Day 22

Breakfast: pretty smoothie (celery, banana, strawberries, blueberries), almond butter

Lunch: Italian-style slow roasted spare ribs with cauliflower "rice"

Snack: almond butter

Dinner: same as lunch, cherries

Day 21

Breakfast: 2 poached eggs (overcooked, again), almond butter

Lunch: protein-style burger from "The Habit" (free; tomatoes, grilled onions, a ton of lettuce, jalapenos), green grapes

Snack: plantain chips, almond butter

Dinner: chicken, cauliflower "rice", red grapes, cherries

Day 20

Brunch: almond butter, smoothie (organic kale, melon, blueberries, banana), 2 poached eggs

Snack: green grapes, mango, plantain chips

Dinner: chicken with French thyme, oregano, basil, cajun seasoning, brocoli, carrots, egg, melon

I marinaded a bunch of chicken & sent everything to the freezer.  That way, it will be all ready to be cooked next time:
1) cilantro lime chicken marinade (cilantro, lime, olive oil, garlic)
2) jerk chicken (spice galore, lime, olive oil)
3) lemon ginger chicken (lemon, ginger, olive oil, red pepper flakes, ginger)
4) balsamic chicken (garlic, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, rosemary)
5) Italian chicken (mustard, garlic, herbs, vinegar, olive oil, salt, pepper)
6) Mexican chicken (olive oil, lime, salt, cumin, garlic, vinegar, oregano, pepper, paprika, onion powder, chili powder)
7) basic Greek chicken (olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, oregano, thyme)
8) Middle Eastern chicken (cardamon, cumin, all spice, garlic, salt, olive oil, lemon juice)

Day 19

Breakfast: omelette with mushrooms & onion (looked ugly because of the mushrooms but it was fine), a spoon of almond butter

Lunch: at "Urban Plates" with friends (steak, roasted potatoes, brussel sprouts), pineapples, melons

Dinner: not hungry but ate still (chicken, mushroom, cauliflower "rice")

"Urban Plates" was a nice option for "The Whole30".😋

Work Crap

Since I'm so tired of working like a maniac, I've been doing some research on how to be a more effective teacher.  Here are some cool stuff I've learned the past 4 weeks:

Aww Board - whiteboard platform, students can draw (?) (=whiteboard tech. version)

Breakout EDU - can be done in class physically or digitally with Chromebooks, to create/start a Breakout, go on "Google Sites".  FAQs
Canva - more sophisticated than "PiktoChart", to create bumper stickers, blogs, etc.  Must be able to use "Google Drawing"?

Crashcourse French - lessons on any French stuff by John Green

EdPuzzle - take YouTube videos (6-11 minutes) to be loaded on, convert to MP4 (online video converter); look for pre-made ones, I can edit videos, add questions that I want to put, videos pass by themselves, students type answers on the website, good for listening comprehension, vocab. & grammaire
AATF Edpuzzle resources

Flipgrid - students can record their own presentations & the class can view them in class & put comments (?)

Free Technology for Teachers - most of the apps are free

French grammar activities worksheets
GOOGLE

• Google Cardboard - $450, set of 30 OR $10/glasses OR $5/cardboard
• Google Expedition app - students download the app (iamcardboard), use their own phones
• If students don't have cellphones, they can share: one will be the guide OR ask the community to donate their old phones & they get a tax deduction
• Google Classroom - to create a class & invite our students via access code, we can easily email students
• Google Cloud Search - to look for anything I've ever saved!!!
• Google Drawing
• Google Form - create surveys, MC questions, T/F questions BUT it doesn't save answers?
• Google Keep - post-its / reminders for self :)
• Google Screen Castify - to make videos, students record & submit them

