Whole30 Challenge

I've started cross-fitting... yes, me... the super weakling of all her friends and family is now a (wanna-be) x-fitter.  I actually started x-fitting in January of this year and it's been an amazing thing! I am actually stronger than when I first started and the workouts are awesome! I knew I was going to be addicted once I started and now... my box is getting me into the Whole30 Challenge (which I accepted).

So I've decided to make myself accountable by blogging about my Whole30 every day (that, in and of itself is another task).  On top of that, I am going to instagram/take pictures of what I'm eating, snacking, and drinking just to make sure I stay on track. If you're curious about my instagram account... it's HungySandy (what else would it be?!).

The Whole30 Challenge is something I've looked into and wanted to do to prove that I can stick to a good program. I've been on/off paleo for a good month or two now and I'll be honest... I've cheated way too many times here and there for it to really work.  However, as crazy as it has been... I actually enjoy and love being on paleo (when I am on it).  I cook more at home, I eat a lot healthier and I am even eating protein that I would never touch in the past (i.e. more fish, lamb, even lobster, etc). 

Let me talk about my cheating that I've done.  My sister is getting married this year so I went cake tasting with her.  Let me tell you... I can seriously devour cake fast! So that was exactly what I did.  Why let free cake go to waste?! Then, having the personality that I do... once I start my cheat, I go ALL OUT.  Like, "let's get more desserts and Chinese food for dinner" all out.  So yes, no matter how good I am during the week, I've always managed to do some harm and make my week not count because I will over-do it with a "special occasion" or have some good (and I mean legit) excuse to have non-paleo food. Also though, I haven't been eating paleo correctly because I'm learning and researching more while I'm on it and I will learn (here and there) that what I've consumed or am consuming then is NOT paleo.  Seriously... it's a lot of effort, but I still think it's worth it.  

Through all this, I've learned one thing... my body hates me! It does not like going from non-processed food to having a huge hit of processed food.  Which is a great reason why I am going to hit the "restart" button by doing the Whole30 challenge with my box.  

A lot of my friends do not get it and I don't expect them to.  Someone even made a comment about how being on paleo/Whole30 is like the Atkins diet.  I did not even respond to that because if she had took the time to really research, then she would know that it's NOTHING like the Atkins diet.  Okay, so enough of me ranting about this topic and let's get to the nitty-gritty. 

What is the Whole30 about? Well, if you go here then the link will take you to the program where Dallas and Melissa Hartwig founded this program in 2009.  Basically, I am cutting out:

• sugar
• legume
• dariy
• alcohol
• grains
• MSG
• sulfites
• corn
• potatoes
• soy

I'm eating: 

• meat
• seafood
• eggs
• veggies
• fruits

What sucks about this is how I cannot even have raw honey or agave nectar, which are paleo, but not Whole30 approved. That also means I cannot have paleo desserts :(  But it's okay... I have something called the "sugar monster" that lives inside me and I really need to get rid of it once and for all.  I did it in the past and now I need to nip it again!  

My challenge starts on April 1st so you'll start seeing my blogs about it.  Figured I'll make myself accountable by talking about it since I have one more day left to shove down all the paleo desserts that I will miss out for a month!

Paleo Chocolate Cake

I know... the first paleo recipe I blog about would be dessert!  I'm sure you're not surprised by that ;) Real quick story about how I ended up baking this cake. It was one of my close girlfriend's 30th birthday.  Her husband and I thought about ordering this paleo cake from this restaurant, but for 12 serving/slices... it would have costs us $65! Umm... the cake was good, but is it really worth $65?!?! Anyway, my gf's husband asked if I could bake a paleo cake.  Uhh... I can bake, but paleo is a whole new ballgame for me since I have yet to venture into the baking area.  

However, being me... I took the challenge and researched on some recipes.  I finally decided on this one from Elana's Pantry (with some modifications, of course!).  I told my girlfriend's husband that if the recipe failed, I would bring gluten-free cupcakes from Crave.  Luckily, the cake was a success!  3/4 of the cake was destroyed and my girlfriend was thrilled to have some cake to take home.  

Ingredients for the cake:

• 3/4 cup coconut flour
• 1/4 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tsp. sea salt
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 10 (yes, ten) eggs
• 1 cup coconut oil, melted 
• 1.5 cups agave nectar
• 1 tbsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon orange zest (I used tangerine  zest since I did not have any oranges) 

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 325 degree F.  
2. Grease the cake pans with coconut oil (you can either use a sheet cake pan or 2 nine-inch cake pans)
3. In a bowl, combine flour, cocoa, salt and baking soda (dry ingredients)
4. In another bowl (large) blend together eggs, oil, agave nectar, vanilla, and zest (I actually blended all this in my Kitchen Aide mixer)
5. Mix the dry ingredients into the large bowl until everything is blended
6. Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 35-40 minutes
7. Allow the cake to complete cool before frosting

Ingredients for the frosting:

• 1 cup of dark chocolate (chopped or chips), preferably 70% or higher 
• 1/2 cup of coconut oil (melted)
• 2 tbsp. agave nectar
• 1 tbsp. vanilla extract
• pinch of sea salt

Directions:

1. In a sauce pan (small), melt chocolate and coconut oil together over low heat
2. Stir in agave, vanilla and salt
3. Place the sauce pan (with the contents of course) in the freezer for about 10 minutes to cool
4. Remove from the freezer and whip the frosting with an electric blender until it's thick and fluffy 
5. Frost over cooled cake (or the frosting will melt right into the cake)

Now, really interesting note here about the frosting.  It does not "fluff" up like what you're used to.  Also... be careful of leaving the frosting in the freezer for too long.  I left mine in there too long and ended up re-heating the frosting and placing it back in the freezer to try and "whip" it to a consistency I was happy with.  At the end, the frosting turned out to be a thin layer and not thick like how I would normally like my cakes to be.   Regardless, it was still good and everyone enjoyed the cake :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MRS. WOOD! I am so happy you enjoyed the cake!  Actually, I was more thankful that it turned out well and will probably try to make some dark chocolate chip scones in the near future :)