Life After Whole30 (+ My 3 Biggest Takeaways)

Life after Whole30 is weird.

It's actually kind of ruined my life. But in a really wholesome kind of way. Because the Whole30 discipline is such a healthy way to approach food and fitness and overall health, and it holds a really high standard for what should be put in our bodies. It was so so hard when I was in the midst of the 30 days of no sugar, no bread, no alcohol, constant meal prep and kitchen cleaning and ugh - I felt like the days went by so slowly. And I felt like this way of eating was just so enormously time-consuming and not realistic for our day and age. So many times, I remember feeling sorry for the pioneer women. Because I had the realization that this was their life - cooking and cleaning up for their families. Preparing everything from scratch. Dirtying practically every dish in their pantry and then having to clean every dish - over and over and over again. It felt monotonous. It felt archaic. It felt like sacrifice. It felt like a crap-ton of work. And life is already work. So yeah, I had some low moments, in the midst of Whole30. And that doesn't even include the mood swings from detoxing from all the sugar and caffeine and happy breads.

But this strange thing was happening during all the whining and complaining and headaches and longing for sweets and wines and sweet wines. I was starting to feel a surprising amount of goodness. I was sleeping hard. I was waking up early, with no grogginess. My workouts were strong. My mind was clear. I just felt an intense amount of clarity, like the chaos in my mind was being detoxed along with with the unhealthy foods. So as much as I hated the meal prep, I was starting to really love the feeling of wholeness.

My biggest, most positive takeaways from my Whole30 experience:

1. I think about what I put in my mouth.
Whole30 taught me to read the labels on my food products. Instead of grabbing something because it says "organic" or "all-natural" and thinking that meant it was the healthiest choice, Whole30 taught me to read the labels and decipher the ingredients. There are so many sneaky sugars, preservatives, emulsifiers and chemicals that are in normal, everyday foods. You might think that sounds like propaganda - it's not. Do your research. Don't trust me for a minute - do your own research. The findings are pretty appalling. And once you learn something - you can't unlearn it. And that's what happened to me. Once I understood what soy lecithin and carrageenan actually are, I was much more motivated to find items that simply don't have those ingredients in them. And healthier options do exist, it just takes a little time to find them. The first time I went to the grocery store with a Whole30 list in hand, it took me over two hours to get out of the store. And no, I didn't have my toddler with me. It is just so time-consuming, reading every ingredient on every label of every item. It was exhausting. But now that I've done that work, I simply revisit those same items in the store, and my grocery trip are under 30 minutes now. So even though the process was time-consuming and overwhelming, it paid off with healthier choices that I am able to continuously make, now that I know my options.

2. I realize that everything is way too sweet.
My taste buds had been warped. And I'm going to be bold enough to suggest that yours are probably warped, too. Don't take it personal. It's not really our fault. It's been a slow process of eating "normal food" our entire lives and not knowing what is in it. Our taste buds have been warped because everything has so much sugar in it - like everything. Ketchup, crackers, barbecue sauce, lunch meat, bread, etc. And that's not even the stuff that we know has sugar in it, like cereal and alcohol. And then there's the obvious good stuff, like brownies and ice cream, duh. But I tell you what - after going 30 days without any sugar, and then coming back to it? Everything tastes annoying sweet. Like, obnoxiously, brazenly, almost insultingly sweet. Starbucks lattes? Too sweet. Chocolate chip cookies? Wayyy too sweet. Jeni's ice cream? I couldn't even finish it. I know, you probably want to ban me from your life right about now. If you haven't already stopped reading this post. But I never said that this blog would tickle your ears all the time. I can't help it you guys. I really can't. The truth was glaring me in tongue.

3. I'm discovering how to make healthier meals.
Look, you are probably cooking most days. I know I am. But learning some healthier techniques/recipes/ingredient swaps has been one of the most revolutionary takeaways for me. Because I'm cooking for my family every day, no matter what. We have to eat! And learning that I can spend the same amount of time prepping a meal but ensuring that it is incredibly healthy, made with whole foods (not preservative-laden substitutes) and brimming with irresistible flavor has been such a welcome revelation. These Whole30 meals do not taste like cardboard. It's actually the opposite. They taste better than most meals. In the beginning of the experiment, i definitely craved chocolate after dinner and wanted to throw some Parmesan cheese on top of my spaghetti squash spaghetti. But those desires have diminished significantly. And I feel empowered with some new recipes that are extremely delicious and nourishing. WIN.

