This past January my husband and I decided to do the Whole 30. We often have a “dry January” to try to combat the over indulgences of December, but this year we were motivated to push it even further. Most of that motivation came from a desire to live healthier, but I have also been combating chronic neck pain for a while, and the anti-inflammatory Whole 30 diet is supposed to help with pain. I bought the Whole 30 Cookbook, and on January 1st we went for it.
And it was tough! We wandered around the grocery store that first trip wondering what we could put in our carts. Jason’s favorite lunch on the go of PB&J sandwich was out: no grains of any kind, or legumes, on our new diet. We ended up with a lot of fruit, veggies, eggs, sugar-free bacon, and meat. We had to do a lot of meal planning, making sure we had Whole 30 compliant lunches and snacks for the week and all the ingredients for whatever we were making for dinner on hand when we got home after our respective busy days.
Now, obviously, we are several months past January right now. And busy days seem to be a thing of the past for the time being. But meal planning? That is KEY right now. Sheltering in Place means not stopping by the grocery store daily, it means thinking ahead and making sure we have what we need for multiple meals. Right now Jason and I are taking full advantage of our recent practice in the meal planning department, and it is paying off big time.
What we have not been so great at is limiting carbs and eating extra vegetables. I saw something on Facebook asking how come it is so hard to find bread in the grocery store now when last week everyone was Keto? Well, I can tell you why, because carbs are comfort! Which is why I have been eating toast for breakfast instead of grapefruit and baking blueberry muffins for my mom and husband. (I only had one, I swear!)
But the extension of our Shelter in Place order here in California is making it blatantly clear that something has to give here at the Stolp house. If I go on eating and drinking as I have been these past two weeks, April 30th will find me with more than a few extra pounds. Plus, I FELT way better when I was eating cleaner.
For those of you who would like to give the Whole 30 a go during this trying time, they have a developed a program called Whole 30 at Home that launches on April 13th. The Whole 30 website has all the details, and I encourage anyone who is up for it to start planning now, because preparation is the key to success for this program.
But… what about the rest of us? I am not ready to do the Whole 30 again, but I do need something to help me stay on track during this crazy quarantine. Something where bi-weekly Zoom cocktail parties are still ok, and sampling the cookies your family is keeping busy baking is not always off limits.
That is where the Half-Ass 30 comes in! Because so many of the meals we made while we were on the program were delicious, and worth repeating. So I know Jason will not mind if our dinners are Whole 30 compliant, and I also know that I will feel way less bloated if I switch back to fruit and coffee with collagen protein for breakfast. I’m ready to save my indulgences for exactly that, indulging. I do not need sourdough toast every day, and getting back out of the habit now will make me happier in the long run.
So, for the month of April I will be trying and posting new Whole 30 compliant recipes for dinner, as well as inspiration for meal planning. I will post recipes of anything I have created, and links where I can. I searched the internet, but it looks like you actually have to buy the Whole 30 Cookbook to get the recipe for Moroccan Chicken. I will say it is well worth purchasing, we made a lot of great meals out of it in January, and I am happy to revisit many of them this coming month.