Whole30: A New Beginning
I mentioned mid-week that my husband and I, along with some great blogging friends, are starting a Whole30. Reporting my progress to the world and having that group as an accountability and support team has been crucial the last few days. It is also exciting to learn that many of you are going on this same journey with us.
When I wrote my first post there was so much I wanted to say and so little space to do it. So many of you are new to these parts (welcome!) and I realized later you might not know much about me, how/why I make choices and why I would be doing a crazy Whole30. I thought I should give you a little background.
First of all, I am not a trend-setter, fad-follower, latest-diet-craze kinda girl. In fact, I have NEVER been on any prescribed food plan or diet in my LIFE! (And I don’t see Whole30 as a diet if you are wondering). I have been that girl you love to hate because she can eat any and everything without an ounce of weight gain. Not as much the truth since having two children and getting older however. I am not overweight but I do have a few pounds I could stand to shed, but again, NOT why I am doing Whole30. I have actually stayed away from the whole paleo movement for these reasons, I didn’t want to just be following the crowd.
The other thing you should know about my husband and I is we have a LOVE for food. Might not be much of a surprise given that I run a food blog, kind of goes hand in hand. Then again, we LOVE food. We do not discriminate. Choosing to eliminate or limit the types of foods we intake for a period of 30 days is monumental.
Despite my aversion to fads and my love for all things culinary, I have noticed things about my body and the things we eat. My eyes were opened last year when we did the Get Real 2012 year-long conversion to whole foods. I learned so much about the sourcing of my food and as I read Whole30 materials and It Starts with Food I felt like Whole30 was the natural next step for that. It was time to get serious to jump-start our eating habits and in essence let the rubber meet the road.
Here we are on the Whole30. It hasn’t even been a week (only 4 days to be exact) and I have already learned SO MUCH about our eating habits and the food we consume regularly, which is WHY I am loving our Whole30 already. And let me tell you, it has been eye opening (and I consider myself a fairly educated food consumer).
Weekly, I would like to take some time to share with you the things we have been awakened to, the foods we consumed and our menu plan for the coming week. This way, you too can learn from our experience and decide for yourself if it is the right time for you to do the same. And hopefully our meals are inspiration to knowing that you too could do this as well. So here it goes.
What We are Learning:
- Doing something together, like a Whole30, is GREAT for our marriage. It gives us something new to talk about (other than the kids, the bills and our businesses). It gives us something to encourage each other with, and it gives us reasons to be more accountable to each other. I honestly would say if this is the only outcome of this journey, I would be happy. (But I know it isn’t).
- There are an OBSCENE amount of items in the grocery store that contain SUGAR! Seriously. Do you know I have yet to find a beef broth that doesn’t contain some sort of sugar or unnatural ingredients? Try! I dare you! I know I can make my own, but the point is, why? Why do we have to put sugar in EVERYTHING? Even shopping at the wholesome grocery stores yields products that shouldn’t need sugar having sugar, cane sugar or honey mind you, but some sort of sugar. It is mind boggling. Some of the items that have shocked me the most: bacon, sausage, tomato sauce, and beef broth.
- I am not a consumer of coconut. I don’t like it. Apparently that is now a lie. What I don’t like is processed, unnatural, mass-produced coconut. What I do like is coconut oil melted down and put on a coleslaw. I also love raw, unprocessed coconut chips. Who would have thought?
- I am forced (and encouraged) to try new foods. It is fun and so much of an adventure.
- I thought I could TOTALLY do this thing without much side effects because I really don’t eat that many sugary sweets. I don’t do desserts. I rarely make sweets. I have the occasional candy, but who doesn’t? What I was NOT prepared for was the fact that carbohydrates are sugars and I consume A LOT of carbohydrates. I mean. A. LOT. So apparently I don’t need sweets because I have been consuming a mass amount of sugar in the forms of pasta, bread, and other starchy products that I don’t even CRAVE sweets. Sigh.
- I am a nibbler. No, I don’t make sweets or eat dessert, but when I am hungry I just reach for 1 cookie, or 1 cracker, or 1 something. All sugars.
- I am not a breakfast person. I. Hate. Breakfast. Foods. This is a problem on Whole30. I need to start my day with a full meal, including a majority of proteins. You know what breakfast foods I do like? Yep, carbohydrates. Waffles, pancakes, cereal, etc. This has been the hardest adjustment for me and I am working to find foods that I like more and more. Feel free to make some Whole30 approved suggestions for me. :)
What We Ate:
Here is a timeline of what we ate the first few days. I will do the same next week so you can see if we stuck to our meal plans or not. See pictures throughout this post. And feel free to follow me on Instagram for my daily updates of our eating – @onceamonthmom.- Day 1 – Breakfast – Scrambled Eggs, Peppered Bacon, Sliced Avocado; Lunch – Spinach Citrus Salad with Orange Poppyseed Dressing (I needed more protein but I didn’t have it ready yet); Dinner – Stir Fried Vegetables over Cauliflower “Rice”. Snacks included cashews, apples, oranges and avocado.