There you have it, some of my biggest takeaways from the Whole30 experiment. Since ending Whole30 and eating "normal" again, nothing is really normal. I can't help but think about the health impact of everything I put into my mouth. It's definitely changed my way of approaching food, and I am still in the process of striking the right balance for my family that feels manageable (like, not annoying and high-maintenance) but also with a standard of health excellence. I want to set my son up for a lifetime of wellness, but I also want him to be able to eat a cookie with absolutely no guilt. It's a process, and I am still figuring it out. I'm compiling a shopping list and a slew of great recipes that I would recommend and will be making that available to blog subscribers soon. Let me know in the comments section if something like that would interest you!

If you would like to learn more about my Whole30 experiment, you can read about why I decided to try it. Also, check out my weekly diaries - Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4. Happy discoveries to you!

My Whole30 Diary. Part 4.

This was the final push - the 4th and final week of my Whole30 experience. You can read about why I'm doing Whole30 here.

Day 22.
I went into this week knowing it was going to be a big one. Really busy with writing stuff and really busy with mommy stuff, because Stevie was going to be out of town for the week. There was also an emotional component of losing my Whole30 buddy, because I gave him my blessing to stop eating Whole30 before his trip. This was the beginning of a slew of business trips he was going on, and we didn't really want him to be put in a position where he's the awkward guy on the team not eating anything normal because of his "diet". He didn't want to be that guy, and I really didn't want that for him either. So he prepared to break the Whole30 commitment a little early, but still eat super clean until I was finished. All that being said, I went into this week with lots of feelings...

Breakfast: Quick egg scramble. Black Coffee.
Lunch: Chicken salad with Greek toppings (kalamata olives, marinated artichokes, sundried tomatoes and sliced avocado).
Dinner: Leftover Spaghetti Squash Spaghetti.

Day 23.
Breakfast: Egg scramble with random veggies thrown in. 1/2 grapefruit and black coffee.
Lunch: Chicken salad with Greek toppings.
Dinner: Pulled beef with homemade ranch dressing (recipe in the Whole30 book), kale chips, cauliflower mango rice, and 1/2 sweet potato.

My sister came over and had dinner with me, so I wasn't such a lonely lame eater. Also, I resumed rewatching Gossip Girl. Because I was missing New York and Stevie was having slamming amounts of fun somewhere without me and I just needed a little indulgence.

Yeah, I was pouting a little. But the sweet potato tasted like pie and that was the jam!

Day 24.
Breakfast: Frittata with diced onion, tomato, chicken sausage and spinach. Hot tea.
Lunch: Chicken salad with Greek toppings. (You might get bored doing this same lunch everyday, but I finally found one that I love so I just kept making it :)
Dinner: Sweet potato and kale chips.

I'm telling you. The breakfast frittatas are delectable.

Day 25.
Breakfast: Frittata, sliced apples and hot tea.
Lunch: Mexican salad (ground beef, salsa and avocado on a bed of spinach, drizzled with homemade ranch dressing).
Dinner: Pulled beef, cauliflower-mango rice, sweet potato, kale chips.

As real food continued to taste better and better during the course of Whole30, cauliflower tasted increasingly worse. It's probably because it's a broccoli cousin. I kept trying to cook with it (like in the above cauliflower-mango rice) but I just kept hating it more and more. Ugh. So cauliflower-y.

Day 26.
Breakfast: Egg scramble and 1/2 grapefruit. Black coffee.
Lunch: Chicken salad with Greek toppings.
Dinner: Baked salmon with lemon-herb mayo, sweet potato, steamed kale.

Again, I was eating so many sweet potatoes because PIE. They tasted like pieeeee.

Day 27.
Breakfast: Egg scramble, sliced plantains pan-fried in coconut oil and dusted with cinnamon. Black coffee.
Lunch: Leftover salmon with homemade cream dressing, capers, olives, diced cucumber, sundried tomatoes and avocado.
Dinner: My homemade Grandma Soup (no noodles, but add diced red potatoes).

Dressing up my usual lunchtime salad with leftover salmon instead of chicken was so fancy. It tasted SO GOOD. I loved the leftover salmon times. As much as I could love anything, with all the lack of chocolate in my world.

Also, salmon felt fancy and celebratory because Stevie was home for two days before resuming more travel. We partied so hard. With our sparkly water and early bedtimes and church in the morning. Are you getting the sense for our wild life? Like the JUNGLE.

Day 28.
Breakfast: Church day, so this was an early, busy one. Breakfast was a banana and a Lara Bar. I hunted for coffee in our new church location until I found it. And then I had a lot of it.
Lunch: Grandma Soup!
Dinner: Don't judge. Stevie was out of town, so I had soup again for dinner. Hallelujah for not having to cook again. Good times had by all. But mostly by Everett. Because he was blissfully eating waffles every single day.

