In light of that, Whole 30 has you eliminate all foods that are common triggers of negative health for a lot of people:
- all grains and legumes, including quinoa and rice and soy
- sugar, including natural sugars like real maple syrup and honey, sweeteners, and alcohol
- dairy
- seed oils
Things you eat:
- all natural, grass-fed meat & poultry (no nitrates, nitrites, sugar, etc added)
- wild-caught fish and seafood
- vegetables of all kinds, by the pound
- healthy fats, like avocado and coconut oil and almonds
- fruit, in moderation
And, of course, not being able to get a bowl of ice cream or eat a brownie after the kids go to bed. Not that I ever did that before. *cough, cough*
However, breakfast has become my favorite meal! It really only took a week before I realized how much it sets the tone for the rest of the day for me.
Routinely eggs as the protein. Southwestern omelet, minus the cheese and milk, but loaded with all the good stuff-- peppers and onions and mushrooms-- and topped with Whole 30 compliant salsa, black olives, jalapeno, and cilantro (pictured above with avocado and roasted potatoes on the side). *Note: potatoes are allowed, though we only ate them twice the whole time since they're not the best option.* Prosciutto egg cups were a big hit. We would eat them with a sauteed-in-coconut-oil veggie hash made with things like sweet potatoes, zucchini, summer squash, onions, bell peppers, celery, and more (also pictured above, after I had consumed a good amount of my veggies because I didn't always think to take a picture before diving in!). I made frittata a couple times with coconut milk and that was great with a whole variety of vegetables! My personal favorite was roasted veggies of any kind with poached eggs on top: sweet potatoes and carrots or broccoli and mushrooms or asparagus or brussels sprouts with a gooey orange-y yolk dripping all over. Yum.
Breakfast was always consumed with a cup of black coffee (the only cup of coffee we drank each day) and usually followed up by some fruit. Our favorite way to indulge in fruit was to cut a couple things up-- some combination of banana, peach, strawberry, blueberry, cherries-- and top it with some shredded coconut, a closed handful of raw almonds if our meal was skimpy on healthy fat, and a dash of cinnamon.
Going forward, we're continuing with roasted veggies and fried or poached eggs twice a week for the whole family, and then on some of the mornings the kids eat oatmeal (the up-until-recently most-often-consumed breakfast food), Daniel and I eat something like omelets or egg cups.
Lunch was almost always salad, largely because salad fixings are so delicious this time of year and we both enjoy a good salad a lot. Also, it's very easy to assemble salad in a jar to tuck in bags for when you're out and about.
The greens varied as much as the toppings. Buttercrisp, spring mix, baby spinach, red and green leaf, romaine. Leftover fish or chicken or pork or beef from the night before or else something like salmon cakes that I prepped right then (finding canned fish that doesn't contain soy is hard and expensive, though), nuts or avocado, black or green or kalamata olives, strawberries or green apples or dates or raisins, sunflower seeds (make sure they're oven roasted with no unacceptable oils), carrots and celery and cucumber and peppers and broccoli and onions, etc. We tried some various homemade dressings: creamy avocado, mustard vinaigrette, homemade compliant mayo with extra lemon juice and lots of chives added, etc., but I quickly settled into my old ways: a splash of white balsamic vinegar, a drizzle of EVOO, lots of freshly ground pepper, and some kosher salt.
Some days, when I was just tired of salad, I cut up an entire eggplant or zucchini, made marinara, and used egg and almond flour to make sort of Whole 30 compliant eggplant or zucchini parmesan-- minus the parmesan. Ha! You'll have to take my word for it that it was delicious!
Dinner was pretty standard-looking fare, minus the bread or pasta or rice or beans that we might have normally included.
Roasted or grilled meat, veggies of all kinds, soups, etc. I would adapt food slightly for the kids. For example, I made chili one night using ground beef, sweet potatoes, peppers, onions, etc and added beans to half of it for the kids. Another night I made all the fixings for fish tacos-- the kids had tacos while Daniel and I just loaded the fish and toppings on a big bed of seasoned cabbage.
Not being able to use a lot of standard condiments (many mustards are out, as well as mayonnaise and ketchup and soy sauce, etc) took some adjustment, but I either figured out how to make a compliant version (like with mayonnaise) or went without. And then there was the time I used a tablespoon of soy sauce in the dressing anyway because I just. wanted. it. (I got my hands on coconut aminos after that, which works well as a substitute.)
Fresh herbs are always key in keeping flavors interesting, but especially on Whole 30. I generally kept the fridge stocked with rosemary, thyme, cilantro, chives, dill, and basil. And then there were the dried herbs and spices: marjoram and oregano, cumin and chili powder, smoked paprika, peppercorns for freshly ground black pepper, curry and coriander, and more. Also, I made sure to have 3 or 4 different kinds of vinegar so we could change flavors up through those, not to mention the fresh lemons and limes I always keep around for zesting and juicing. It might easily feel like eating the same thing on repeat meal after meal after meal (protein, veggies, and fat, anyone?!?!) if one didn't take advantage of such things!
A big rule with Whole 30 is no snacking. This killed me at first, as I tend to be a grazer: I generally don't eat a ton in one sitting, but I eat little bits frequently. But within a few days, I was settling into being really hungry just before eating and then being able to eat enough in one sitting to keep me full until just before the next meal. The book explains why this is important for our bodies-- our bodies need to go "searching" for the fat stores rather than simply finding energy in the immediately-available-fuel of the most recent meal. All I know is that it's a lot easier to eat things that are nutrient-dense in a meal-setting rather than when grabbing the bits and pieces of whatever's handy, so for me, it was very essential.
The couple times we broke the snacking rule was when we had to eat early dinners in order to be out well into the evenings and then came home hungry. We kept Larabars on hand for such emergencies. Our selection in the north country is limited, so I went to amazon for those. I'm not sure if it's funny or pathetic that a Larabar and cup of herbal tea felt like quite the sweet treat by the end of 27 days...
There were guidelines about servings, but they were far more general and according to your body size. "The number of eggs you can hold in your hand." "A closed fistful of almonds." "Two open handfuls of olives." Etc. I quickly found what worked for me, which included bumping up how much fat I was eating at each meal to make sure I wasn't shortchanging my still-exclusively-breastfeeding baby giant. This is not one-size-fits-all, and I appreciate that.
If I've missed anything major of interest, let me know! I'm happy to answer questions. Ultimately, though, I'd recommend reading the book if you're curious!
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