What's Up Whole30? Plus- DIY blush, and an Emi-Jay Headband Review

I am four days in on my Whole30.  Piece of cake, haha.  No really, it is no big deal.  I find myself wanting to snack on nuts all the time, except, we don't have any, so I don't.  Which can be annoying because when you're on Whole30 there isn't a whole lot to snack on that is acceptable if you want your blood sugars to also be super tight.  Certain "treats" like green apples are allowed on Whole30, which would be a great snack for someone else.  So, that is really the only complaint I have.  My best suggestion for how to overcome a Whole30-induced snack attack would be to make sure you always make more than you need for your meals so you have leftovers to munch on.  Every single blog says that, I know.  And every time I read it I roll my eyes a little because honestly, if you just ate a chicken thigh, or a pork chop, or whatever, do you really want to eat it again cold in a few hours?  Maybe you do. If so, I'm jealous.  But I am really digging no legumes and no sweeteners.  My blood sugars have stayed consistently lower, and I lost 2 lbs, which was not my intention, but I think speaks volumes about how our brains perceive sweeteners and how we metabolize them.  This also coincides with me going to Chicago for 5 days for a funeral, Thanksgiving, and a bachelorette party, all instances where I can assure you I overindulged as much as the next paleo T1D.

Speaking of pork chops, I made them last week.  Can someone tell me why people eat these things?  I guess I probably got the wrong kind.  I don't remember what cut they were.  They tasted like chicken, only even less flavorful.  Like tougher chicken breast, that forgot to be tasty.  It was fine, I marinated it for a whole day in a mixture of dijon, red wine vinegar, and herbs, but geez, definitely not a fun meal by any stretch.  I even seared them on the cooktop first and then stuck them in the broiler.

On this week's menu is a shrimp/sausage bake with peppers, chicken thighs with cauli puree and salad, and slow-cooker ribs.  I'm also going to attempt some yummy GF sweet potato latkes for my angelface for Chanukah, and some GFG snickerdoodles to take to a party.

In other news- how many times have you been using one of your favorite blushes, and used up just about all of it so that you no longer use it, but there's just enough left that you feel bad throwing it out?  I think I had about three different blushes in this same stage.  Plus a little bit of sad bronzer languishing in my makeup drawer.  So I decided to DIY a customized shade of blush.  It was super easy.

Customized DIY Blush
1.  Assemble your (powder) blushes you'll be combining.
2.  Get an empty blush container.  (If there's a little bit still left, don't worry about it)
3.  In a small bowl, combine all your leftover blush.  Feel free to add a pretty shade of eye shadow, or some shimmer dust if you like.  I had a tiny bit of MAC ricepaper and also added some Bare Minerals shimmer mineral veil to lighten up the shades.  I used some bronzer too, so didn't want it to be too dark. (did you know you could use cocoa powder as bronzer?)
4.  With a small spoon or cap, crush all the powder and mash it around, stirring occasionally.  Once the colors are evenly distributed, you are ready for the final step.
5.  Get some rubbing alcohol.  If you have an eye dropper, even better, but I just poured a little bit in the cap from the bottle.  Transfer your powder to your blush container, and then either drip your alcohol in with your eye dropper, or pour in slowly.  You only want to pour enough to cover the powder, you don't want to overfill it.  Swirl your container a bit to even it out, and then let it sit on your counter top until dry, probably overnight.  If you did overfill your container with alcohol, it will simply take longer to evaporate.
6.  You're done!  Now you have customized blush, and don't have to feel bad about throwing away 12 almost used up blushes.  This also allows you to create that perfect color you can never find.  Like a pinky brown.  Why can I never find a pinky brown?  Not red, not orange, not purple.  A nice brown with pink undertones.  Geez.

Lastly- I'm sure you have all seen Emi-Jay headbands by now.  I have avoided them thus far because I felt stupid paying $5 for a piece of ribbon.  But, you can adjust them to your head and they do stay put during my grueling hour long workouts at Fusion.  Pick one up!  They are cute to wear even if you're not working out, and they come in a thousand colors.  It's hard for me to find headbands that actually stay put, because I have a pin-head, just like my daughter does, and headbands are always flopping around and I spend more time readjusting them than wearing them.  These ones you can just retie to fit your needs. Score!

Is anyone out there dumb enough to be doing a Whole30 right now too?  How's it going?  Let me know in the comments!  I'd love to hear about your experiences!