I’m just starting week 3 of whole 30 and it’s strange how quickly you can settle into a habit that seemed so restrictive in the beginning.

This week has had its challenges, but we stuck to it. A pastry chef friend asked me to come down to visit her bakery and I brought another friend with a sweet tooth to sample treats while I sipped my almond milk latte. My sister-in-law had her baby shower over the weekend and I had to battle buttery garlic knots, chocolate truffle favors and lemon layer cake with buttercream. After the shower, Marc and I went out and had an incredible salmon dinner on a pretty patio, which made everything worth it.

These stuffed cabbage rolls were the hit of week 1. Marc loved them. I’ve never made traditional cabbage rolls, but I thought the grated carrot was a fine substitute for rice. It’s like a mini meatloaf surprise in cabbage that’s smothered with tomato sauce. It’s great for lunch leftovers, too.

All of our dinners for week 2 were really delicious. The jerk chicken and lamb with eggs were my personal favorites.

Thoughts after week 2

• My sweet cravings are pretty much gone, but it was hard to resist the lemon layer cake at the baby shower over the weekend.
• We both feel really good and it’s nice to never feel overly stuffed. The meals keep us full on less food.
• We aren’t eating out very much and I’m realizing how often I relied on that after a busy day at work.
• I ate so many dates during week 1 and this week I hardly needed them to satisfy sweet cravings.
• Marc says he’s feeling great and people are telling him he looks great.

Day 8

breakfast: coconut milk + apple + frozen blueberry + swiss chard smoothie

lunch: leftover cauliflower fried rice

dinner: shrimp Pacifico and guacamole in lettuce cups (omitted Magi, worcestershire + parsley, added Old Bay seasoning, adapted from Pati) + sliced fresh mango

snack: key lime pie Larabar, apricot La Croix

Day 9

breakfast: coconut milk + apple + frozen blueberry + swiss chard smoothie

lunch: leftover shrimp Pacifico and guacamole

dinner: grilled ribeye steaks + grilled asparagus + fresh cherries

snack: Lemon La Croix, coconut cream pie Larabar

Day 10

breakfast: homemade almond milk + swiss chard + frozen peaches + apple + chia seeds smoothie

lunch: kale salad with grated carrots and lemon vinaigrette

dinner: Thai beef + portabello mushroom lettuce cups (recipe adapted from Martha Stewart) + fresh mango

snacks: Lemon La Croix, curry cashews

Day 11

breakfast: homemade almond milk + kale + frozen peaches + apple + chia seeds smoothie

lunch: chocolate coconut chew Larabar + scrambled eggs + fresh grapes

dinner: rotisserie chicken + blistered shishitos + fresh pineapple

Day 12

breakfast: homemade almond milk + kale + swiss chard + frozen peaches + apple + chia seeds smoothie

lunch: almond milk latte + greek salad with greek dressing (omitted feta – restaurant)

dinner: grilled jerk chicken (omitted sugar) + leftover greek salad with greek dressing

Day 13

breakfast: coffee with homemade almond milk

lunch: salad with fruit and grilled chicken (baby shower)

dinner: wood grilled salmon over arugula and fingerling potatoes (restaurant)

snacks: grapes + seaweed snacks

Day 14

breakfast: Iraqi Eggs with Lamb and Tomatoes + coffee with homemade almond milk

lunch: fresh pineapple + dates with almond butter

dinner: homemade chili with ground beef and zucchini + small glass of orange juice