My Whole30 - Day 7

8/08/2012 *Sara-Marie* 9 Comments

This image was in my Whole30 Daily email along with the following: CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE COMPLETED DAY 7! You did it -- one full week in the bag. It was legen-(wait for it)-dary. Stay awesome!

Yes. That's exactly what I needed to hear at the end of my Day 7! Man, I love those emails!

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, I was pretty stoked about my results in just one week. The excitement definitely fueled my desire to keep going! Despite what others may think, this is not a diet. It's a lifestyle change to eat good, real food. Do you see any problem with that? Nope, me either.

DAY 7 - WHOLE30 EATS

I went for a large breakfast of a banana with almond butter (no sugar added-it was okay), 1 egg fried in coconut oil, and a few fresh tomatoes.


I didn't need to eat again until about 2:30pm where I enjoyed a wonderful spinach salad with cucumbers, tomatoes, left over beets, and some quick balsamic chicken. Very good. I didn't enjoy the beets cold as much as I do when they are warm. Lesson learned!


After work, I went for a quick walk/run around my neighborhood since I missed the 5:15pm cycling class. It kinda sucked because I managed to get three bug bites on my feet over the weekend so they were extremely uncomfortable in my sneakers! Grr. Hope they go away fast!

Now, dinner time was an epic win! We had purchased a pound of lean, ground, grass-fed beef and decided to do taco night! One of my favorites! Instead of taco shells, I decided to use red pepper halves! Check it out:

Great success.

The whole spread. I ended up only eating two halves (1 whole pepper) since I was too full! You can pile on A LOT more food into that red pepper than a regular taco shell!

I posted my "taco" masterpiece on Facebook last night and my dear friend Lindsey asked for the recipe. This is for you girl!

The meat: In a large saucepan, I cooked 1 lb of ground beef and seasoned with sofrito (cilantro, onion, garlic,  green pepper), salt, pepper, oregano, cumin seeds, bay leaf, a few spanish olives (chopped), and a few capers. Once the meat was no longer pink, I added a small can of tomato sauce (all natural, due to the program). While that simmered on low, I prepped the rest of our toppings.

NOTE: Since our ground beef was super lean (93/7), I had to add a little bit of coconut oil to the pan to prevent sticking. With regular 80/20 or even 85/15, you won't need to do that.)

Red pepper shells: I cut the red peppers from the top down and removed the stem and seeds. No cooking required.

Salsa: I typically make my own salsa, but I was pressed for time so I picked up some freshly made salsa at the supermarket.

Guacamole: To make a quick guacamole, I added maybe 3-4 heaping spoonfuls of the salsa to 2 ripe avocados. Mixed up and seasoned to taste with salt and pepper.

Other toppings: Diced red and yellow peppers, finely chopped romaine, diced red onion.

Assembly: PILE EVERYTHING INTO THE RED PEPPER HALF AND CONSUME. I added the romaine first, then the diced peppers and onion, then the meat, topped off with the guac and the salsa.

Verdict: Despite being a little bit messy, it was awesome. The red pepper provided a great crunch and all of the flavors came together for a wonderful meal. We will probably make this a weekly favorite!


Healthy, comfort food at its best.