Day 29.
Breakfast: 2 fried eggs and 1/2 grapefruit.
Lunch: Chicken salad with Greek toppings.
Snack: Lara Bar. My favorites are blueberry and key lime :)
Dinner: Leftover pulled beef and a sweet potato.

I honestly wasn't feeling pouty about food at this point. It was all sort of routine and not heartbreaking anymore. Because I got to have my sweet potato, so I was pretty good with life.

I know what you're thinking. WEIRDO. Well I would have to agree with you.

Day 30.
Breakfast: 2-egg scramble with diced tomato, chicken sausage and spinach.
Snack: Clover coffee at Starbucks and 1/2 bag of dried apple crisps. The clover was my treat to myself for being such a GOOD GIRL for thirty days.
Lunch: Chicken salad with Greek toppings. Hot tea (Trader Joes Harvest Herbal Tea!)
Dinner: Grandma Soup (minus the noodles, add diced red tomatoes) and some pineapple.

Overall Recap:
Honestly, this last week wasn't hard. It was challenging in other ways - I felt extremely busy and didn't have time to really pine away for treats. I finally had my cooking/meal prep routine down, and I needed to be in autopilot in order to keep our lives running smoothly while single-parenting it with my husband out of town. So those emotional and time-management components were challenging - but the Whole30 had become an almost fond way of living.

"Almost" is the key word in that phrase.

I still obviously was excited to have wine and chocolate and, you know, breaded stuff.

In fact, I was anticipating the end of this Whole30 experiment with glee.

And, my friends, it ended. With glee. More on that next week!

P.S. Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 of my Whole30 diary :)

Happening Lately + Thank You!

Happy Weekend, friends!

I don't normally post on the weekends, but I wanted to share a quick update about what's happening over here in our corner of the world and give you some thanks.

Stevie's been in and out of town lately for work, so Everett and I have been partners in crime, sending an insane amount of selfies to the different parts of the world that Stevie finds himself in. We miss him so much when he's gone. In fact, as Everett is getting older and more aware, he's reacting more intensely the longer his daddy is gone :( It's an adjustment for all of us.

I've been writing more and more lately, and honestly, I'm having trouble figuring out the balance of being the good mom I want to be and doing the kind of quality work I want to do. But this influx of work has me assessing how I spend every moment of my day, and I am doing my best to churn wasted minutes into productivity. I definitely don't have it all figured out. But I am on a learning curve!

Low and behold, Everett and I have been sick. AGAIN. I am baffled by how often he and I have caught this cold virus thing this season. I know tons of people have been fighting this cold crap, but why?? Is it because of all the insane changing weather? It was 75 degrees two days ago, and as I write this, its 27 degrees. So this past week I put a pause on all my workouts and have been sleeping as much as possible when he sleeps. I started taking this Buried Treasure Acute Cold and Flu Immune Support, due to the glowing recommendation from Natalie, my dear healthiest friend (who is literally never sick due to taking this stuff). It's only been two days and I'm already feeling better. PRAISE. It must be the Myrrh ingredient listed on the bottle. I mean, if it's good enough for Christ, right? Everett's on the up and up again, too. I hate to be that person who is like, PLEASE GET HERE, SPRING. But with all this shifting weather, I'm just ready for some consistency. So yeah, Spring is on my radar. Plus, I've been dreaming some garden dreams.

This is real. My camelia in the back yard is blooming! Everett and I go outside and visit the bush each day.

I'm officially on my last week of Whole30, you guys. I can't believe it. It's been a really good, really hard experience. Harder than I would have imagined. But I actually feel healthier (other than the random cold situation) and I will definitely share more about it here once I'm completely done. I am excited for Wednesday! If you think of me at about 7pm (Everett's bedtime), I will be breaking out some wine and chocolate in celebration of reaching the finish line.

This photo was taken pre-Whole30. Fear not, dairy police.

I wanted to take a moment to say an extra special THANK YOU to everyone who took my reader survey for the blog. There was some really insightful feedback and I read every single comment and statistic. I appreciate all your thoughtful input and suggestions. I love the kind of content that I create here (duh, it's my blog), but you gave me some really interesting things to think about as I move forward with my blogging calendar. I will be incorporating some of your suggestions into new content, so you can look forward to me stretching myself in new ways in the coming weeks months! Don't worry, I'm not planning on making any major changes - in fact, most everything here is going to remain steady as always. I will be incorporating a bit more beauty and wellness content this year, since its part of my life but I've purposely not shared much about those things in the past. But I am a girl! Those are parts of my life and I'm more comfortable owning that and sharing those things these days, and since so many people asked for more of that, I am happy to branch off in that direction just a bit.

