The Whole30, Day 11: What Do You Eat All Day?

Some folks have been asking me what do I eat all day if I'm not eating dairy, wheat, sugar, beans, peanut butter, processed foods. So, here is an example of my day today.

Breakfast
Approx 4 eggs (scrambled up 6 to split with two toddlers, so 4 is a guess)
Fresh fruit medley of bananas, kiwi and pineapple
Coffee (black)
Multi-vitamin & 3 Fish Oils

Mid-Morning
Celery sticks with raw almond butter (I ended up just eating almond butter out of the jar because I really hate raw celery)
Banana

Lunch
Venison Chili, a great recipe from The Primal Blueprint Cookbook

Mid-Afternoon
Cold sweet potato with pecan halves (this is my go to snack, esp when I'm having a sweet tooth)

Dinner
Paleo Stew. This was a recipe that I adapted from another awesome recipe in The Primal Blueprint Cookbook. This is a great recipe if you want to use up any random veggies in your fridge before they go bad and any leftover meat. This was perfect for me as the meatloaf I made a few nights ago turned out kind of dry and I wasn't very stoked to eat the leftovers. So I chopped up my leftover meatloaf, added it to a quart of all natural chicken broth and let it simmer for an hour. Then I added whatever left over veggies I had to the mix (celery, brussel sprouts, onions, cauliflower and cabbage). I also chopped up some bok choy and added that as well. I let that simmer for about 20 minutes. Then added my leftover venison summer sausage as well as some basil, salt and pepper and let it simmer for another 10 minutes. It was LEGENDARY. Super good.

Evening Snack 
Almonds and a cup of hot chamomile tea

So, there you have it. A culinary day in the life of me.

The Whole30 Day 3!

Three days down, 27 to go! Feeling great so far and it hasn't been as hard as I was expecting. I thought I might share with you guys what I've been eating throughout the day as well as some other tips that have made it helpful. First off, The Whole9 has a great post about trying to eat Paleo on a budget. I read this several times and printed off some of the resources to take with me to the grocery store. They have great produce guide you can print off and keep in your purse (or shrink down and fit in your wallet). It tells you what fruits and veggies are fresh for each season and which ones are clean or dirty so you know which ones should be a priority to buy organic. They also help you prioritize your shopping list and make the best decisions you can for your budget. My plan was to buy in season produce and the best meat (within a reasonable price) that I could. I decided I would make my meal plan depending on what the store had vs what I wanted. This also makes it easier on the budget.

So, what have I been eating? Well, luckily I had starting eating Paleo-ish back when I started training for my triathlon last summer. So, I had gotten pretty accustomed to little or no grains. Just serve up a double portion of veggies for dinner instead of rice. But kicking the dairy much harder! So for breakfast I've been eating a 3 egg scramble with diced onion, spinach and mushroom. Add seasonal fruit of choice (pineapple, grapes, bananas). Mid morning I'll nosh on some leftovers or have some nuts or a piece of fruit. Lunch is usually leftovers from dinner the night before. I like to make plenty so I have plenty to munch on. Venison Chili is one of my faves, and it's Paleo friendly (no beans!). This recipe calls for a jar of salsa, but it's hard to find one that's Paleo compliant so I just sub an extra can of diced tomatoes. Tonight I made Lemon Chicken from one of my favorite sites, Simply Recipes. Her site is not Paleo, but she has a ton of great recipes that you can modify. Plus there is a recipe index so you can search specifically for what it is you want a recipe for. For this recipe I simply removed the chicken skins after I baked them (less fat) and didn't include the butter the recipe called for. It turned out FAB! With the chicken I boiled some fresh broccoli for about 7 minutes and then seasoned with olive oil and vinegar. Then I grabbed a sweet potato from the fridge that I had baked the night before. Done. And please let me tell you, I have always microwaved my sweet potatoes, but after reading Tom Denham's post about how he makes sweet potatoes, I tried it. Suffice it to say baking them for 2 hours ROCKED MY FACE OFF. I will never microwave a sweet potato again.  I really like Tom's site. Some great Whole30 compliant recipes. If I get hungry throughout the day I'll pop a handful of healthy nuts, like almonds or macadamias. Or have an avocado. The fats help you feel fuller while giving you the healthy Omegas  3s you need.

So, that's where I am so far! Oh, and one more tip for all you late night sweet cravers like me. I have been having a cup of hot tea after dinner, like raspberry or chamomile, and that has really helped me get past that time where I usually cave and eat crap. A few of you have shown interest in wanting to do the Whole30 challenge as well and I think that's awesome! Cheers!

The Whole30 Challenge

Well, it begins tomorrow. I am embarking on a 30-day challenge to reset my body's dependence and cravings on the crap I have shoved into it for years. On average, I eat better than a large percentage of most Americans I would say. But, I want to get back to what I feel like is more in line with what God and nature intended. Then I stumbled across this amazing website, Whole9 Life. The movement was started by a couple who really wanted to focus on helping people strip all the crap that they ate from their diets, thus resulting in improved health and fitness. I could go in to the whys and the science behind the concept, but I won't bore you in case you aren't interested. If you are, you can check out more info on their website. It is very similar to the Paleo/Primal diet, but the 30 day challenge is extremely strict, no cheating whatsoever. Basic tenants of the Whole30 challenge, as they call it, are as follows:

1. No processed food of any kind
2. No grains
3. No dairy
4. No sweeteners or added sugar, even natural (i.e. honey) or artificial (i.e. Splenda)
5. No alcohol
6. No legumes (beans, peanuts)

People have been asking me, "But what will you eat?!" The answer in order of priority:

1. Lean meat, seafood
2. Fresh veggies
3. Fresh fruit
4. Healthy fat (nuts, seeds, coconut milk, EVOO)

I love the approach and the attitude of the people behind the Whole30. Some excerpts from their website that I love:

"It is not hard. Don’t you dare tell us this is hard. Giving up heroin is hard. Beating cancer is hard. Drinking your coffee black. Is. Not. Hard." 

"Don’t even consider the possibility of a “slip”. Unless you physically tripped and your face landed in a box of donuts, there is no “slip”."

"You never, ever, ever HAVE to eat anything you don’t want to eat. You’re all big boys and girls. Toughen up. Learn to say no.  It’s always a choice, and we would hope that you stopped succumbing to peer pressure in 7th grade." 

I am super stoked to start my challenge, and as I sit here drinking my Kona Longboard in a frosty mug and eating Nutella out of the jar, I am glad to know that I won't be doing this anymore for the next 30 days! My friend Ellie started the challenge with her husband right after the New Year and they are both feeling great and loving it. I had intended on starting it at the same time, but decided not to subject Rusty to the potential moodiness that may occur in the beginning, so I waited until he left for a bit to start. Can't wait to start feeling the same!