I’m in the home stretch now! Only one week left.

Although I would have liked to consume alcohol this past weekend with Paul’s parents in town (and indulge in his birthday sweets last night), I think other people feel worse for me than I do for myself. This month hasn’t been at all difficult to get through.

Other than a few occasions of wanting to drink alcohol when I had to abstain, or eating the same food for two meals in the same day because I didn’t have a sufficient alternative (which has only happened a few times), and spending a little extra time in the kitchen prepping ingredients — I must say, the Whole30 has been easy to follow. It helps that I already liked the food I’ve been eating (and really just needed a good excuse to eat it more often).

I’ve only had one close call, and that was last night at dinner. Paul had ordered an appetizer with octopus and offered me a small bite of what looked to us like a scallop (exact same size and shape). As soon as I put it in my mouth, I could tell it was a white potato. For a few seconds I thought about just swallowing it (what harm would one tiny potato morsel do?), but as I was contemplating what to do with the bite in my mouth, Paul said, “You don’t want to break your Whole30!!!”

In the absence of a paper napkin or suitable alternative, I excused myself to the restroom and spit it out. Mini-crisis averted.

Breakfast: 2 hard boiled eggs, sweet potato (microwaved with 1 tsp coconut oil, salt and cinnamon)

Lunch: CrockPot Cajun Chicken and Shrimp Creole with braised cabbage, and a side of cooked broccoli drizzled with balsamic vinegar

Snack: 1 apple

Dinner: Sausage and Pumpkin Sauce over braised cabbage with cooked squash and zucchini

Although I’ve only had this sauce served over rice pasta, I wanted to make it for Paul’s parents since it’s one of our favorites. As I suspected, it tastes just as good over cabbage! (I had it over cabbage; they used rice pasta.) I received compliments from everyone so it was definitely worth the time spent in the kitchen after work.

(Reminder: I’m following the Whole30 for the month of July. Here’s why.)