We keep floundering between a couple weeks of eating really well and then a couple weeks of binging on chips and macaroni & cheese. A friend of ours just finished a Whole 30 and has said great things about it. I figure our diet could use a kick start, and as I’ve noticed in the past, the only real way I will commit to following something 100% is if it’s strict. And Whole 30 is strict. It’s easier to list the things that you can eat: Meats(grassfed, organic, pastured, etc), Fish(wild-caught, sustainable), Fruit(preferably organic), Vegetables(preferably organic), Healthy Fats(not chemically extracted). Now here’s for the quick rundown of things you’re not supposed to eat: grains, legumes, processed anything, added sugars (even natural ones, like honey), dairy, corn, alcohol, chemically extracted fats (think canola, etc), white potatoes. The white potatoes thing seems fairly arbitrary, but they’re not all that full of vitamins and minerals, and they’re super starchy. Plus, if you could eat white potatoes, I’m willing to bet most people would just subsist on french fries and potato chips fried in tallow or lard. Not ideal for one’s health.
As someone who has done pretty restrictive diets in the past, not following the diet plan is not an option. You just need to do it. As such, it needs to be well thought-out and planned thoroughly. For me, following a plan that someone else has come up with that works for them doesn’t usually work for me, as Craig is a little finicky in terms of things that he will NOT eat. Those include: leftover chicken (this is primarily related to the catfood like flavor that leftover chicken develops – things that are very heavily spiced or in sauces are generally not problematic for him), coconut milk, oil, or flour (he abhors the flavor, so any time I use it, I have to be sure that there’s enough other stuff in the dish that will overpower the flavor), more than 1-2 salads a week (something other than salad is always preferred), anything with connective tissue that hasn’t been thoroughly broken down. That leaves us with limited options meat-wise. For some reason, turkey meatballs and sausages of any kind are generally well-received (although meat loaf and standard Italian-type meatballs are no-goes). I have gotten accustomed to Craig’s dietary preferences, and for the most part, put up with them. He puts up with much worse from me!
I’m gonna try posting most days with quick little updates or photos of what we ate. I have a freakin’ spreadsheet prepared for the entire month, with nightly dinners, lists of what I need to prep, lists of ingredients, links to recipes, and grocery lists. I hope that it helps to keep me organized. Breakfasts and lunches will be leftovers, bacon that I’ve precooked and stuck in the fridge, hard boiled eggs that have been boiled and peeled, eggs that we cook “to order” and canned tuna with homemade avocado oil mayo.
Meal Plan, Week 1
Sunday & Monday don’t REALLY count(they’re not July), we are trying to burn through the last of our greek yogurt, cottage cheese & hummus, plus I’m getting my hair done tonight, so won’t be home til late. I’ll probably grab our favorite takeout meal as a “goodbye” for the month.
Wednesday –Sous Vide Pork Carnitas in lettuce boats w/ pico, avocado, & lime aioli
Saturday – Curry Turkey Meatball Lettuce Wraps w/ lime aioli (I’ll share the recipe for these – they’re delicious)
Now here are a couple places where I expect to depart from the “standard” Whole 30.
Bacon – We are not giving up bacon. I know it has nitrates, oh well.
Butter – People see the milk-solids in butter as an issue with the “dairy thing” so they use clarified butter, or ghee. Neither of us having issues in processing dairy, and it’s just too much effort. I will be using normal butter, especially because Craig won’t eat coconut oil.
Caffeine – I have successfully transitioned from coffee to black tea, but I only have a cup a day of either, and frankly, I just like it too much. Plus, there’s no real evidence that consuming organic coffee or tea is bad for you unless you have medical problems.
Ok, so yesterday (Sunday) was my big shopping and prep day. Shopping got a little out of control because I was stocking up on some stuff for the entire month. Also, we needed things like dishwasher detergent, bleach, etc. Total came in at $225 between Costco and QFC. But I also am making a double batch of the Rogan Josh and freezing half for later this month, and I have a pound of grassfed ground beef and a grassfed ribeye in the freezer for later as well. Oh, and a huge bottle of avocado oil. And a huge amount of charcoal for the grill. So that makes the effective grocery bill somewhere in the neighborhood of $175. Not cheap, but also organic, healthy animals, no fillers, and from scratch. Grains & beans tend to be a m easy and cheap way to add bulk to any meal, and are not something we have the “luxury” of eating this month.
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| We still have a few things to take out of the fridge, most notably, cheap beer, feta, lemon curd |
Prep involved was boiling eggs, cooking bacon, chopping and measuring ingredients for everything. All that’s left to do is the actual cooking/assembly of everything, which cuts down the time and effort involved in getting dinner on the table every night.
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