Friday Faves – My Whole30 Essentials

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We’ve been on Summer Break for almost 2 weeks now, but it feels like it’s been much longer based on the insane amounts of chauffeuring I’ve done! Swim, Cross Country, Swim, Sleep, Repeat. Welcome to my summer! At least the kids shouldn’t have a lot of time to complain about being bored for the next 5 weeks. Meanwhile, I’m going to spend a lot of time pumping gas and listening to The Greatest Showman soundtrack, thanks to my assistant chauffeur, HarpAlyse. If she has to ride along, the least we can do is let her pick the music to keep her heart happy. She does have a sweet little singing voice. She’s finally learning the actual titles to the songs, which makes playing her requested songs much easier. No more “the song where the two guys are in the coffee shop,” (The Other Side) or “the come back home song,” (From Now On). She’s something special for sure!

To kick off the summer, I agreed to do my first ever round of Whole30 with a friend. What in the world was I thinking? No Diet Dr. Pepper or little pink packet in my coffee for the first month of summer? Definitely a moment of insanity on my part. Actually, my agreement was more a form of desperation thanks to the 15 pounds I’ve managed to gain this year and the total disregard for any semblance of healthy eating I’ve practiced in the past 2 months. Nothing like going into summer without any shorts or crop pants that don’t squeeze me in like a can of biscuits ready to pop! Hello tent dresses! It’s been so discouraging because I worked so hard 2 years ago to lose almost 30 pounds and managed to keep it off for a year, only to gain half of it back the following year. Ugh! Why wasn’t I born with the skinny gene or a metabolism that allows me to eat ice cream 3 meals a day with no worries of weight gain?

A week into my 30 days of eating the Whole 30 way and I’m actually doing okay. I’ve lost 3 pounds so far. I know the Whole30 people say it’s not about weight loss, but if I’m depriving myself of the foods that I love, I sure better see some smaller numbers on my bathroom scale! I asked my Twitter peeps for their best Whole30 advice and one of my real life friends said I needed to take out a loan because it costs more to eat this way. That is totally true! I’m all in, though, so I’ve been willing to spend more than I normally would for some staples.

Here are my Whole30 survival staples!

Tessamae’s Dressing
I personally like the Avocado Ranch and have been able to find it locally at one of my grocery stores. It’s so good. I eat it on salad and use it as a dip for grilled chicken. I thought I was buying a bottle of the creamy ranch a few days ago and ended up with another bottle of avocado ranch. No major loss, but I do want to try the creamy ranch.

Nut Pods

At first, I wasn’t a fan of nut pods.  Womp, Womp! I bought the hazelnut first. It adds a little bit of creamy to my morning coffee, but it definitely doesn’t provide the sweet. I started adding cinnamon just for a little bit extra, but that wasn’t the answer to a good cup of coffee, either. I did some research and found that many people who use nut pods froth their nut pods creamer before they add it to their coffee. Ding Ding Ding! I bought this frother with a gift card I was given by one of my preschool students and this made all the difference. I make an absolute mess frothing and pouring, but I haven’t hated my coffee since I started frothing.

Ghee I use Ghee for just about everything! I coat skillets with it when cooking meats or even when I’m “frying” potatoes. I put it on sweet potatoes to help give that smooth, buttery texture. MavCole hates the smell of it when it’s hot, but he’ll just have to deal with it. It definitely has a unique odor, but I don’t mind it near the way I did coconut oil when I followed a Paleo diet several years ago.

Cashew Cookie Larabars I’ve eaten Larabars for a while, but typically only buy them when I can get them for less than $1 a piece. My favorite Larabars have peanut butter or chocolate in them, but those aren’t allowed on Whole30. Boo! The Cashew Cookie bars are made of cashews and dates. That’s it! I try to only eat 1 a day because I know I need to be eating real food more than snacky stuff. These have been super helpful this week as I’ve run out the door to drive the bus to various practices. Larabar and coffee with nut pods creamer = breakfast of champions, or the crazy mother just trying to get her kids to practice on time! These are on a really good deal as of post time with a coupon for an additional $3 off. Get you some!

Nuts

Nuts are a good little snack when I just have to have something. With all our busyness and the time I spend sitting in a folding chair watching swimmers, a little baggy of nuts is great to get me through those moments of boredom when real food isn’t readily available.

A few other items that have proven helpful are Whole30 Compliant Mayonnaise, Coconut Cream, and Suja Probiotic Watermelon fruit drink. I know that fruit drinks are questionable for hard core Whole30 people, but I figure if I can’t have soda, I am going to allow myself to drink something that is compliant and has flavor. I don’t love sparkling waters. Actually I think they’re disgusting so those aren’t even an option in my book. Suja is a real splurge and I limit myself to 1 a day!

I’ll share a few of my favorite Whole30 recipes I’ve been using to get through the first week later.

I’m super proud of myself for sticking to this as much as I have. My only little hiccup happened last night when MavCole decided he wanted Olive Garden for dinner. Not a thing on their menu isn’t covered in butter or served with a heap of pasta. I ordered a steak with steamed vegetables, but the steamed vegetables were iffy, depending on what they were cooked with. I figure I made the best choice I could make under the circumstances. Watching him devour 4 bread sticks was absolute torture. He’ll burn those calories and carbs this morning at swim camp.

Have you ever attempted a round of Whole30? I’m all ears to your tips and tricks! Like I said earlier, the two things I miss most are Diet Dr. Pepper and sweetening my morning coffee! Other than that, I’ve found some good recipes and have been able to have food prepped so I’m not cooking an entire meal 3 times a day.

Whole30 Week 2, I’m coming for ya!