JeNeSaisPas - from a workshop at ACTFL "Planned purposeful target language & Engl. use for teachers & students"
Kaizena - right after students submit their recording/work online, I can orally give feedback
LetsRecap - better than "Flipgrid" because "LetsRecap" is free!  Students can record themselves talking, etc.  Similar to "Screen Castify".  Must create prompt.
Nearpod - PPT already created by other teachers, it's interactive
Padlet - to capture what students have learned, same questions everytime ("Today, I learned...", 2-3 sent.), done the last 10 min. of class or beginning), to gather questions, students can see the questions or it could be private
PiktoChart - to create stats in the form of charts, present maps, graphs, photos, text, infographic, brochure, report, presentations
Plickers - using QR codes, we can scan students' answers.
PushingTheEdge - ????????????????
QR code generators - ??????????????????
Qui est-ce? - jeu de société, à acheter sur "Amazon.com"

Quizizz - more sophisticated than Kahoot, 15 questions, can work at your pace or against "ghost mode" (their own best scores), questions are on each person's own screens

Quizlet - good for 12 vocabulary & definitions, can use other teachers', can be done live (played in class), grouped by Quizlet, 5 teams at least

Snap & read - to highlight, will read in French

Storybird - to create story books
TagXedo - word clouds in any shape (here's how to use it)
Tolerance - ??????????????
TV5Monde

• apprendre le français (vidéos, exercices): usage autonomie pdt. la classe 
• enseigner le français (800 fiches pédagogiques, vidéo + fiches): mise en route et découverte (pour introduire le vocab.)
• parlons français, c'est facile (on suit 4 personnes et leurs histoires...)
• paroles de clips (clips de musique...)

VideoNotes - similar to EdPuzzle (good for listening exercises, look for old ones, edit & share; we type questions with time on the side, students watch & click on questions & time easily)
Wizerme - worksheets done online --> I type them there, students work on them online in class
WordClouds - similar to TagXedo (see above)
Wordle

ASK DPT. TO BUY THIS:

• Google Cardboard - $450, set of 30 OR $10/glasses OR $5/cardboard
• Google Expedition app - students download the app (iamcardboard), use their own phones

Great video on "Summer secrets for a stress-free fall":
Secret # 1: Eliminate unintentional breaks
Secret # 2: Work ahead by batching & avoid task-switching
Secret # 3: Use scheduling to create boundaries around your time
Secret # 4: Figure out "the main thing"& do it 1st
Secret # 5: Look for innovative ways to relax any standards that create unnecessary work

Arcadia Innovation Summit:
-"If you want change to happen, you crawl, walk or run, you can't just stand still."
-Jaime Casap was the speaker.:)
-"Generation Z has a different process of learning due to the environment they grow up in."
-Stop asking "What do you want to be when you grow up?"  Ask "What problem do you want to solve?  What do you need to learn in order to solve that problem?"


Day 1 (Thursday)
New lesson (i.e., notes)

Day 2 (Friday)
Oral practice, listening activities, written exercises in textbook, Quizlet (need Chromebook!), Edpuzzle (take YouTube video & include questions in them)

Day 3 (Monday)
Quizlet (need Chromebooks!), worksheet (on paper or Wizerme), correction

Day 4 (Tuesday)
Game (flashcards, Kahoot, Quizizz, Edpuzzle, Pictionary)

Day 5 (Wednesday)
Quiz!

To check for understanding
Padlet (need Chromebooks, to be done just for 10 min.)

To supplement lessons
"Bien Dit" videos, Crashcourse French, Free Technology for Teachers

To reinforce concepts
Chansons
Poèmes
Lectures

End of chapter review activities
Jeopardy
Breakout EDU
Snap & read

End of chapter projects
Storybird (to create a book)
Flipgrid (to record presentations)

Day 18

Breakfast: smoothie (organic kale, banana, strawberries, melon; I added the melon because it tasted too much like vegetables), my sister's Lara bar

Lunch: pick-2 deal salads at Panera (lettuce, spinach, cucumber, apples, strawberries, pineapple, blueberries, almonds, balsamic vinaigrette)

Snack: apple

Dinner: sausage, cabbage, carrots, green grapes.

 Here's a useful site about eating out.

Whole30 Recipes

I just finished reading "The Whole30" book by Melissa & Dallas Hartwig & here are my favorite recipes.