- Day 2 – Breakfast – Scrambled Eggs, Homemade Beef “Sausage”, Sliced Avocado; Lunch - Spinach Citrus Salad with Citrus Marinaded Chicken and Orange Poppyseed Dressing; Dinner – Out to dinner (we found a place that would make our items with approved ingredients – Roasted Root Vegetables with Balsamic Reduction, Filet Mignon, Steamed Broccoli. Snacks included: cashews, dried pineapple rings (unsulphered) and a Larabar.
- Day 3 – Breakfast – Omelet with Homemade Beef “Sausage”, avocado, tomato and peppers and a bowl of deliciousness (blackberries, bananas, carmalized coconut chips, and raw toasted cashews); Lunch – Chorizo Sausage (found some at TJ’s with no sugar), Steamed Carrots, Broccoli Coleslaw; Dinner – Beef Fajitas Wrapped in Lettuce, Guacamole.
Our Menu Plan:
- Day 4 (Sunday) – Breakfast – Scrambled Eggs, Ginger/Sage Sausage, and a bowl of deliciousness (blackberries, bananas, “carmelized” coconut chips, and raw toasted cashews); Lunch - Beef Fajita Salad, sliced avocado; Dinner – Ranch Burgers (minus the cheddar), Guacamole, sweet potato fries.
- Day 5 (Monday) – Breakfast – Scrambled Eggs, Prosciutto, and a bowl of deliciousness (pineeapple, bananas, “carmelized” coconut chips, and raw toasted cashews); Lunch – Leftovers, salad; Dinner – Wild-Caught Salmon with Pineapple Mango Salsa, Roasted Balsamic Bacon Brussel Sprouts.
- Day 6 (Tuesday) – Breakfast - Broccoli Egg Muffins and a bowl of deliciousness (pineeapple, bananas, “carmelized” coconut chips, and raw toasted cashews); Lunch – (On the go) Veggies, Citrus Marinated Chicken Fingers, Larabar; Dinner – Buffalo Ranch (Turkey) Meatballs, Carrots/Celery, Roasted Brussel Sprouts
- Day 7 (Wednesday) – Breakfast – Scrambled Eggs, Bacon and a bowl of deliciousness (pineeapple, bananas, “carmelized” coconut chips, and raw toasted cashews); Lunch – Leftovers, salad; Dinner – Spaghetti Squash with Tomato Sauce and Meatballs, Salad.
- Day 8 (Thursday) – Breakfast – Sweet Potato Hash using Homemade Beef “Sausage”, and a bowl of deliciousness (raspberries, bananas, “carmelized” coconut chips, and raw toasted cashews); Lunch – Spaghetti squash and meatball leftovers, salad; Dinner - Leftovers (I *think* we have more food planned than we need. If not, I have freezer meals).
- Day 9 (Friday) – Breakfast – Broccoli Egg Muffins and a bowl of deliciousness (pineeapple, bananas, “carmelized” coconut chips, and raw toasted cashews); Lunch – Stir Fry Vegetables over Cauliflower “Rice”; Dinner – Out to dinner as we have a school event.
- Day 10 (Saturday) – Breakfast – Omelets and a bowl of deliciousness (blackberries, bananas, “carmelized” coconut chips, and raw toasted cashews); Lunch – Buffalo Chicken Salad; Dinner – Tacos in lettuce wraps with guacamole.
- READ ALL the food labels of the items you pick up from the grocery store and simply look for any of the following: sugar, cane sugar, maple syrup, honey, dextrose, agave nectar, Splenda, Equal, NutraSweet, xylitol, stevia).
Love reading this. We’ve been on an eating plan like this for a little more than six weeks now. My body is way more slim, even though I’m not working out like I had wanted. I feel great. So much more healthy, fit, and clear. Definitely a great way of life.
We are Paleo, and to go beyond that I cannot tolerate eggs. One way to help with the “breakfast problem” is to ignore what is considered normal breakfast food. I often eat leftovers for breakfast, or a stir fry with meat and veggies for breakfast. I have also made a bunch a chicken thighs to eat during the week or will make a hash with sweet potatoes and meat (normally bacon). If you can change how you think about breakfast, it might help you out a lot. I know it helped me. Good luck with the Whole30.
Great ideas. We are having burgers tonight and I made some extras for me for breakfast. I love the extra suggestions as I will need them.
Don’t forget frittatas!
