I've officially made it through my first week on the Whole30 challenge! I'm on Day 8, and I'd say it's going pretty well. I'm looking forward to sharing more specifics about what I've been eating, etc. soon, but for now here are three thoughts...
First, I thought I would have a much easier time eating veggies. I love spaghetti squash...when it's in an ultra-cheesey casserole. I love munching on mushrooms, carrots, snap peas, and slices of red, orange, and yellow bell peppers... when they're dunked in Ranch dressing or hummus. I love mashed sweet potatoes or yams... when slathered in butter and milk. I love steamed broccoli, zucchini, and cauliflower... when oozing with butter. You get the picture. Eating the veggies by themselves? It's just different.
But I think I know how to fix that. 1) Spices... Such as.... Lots of sea salt (yum). Cinnamon (like on butternut squash). And Garlic powder. Spices are my best friend in making my latest meals tastier.
And 2) Make my own sauces. Cauliflower hummus. Guacamole. Creamy Italian dressing. A lot of dips and dressings I've found (on Pinterest) start with a homemade mayo base--which I made for the second time in my life and this time it turned out much better (definitely not Best Foods status though).
Second, it takes way more time than I realized. If you're wanting to do the Whole30, make sure it's not during a busy month. Most likely I'm going to have to choose to do a Whole16 this time around because of things coming up this month and not realizing how much time and prep this takes. Everything takes longer--planning meals cause they're all new recipes with many new ingredients, buying the food cause you're reading basically every label (which is also a good thing!), and cooking, because there are so many more things to make from scratch or roast for an hour ahead of time or chill or marinate, etc, and they're new recipes that you have to read through and stop and figure out.
I've seen some helpful blogs about buying and prepping a lot of the food for the week on Sunday, so that's one way to tackle it. I was anticipating eating dinners as leftovers for lunch the next day as a time saver, but I've had some flops for dinners that I just can't stomach eating as leftovers.
And third (this is a positive one!), I've been so grateful for how it's forced me to be INTENTIONAL about what I'm putting in my body. It is a radical game changer. I love learning to cook with new foods (coconut milk, butternut squash, almond butter, coconut aminos, new spices, etc.), trying out new stores (Whole Foods and Sprouts), and learning to make new things (zucchini noodles for fritters, homemade mayo, etc.). I've also let myself spend money on plenty of fruits and veggies and am actually eating them up quickly (before they die in my veggie drawer!). Before I would mostly just feed them to my child cause they're expensive, but Mom and Dad deserve healthy food, too! :)
And gone are the days of licking my daughter's yogurt lid before tossing it in the trash, or eating left over bites of her sandwich, or even munching on cheese as I'm grating it. I have to be SO focused and self-controlled as I realize just how many things had become habitual.
I'm learning and growing and being stretched SO much already. And I'm excited to discover more yummy food and keep making healthy choices this week.
I'd say making it 8 days has been a pretty good birthday gift to myself. :)
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| Chocolate Coconut Chew LaraBar to celebrate my 28th :) |
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