EGGS
perfect poached eggs (page 150)
spinach frittata (page 206)

DRESSINGS
basic mayonnaise (page 179)
basic vinaigrette (page 184)
chimichurri (page 306)
cilantro-lime mayonnaise (page 310)
hollandaise (page 314)
pesto (page 315)
whole30 ketchup (page 323)
herb citrus vinaigrette (page 326)
raspberry walnut vinaigrette (page 328)
balsamic vinaigrette (page 328)
Asian vinaigrette (page 330)

ONE POT MEALS
chicken chowder (page 336)
roasted pork shoulder with butternut squash, kale, & tomatoes (page 344)
Thai coconut soup (page 352)

FANCY MEALS
backyard BBQ - I don't like BBQ sauce & it has none!:)
                Dallas's watermelon salad (page 359)
                pesto shrimp with cherries tomatoes (page 359)
                BBQ seasoning mix for grilled steak (page 360)
                grilled vegetables with balsamic glaze (page 361)

DRINKS
rosemary berry mash (page 391) - without the sugar and alcohol
mocktails

Day 17

Breakfast: bad smoothie (carrots, celeri, cucumber, watermelon - I added the watermelon because it tasted like vegetables, ewww), poached egg (it's harder to make than it seems but the yolk was runny, just like how I like it!  I'll have to try it again.), my sister's Lara bar

Snack: banana, apple Lara bar

Lunch: salads, fruits (I was at a bridal shower & I survived, yay!!!)

Dinner: sausage, eggs with chives, red bell peppers, plantain chips, melon

I went to Sprouts today and though there was a 99 cent deal for chips, I didn't buy any!!!!  I also went to a different Trader Joe's and found my plantain chips, which I will eat in moderation, of course, hahaha.

Day 16

Breakfast: my sister's delicious Lara Bar & my bad smoothie (kale, banana, green grapes, strawberries) - it was too sour and the more bananas and strawberries I added, the worse it tasted.  I'll put less kale tmrw...  Oh yeah, the kale was organic, yet it didn't mean squat.

Lunch: leftover (eggs with chives, mushroom, bacon, cauliflower "rice"), watermelon

Snack: almond butter

Dinner: leftover (eggs with chives, sausage, red bell peppers), watermelon

I was feeling down today so I stuffed my face with almond butter.  Not good.

Day 15

Breakfast: smoothie (spinach, banana, blueberries, strawberries), hard-boiled egg with salt & pepper
The smoothie was NOT good!  The only frozen ingredient was the banana, which made the smoothie lukewarm or something!?!  Lesson learned: 2/3 of the ingredients MUST be frozen!!!

Snack: plantain chips, grapes

Lunch: cauliflower "rice" with sausage, cherries

Snack: plantain chips, my sister's homemade Lara Bar

Dinner: shrimp, red bell peppers, omelette with chives, watermelon

1/2 done with the food experiment/challenge!!!!  I was at a workshop today and we were served breakfast (croissants and pains au chocolat!!!!) & lunch (Jersey Mike's turkey sandwich, chips, soda, cookies) but of course, I didn't eat anything!!!  I was prepared so that's why I was able to resist but what was the most difficult was not eating the pain au chocolat!!!😭😭😭

I bought another bag of plantain chips from Trader Joe's (yellow bag, $1.99) but it wasn't the one I wanted - the purple wasn't on sale at that particular Trader Joe's...  Maybe the purple one is only sold at certain ones...😞

My sister made Lara Bars and the "real" ones do not even compare: my sister's are WAY better!!!  Thye have dates, almonds, cashews, hazelnuts.  The hazelnuts make them oh so gooood.  My goal is to only have 1 per day (it'll be hard, they're soooo good)!

Day 14

Breakfast: just my smoothie (lots of spinach, banana, strawberries)

Snack: plantain chips

Lunch: leftover (chicken & steak with coconut lime sauce)

Dinner: cauliflower "rice" (with carrots, green onions, sesame oil, onions, garlic, my favorite seasonings, eggs, hot Italian sausage from Sprouts), mango, cherries

So in the afternoon, I tried "The Whole30" cauliflower "rice" & it was alright...  I mean, it's definitely not fried rice, ahhaha.  Good thing I added meat, otherwise, I wouldn't really have enjoyed it...

