My Whole 30 Staples

I feel like one of the best resources when planning Whole 30 was to see what other people were relying on to make it through. I wanted to share a few of my favorites in hopes that it would help someone else.

Go to recipe: Chia Pudding

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cups unsweetened almond milk
• 1 banana, well mashed
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon allspice
• dash of ground cloves
• 6 tablespoons chia seeds

Method:

• Combine milk and banana in a 4-cup mason jar and mix well
• Add spices and chia seeds and mix well
• Leave in the fridge overnight
• Enjoy with your favorite toppings!

You can use whatever spices you like, I liked my “spice cake” version. I usually mixed 3/4 cup of chia pudding with a spoonful of almond butter for extra protein. You should mix it periodically, the chia like to get stuck around the bottom edges.

 

Go-to groceries

Aldi(aside from fresh veggies/fruit):

• Frozen riced cauliflower
• Marinara sauce
• Deluxe mixed nuts
• Freeze dried strawberries
• Dried apricots
• La Croix (I like passion fruit)

Publix:

• Applegate uncured hotdogs
• Aidells chicken & apple sausage
• Greenwise sliced turkey (Not all flavors are w30, read your labels!)
• Siete Grain-Free tortilla chips

 

Let me just note that I literally did the happy dance in the grocery store upon finding chips we can eat. We LOVE chips and salsa as a snack and we desperately missed that satisfying crunch.

Whole30 Feb ’19 – Day 21

It’s been a while! Like many things, I fell off the wagon of blogging but I’m hoping to write more going forward.

Today is February 21st, which means I’m 21 days into my first(and hopefully last) Whole30. And I have some opinions.

When looking into a way to overhaul and re-examine our eating habits, I had tons of options. Many people I know are on the keto diet, some are vegan or vegetarian, and every health magazine has some kind of different diet that’s “guaranteed to make you lose 2 pants sizes in 2 weeks!!” Uh huh.

But I HATE “diets” in the sense of “do this for 3 months, lose weight, but never think about it again once you’re finished” diets. This is a recipe for disaster, yo-yo weight loss/gain, and just an in-general headache.

I chose Whole30 because it seemed like much more of a learning experience-turning a new corner to be lea don a new path after day 30. We already ate pretty well, but needed to calm my food demons, especially for sugar, and wanted to remove the crutch of carbs from my meals (let’s face it, spaghetti or pizza delivery are the easiest ways to feed yourself on those especially busy nights.)

Days 1-3: I felt pretty good! My body didn’t quite realize what we happening at first, I think.

Days 4-7: I became an insatiable hunger demon from the depth of hell. No matter how much I would eat, I was still hungry. For carbs, no doubt. My fiance asked me to make him a big match of mashed potatoes in hopes of keeping full, and admittedly I was eating more than I should have been.

Days 7-14: These were the easiest day so far. Lots of food prep still lasting, trying new recipes, and having more energy than before. My skin is clearing up and I’m noticing my neck looks slightly slimmer. We went to a Valentine’s party and were so highly tempted by all the candy and sweets, but we drank our La Croix and were okay.

Days 15-21: My motivation has nearly hit zero. We went to both the Renaissance Fair and Universal Studios, and temptation was everywhere! It was making me miserable. I’m tired so I don’t want to prep any more food, and I’m literally dreaming about doughnuts, pizza, and chocolate.
*One positive thing that did happen at Universal is that I fit more comfortably in the ride restraints and had the confidence to wear high-waist athletic pants with a sports bra(Harry Potter print, of course)- so much win! *

Days 21-30: coming soon!

This was not an easy task and I honestly wouldn’t recommend it to many. It took 2 weeks of prepping (buying compliant foods and researching what we can/can’t eat and finding recipes) and additional hours of food and meal prepping along the way. Cutting lettuce, mass batching mashed potatoes(my fiance needed lots of carbs to stay full, he’s a bottomless pit), making almond butter and sriracha, breakfast frittatas, on top of just making dinner each night started to get exhausting around day 16. Because there’s no room for processed food (except marinara sauce and the occasional container of pineapple guacamole) you have to cook and prep a lot. I couldn’t imagine doing this while having a demanding job or with kids!

I also wouldn’t recommend it to many people because it IS so highly restrictive. My poor fiance, he’s been hungry and grumpy nearly every day for 3 weeks. It’s hard for him to stay full even with eating beans and bread, without it I fear he’ll wither away. He’s been eating a big helping of potatoes with both breakfast and lunch and is still seriously hungry for dinner each night. I’ve been faring better, but I definitely spent the first chunk feeling especially ravenous myself (my carb-craving monster eventually settled down).

I highly recommend this program if you are actually looking to make a life change.

Yeah it’s fun to challenge yourself to try new recipes and see if you can go 30 days without sugar, alcohol, grains, and legumes, but if you’re going to fall right back to eating processed foods and drinking soda after day 30, Whole30 won’t do a bit of good for you.