I am really grateful for all your support, friends! Thanks for being such peppy encouragers. I hope you have the happiest Superbowl weekend :) xox

My Whole30 Diary. Part 2.

This is the continued documentation of my Whole30 experience. You can read about why I'm doing Whole30 here.

Day 8.
Breakfast: Omelet. Coffee. Fruit.
Lunch: Chicken Salad, greek style.
Dinner: Salmon cakes, roasted red pepper sauce, sweet potato.

Day 9.
Breakfast: Frittata (you can see the recipe here). Coffee. Fruit.

This is a strange day, because I actually wake up craving black coffee. Just black. No intense craving for the sugar in it. And it almost tastes good today. WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THE WORLD.

Lunch: Greek chicken salad.
Snack: Apple with almond butter.
Dinner: Pork Chop with Spiced Apple Sauce and Kale Salad.

This dinner meal has quickly become one of my favorites on Whole30. And really - it's that spiced apple sauce. It's so surprising and so RIGHT on a pork chop. Plus, I feel like June Cleaver cooking up a pork chop in my kitchen. I mean, where are my pearls. Where are my heels.

Day 10.
Breakfast: Frittata. Coffee. Fruit.
Lunch: Roasted tomato soup (without the white wine - everything else is Whole30 compliant!) and a Greek chicken salad.

I have my friend Kathleen over today and I am somehow talking her into doing Whole30. I'm not even sure if I mean to be evangelizing the Whole30 gospel, but I hear myself talking her through all my reasons for doing it - and she is excited.

I suddenly realize I'm hooked. I might hate the pain of this wellness experiment, but I am hooked.

Dinner: Herb Chicken Meatballs and Tomato sauce. I forgot to make the spaghetti squash. Oops.

Day 11.
Breakfast: Frittata. What else as this point.

I do find myself longing for toast. Just a simple piece of toast would really mix up the boringness of eggs every.single.day.

Lunch: Leftover Roasted Tomato Soup. An apple with almond butter. A handful of sunflower seeds, which I'm convinced is not for filling up humans.
Dinner: Baked Chicken with roasted red pepper sauce. And something green.

Day 12.
Breakfast: Frittata. Fruit. Coffee.

I almost like Whole30 today. And I'm sort of actually craving black coffee again.

Lunch: A bowl of tomato soup, a sliced apple and a handful of sunflower seeds.
Dinner: Roasted spaghetti squash with herbed chicken meatballs and tomato sauce.

This strange thing happens after dinner - neither of us is craving something sweet. We ALWAYS crave something sweet after dinner, but tonight, nope. It's so weird. We watched an old episode of The Office and went straight to bed. Because there's nothing else fun to eat and drink.

Day 13.
Breakfast: Egg scramble with avocado, chicken sausage and tomatoes. Half a grapefruit. Black coffee.
Morning Snack: A sliced green apple with almond butter. Note: I am getting really, really sick of almond butter.

I am suuuuuuper hungry today. Like, so hungry I could eat a bus. I am hungry every hour around the clock and it dawns on me that I might need to be drinking more water. With all this meal prep, I'm forgetting to drink as much water as usual.

Lunch: A salad with avocado, sliced tomatoes, sunflower seeds, olives and chicken.
Dinner: Oven-baked Salmon with roasted red pepper sauce, sweet potato and kale chips.

I really can't lie. These dinners are all delicious. There has maybe been one that has only been so-so. I am just going by the book here, and preparing recipes that are on the plan. There are a zillion different dressings, vinaigrettes and sauces so you shouldn't get bored finding something to top your dinner protein with. It just takes some extra prep to actually make a dressing from scratch. It's not a big deal, but it's a deal. I find myself making 1-2 per week and that seems to work out well.

Day 14.
Breakfast: Quick eggs scramble and a banana.

Church day! Busy busy busy. The three of us are out the door before 7:30 and that feels like a miracle in itself. Then we have to figure out how to sustain the next few hours outside of the comfort of our own kitchen.

We help volunteer at our church before the service by hosting a breakfast bar for the other early morning volunteers - which means we provide Panera bagels and Chobani yogurt to the team. Everett happily gobbles up a half a bagel with honey-walnut cream cheese and I find myself very jealous of my son's good fortune. To not be on this wellness experiment. I almost drool.