Day 13

Breakfast: smoothie (dragon fruit, spinach, banana, strawberries), 1 hard-boiled with salt and pepper.

Lunch: Thai chili chicken salad (spinach, lettuce, tomato, cucumber, chicken, balsamic vinaigrette, cashews) from Panera, apple

Snack: plantain chips

Dinner: leftover (chicken and steak with sauce from Saturday's coconut lime sauce), my sister's carrot soup (that was actually super good, esp. since it had ginger), cherries

Day 12

Breakfast: omelette (3 eggs, spinach, tomatoes, onion, brocoli) - it looked like an omelette but not perfectly, still...  I didn't add enough salt so I didn't enjoy it as much...  Though the presentation is important, I think flavor is even more important (in this case).

Snack: cherries

Lunch: at "Le Pain Quotidien" with a friend.  I had the choice between a soup, a salad, or an omelette.  I ended up choosing an omelette (French ham, onion) that came with a salad. I gave the 2 pieces of bread to my friend.  It cost $14!?   It was smaller than this morning omelette and had fewer ingredients!?!  Eating out while doing "The Whole30" turns me off more and more.

Snack: 2 Lara bars (apple, cashews)

Dinner: mussels and roasted potatoes from last night, dragon fruit, cherries.

So I ate 2 omelettes today, 6 eggs!?!  I'm going back to making my smoothies because I missed it today.

Day 11

Breakfast: smoothie (less spinach than previously, banana, strawberries, orange juice) --> the smoothie was FINALLY BEAUTIFUL, i.e., non-brown color, ahhha.  BUT, the top was loose (I did that?!?) & it spilled ALL. OVER. THE. FLOOR. & my running shorts & my legs!?!😤 So I made another smoothie & ate 1 hard-boiled egg with salt and pepper.

Lunch: Thai chicken salad at Panera.  Good!  & I had $1 off discount & since I ordered at the machine, I could whatever whatever I wanted!  I also had a banana & an apple.

Snack: my sister's banana chips & Trader Joe's banana chips.

Dinner: mussels with mint leaves, mango.

Today's goal was supposed to be "no snacks" but after the gym, I was hungry & stuffed my face with the banana chips.😞 So that was a fail.  I guess I need a snack after all before the gym.

A church friend started doing "The Whole30" today (2nd time doing it!) & one of my former students  started today as well!  Yay, the "crazy" club is expending, ahaha. Here are the people that I know are doing the challenge: Pascale, John, Jewel, Krisdee, Grace H., Karen D., Naomi L., Heather, moi.

Day 10

Breakfast: smoothie (spinach, strawberries, banana, blueberries, hemp seeds sample), 1 hard-boiled egg with salt & pepper

Snack: banana

Lunch: church lunch from Panda Express... chicken, beef with brocoli, carrots... Yes, I know, it must've been loaded with soy sauce, sigh...

Snack: cherries, 1/2 Lara bar (cashew)

Dinner: with a friend at Denny's...😷 Skillet dish with potatoes, reb bell peppers, onions, sausage, 2 over-easy eggs.  Eating out is no fun being on "The Whole30".

I'm gonna try not having snacks on Monday, Tuesday, & Thursday since it's frowned upon by "The Whole30".  It claims that if I'm eating well for each meal, then I shouldn't have to want to have a snack...

Day 9

Ooops, 1 day late!

Breakfast: smoothie (spinach, banana, strawberries, blueberries, hemp seeds sample), 1 hard-boiled egg with salt and pepper

Lunch: chicken and baby back ribs leftover, green grapes

Dinner: coconut lime chicken, red bell peppers, broccoli, green grapes, blueberries

I read a lot in "The Whole30" & learned so much!

Day 8

No cooking today!?!  It was good and bad.

Breakfast: at my sister's & man, it was GOOOOOD!  Vegetarian frittata, avocado, homemade ketchup, blueberries.

