Whole30

Maybe you've heard of it?  Before Dave left for France, he was in "spring training" for wine tasting and drinking.  We had A LOT of wine before he left.  And more decadent foods... when I drink I lose inhibitions and I want to eat sweet things... MMMMMM. 

And while there is nothing at all wrong with drinking or eating sweet things... it was a lot more than I was used to.  And while Dave was in France he had a pretty decadent diet of delicious foods and wines.

We decided to "reset" things when he got back home to get us back on track.  We decided to do the Whole30 challenge.  Basically for 30 days you eat protiens (fish, chicken, beef, pork etc), veggies and in moderation fruits, nuts and seeds.

No dairy, no al-key-hol, no fried things (some olive and coconut oils for general cooking are fine), no processed foods, no sugar other than what comes naturally in a fruit...but no honey or agave or syrup....no legumes, no grains, no white potatoes (this more in line with breaking habits of fries and chips) and no "paleo-fied" desserts.  You know - those cookies and donuts and cupcakes and pies made with gluten free whatever.  They are still DESSERTS. 

It isn't *that* hard for us as it's how we try to eat most of the time.  I will say I missed a glass of wine Friday night after a work-week.  I've missed having a piece of gum after my lunch to freshen my breath.... I have had some chocolate cravings at night.... but I'm really doing A-OK. 

I find if I fill up on veggies, even if I am craving something, I have a much easier time of saying "no thank-you" because I'm nice and full.  I know I only have 20 days left and I can eat whatever it is I want then if I still want it. 

No food is "bad"... (I say that but I guess I do think fake man made food isn't "good" - I still like to eat the candy even when I know it's chemicals and not good for me....)

Think it really comes down to how much you consume of it.  While in Italy, we had gelato every. single. day.  Sometimes twice in a day.  One time 10x in a day because there was a gelato festival.   I didn't care and I didn't see any significant changes for the worse in myself.  Went back to eating "normally" when we got home and all is and was well.  No biggie.  Vacations can include vacations from normal eating habits too...

However, we both felt things were slipping a little too often in our eating habits before the France trip and we just wanted to get back on track.  Whole30 is sort of an interesting challenge to take.  Lets you see how often you take those little deviations... a handful of x here or a little bite of y there.... not a bad thing either way, just interesting to take note of.

Because of this challenge we've been looking at new recipes to try.... it's been fun and we have been fully satiated with our meals.  And boy do I appreciate the sweetness in fruit without any access to JellyBellies or Orange Slice candies.... wondering if I could make fruit more of my "treat/dessert" process vs. chemical/fake candy more often?  I'm going to try it when we are done with the challenge for sure.  See if it satisfies my sweet tooth...?

Like I said, we are on day 10 - only 20 more days and so far, not too bad.  Some little conveniences and habits missed but overall, finding I feel happier - and I don't know if this is attributed to less chemicals in my body which I TOTALLY attribute many feelings of odd sadness or depressive episodes in myself... or if it's a mental thing that I'm eating really well with lots of veggies and it's a mental thing of "it's good for me" and that makes me feel good that I'm eating well for myself.... prolly a bit of both.  And both Dave and I have been sleeping HARD lately.  It's felt super refreshing... that could be anything I suppose and I can't make any claims that it is Whole30 related... but it makes one wonder.  :)

What have I been eating?  Breakfast is a piece of fruit and hard boiled eggs....or scrambled eggs with avocado and salsa on the weekends.... lunch is left overs from dinner ... and dinners have been venison stew with tons o' veggies .... roasted chicken with veggies .... taco salad with beef, avocado, grape tomatoes and salsa for dressing.... chicken broth based soup with chicken, sweet potatoes, green chilies, onion, carrot, celery, bacon, salsa.... citrus grilled pork-chops on a bed of broccoli.... spaghetti squash with marinara/sausage/mushroom sauce.... grilled brats with mashed rutabagas....

Up next is a new recipe for ginger scallops with grilled peaches.... there are ALL kinds of delicious flavor combos out there.

So yeah - we haven't been hurting for delicious flavor in our food or for things to eat... that's for sure!