Snack: Black coffee and a Lara Bar.
Lunch: Salad with leftover Salmon and random vegetables I rummage up out of the fridge.
Dinner: Slowcooked Beef with homemade ranch dressing and green onions, sweet potatoes and kale chips.

This beef is incredible. It's so good I swear I've made a mistake and accidentally added something non-Whole30 into the crockpot. I check my recipe like three times, but no, I've done everything according to the book. It's moments like these when I am convinced it's totally possible to eat delicious food on this plan. And then I like Whole30 again. (Seriously, this one is so good that I will share the recipe next week - I am only going to share my favorites with you!)

Overall Recap:
The anger from last week has subsided, although I still feel a steady amount of annoyance pretty much all the time. The sugar cravings have dramatically decreased, although I still have them from time to time. Having Stevie help take the lead on breakfast and lunch (when he could, according to his work schedule) really helped lighten my load and made this week feel more sustainable than last. My energy levels don't seem to have increased, although I am waking up three times a week to hit the gym early in the morning. Not sure if I could have done that a month ago, although I am making some adjustments to my sleep schedule, and trying to get into bed much earlier these days. There's nothing fun to munch on at night anyways. Overall, I am really glad I'm doing this, but it still feels hard. Really really hard. Like, really really hard.

What am I dreaming of? Going out to eat Mexican food that somebody else cooks and drinking a margarita.

P.S. Part 1 of my Whole30 diary.
 

Chicken-Apple Sausage + Spinach Frittata

I am on Day 12 of Whole30. Needless to say, that means the menu in my household has looked quite different lately. I wanted to share a staple breakfast item that I have been enjoying every morning since beginning Whole30 - this breakfast frittata.

I have literally never made a frittata before this wellness experiment. I am a mad quiche lover, and this is something like that, minus the buttery crust and indulgent cheese, of course. But I have grown to love my morning breakfast because it is so filling and savory and hearty - just what I wake up craving. Isn't that weird? And wonderful. It's actually kind of wonderful. What is happening to me.

One thing I love best about this recipe (which I've adapted a bit from the one in the book) is that the ingredients can be switched up so it doesn't taste the same everyday. You can sub in green, red and yellow peppers, kale, diced sweet potato (Stevie likes this, I'm not a huge fan of the sweetness in my eggs), olives, artichokes - really, the sky is the limit! As long as you have that chicken sausage and a bit of avocado, I promise it will taste dreamy. Also, don't forget the secret extra ingredient - the lemon zest and juice! It will MAKE this frittata for you :)

Ingredients:
- 4-6 eggs
- 1 link chicken-apple sausage, precooked (I used Aidell's Organic version)
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1 gigantic handful spinach
- 6-8 cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
- 1/2 avocado
- 1 lemon slice + some lemon zest

Method:
1. Preheat your oven to 500 degrees.

2. Heat your oven-safe skillet (I am loving my new Staub skillet!) over medium. Drizzle with some olive oil.

3. While the skillet is heating, whisk together your 4-6 eggs. I say that range because it depends on how big you want this frittata to be. 4 if you're wanting it to feel more veggie-licious, 6 if you went to the gym and you need some serious monster eggs in your life STAT. Salt and pepper the eggs to your liking. Then set them aside.

4. Once the skillet is heated, add the chopped onion and grape tomatoes. Cook for 2-3 minutes, until the onion is translucent and the tomatoes are wilted.

5. Add spinach to the skillet. Cook another 1-2 minutes, until almost wilted.

6. Then add the chicken sausage. This is already pre-cooked, but you want to reheat it and let the flavors all get to know each other a bit. Mmm things are starting to get savory.

7. Now you you pour in your beaten eggs to the mixture. At this point you don't really want to mix anything around. Just let the eggs begin to set in the skillet.

8. Then add the diced avocado to the mixture, if you're into that kind of thing. Avocado is basically the perfect replacement for cheese in a Whole30/Paleo situation, so I never forego it.

9. The extra special ingredient is the lemon and zest. Take a microplane grater and zest a bit of lemon skin on top of the frittata. Then take 1 slice of lemon and squeeze a bit of juice on top of the frittata. It will add a little extra note of flavor, and believe me, you will love it.

10. Once the frittata is "set" (after 3-5 minutes on the stove), transfer the skillet into the oven. Let it cook for 5-7 minutes. It will be ready once it's lightly browned on the top. Slice and enjoy!

I love this frittata. You can top it with hot sauce or salsa for an extra kick of spice. Stevie and I have been dominating the entire frittata everyday, and believe me, it will fill you up! Very satisfying. For all of you who are curious about Whole30 and whether you can actually eat "good food" while on this plan, I would definitely encourage you to give this recipe a try!