Whole30

One of my goals for the new year was to give Whole30 a whirl.  What is Whole30 you ask? It is a nutrition program developed by Melissa and Dallas Hartwig to "reset your health, habits and relationship with food." (pg. 2, The Whole30: The 30-Day Guild to Total Health and Food Freedom).  Check out their website here:  http://whole30.com/

Basically, you eat meat, seafood, eggs, vegetables, fruit and natural fats. You do not eat sugar (not even "natural" sweeteners like Stevia), alcohol, grains, legumes or dairy products. They ask that you do not weigh or measure yourself during the entire 30 days. 

I had intended to begin in January, but I've taken my time mentally prepping for this experience.  I also cleaned out most of the dairy products and other no-no items that would be glaring at me every time I opened the refrigerator.  

Since I have been low carbing for a year now, some aspects of Whole30 should be fairly easy. But dairy seems to sneak into just about every low carb recipe.  And where once potatoes were verboten, now they are allowed, so a bit of a mind-bender to get over. My goal is that this 30 day "reset" will break the plateau I've been on for several months and give me some new insights that will help me move my "health, habits, and relationship with food" in an even more positive direction.

So today is Day 1 for me - or so I had intended it to be. Since February is a short month, I figured I'd just start a couple of days early.  Lunch went fine until I had some celery sticks spread with sunflower seed butter (which is technically approved in limited quantities). I read the label after the fact and saw "dehydrated cane juice" listed as an ingredient.  Wah-wah...start over.  So even though the rest of my day was Whole30 compliant, I'll do the right thing and call tomorrow my official first day!   Even though I was disappointed that I made that simple blunder, it was a good reminder:  always read the label BEFORE eating the food, duh...

Here is what I made for my dinner this evening:
http://melaniemitro.com/recipes/whole30-sloppy-joe/#.WJFNS1MrLIU

I served my Sloppy Joe over basic cauliflower rice rather than a potato. It was delicious! I'll try it with potato next time and see which way I like it best.  

Tomorrow I plan to try my hand at making homemade mayo using this recipe:
http://thehealthyfoodie.com/fail-proof-home-made-paleo-mayo-whole30-compliant/

If I don't die of salmonella, I'll let you know how it turns out!