Good morning Whole30'ers! As I type this, it is Sunday morning and we have made it to Day 7, Week 1! For me this is a personal success. I made it through the weekend with no cheats, no skips, and no alcohol! I really thought the weekend would be my biggest test of willpower. I love to go out on the weekends in the city with my friends, but it turns out it wasn't so hard. Friday night I stayed and got lost in my book. I love love love to read but am never able to find the time to sit down for a few hours and focus on a book. Last night, I made a totally Whole30 dinner with a friend and then went and saw a late movie. Today I'm up early because I'm not feeling the hurt of a few drinks, and it feels great!

I thought I'd share a quick recap of my week in the form of pictures. What better way to get to know what someone's life is like than through a camera lens?! And I promise my food pics will get better...

The Weekend Before

The weekend before my Whole30 journey began started out bright and early at 5:30 in the morning on the roof of a building with a drone, our videographer Moe, and the Vetter brothers. We were working on a special project that you will get to see later! The view was breathtaking and inspired me to get an early start on this Whole30.

I went home, made my shopping list, and headed to my local Harris Teeter. The rest of my weekend consisted of meal prep. I made two versions of protein salad. Both were chicken, one regular mayo and one with our Chesapeake Mayo. Then I made a potato, pepper, and onion hash that I had for breakfast and saved the rest for Week 1. 

Monday

Day 1 was a breeze...until I got home. It was Bachelor premiere night and I forgot that my roommate had invited friends over for a viewing party. If you know anything about our "viewing parties" they always include two things: wine and cheese. That night was no exception. I poured myself a glass of Kombucha and settled into the couch with them. I was going strong until they pulled out the Berger cookies. Rude! I reminded myself why I'm doing this, and posted my announcement on Instagram. The love that poured in was much stronger than my urge to grab one of the Berger cookies. Not this time, cookies!

Tuesday

Day 2 was the day the headache kicked in. And when I say kicked in, I mean it felt like it kicked me straight in the head. That day was rough, but I had coworkers to commiserate with. It was nice to know I wasn't alone in my hangover. Jody told me he felt like he drank a fifth of tequila the night before. All I have to say is thank god for under eye concealer because the dark circles were REAL that day. Chef Cindy and I filmed our "How to Poach an Egg" story on Instagram which was a nice break from staring at my computer. Everyone seemed to love it, so more to come with those! What other types of stories would you like to see from the Tesse Kitchen??

 Wednesday

The headache was still there but not as bad as Day 2. I had hope it would go away. I had planned on a delicious dinner of roasted chicken thighs - until I remembered that I had forgotten to take them out of the freezer to thaw in the morning! Big mistake. I stayed at work late that night and needed dinner STAT! I ended up picking up from one of my favorites, Nalley Fresh - a local grab and go cafe. Think Chipotle, but for salads, wraps or broth/potato bowls. Endless toppings and everything is fresh! I did a little research on the ingredients for some items before I went. NO compliant dressings out of their 15+ offerings except for oil and vinegar. No problem, you KNOW I have a whole fridge of Tessemae's! I built my salad with my usuals, and it turns out the only thing I had to leave out of my regular order was cheese! Not the most glamorous picture but hey... it was a long day.

Thursday

Day 4 was a quiet day in the office. Most of the team was away at a sales meeting. Earlier in the week I had placed a big Amazon order in a quest to find more compliant foods. It was what I called an "Amazon Blackout". If you were labeled compliant... you ended up in my cart that night. I ordered Cacao nibs hoping they would be some semblance of chocolate. These things are tricky! They SMELL like chocolate and LOOK like a chopped up Hershey bar! Let me save you the trouble, friends. A direct quote from Moe: "These are not good. And I eat EVERYTHING." If you have any tips on how to use these things... please send my way.

Friday

I woke up on Day 5 feeling great! Is this what Tiger Blood feels like? The headache was gone and it seems like it will all be uphill from here. We'll see! On Friday I worked on honing my iPhone food photography skills and read the report (and Melissa's response) to the U.S. News ranking of diets for 2017. If you didn't hear, the Whole30 ranked dead last as "unhealthiest diet". My opinion on diets has changed quite a bit since working at Tessemae's. I don't consider the Whole30 a diet. To me, it's a re-calibration that forces you to take a good hard look at the food you put into your body, and then hopefully make better choices afterward. How can a "diet" that encourages real food with tons of protein and vegetables be unhealthy? The report continually uses the word "restrictive". I think the Whole30 is restrictive in that it takes some real work and effort to get away from the standard American diet. I can't go the pantry and grab whatever I want. Take this "diet" to a third world country, and it is probably much closer to the norm. It seems W30 is being penalized just out of good old American laziness. What do you think about the report?? Check out this screenshot from the Paleo Foundation's IG. This was a REAL news report.

Congrats again on making it to Week 1 with me! We've got a ways to go, but I've never felt more supported than I have at this moment. Even my best friend (looking at you Ashley!) who was not happy when she found out I would be giving up drinks and sushi has come around and is now encouraging me. This community has my back, and it has yours too. Bring it, Week 2!

- Jaime

P.s. We are holding a HUGE giveaway this month to celebrate the #JanuaryWhole30! Enter here to win over $600 worth of swag for your kitchen!