Whole30 (attempt) 2.04

Day 4 

Woke up (again) in the middle of the night. This time it was to some awesome stormy weather. The rain was pounding, nearly drowning out the sound of thunder.  To me, that is peaceful. 

Waking up without back and knee pain has also been quite nice.

Meal Schedule

The kid had a hot cocoa and donut fundraiser that we attended (meaning an earlier than normal wake up time). I watched the kid savor every bite and sip of sugary/chocolatey goodness while I sipped my cinnamon coffee and enjoyed the crisp early morning air.

My afternoons are the ones that are rough (in the most exaggerated sense), though. I feel my normal afternoon-tired and have to search for motivation to make dinner. I usually rely on a sugary pick-me-up but now appreciate a new addition to the afternoon (2-3pm): a cup-o-joe. I did so on day 2 and it seemed to help a bit.

Tonight, I'll attempt to go to bed earlier.

Breakfast

Coffee - Black + cinnamon

Orange Bellpepper - Sliced*
Potato - Diced + fried**
Chicken Sausage - Sliced**
Orange Bellpepper - Sliced*

Lunch

Sunflower Seeds
Lemon Oil Dressing
Baby Spinach - Fresh
Chicken Tenderloin**

Snack

Apple
Almond Cocoa Bar

Dinner

Spinach - Fresh
Mayo - Approved
Dill Relish - Approved
Chicken Tenderloin - Shredded**

*From the garden
**Leftovers

Grocery Shopping

Last night I spent time laying out a grocery store(s) plan to coincide with other errands. I had flyers for 2 stores near me (each with different items on sale) plus one without a flyer (that I know carries certain items at a cheaper price) and one store further way (with more of the healthier options). Today was the healthier option one combined with my other errands.

  • Coconut Lime Bars
  • Banana Chocolate Bars
  • Chocolate Hazelnut Bars
  • Chocolate Sea Salt Bars
  • Almond Chocolate Bar
  • Lemon Performance Bar
  • Almond Butter - Single packet
  • Vanilla Almond Butter - Single packet
  • Mild Salsa - Approved
  • Organic Dill Relish - Approved
  • Black Olives - Approved
  • Almond Flour
  • Eggs
  • Pine Nuts
  • Sausage Links
  • Avocados
  • Lemons
  • Apples
  • Sweet Potatoes
  • Bananas
  • Nutritional Yeast
  • Mayo - Approved


I spent $72.87 and had an Ibotta (I may get money if you sign up using this link) rebate of $4.75. The things I assumed that would be cheaper at another store were actually cheaper at this store and added them to my cart—on the fly.

I am keeping track of my shopping data and hope to use it to become more efficient at healthy food grocery shopping. This should help me know where I can buy certain items at a cheaper price point and which places don't have the items I want. It's also roughly keeping track of how much money I spend on food daily.

Say, I bought chicken and it's lasted me 8 days of meals. I divide the price of chicken by 8. It doesn't take into account how many meals I had chicken that day but it is helping me keep track of how much money I am spending on meals a day. It's a lot less than I thought. I used to justify a coupon-using fast food place since it was a cheap meal for both the kid and I. But once I have invested in basic ingredients, I spend can end up spending less daily than what I would have spent on that fast food meal.

Now, I just have to keep up me energy levels. Money is not the only factor when choosing fast food meals. Convenience is absolutely a factor.

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