Whole 30- Week 1
If you follow me on instagram or twitter, you may have noticed I recently started the Whole30 program which is described as “a short-term nutritional reset, designed to help you put an end to unhealthy cravings and habits, restore a healthy metabolism, heal your digestive tract, and balance your immune system”. Basically, you cut out all grains, sugar, dairy (except eggs), processed junk, beans/legumes, etc. There are big promises over at their website about changing your outlook on food! If you want to find out more about it check out whole30.com!
I started the Whole30 program exactly one week ago today. Today officially marks my 8th day on the program woo! Most of you that know me are aware that I already eat pretty healthy- ok insanely healthy by most people’s standards. While I do eat healthy, I wanted to kick my late night cravings for chocolate and my need to have artificial sweetener in my coffee and oatmeal. I had noticed that I have been rather sluggish lately and have lacking energy all around- so I decided to give this a whirl. So far it has been going wonderfully- I have been sleeping better, have more energy, and don’t feel that 3 p.m. slump every day. It feels nice to be getting back to my normal, energized self! The best part about the Whole30 is that it helped me to realize when I was mindlessly snacking, or eating out of habit (hello late night study snacks).
Ok- enough of my blabbering- time to get to the meals. But first- I had to grocery shop and stock up the fridge! I went to my favorite store at school to buy all my produce. Everything is so cheap there! Everything I have pictured below I got for $21.49- talk about a bargain! I can’t believe most of the people I know don’t shop there. They are clearly crazy.
This grocery haul included: 3 lbs grapes, 3 bags baby carrots, 3 green peppers, bunch of bananas, 2 zucchini, bag of yellow onions, yellow squash, 3 fuji apples, 6 golden delicious apples, 4 sweet potatoes, 4 small red potatoes, 1 carton grape tomatoes, 3 cucumbers. I think that is all- but there may be more stuff hiding under there that I can’t remember.
I am including some pictures of some of the meals I have been eating. I didn’t take photos of everything because I have been super busy with school and have been trying to make quick meals.
I had this for breakfast the other day. My go-to for breakfast is eggs and fruit! Super filling and gives me lasting energy. This was a pink lady apple with cinnamon (I put cinnamon on everything), egg whites seasoned with black pepper, garlic, and salt and a few leftover potatoes from the previous night’s dinner. Most people would probably just throw that last bit out, but I hate to waste things- especially food!
One of my other go-to meals last week was salads. They are so simple! I grilled some chicken on my george foreman, chopped some veggies, and made spicy sweet potatoes to go along with it! I’ll post the recipe for the sweet potatoes later this week because they were amazing! Topped it with Tessemae’s Whole30 approved salad dressing. I could not believe how many salad dressings have sugar as an ingredient! It’s in everything! For real- even whole foods did not have many compliant dressings, but I found this one there and its super tasty!
Another dinner- I have been on a fish kick lately so I made mahi mahi a couple times last week. I seasoned it with garlic, lemon, pepper, and seasoned salt. I made the spicy sweet potatoes again to go with it and zucchini and yellow squash. This may not look pretty, but it was one of my favorite meals all week.
I had this for lunch today- I love eating fresh fruits and veggies and love even more when they are on sale! I picked up some more fruit and veggies at the store this week even though I still had a pretty stocked fridge- I can’t pass up a good deal! This was carrots, snap peas, a bosc pear, strawberries, blackberries, and a couple grapes! I love eating super colorful food and a variety at lunch.
I made this spaghetti squash dish for dinner tonight and it was super filling! It’s squash seasoned with italian seasoning and garlic, topped with chicken, zucchini, onions, and green pepper. I seasoned all of it with tons of garlic and pepper, and seasoned salt. I topped it with some jarred tomato sauce. I used to absolutely hate jarred sauce, but I kind of like it now! I got one that is whoe30 compliant at whole foods (no sugar, etc.). Most jarred sauces have sugar as an ingredient so beware!
One of the goals of the whole30 is to not snack as much- but if you’re like me and an avid exerciser and student, sometimes you just need a snack. My go-to snacks have been apples, pistachios, almonds, and larabars (not all are whole30 compliant so check the nutrition info).
Let me know below in the comments if you have ever done a whole 30 and if you’d like to see more of what I eat during this. Have you ever done any other nutritional reset programs, juice cleanses, etc?
