The Whole30 Bandwagon (prepare for everyone being SUPER excited and a little cranky. And tired.)

Yep, this year I decided to do Whole30. Basically Whole30 in a nutshell is this:

… a nutritional reset designed to help you discover if the foods you are eating are making you more or less healthy, and how they are impacting your life overall. – Loubies and Lulu

30 days. Whole food. No sugar (- fruit).

Lots of cooking, and a lot of reading ingredients.

I’m on day 5, and I’d braced myself for how horrible this was going to be. Really though, it’s been pretty smooth sailing. I spent all afternoon on New Years Day prepping food, and we’ve had healthy variations on meals we love that might even be better than how we used to eat them.

Sam’s also doing this with me so it helps tremendously to keep me motivated.

I’d say 23 out of 24 hours in the day are good. I rarely miss bread, pasta, sugar, milk –

Then 8:30pm rolls around.

Allie Brosh / CC BY-NC-ND 3.0Like a giant tanker full of chocolate, sugar, popcorn, M&M’s, donuts, and birthday cake all wrapped into one pulled up next to my car that runs on cucumbers and kale. Cravings so bad that it’s all I can think about. I must get up like 10 times to open the cupboard/fridge/pantry and search in vain for something, anything, that will fill this void.

Allie Brosh / CC BY-NC-ND 3.0Am I hungry? Absolutely not. Am I craving junk food? Yes. Which is odd in a way, because we don’t eat a ton of junk food. But the restriction of it makes me want to eat it all.

Whole30 talks about this, and knowing it’s part of the process helps. Weaning myself from the added sugar that’s in almost everything we eat isn’t easy for this hour. I’m hoping as the days pass, this will have less of an effect on me.

We like doing this. Sam’s always been really into food and nutrition, and I like food. It’s my love language. So the past year as I grieve and find that horrible new normal, I’ve had food as a little plate of “You’re great. I like you. It’s all ok. Have some pancakes with butter.” Food makes me feel comfortable and happy. Food is a huge part of our lives – and it’s that way around the world. Most people’s lives in most countries revolve around meals and the preparation of them.

It’s just that in America, we’ve been seeing food love with a distorted view that “only junk can fill the void.”

I love seeing all of you participating in Whole30 too. Love the food posts for ideas, love the encouragement. I know – it tends to get old real fast for those of you who aren’t doing it or are over the resolutions thing. I get that – that was me too the past three years. Whoopee – you’re back at the gym and checking in every 24 hours along with an awkward wrist shot of your FitBit and the water bottle strategically placed. NO ONE CUR.

This year though, the urge to get healthier and make better choices surprised me. I felt – almost like a human again. I was looking forward to something, and I haven’t felt that way about a choice or decision that pertains to me/food/my body in a loooong time.

I get a lot of questions on IG about where I find recipes, so here are a few of my faves so far:

 

The Clothes Make the Girl

• Whole30 Week 1 Meal Plan
• Mayo (seriously I will never buy mayo again)
• Slow Cooker Italian Pork (I made pork “tacos) 
• Pad Thai (I can’t even. CAN NOT EVEN WITH THIS.)
• Firecracker Tuna Salad (made 3 batches already) 

NomNomPaleo – 30 Days of Whole3O

Meatified – 30 Days of Whole30 Breakfasts

Parks Place Paleo – Coffee with Cream (a must have if you don’t do black coffee)

And if you want to know the essentials for cooking and making life a little easier, here are some of my absolute must-haves in the kitchen: (these are affiliate links – things I love that if you buy at no extra cost to you, I get a small portion of the sale to put in our savings. Or buy the new Starbucks Flat White.)

• Coconut Aminos (make this Sunshine Sauce for Pad Thai or to eat on everything)
• Ghee (to cook things that need a buttery taste)
• Unrefined Coconut Oil (for about everything)
• Organic (Full Fat) Coconut Milk (again, everything and coffee) 
• Ninja Express Chop (Sam gave me this for Christmas – I’ve made salsa, Sunshine Sauce, guacamole, chopped veggies…)
• Immersion Blender (saves so much time)
• A Big Cutting Board (you’ll be chopping a ton)
• Peeler (this one is the best we’ve ever had – and in 12 years of marriage we’ve gone through a few)
• Slow Cooker (have this one, absolutely adore it)

If you’re on Whole30 or about to start, find me on Instagram and let me know so I can follow you for ideas and inspiration! Also check out my (slowly building up) Whole30 Pinterest board.