Lunch: Vietnamese bánh xeo (omelette with pork, shrimp, coconut, flour, mung beans) & a whole plate of lettuce, mint leaves, basil leaves (?) --> big letdown: not only was there no coconut flavor but I think the flour made me extremely bloated.  So much so that I didn't have the desire to eat for 6 hours.

Dinner: chicken & baby pork ribs leftover from last night, frozen green grapes.

So I think flour makes me bloated!!!  Though I'm not proud of having consumed the bánh xeo in spite of the flour, I'm glad I learned that flour might be a problematic ingredient for me!

Day 7

Breakfast: smoothie (spinach, strawberries, banana, blueberries)

Snack: roasted nuts

Lunch: leftover from last night (sausage, red bell peppers, Japanese mushrooms)

Snack: plain shaved ice with my smoothie from this morning, raspberries, banana --> I can't believe it actually happened, ahahha.  $2.34 at "Snowflakes" with friend.

Dinner: baby back ribs, chicken, spinach, tomato, soup, frozen grapes.  Post-dinner snack: almond butter

I finished the jar of almond butter!  Before I get judged, there was barely any left, I just cleaned ir up, ahaha.  Now, I have to buy a new jar!

Figuring out where to go to catch up with my friend was HARD!!!!  After some research on Yelp and consulting my friends who are doing "The Whole30", I was able to survive meeting up with my friend.  It took creativity and mindfulness but all in all, it was feasible!

Day 6

Breakfast: smoothie (spinach, banana, strawberries, blueberries), 1 hard-boiled egg with salt and pepper

Snack: roasted nuts

Lunch: shepherd's pie (no pie) leftover, NY steak leftover, egg, spinach

Snack: grapes, almond butter, mango

Dinner: hot Italian sausage, Japanese mushrooms, red bell peppers, frozen grapes, frozen mango

I think I should start varying my foods, I keep eating the same breakfast, ahhaha.  I'm fine with it but the people I'm talking to are quite creative!  I bought a lot of fruits and veggies today and I can't wait to use and eat them: bananas, mangoes, strawberries, cherries, cucumber.

Day 5

Breakfast: smoothie (color is worse today - I added too much water and the blueberries didn't help), one hard-boiled egg with salt and pepper

Snack: nuts

Lunch: roasted potatoes, chicken, bok choy

Snack: almond butter, red grapes

Dinner: 1/4 lb NY boneless steak (I thought I was going to be able to finish the other 1/4... wrong!!!), egg, mushroom, frozen red grapes

Still doing fine!  I read today that "The Whole30" isn't a big fan of smoothies because our brain registers drinking differently from eating.  But I'm still gonna make smoothies because it's helping me inhale veggies more, hahaha.

Day 4

Breakfast: smoothie (spinach, strawberries, banana) - too leafy; 2 hard-boiled eggs with salt & pepper (I'll just have 1 next time)

Snack: roasted nuts (almonds and walnuts with my oregano, cajun seasoning, basil, French thyme, cayenne pepper)

Lunch: salad and yucca fries at "Aji Limon" (that's the best I could do, sigh...) - it cost me $12 with tip and no, it wasn't worth it.  I successful refused the bread and the passion fruit juice sample (so sad though)!:)

Snack: banana, almond butter

Dinner: chicken, spinach, mint leaves, beef

I'm feelin' fine today and it helps that the sun has come out, woohoo!

I went to Ralphs to buy boneless chicken breast ($1.57/lb) and 1/2 lb of a NY steak ($14/lb).  I also went to Aldi to buy strawberries ($0.99) and eggs ($0.79).  I'm looking forward to trying on new recipes.:)  By the way, I would add photos but I can't on my laptop, for whatever stupid reason...

I'm looking forward to trying the following:
mushroom and sage chicken
coconut lime chicken
chicken and mango avocado salsa
lemon chicken with asparagus
coconut curry chicken

Day 3

Breakfast: failed omelette (2 eggs, grass-fed beef, tomatoes, green onions, cajun seasoning, oregano, basil, cayenne pepper, French thyme) - delicious!

