Thought I'd pop in with an update on how I'm doing with the 21-DSD. I'm not going to lie, there were some slip-ups this week. One of which was actually planned, but also relatively controlled. Here we go:
Day 8
This Monday got off to a good start again with my usual breakfast. I also started kind of making it in to a hash with just one big bowl of awesome in the morning. But Monday, it was the usual quiche. This time, I added shredded carrots and zucchini to the quiche instead. Lunch was leftovers at home. Dinner was Chili from the 21 DSD book (not the cookbook). For a treat, I made the Granny Smith Apple Crumble. Delicious!! I knew I would definitely make that again!
Day 9
I have Tuesdays off each week, so this Tuesday I actually met up with my mom to do some (window) shopping! I had breakfast at home that morning ... quiche, duh. Then we met up for lunch. We went to a restaurant called Gordon Biersch. I was a little bit nervous about what I'd find on the menu that was gluten free. Their normal menu didn't have anything that denoted gluten free, and a lot of items came with sauces that I just couldn't be sure about, so I asked if they happened to have a gluten free menu. And they did!! I'm so glad I asked so that I could be that much more confident in my choices. I know there's probably still the risk of cross contamination in the kitchen, but it's better than crushing some delicious food unwittingly laden with gluten sauce poured all over the top. I went with steak and mashed potatoes. So good! My dinner was the leftovers from my lunch, but I also roasted some broccoli and made the Perfectly Grilled Chicken that night after I got home for meals in the days to come.
Day 10
Typical breakfast. This time I brought nuts to snack on mid-morning at work. That helped me so much to not feel absolutely starving by the time I was able to eat lunch. I had made a couple of pre-prepped specifically-for-lunches sweet potato and ground beef hash. Basically just roasted sweet potatos with coconut oil and cinnamon and then ground beef cooked up on the stovetop mixed in. The beef was weird. Like super weird. I bought special free-range, organic beef that was 85% lean and 15% fat. I wasn't sure if it was something I had done with the seasoning, or if the variety of beef I got was actually that different from what I usually use, but I definitely had to make sure there was some sweet potato in every bite, otherwise, I don't think I'd have been able to eat the beef. It's also possible that I overcooked it, but it was weird! Dinner was some of the chicken and broccoli and the apple crumble for dessert!
Day 11
Thursday. I have Thursday mornings off, so I took the time to roast up some brussel sprouts using the Crumb-Topped Brussels Sprouts recipe from the 21-DSD book. Amazeballs. I will absolutely make brussels sprouts like that again. Breakfast actually included 2 of the Carrot Pumpkin Spice Muffins. I actually can't remember exactly when I made these, but they were also really good! I'd have them as snacks or as part of my breakfasts with the quiche. This morning, I had wanted to make the Pumpkin Pancakes, but then got lazy, so I just put coconut butter on top of the muffins. It turned out to be delicious! Lunch was chicken and brussels sprouts. Dinner was chicken and brussel sprouts and broccoli plus the last of the apple crumble.
Day 12
Breakfast = quiche. Snack = nuts. Lunch = ground beef and sweet potato hash. Dinner = chicken and brussels sprouts. Nom.
Day 13
Saturday. Oh, Saturday. This was where the planned cheating happened. My crossfit gym was finally having their Christmas party. We had known about it for weeks, as in before I decided to do the 21 DSD, and I had really been looking forward to it. Basically, the gym rented a bus to take members out to a bar downtown. I knew I just wanted to be able to enjoy the night and not worry (too much) about what I can and can't have. I know I was only doing a 21-day challenge, and I should have been able to abstain from eating or drinking any added sugars (a.k.a. the wine!). And really, I know it wasn't a matter of will-power. Had I decided that I wasn't going to drink, I know I would have been able to say no. However, I knowingly chose to participate. I decided, before the day of the party, to let loose on the reigns and just have fun. And I don't really feel bad about that.
I want the habits I build on this program to be sustainable. And that is how I plan to use what I've learned or gained by doing the program. I want to be able to have a meal and not want that dessert immediately after. I wanted to break the habit of a glass of wine each night. But I don't have any intentions of cutting out these things completely. Because life isn't about how perfectly you eat ALL the time. It's about doing your best, but also having some fun! So I did. It turned in to a pretty ridiculous night for a lot of folks, but I do think having the 21 DSD in the back of my mind helped me to not go too overboard with what I drank. I ended up having about 3 glasses of wine. While that is by no means a small amount of wine, it is also by no means outrageous. And I felt good the next day, which tells me I didn't go as hard as some. Haha! And the cool thing was that the very next day and the day after there were events and opportunities to again partake in a glass of wine, but I just didn't really want it. So, my plan for beyond the 21 DSD is to save the wine (and the sugary desserts for that matter) for weekends and special occasions.
My eating on Saturday also wasn't the best. It wasn't the worst though either! I made the pumpkin pancakes for breakfast, had some chicken and veggies for lunch. Made a delicious appetizer of raw bell peppers sliced into mini boats topped with guac and bacon crumbles and a taco-seasoned ground beef and sauteed pepper and onion bowls for dinner. We had people over to our house before the crossfit party, so I wanted to offer some healthy pre-party food. My downfall with the food was munching on tortilla chips (gluten free, of course) both before and after the party. So, it was definitely a cheat, but I could have done a LOT worse.
Day 14
Sunday I tried to get right back to it. Breakfast was eggs with some of the leftover beef and peppers from saturday night. Lunch was a grocery store salad from the salad bar. I actually didn't really enjoy this salad because I couldn't (or didn't) put any meat on it. And so it was kind of blah and not very satiating. I wasn't sure how the bacon or the meat choices that were offered were processed or if gluten was involved, so I just tried to stay away. My family and I actually went to visit my grandparents that afternoon, so I wasn't really in my own kitchen with my own food, so I ended up having some trail mix at my grandparents as a snack that afternoon, but I picked around all of the chocolate and dried berries. I went for the almonds and pistachios. Dinner was steak and potatoes out at a restaurant with the family. No wine. :)
Day 15
Back at it on Monday. I had eggs and taco beef for breakfast. We had a Mexican fiesta potluck at work, but I tried to stick with the guac and rice. (For the sake of honesty, I'll admit that a few tortilla chips ended up on my plate. Dang it.) When I got home, I had leftover steak and potatoes. Dinner was chili, and I made another batch of the apple crumble. It is sweet because of the apples, but it's nice that a fruit-based "dessert" is hitting the spot now. Normally, I'd probably wish I had a big ole piece of chocolate cake. WITH frosting. Only 6 days to go! Maybe I'll try to "make up" those cheats with a couple extra days of good eats!
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