Catching Katy

Reads, Eats, & Everything Else

Category Archives: Whole30


by Leave a comment

Whole30 Cheat

Hi, my name is Katy and I blatantly cheated on my Whole30 and I am ok with it. There was never going to be a full 30 days that I didn’t have some excuse to not do it. So I just went with January, knowing that I had already signed up for my favorite race of the year: the Hot Chocolate 5K. I’ve done it every year it has been in Atlanta and the whole point of racing (aside from the sweet sweatshirt) is the amazing treat at the end of the race – hot chocolate and chocolate fondue with all the dip-ins.

My Whole30 is not a full lifestyle change – I’ve known that from the start. It is to reset my habits and get used to leaving some things out a majority of the time. Perfect example: sweets. The goal is to only have sweets for the occasional treat – which is exactly what this was. And it actually worked really well – I had some chocolate, was completely satisfied and had no desire to keep eating it (as I normally would have)! I’d call it a success!

If you haven’t checked out the sweetest race, I highly recommend it.

wpid-20150125_092656.jpg


by Leave a comment

Whole 30 – Week 3

I think I’m finally getting the hang of this. I think I just wasn’t eating enough for my metabolism and/or workout habits, and I think the biggest downfall was breakfast. So I simplified it and have way more energy this week. I also simplified all my meals (save one dinner as I had shrimp that needed to be used) by using the crock pot so the week was way less overwhelming. I’m not going to lie, though – we cooked dinner at a local transitional shelter and baking cookies was the WORST. Definitely the biggest temptation so far.

Here’s the breakdown from Week 3 – 9 more days to go!

Breakfasts: Hard boiled egg(s) + 2 sausage patties + strawberries + blueberries + banana. The number of eggs (1 or 2) and whether I had a banana or not depended on my workout for that day. Strenuous workout = more food. 🙂 I did some scrambled eggs on the weekend but basically kept everything the same!

wpid-20150121_090719.jpg

 

Lunches: taco chicken + lettuce + bell peppers + shredded carrots + avacado + salsa. I tried to use romaine as a taco shell the first day, but that proved to be way too messy – especially since I usually eat and work at the same time. So the rest of the week was “taco” salad. And it made enough to get me through the weekend also!

wpid-20150121_125702.jpg

 

Dinner: sticky shrimp + steamed broccoli/cauliflower + sweet potatoes. I haven’t had time to post the shrimp recipe (maybe later) but it’s linked to where I found it. It was definitely not an ‘easy’ one but I had shrimp I had to use – and it was VERY good. I also had fun cutting the sweet potatoes using my  still new-ish spiralizer.

wpid-20150118_191241.jpg

 

Dinner: “creamy” chicken & tomato soup. A yummy crock pot recipe. Makes so much I’ll probably use it for lunches next week. One night I stirred in some mixed greens. One night I ladled it onto some zoodles. Yum.

wpid-20150120_200248.jpg

 

Dinner: cilantro lime chicken + zoodles + sweet potatoes. Another great crock pot meal (I’ll post the recipe this week)! Normally would go on rice, so I just sautĂ©ed some zoodles with some chili powder. And the sweet potatoes totally didn’t fit but I needed something with carbs since I was doing a 5K the next morning. Random-looking but all delicious!

wpid-20150124_194005.jpg

There were of course little snacks of Lara bars or nuts when needed. I did find a very delicious roasted almond recipe that I will post soon. Heading into the home stretch!


by Leave a comment

Taco Chicken

I absolutely love the crock pot. And I can’t believe I’ve never posted this recipe since it is one of my go-tos. And it’s Whole30 appropriate (with one small variation). I’ve posted a reuse of this recipe since it’s good as is or to make a lot of other things – tacos, burritos, enchiladas, salad, soup – you can get creative! And since it’s a crock pot recipe it’s SO easy!

This week I’m using it for lunch – chicken “tacos” (with romaine lettuce as the shell) and taco salads. Top with whatever you want!

Crock Pot Taco Chicken

Ingredients

  • ~6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (can modify depending on the size)
  • 1 green pepper
  • 1 onion
  • 1 jar salsa (16 oz)
  • 1/4 C or 1 packet taco seasoning*

Directions

  1. Place chicken breasts in bottom of the crock pot.
  2. Chop the green pepper and onion and put on top of the chicken.
  3. Mix the salsa and taco seasoning together and pour on top of the chicken and veggies.
  4. Cook on high 4-6 hours or low 6-8 hours.
  5. Shred chicken with a fork.

 

*I normally use Penzey’s original taco seasoning, but it is not Whole30 compliant, so I found a recipe for a homemade taco seasoning while doing Whole30. I went ahead and doubled the recipe and stored the leftover.

Homemade taco seasoning (from Whole New Mom)

  • 2 Tbsp. chili powder
  • 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp. onion powder
  • 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
  • 1/2 tsp. oregano
  • 1 tsp. paprika
  • 1 Tbsp. cumin
  • 2 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 2 tsp. black pepper

 

whole30 chicken "tacos"

whole30 chicken “tacos”