Low Carb Whole 30 WEEK FOUR challenge was a VERY eye opening week. After being VERY conscientious at home about NOT using butter, and only ghee if I needed something similar, I totally ate butter (NOT Whole30 compliant) TWO DAYS IN A ROW while on auto pilot. BOTH times I was out at a restaurant. I am so used to a low carb, high fat diet that I used dairy as my ‘fat’ while out to eat.

Well, that meant I ordered a butter lemon sauce for my fish at a restaurant Saturday night, and then mixed butter in my tea and eggs while eating lunch Sunday. And I didn’t even realize my mistake until Sunday, 20 minutes after we left the restaurant. My eyes and brain and hands need to synch up. This was on day 23 and I made a sloppy mistake. Lesson learned, I’m going to keep calm and carry on to complete my Whole30 challenge.

Also, you would think being four weeks in, I would be reading labels before buying anything. On day 26 (yesterday), I bought some ‘organic beef stock’. I got home, was about to pour it into my pumpkin chili and bam – there is SUGAR listed as an ingredient. WTF? I still used it (I hate wasting food), and asked Pacific Foods (the maker) as to why there was sugar in beef stock. They said it was in there for ‘food safety’ purposes, not for flavoring.

SO I called Pacific Foods asking WHY there was sugar in the beef broth, since my Google searches did not come up with much. Turns out it is their way of ensuring there is no bacteria.

Essentially:

1. Put in small amount of sugar in broth

2. If there is any bacteria that is still in the broth, it will gobble the sugar

3. This will cause the tetra pak the broth is in to expand

4. Pacific Foods holds onto the broth packs before selling them, to see if any expand so they know to cull those (since they have bacteria)

Thank you, Pacific Foods, for the clear explanation!

Here are my meals for the week! Again, please note my workplace provides me with lunch.

Thursday:

Breakfast: Tea with coconut cream and coconut oil

Lunch: Large salad with a grilled chicken breast

Snack: Avocado

Dinner: Grass fed bison rib eye with bok choy, mushrooms and red bell peppers sauteed in tallow

Dessert: Red bell pepper

Friday:

Breakfast: Tea with coconut cream and coconut oil

Lunch: Large spinach greens salad with a hamburger patty

Snack: Avocado

Dinner: Curry Lamb burger with kale and radishes sauteed in tallow

Dessert: Red bell pepper

Brunch: Curry lamb burger and I scrambled the kale/radish mix with some eggs (with more tallow). Served it with some bacon strips (because … bacon). Also had tea with coconut cream.Snack: The final curry lamb burger (I’m having a really late dinner tonight, so I wanted something substantial)Dinner: Went out to a seafood restaurant and got tuna sashimi as an appetizer, and sea bass with a butter lemon sauce, with steamed broccoli and asparagus.

Sunday:

Breakfast: 3 strips of bacon and a fat loaded tea (coconut oil and milk)

Lunch: 3 eggs scrambled with bell peppers, hamburger and bacon

Dinner: Marinated skirt steak, bell peppers and spinach sauteed in tallow, and curry Whole 30 compliant cauliflower mash

Monday:

Breakfast: 2 strips of bacon and tea with coconut cream

Lunch: Spinach salad with cucumbers, celery, mushrooms, lots of olive oil and four slices of ham

Dinner: Marinated skirt steak, bell peppers and spinach sauteed in tallow, and curry Whole 30 compliant cauliflower mash

Snack: 1/4 cup of macadamia nuts sprinkled with cinnamon

Breakfast: 2 strips of bacon and tea with coconut creamLunch: Spinach salad with cucumbers, celery, mushrooms, lots of olive oil and some tri tip meat (mmm)Dinner: Marinated skirt steak and curry Whole 30 compliant cauliflower mash (ran out of veggies, too lazy to cook more tonight)Snack: 1/4 cup of macadamia nuts sprinkled with cinnamon

Wednesday:

Breakfast: 3 eggs scrambled with bacon and spinach (I went for a bike ride that morning, needed a good meal after)

Lunch: Boring spinach and cucumber salad covered in olive oil, with a hamburger patty

Dinner: Amazing pumpkin chili made with 75% fat grass fed hamburger (recipe to come soon) and roasted brussel sprouts

AND That concludes my food for the week!

I have THREE DAYS LEFT and I know I have lost weight/inches, as I am currently wearing my skinniest part of skinny jeans with not-that-much muffin top action going on.

I feel great!!! YAY!