Hows and Whys of Whole30

I briefly mentioned in my last post that my husband and I are embarking on a Whole30 Challenge starting today.  I feel like I have already learned quite a bit and identified what the greatest challenges will be for us on this journey.  But first, let me explain what it is and why we're doing this.

Whole30 seems to be a combination of the whole foods and paleo diets.  Sugars, grains, gluten, artificial sweeteners, preservatives, dairy, additives, and probably a few other things that I'm forgetting ;)  are not allowed.  I first read about it on another blog, desired to try it, but didn't think my husband would be up for it.  I know from past experience that it just does not work for us to be eating two completely different ways.  It's too hard for me to watch him eat something I can't have, takes too much time to cook two different meals, and it's usually double the dishes (and we do not have a dishwasher).

However, we had previously agreed to do the Focus T25 exercise challenge by Beachbody to try and lose our vacation weight and tone up.  DH mentioned that he would like to try some kind of healthy, cleansing diet during the workout challenge, I showed him the Whole30 page, and here we are!

Our goals for this dietary challenge are not just weight loss - besides, it probably wouldn't be accurate as we're doing the exercise challenge at the same time.  We are hoping to:

1.  Cut out the cravings for sugar and grease.

2.  Cleanse!

3. To identify any other dietary headache triggers that one or both of us may have. (I have already identified MSG, aspartame, and excessive food coloring such as in Skittles as my migraine triggers)

4.  Segway into a healthier way of eating.  We pretty much eat a standard American diet, save for avoiding the items I listed above in number three.  I think we each manage about one vegetable and one-two fruits per day, and I want to do better than that.

5. Get better sleep.  I've testimonials of other people that have conquered this challenge and said they slept much better on this diet.  Since I still struggle with insomnia now and then, that'd be nice.

I think the hardest thing for me to give up is cheese (I'm from Wisconsin, what can I say?) :)  For my hubby, it's soda.  I also got a sudden, strong craving for hot, fresh homemade bread smothered with butter in the middle of church today... :)

Reflections from Day One - I feel good, actually.  I've eaten about 1200 calories worth of fruit, veggies, eggs, and meat.  The challenges of this are going to be that it's expensive, the planning and prep required for every meal and snack, and there are more dishes to do.

I hope to post updates along the way, and share the end results!

Summer is for Smoothies :)

Have you been as hot as we have been?  My goodness.  It’s so crazy to me that we have already had a couple days of temps in the 100s.  One doesn’t think of summers that warm happening in the upper Midwest, but they do!  It’s so ironic to me that we lived in the coastal subtropics for a year and the warmest it got was about 94, now back in the Midwest we hit the 100s.  Craziness.

We’re pretty frugal and didn’t turn the A/C on until it got to 84 in the house.  We only keep it at 80 during the day and 82 overnight, so it can still feel warm and stuffy in the house sometimes.  Thus, it makes no sense to use the oven or stove and nobody has much of an appetite anyways.  I have been so thankful for smoothies this week!  Wow, has our blender gotten a workout lately!

Here is one of my favorite smoothie recipes.  I just had this for lunch today!

Peanut Butter Banana Shake

You will need:

5  ice cubes

¼ cup yogurt (I prefer plain to keep the calories down, but vanilla works great too)

½ milk

Spoonful of peanut butter

One banana
Sprinkle of cinnamon

Blend until it’s all mixed and liquid.  Enjoy!

Menu Plan Monday

Here is my menu plan for the second half of November, or "November B".  We grocery shop twice a month since we live about 20 miles from the nearest major grocery store.

Tues. 11/15: Oven-Baked Chicken Breasts
Wed. 11/16: Pancakes with syrup, jam, or yogurt
Thu. 11/17: Spaghetti
Fri. 11/18: Buffalo Chicken sandwiches
Sat. 11/19: From-scratch Chicken Nuggets
Sun. 11/20: BBQ Chicken Pizza
Mon. 11/21: Venison Steak & Cheese Quesadillas
Tues. 11/22: Turkey Hot Dogs
Wed. 11/23: My parents are arriving for Thanksgiving and picking up Culver's for us :)
Thu. 11/24:  Thanksgiving Dinner!  Turkey, Gravy, Double-baked potatoes, sweet corn and carrots, rolls, cranberry-orange bread, apple pie, pumpkin pie, ice cream, sparkling grape juice, and eggnog.
Fri. 11/25: Leftovers/Out with my parents
Sat. 11/26: Leftovers/Out with my parents
Sun. 11/27: Cheese Pizza
Mon. 11/28: Honey Chicken
Tues. 11/29: Turkey Hot Dogs
Wed. 11/30: Pancakes/Eggs

These are our dinners, by the way....breakfast is usually yogurt, a granola bar, toast, or eggs for us and lunches are pretty much salads, sandwiches, or leftovers.

I can't believe we'll be into December after this cycle!  Time is flying!