Thank you for including my Cauliflower Rice. The Whole 30 is such an awesome movement – I have also been eating like this more and more!
It was a great one and I LOVED that you included freezer directions. You were talking my love language. :)
I will be using a bunch of your recipes for my next Whole30 round, but I just wanted to warn you because I learned the hard way…LaraBars are one of the WORST things you can eat if part of your goal is weightloss. They are made with dates, and dates have a GI (glycemic Index) rating of almost 100, which is higher than straight table sugar!! They spike your blood sugar super fast, and then the crash. Just FYI.
Thanks for the Cassandra. They are definitely just my emergency backup right now. You know for those times when you get trapped away from home and are about to gnaw off your hand because it is going to be another couple hours before you see the right food again. :)
I really appreciate you taking time to post this. I tried to do the 21 day sugar detox and found it difficult since afterwards a lot people just went back to what they were eating and would detox a couple times of year. With the withdraws I was having I couldn’t imagine doing that to myself multiple times. So I have been reviewing the whole foods menu getting ready to change my lifestyle. I am looking forward to making the transition even though I have a feeling it will be difficult at first. I am aiming for a paleo/clean eating mix. Thanks for all you do!!
Liz, that sounds like a great next step for you. It is important to know your limitations and be realistic. But having a plan is definitely going to help in the long run. Feel free to share with us as you move forward.
I can’t remember where I found the recipe, but when we did the January Whole30, my husband really liked a bacon, sweet potato and apple hash for breakfast. I made a huge skillet of it and he was able to quickly reheat it. No eggs, but still has that breakfast-y feeling :)
I love that idea. I will look back at the January menu to find that.
My husband and I are pretty avid CrossFitters and have been doing a good mix of Paleo and the Zone diet (basically Paleo foods in Zone quantities) and have felt AMAZING. We have done a few whole foods “cleanses” and dropped a decent amount of weight, but were still eating grains. As soon as we cut grains, I felt so crazy good. More energy, less bloating, never that “How did I possibly eat that much” feeling. It’s been really eye-opening, but does go against everything I have been taught about food. Crazy!
For breakfasts, I make up a big batch of egg/veggie muffins in ham “cups” for my husband to reheat before work. One of my favorite things to make is a scramble with eggs, mashed banana, a little almond extract and cinnamon. Carries a bit more of a starchy feel and is super filling. Can you have bananas on the Whole30? Might be a good replacement for your waffles and pancakes?
Good luck!
My husband and I did a Whole30 in January, and we loved it. We’re feeling better and keeping on with good habits we learned. I lost weight (needed to) and he gained (also needed). Good luck with yours. I look forward to seeing your “Whole30 compliant” freezer meals!
I have found a yummy, good energy in the morning meal. I have been making a salad: lettuce, spinach or whatever leafy greens, veggies that I have on hand (carrots, celery, cucumber, cauliflower, etc) meat (normally left overs: chicken, shrimp, scallops, today I had rump roast). Throw that together, fry up 3 eggs in coconut oil and leave the yolks runny-ish. Throw them ontop of the salad and break the yolks and use that as your salad dressing :).
That sounds tasty right up to runny eggs. :) Actually, I am sure someone will love that idea, I am not a runny eggs girl though. I might try the salad part a whirl in the morning.
Thank you so much for sharing this challenge with us. I am a new member and have being trying out the Paleo plan for a while but Iam thinking about doing the Whole 30 next month. I am curious if you are having trouble finding things without sugar. Especially for sausage and bacon. I can find bacon without nitrates but all sausage and bacon seem to have some type of sugar in them I notice that you have several meals planned with sausage and bacon. How do you get your meats and sausages? I am looking into places where I can get these products but wanted to see how you are handling this. I am totally baffled by the amount of sugar in everyday things I use. I now check everything and am amazing to find it hiding in everything.
Welcome Melinda. It is definitely a challenge to find these products. I shop my local Earthfare and other specialty grocers that I feel like might carry the meats I need and I read every label. I have found one or two items at each store that work. I also did some research on eatwild.org and localharvest.org to find local sources of meat and eggs. Facebook has been great too as I just asked around about some items I was looking for. I have found a local butcher that does sugarless bacon and some sausage and have also found a local source of eggs. I already have part of a cow we get every year and I am also looking to get whole chickens and maybe pork this coming year through searching those sites I mention. Best of luck to you finding them. I am sure there will be some hidden gems when you take a look.
Oh my God, thank you for this! When I read “Beef Fajitas wrapped in lettuce, guacamole,” it was like a life-saving light lit up the room. Now I feel like I can survive the next 29 days!
Ha! So glad. Day 1, huh? You can do it. . .You must endure until day 15, it is all up hill until that point. But it can be done. Glad we could provide some inspiration and encouragement.