 

The easiest way to summarize my feelings toward Whole30 is that it takes mental toughness. It’s not just about eating healthy food, it’s about consciously making better choices, understanding your cravings, being able to say no, and putting in the work to make it to day 30.

It’s Okay to Not Be Okay

Social media has us fooled that everything is rainbows and butterflies all the time. Even if we know that people only post what they want the world to see, we somehow are convinced that those people are always happy. If you’re sitting at home, depressed, binge watching the same TV show for the (literal) tenth time, you may likely ask yourself, “is there something wrong with me?”

While there may indeed be something wrong with you or within your life, this is entirely valid. It’s okay to be fucked up. People are messy. I don’t have the answers for you, but I want you to know that it’s okay that you’re not okay. You’ll get there.

I’m teaching myself this lesson right now. I’ve never really been okay, but in the throes or depression it can feel impossible to feel normal.

Take care of yourself. You’re gonna be just fine.

The World is a Mess, it’s Okay to Be Excited About Mundane Things

If you pull up basically any news website, the landing page will likely be covered in doom and gloom: hurricanes, wildfires, corrupt politicians, celebrity gossip. It seems like there’s a never ending stream of awful things happening all around us.

In this world where we’re surrounded by chaos, how do we cope? Do we have to be obsessed with every breaking news story on our Facebook timeline and Twitter feed?

The answer is no!

Self care is incredibly important, now more than ever. Whether you have to unplug your cable box, delete your accounts on social media, or avoid the subject in friendly company, do not for one second feel bad about it.

No matter what’s going on in the world, someone else’s suffering doesn’t negate your own. 

This is one of the most important lessons I’ve been taught throughout my life. When it comes to world affairs, events fall into two basic categories: things you have control over and things you have no control over.

If you have the power to elect someone new to improve the well-being of your town, state, or country, then by all means dive right in and learn as much as you can about the issues and act accordingly (vote, rally, petition, whatever).

If you have no control over the suffering of those effected by a natural disaster or the decisions of a person already in power, it’s perfectly fine to not involve yourself in it at all. There’s no reason you should torture yourself or let your mental health suffer over things that are out of your hands.

And you shouldn’t feel bad about it for one solitary second. 

This is your reminder to take care of yourself. You don’t have to “accept the things you can’t change.” because sometimes those things are extremely unacceptable. Even if some people want to say that posting/sharing information about issues all over social media is “slacktivism,” sometimes it’s all you can manage. But if you personally can’t do any more than that, you still did something. You can only do so much and you shouldn’t stretch your spoons on those things when you have your own life to worry about.

So if you want to drown out all that doom and gloom with a pumpkin spice latte, or a Netflix binge session, or internet memes, by all means do so! It’s 100% okay to like things that are seemingly meaningless– obviously it means something to you. 

The moral of the story is: do what you can. But don’t overextend yourself. Enjoy your pumpkin spiced life.

 

Sustainable Saturday 9-8-18: Up-Cycling

 

This week for Sustainable Saturday, I wanted to focus on some awesome ways to up-cycle different items around your house. We’ve talked about 3 out of 4 R’s so far: Refusing disposables, reducing waste, and reusing items.

I’m going to preface this with the fact that I’m not very crafty or handy. I really try to be, but others are way more imaginative than me. In that spirit, I’d like to make this post somewhat of a gallery of ideas from Pinterest that I really love!

I love these projects because they’re totally do-able, even if you’re not crafty, so it makes them easy for anyone. Another aspect I like is that they’re useful, not just decorative (not that decorative is bad, but I love things that are cute and useful).

First up: A upcycled mint tin.

Thanks to Giggles Galore for this one! Not only can you store your earphones and keep from getting tangled, but I could definitely use this for hair ties/pins, loose change, or a phone charger (sans wall adapter).

There are also a ton of other ways to up-cycle them, both plastic and metal. I’ve seen everything from travel spa kits, mini first aid kits, kids activity boxes, and much more!

Next: rope-wrapped cans/tins

This one comes to us from Artison, and it awesome because it’s so versatile. You could apply this to a coffee can, sauce jar, even a kitty litter container. They can be made into wastebaskets, storage, planters, or even a reusable gift container (or a gift itself!).

You do have to get a bit of rope or twine to make this one, but luckily it’s not too expensive. You could experiment with ribbon, colored or marine rope, or t-shirt yarn(yet another upcycle!).

Also: Planters

This is actually two pins, but the same purpose: plants! Pots can be expensive so these are great options for seed starters and more long-term planters.

Thanks to Thrifty Fun for this adorable kitty planter. These planters are best for larger, more established plants. You could really make them any animal you want. Don’t forget drainage holes at the bottom!

If you’re starting seeds, try this one:

 

Over at Shareably, not only can you find directions on how to turn paper rolls into seed starters, but other cool upcycles as well!

This post is pretty short and sweet, but I hope it gives you some inspiration on how you can re-purpose all kinds of things that would normally end up in the bin!

Got any other great ideas? Post in the comments!