Day 6 & 7: Turkey Chorizo Scramble (and my first weekend of Whole30)

I think I survived my first weekend of Whole30! I was even with my sister for most of Day 7 and survived it... wow!  Quick recap: on Day 6, I had a run (4 For the Park) and I did not allot enough time for me to make breakfast, digest, and go all out for my race.  Instead, I got up, made coffee, raced and noticed my energy level depleted after mile 2.5.  I really need to learn how to eat a good breakfast before a race, especially when I have one coming up at the end of the month (well, I have another one next Sunday, but the race I care about is on the last weekend of April).  Hopefully, I will have something figured out by then.

On to food: I found this turkey chorizo at Whole Foods the other day.  I was excited because I like chorizo and I figure I need to change up my breakfast protein here and there (I've been eating a lot of chicken sausages lately).  Anyway, the turkey chorizo is all natural and Whole30 (paleo) compliant.  I was so thrilled because I was honestly looking for bacon and none of them were compliant.  So for Saturday brunch and Sunday breakfast, I made myself scrambled chorizo with avocado slices.  It was seriously delicious!  In fact, I had to text my girlfriend about it so she can pick up some for herself the next time she went grocery shopping (which happened to be today). 

Again, this was super easy to make:

Turkey Chorizo Scramble (makes one serving)

• 1/4 cup of turkey chorizo (or more if you prefer)
• 1/8 cup of onion, diced
• 1/4 cup of mushrooms, sliced
• 1/8 cup of tomato 
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1/3 of an avocado (or more if you prefer) 

 Directions:

1. Heat pan at medium-high heat and cook the turkey chorizo (you do not need any added oils)
2. Once the chorizo is browned, add mushrooms, onions, and tomatoes.
3. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs together.
4. Once the mushrooms looks done, pour the eggs over all chorizo and veggies (make sure it covers the pan.  
5. When the eggs look almost done, scramble it up! 
6. Transfer the scramble onto a plate and place the avocado slices on top.
7. Enjoy!

Day 5: Lara Bar

I think I've mentioned before how I've been reading the Whole30 forum a lot and one of the posts that I've came across talked about how Lara Bars are okay for us to eat during "emergency" purposes only.  By "emergency" it means when you are starving and there's nothing else left.  I won't lie, I've
already shopped around and invested on a few good favors: blueberry muffin, apple pie, and carrot cake (those are the ones I've had so far).  They are seriously delicious and a lifesaver!  No lie, I shoved one down my face last night after the cake tasting with my sister because I was drooling for something sweet (really... after seeing that many cakes and being in a wonderful smelling place...gah! emergency!).  I know it's a 'no-no' because it's basically SWYPO, but hopefully I won't treat Lara Bars as my sweet replacement in that sense.  

Moving on, tomorrow I have a small 4-miler race called 4 For the Park.  It's a fundraiser for the Memorial Parks Conservatory group and I somehow got suckered into participating ;) They got me because of the awesome tech shirt that came with registration!  Mine is hot pink (or really more purple than pink).  I will most likely sport it out tomorrow for the race.  Anyway, since I didn't carbo-load like I normally would (granted, it IS just 4 miles so I don't really need to carb-load), I just had some plantain chips to see if I could use healthy carbs to pull a race off with good time.  Being honest, I am a bit worried because I have another race next Sunday in Austin, Texas: Austin 10/20 and it's a ten-mile race where I will not be doing my normal carb-loading for sure (meaning no pizza, pasta, bagel, etc on Saturday - boo!).  I am hoping all my natural carbs would be suffice and I guess we will find out!

I have to say, so far my Whole30 is going fine, except I know I need to cook more so I won't be tempted to snack.  I've managed to cut out nuts (because I can eat that with no issues), but I can see how easily I can replace that with plantain chips.  My breakfast is usually big enough to where I am not hungry until about noon, but I think it's my lunch that might be causing issues (or is it the fact that I am used to snacking that the habit is difficult for me to break??).  Hmm... lots to ponder over this weekend and I prepare and plan for my meals next week. 

Day 4: Coconut Butter and the Last Cake Tasting with my Sister...

Did I mention how grateful I am for plantain chips?? Seriously, it's my lifesaver through this Whole30 challenge (so far...).  However, I need to be careful because I can seriously finish a bag of them in NO TIME!  However, I have to admit that the plantain chips are very filling and I haven't craved nor felt hungry all afternoon (I had them for lunch along with my Five Guys bun-less burger again... I know, I won't have another one this week or next).

What worried me tonight was my sister's last cake tasting for her wedding.  I scheduled most of my sister's wedding cake tasting and had scheduled her last one for April 4th because the reviews for this place were so hot that I had to fit it in!  This was before I knew the Whole30 challenge was going to be in April (or I would have found a way to squeeze it in March).  I was actually scared I would cheat tonight because the last few times I went cake tasting with her... I ended up finishing most of the cakes (well, me and her fiancee).  I have a serious sweet tooth, really.

The cake place served up some serious cakes.  They provided samples of: red velvet, traditional, almond mousse, white cake with strawberry filling, white cake with raspberry filling, lemon mousse, Italian cream, strawberry, and a few others that I've forgotten.  I was actually sad because the place smelled wonderful when we entered and I really wish it was still March!  However, I was super good and only drank water.

Later, my sister did tell me that it was a good thing I didn't cheat for those cakes because she didn't think it was worth it.  The cakes we had in March were better - whew! If anything, I'm glad this was the last cake tasting for us because she made her decision! So I survived her last cake tasting and I had a few spoonful of coconut butter once I got home.  That made it all better for me.

Speaking of coconut butter, you're probably wonder what it is.  It's just coconut flakes that has gone through the food processor and it turns into this creamy, sweet "butter".  It's all natural and very good as a snack!  I'll just give you a quick recipe on that to prove how easy it is to make coconut butter.

Ingredients:

• Unsweetened Coconut Flakes or Shreds (1 bag)

Directions:

1. Empty the bag of coconut flakes into your food processor.
2. Turn your food processor on and let it go for about 8 minutes.
3. Check to see if you need to stop the food processor and scrap down the coconut.
4. Around 8 minutes you will see the flakes turn into this creamy substance.
5. Empty the butter out into a mason jar (or jar of your choice).
6. ENJOY!