Snack: banana, almond butter

Lunch: beef, chicken, chive omelette

Snack: papaya with lemon juice

Dinner: beef, roasted potatoes (I modified it so that it'd be "Whole30" compliant and just threw in my favorite spices), papaya with lemon juice

I went to Costco today to buy almond butter but couldn't find any!  Maybe it's a sign...  Good because I'm making progress emotionally: I only had 2 spoons of almond butter today, hahaha.

Day 2

Breakfast: hard-boiled egg with salt and pepper, papaya with lime, almond butter

Lunch: Cambodian soup with meat, papaya

Snack: pineapple, banana, almond butter

Dinner: bok choy, shepherd's pie (without the crust)

June Gloom is still lingering around, so annoying.  I'm eating a lot of almond butter: it's helping me cope...  I'll have to find some other variety for the rest of the 28+ days!

I realized today that tofu is excluded from "The Whole30" & I had today and yesterday!?!  I'm not starting over, I'll just finish the challenge mid-July or something.  I read the book today & apparently, I "might feel guilty about reintroducing food once the 30 days"...  Yeah, right, haaha,  I'll gladly help myself eating a fruit tart or something, hahaha.

Day 1 (encore)

I went out for Happy Hour last night, tsk, tsk, tsk.  Here's what happened:

My friend ordered breaded calamari & a mojito & for whatever STUPID reason, I gave in and ordered a margarita & we shared salmon ceviche.  HUUUUGE MISTAKE!  Not just because I have to start the challenge over but because of the following...😰

Out of nowhere, I started feeling bad.  When I made it to the restroom (just 10 steps!?!), I could barely open my eyes, bumped my head against the door, & the next thing I know, a woman asked me, "Are you ok???", & helped me to make it to a wall in the restrooms.  She grabbed a trashcan for me & helped me stand up & watched me throw up!?!Urgh, I was soooo embarrassed!!!😳 I was sweating profusely & the waitress said I was pale!?!  "Pale!?!", I'm thinking, "how could this be???" When I have a drink, I get RED, not pale, so obviously, I was not ok.

LONG story short, Faith is the lady who held me up and watched me throw up (she was my guardian angel - she told me she went to church and liked helping people.  I was so busy throwing up that I didn't even get to tell her that I was Christian too.😞), the waitress told my friend that I was puking in the restrooms (the whole time, she thought I was fine) & called the paramedics (I begged her to send them back & that I was ok - I really wasn't).  3 paramedics came inside the restrooms and they took my blood pressure.  My abdomen was hurting like heck & I was still throwing up here & there.  Since my blood pressure was ultra low, they sat me down & wanted to take me to the hospital.  I was like, "Nooo!"  So they took my blood pressure again when I stood up & this time, it was normal!?!  Crazy.  The paramedic-recorder suspects that I either had the flu, food poisoning or something else (don't recall).  Anywho, since I was feeling much better and my face had gained some color back, there wasn't a need to go to the hospital anymore.🙌  He instructed me to wash my hands so I could sign the form on the iPad (so high-tech now!), said that it was good that my hair was short because I was able to throw up freely (ha-ha), & he also asked if I was usually healthy & I'm like, "Yeah!?!" & he was like, "Yeah, that's what we all say!"

So I'm totally FINE now, praise God for that!  When I drove home & called my sister to tell her what had happened, her first words were, "Did the paramedics get your phone #???"  I was like, "Really?!?"  So yeah, that's what my weakness lead me to...  Also, I can't believe my health is so weak this year: I threw up on Jan. 1, mid-March, & then last night!?!

I have 2 potlucks today -__- but I'm strong now & not making the same mistakes!  So today is the REAL Day 1!

Statistics about stuff

• An average child will accumulate 238 toys by the time he/she is 10 years old and he/she will only play with about 12 of them.
• Annually, Americans spend more on shoes, jewelry and watches ($10 billion) than they do on higher education.
• In the U.S., there are more malls than high schools.
• The average person will spend 3680 hours (153 days or 5 months) of his/her life looking for misplaced items.  The most frequent items are phones, keys, sunglasses and paperwork.
• The average American woman owns 30 outfits - one for every day of the month.  In 1930, that figure was nine.
• Shopping malls outnumber high schools.  93% of teenage girls rank shopping as their favorite pastime.
• 80% of what we keep, we never use.

