The Whole 30 – The Intro

So, it literally took me almost 2 hours to get this blog set up. Yeah, I’m not exaggerating. It’s an understatement to say I’m not the most technologically advanced person out there — although I’m going to blame that (mostly) on the five years I spent overseas and disconnected from what was going on. Twitter? Instagram? Yeah – I still don’t know how to use either. But maybe I shouldn’t admit that…

But, I digress. Let’s talk about the Whole 30. I’ve already completed one, from 03 Jan – 04 Feb 2013, and although I finished it, I’ll be the first to admit that I made a few slip-ups that I know of, and probably some that I don’t. But at the end of the 30 days I definitely felt better, I was looking better, I was sleeping AWESOME, and my work-outs were stronger. So, what IS the Whole 30, you ask? You’re right, maybe I should have led off with that. Well, essentially it’s resetting your body through good nutrition and eating how our bodies were meant to be fed – that is, the “caveman” way of eating. Therefore, it’s 30 days without grains, dairy, legumes, sugar, and alcohol. Basically, you eat meat and vegetables and fruit, with some healthy fats like coconut oil thrown in. (You can read all about the Whole 30 at http://www.whole9life.com – I’d insert it as a link but I’m still learning this whole blog/wordpress thing)Yeah. It sounds daunting, right? And trust me, I was TOTALLY against it in the beginning – The Significant Other was trying to get me to cut out grains and dairy for ages – telling me all about the science behind it and why they are bad for our bodies and all that jazz. It went in one ear and out the other.  I started eating Paleo about a year ago, but I was about 70% — I like cheese, and hummus (chickpeas are legumes!) and rice and wine and the occasional burger with a bun. Cutting out all of it? 100%? Please, do not sign me up.

Then came the Holiday season, with cookies and candy and mulled wine and cookies and dark beer and appetizers and cookies and potatoes and dinner rolls and did I mention cookies? – and I was done. So, I decided that come January, I would give it a shot. Just to see if I could do it. Just for myself. And you might not know this, but I am Very competitive. Even with myself. So when I made the commitment to do this, it was done. And I survived!

Now, the point of the Whole 30 is that when it’s over, you continue to make good choices, and eat as whole as possible, with some reintroductions. I did fine, in the beginning. Then, slowly, I started to backslide. A glass of wine here, some cheese and crackers there, and before I knew it, I was starting to feel not so great with all the unhealthy food I’d been eating. So came the decision for the Whole 30 round 2, which brings us to now.

So now that you have the general idea (no grains, no dairy, no legumes, no sugar, no alcohol), let’s talk about what I’ve been eating for the past week. Breakfast is usually some variation of eggs, with either veggies or sweet potatoes on the side. Sometimes I’ll add protein – like the pulled pork carnitas down below. (Excuse the pictures, I’m still only using a small point and shoot) I have yet to get too creative that early in the morning.

Lunch is simple — when I make dinner, I almost always have enough for leftovers and will have that for lunch the next day. On the days I don’t have leftovers, I’ll usually have a salad with some type of protein, lettuce wraps, or sometimes just a smorgasbord of whatever is left in my fridge. I don’t usually take pictures of lunch since A) I’m at work and B) it’s pretty boring.

Dinner is where I can vary or experiment. As you might imagine, meat and vegetables can get pretty boring if you don’t add a little bit of creativity, so I like to try new things every once in a while, in addition to the meals that I know have worked. I also like to check out different blogs or recipe pages for new ideas (see my links page). Take a look at my dinners from the past five days:

african spiced shrimp, roasted brussels sprouts and red peppers, roasted cauliflower and garlic soup on the side (unpictured)

coconut-macademia nut crusted chicken breast, fresh green beans, and sauerkraut

buffalo chicken drumsticks, salad, heirloom tomatoes

cuban spiced steak, roasted brussels sprouts, carrots and shallots, and sauerkraut

broiled tilapia, salad, and roasted cauliflower and garlic soup

This past week had more repeats than I normally use, both because I had a lot of leftovers to use up (the soup, salad fixings, etc), and because I didn’t spend as much time on my weekly menu as I normally do. (Blog post to follow on my menu planning and meal prep!) However, it’s still enough variation to keep things interesting for me, and everything tasted delicious.

One week down, four to go!