury and his knowledge and skills that he demonstrated to deliver her safely.  He remained so calm, and just seemed to know exactly how to handle the situation.  Watching the video of Reese's delivery, I can now see why Danny had a worried expression on his face.  The way Dr. Elkhoury was able to twist her head and body and pull her out is simply amazing, but it looks really unnerving.  I'm sure her birth video could be used as a learning tool for medical students as to how to successfully handle shoulder dystocia, but I am not about to make that suggestion! I am so grateful to Heavenly Father for hearing and answering our pleas for a healthy delivery and a healthy baby.

A few weeks ago, I found out that Dr. Elkhoury was going to be leaving the country for a few weeks on my due date.  I really wanted him to be the doctor to deliver me, but I also didn't want to be induced because I wanted to go into labor on my own naturally.  I had to weigh out the pros and cons.   I knew that I probably wasn't going to deliver Reese early because I didn't have many signs of labor.  For my last regular o.b. appointment, I went in still not knowing what to do.  Danny and I prayed, and Danny assured me that once we got there, we would know what to do.  As Dr. Elkhoury walked into that appointment and greeted Asher, Danny and I, I had an overwhelmingly strong feeling that he needed to be the doctor to deliver this baby, which meant that I would have to be induced right before he left the country.  I know that that was my answer from Heavenly Father.  I have full faith that that was the direction that we were led from Heavenly Father, that Dr. Elkhoury was the right doctor for this delivery.  And now I can see why.  He was so skilled at bringing her into this world, even with the serious complication that occurred.  He was the right doctor for Reese.  I can honestly say that he is my favorite OBGYN I've ever had.

She is so loved by her siblings!

Danny was such an amazing partner during delivery, like he always has been.  He knows exactly how to be there for me.  He gives me comfort when needed, and makes me feel like I'm Superwoman for going through all the pain that labor brings.  I am so grateful to have such an amazing partner in life!

What is so neat to me is the fact that helped to take part in Heavenly Father's plan.  Danny and I helped bring a sweet, special spirit from His presence down to Earth to gain a physical body and experience this mortal life.  It's neat to think that even just one short year ago, Reese was in our Heavenly Father's presence just waiting.  

She has the same dimples and widow's peak hairline as Payton!

We are so thrilled to have another sweet girl join our family.  I always had a strong feeling throughout the pregnancy that we were going to have another girl.  Everyone in the family has fallen in love with her, and the kids are always asking if they can hold her.  I find myself constantly staring at her in amazement, wishing I could just freeze time and let her be in this newborn phase for a long time.  She is so perfect and beautiful!

I just can't say it enough, we are so so so blessed.  

Almost Baby!

Tomorrow I will deliver my 5th child!

I am set to be induced tomorrow morning.

I am 39 1/2 weeks, but my doctor is leaving the country for Lebanon on my due date (Friday) for several weeks.  Because I really want him to be the doctor to deliver this baby, he is willing to induce me a few days early.

Even though this is my 4th delivery, I am still nervous.  I know that tomorrow will be filled with lots of pain before I get to hold my sweet baby in my arms.

My favorite moment is when the baby arrives with the final push.  It is a miracle.

There has been all this waiting to find out if this baby is a boy or a girl…and tomorrow we will finally find out, which just seems so surreal.

May!

I'm having a baby this month!  It's not very often that people can say that throughout their life, so I think it's pretty special!

I'm officially 37 weeks and 1 day.  The baby can be born any day now, but I'm not feeling any major contractions yet.

These last few weeks have been especially hard.  I've really learned that each pregnancy is different, and this one seems to be the hardest on my body.  I find it so strange, because I've carried twins for heaven sakes! Between Sawyer and Sage, I delivered almost 14 pounds of baby, yet I didn't hurt like I do with this child.  I've always considered myself to be a strong pregnant gal who just gets things done, but I've been really taking it easy this time around.  Danny has really been picking up my slack, which I am so extremely grateful for.  He helps me with SO much around the house.  I just keep assuring him that after this baby is born and my body is healed, I will be back full throttle!  Everything just seems to be at a stand still right now as we are waiting.

I'm trying to embrace these last few weeks of pregnancy because most likely they are the last weeks of my life that I will ever feel a human being growing inside of me.  It's a miraculous thing.  I figured I have many years to continue in life and not be pregnant, so I'm trying to slow down and cherish these special times.  Many times, that is hard, especially when I feel the aches and pains, and swollen feet!  This baby has hiccups constantly, which is fun for the other children to feel as they place their hands on my belly.  

The kids are getting very excited about meeting a new brother or sister. Payton and Sage believe that this baby is a girl because we seem to have a pattern going…girl, boy, girl, boy….so naturally, a girl would come next.  Sawyer wants to have a little brother, of course!

I was so lucky that recently my friends treated me to a dinner at Good Harvest Cafe where they showered me with love and neutral colored gifts!  I'm so grateful for good friends, and to feel their love especially during this time!

Mom & I 

This labor and delivery is going to be a little bit different.  Since I've really gotten into doTERRA essential oils over the past year, I plan to use certain oils to help me with the labor process.  I have some for pain management, some to diffuse into the room to help with relaxation, and one to even naturally help the uterus contract.  I have a friend who helped her daughter-in-law recently throughout her delivery using essential oils, and apparently all the OB nurses were stopping by her delivery room just to get whiffs of the oils that she had diffusing in the room.  Needless to say, I'm so excited to use them for the delivery because they have been so incredibly helpful to my family in so many other ways!

On another note, the weather here has been absolutely beautiful!  Every chance we get, we have been taking advantage of it at the rivers and beaches!  Here are some pictures from a few different days we spent at the rivers and beach.  We are sure lucky to live in such a beautiful area!

Asher's favorite thing to do at the river is to throw rocks into the water!

Sage didn't want to wear a swimsuit for this beach trip.

Sawyer was so worried about Asher falling into the brush on our hike down to the river.

I still need to blog about our Easter!  I've been totally slacking in the blog department!

BOOYAH!

As I was waiting in the car for Payton after school today, this song came on the radio and it brought me back to the late 90's when I loved listening to my Jagged Little Pill CD.  It's such a great song, and I love Alanis Morissette.  I love her unique style, and not to mention, she has great hair!  This song was also amongst my favorites of hers.

General Conference is this weekend!  I am so excited to listen to all the uplifting and inspired talks!  Listening to our inspired church leaders is like recharging my batteries.  I plan to use this idea for the kids to keep their attention, but using healthy stuff rather than candy.  It worked so nicely last time when I did this!  

Last Saturday, I got to take Payton to watch Women's Conference.  It was such a special thing to experience with her.  I could feel the Spirit so strong, especially during this video.  She's growing up way too fast, and so I cherished those moments with her where we just felt showered with Heavenly Father's love...

My kids have recently discovered Lindsey Sterling, thanks to this video that we watched.  They love listening to her music, which makes me happy.  She's one amazing violinist! 

My super talented cousin, who also has twins, is a great artist with her own Etsy shop.  I recently ordered two of her art prints, and I can't wait until they arrive and are hanging in my dining room!  

I'm so glad it's finally Spring!  Even though we've had a lot of rain lately, I'm so happy for the change of seasons.  It means, Easter, Spring Break, pastel colored nail polish, more playing outside, and planting our garden!