Interesting, huh?  Look at the last statistics for example.  We keep (or should keep) things because they're meaningful, right?  Yet, the statistics implies the opposite: we keep things BUT most of it is NOT even used!?!  How could this be?
Is it because we forget what we own?
Do we have so much that we DON'T EVEN KNOW what we (already) have?
Do we have a hard time letting go and that's why we keep accumulating so much... stuff?

Ever since I've moved into my new place, I have been in the state of minimizing.  I still have a LONG way to go BUT I have made a lot of progress.  For instance, I have been able to let go of clothes I don't wear (anymore).  It should be easy to get rid of them yet sometimes, I just can't.  "But I spent money on this!"  2 things keep bringing me back to reason:
-"If you haven't worn it in a year, you will not wear it, ever."
-"Let someone wear your clothes instead of letting them collect dust in your closet, you obviously don't need/like them."

My sister introduced me to her BFF, Marie Kondo.  This Japanese lady is known for her book "Art of decluttering and organizing".  (FYI, I just hyperlinked something for the 1st time!?!)  I still haven't read the book but I know it'd be good for me, sigh...  Perhaps I'm running away from the book because I'm running away from my problems...  Yeah, that's it...  But I just found the book at the library AND it also exists on CD so I could listen to Marie while driving or cleaning, hahaha.

Day 1

And so it begins!

Breakfast: 2 hard-boiled eggs seasoned with salt & pepper

Snacks: cashews, almonds, pistachios, banana

Drink: water, hot tea

Lunch: phở without vermicelli

Snacks: grapes

Dinner: Happy Hour at "The green olive" --> HUGE mistake
pita bread, buttermilk calamari, sweet & sour shrimp, salmon ceviche, blackberry margarita

Snack ideas:
http://www.shutterbean.com/2016/whole30-snack-ideas/

Meal plans:
https://www.ourpaleolife.com/whole30-meal-plan-grocery-list/
https://www.ourpaleolife.com/category/recipes/whole30/

What I can and cannot eat:
https://whole30.com/2013/06/the-official-can-i-have-guide-to-the-whole30/

Gotta start somewhere

So I'm thinking of doing the "Whole30 Program" on June 8th.  It's been on my mind for a week now and you could say I've been actively thinking about it, talking to people who've done it, asking 10 million questions about the program, doing my research, etc.  I even went to the library 2 days ago to borrow the book.  So I guess I'm serious about it!

I don't know how I'm going to do it because I hear it's challenging.  But I want to know what the BIG deal is and since it's the summer and I am not stressed, it's the perfect time for me to dive into it.

Let's start with the basics, THE RULES:

1) Eat real foods

• meat
• seafood
• eggs
• lots of vegetables
• some fruit
• plenty of natural fats
• foods that have pronounceable ingredients OR
• foods that have NO listed ingredients, which mean "whole" or "processed" :)

2) Avoid for 30 days

• NO added sugar
• maple syrup
• honey
• agave nectar
• Splenda, Equal, etc.
• NO alcohol
• not even for cooking!
• NO grains
• wheat
• rye, barley, OATS!?!
• corn
• rice
• quinoa
• buckwheat
• NO legumes
• beans
• peas
• chickpeas
• lentils
• peanuts
• soy sauce
• miso
• tofu
• endamame
• lecithin
• NO dairy
• milk
• cream
• cheese
• yogurt, frozen yogurt
• ice cream
• sour cream
• NO MSG
• NO baked goods, junk foods
• pancakes, waffles
• bread
• tortillas
• biscuits
• muffins, cupcakes
• cookies, pizza crust
• cereal
• chips, plantains
• les frites!!!:(:(
• anything you don't think would be healthy
• ***When in doubt, leave it out!!!***
• NO stepping on the scale or body measurements.

3) Allowed

• green beans
• snow peas
• vinegar, balsamic
• coconut nectar

4) No need to

• buy organic, grass-fed...
• cheat, don't cheat!!!
• make exceptions for special occasions!!!