Brannon and I have decided to embark on a whole 30 journey like many others in the blogosphere. However, our situation is a bit extreme because unlike many who have transitioned from an already almost paleo diet, we were on an âeating out whatever we wanted for way too many meals diet.â SO I want to give advice to people who, like us, are going straight from everything fried in canola oil and all the bread all the time to REAL FOOD.Â
What we have been eating the most of:
Salmon, Boarâs Head nitrate/nitrite free turkey & roast beef, chicken breasts, baby spinach, sweet potatoes, baby carrots, asparagus, sugar snap peas, frozen blueberries & strawberries, kiwi, banana, lemons, limes, coconut oil, coffee, almond milk, eggs, uncured bacon, avocado, red wine vinegar, artichokes, hot peppers
Things that have really helped us get by when life is fast paced:
Lara bars, Salsaritaâs steak bowls, stretch island fruit snacks, canned tuna
Some helpful tips:
1. Smoothies are awesome. My favorite contains around 3/4 cup of frozen blueberries, a couple handfuls of spinach, half a banana, a spoonful of almond butter, a bunch of ice, and some almond milk to thin it down.Â
2. Salads are easy. My favorite is lots of spinach with some pine nuts, chopped pear, baked chicken breast, grape tomatoes, and dressing made with red wine vinegar, EVOO, pressed garlic, basil, S&P
3. Throwing some fish in the oven and sauteing veggies on the stove top makes for a very quick and delicious dinner. I like to just put a little coconut oil in a large skillet then add a variety of veggies to each pan corner starting with what takes the longest. (For example, last night I made sweet potato chips, asparagus, mushrooms, and spinach all in one pan, in that order. Throw in a little s&p and add garlic to the asparagus or whatever you want garlicy last since it cooks very quickly.)
4. Bake a bunch of chicken breasts and then freeze them for quick meals.
5. Baked sweet potato chips are a delicious snack! Just thinly slice, brush with melted coconut oil, salt, and pop in the oven at 400 for 8 minutes then flip and bake till crispy.
6. Deli meat roll ups are fantastic. I just pull out 3 pieces of roast beef (stacked on top of each other) line with spicy mustard or pesto, spinach, avocado, grape tomatoes, s&p, sometimes even a sprinkling of pine nuts, then roll up and enjoy. You could also put a teensy bit of EVOO in there if you fancy.Â
7. Sweet potato hash is the best breakfast ever. Iâm trying to hyperlink to my recipe post but itâs not working so here you go: kaserevolts.tumblr.com/post/49912613759
8. Buy a lot of bananas and when they ripen, peel and break in half and freeze in a ziploc so you can easily throw them in the blender. You can also make a delicious treat by adding almond milk and unsweetened cocoa. However if you are an ice cream fiend (neither of us are) that probably falls into SWYPO so donât do it. :)
9. Making a pitcher of water infused with mint and cucumber (like at Newkâs) makes drinking water all the time more fun. Also Hansenâs sparkling water is fun, but itâs definitely an acquired taste.
10. If you need a lot of energy on the go try a starbucks chai tea with a shot of espresso sprinkled with cinnamon. Kim Rooney, starbucks barista extraordinaire, says to make sure you specify you are not asking for a dirty chai latte (made with milk), but rather just standard tea bag & hot water + espresso. If you have some vanilla extract on hand a smidge of that would probably be an added bonus. Kim also assures me itâs perfectly acceptable to order such a particular order in the drive through.
11. Day 1 was super easy and fun, Day 2 was very very hard. Push through, you can do it, itâs all downhill (ease wise, that saying confuses me) from day 2. (Or at least for me.)
12. Go ahead and buy ALL THE SPINACH. Seriously. It still sounds good to me for every single meal. Green beans and broccoli, on the other hand, I am in no mood for. Strange since I normally love them.
13. Donât worry about cooking fancy recipes. I made a brussel sprout bacon salad early on (it really wasnât hard) and I mean it was good but I feel like the simpler the better. Real food tastes good on its own. The fanciest I get is taking a tiny bit of time to make some healthy condiments such as the following: olive oil mayo - Extra light tasting olive oil, 1 egg + 1 more yolk, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, salt all blended in a tall cup with an immersion blender, or if you are not an immersion blender owner (like us) a drill with an egg beater inserted where the bit goes and parmesan free pesto (just chopped up basil, pine nuts, garlic, s&p, lemon juice, and olive oil - also great in deli roll ups). Iâll be working on ketchup next.
14. Donât buy food you donât like. Itâs a waste of money. We bought lettuce to make lettuce wraps, but it just sits in our fridge cause we donât like lettuce. The roll ups work better for us. Do what works for you.Â
I will continue sharing what we find works well for us and report back when weâre done to let you know how it went. Iâve bolded recipe titles to try to make scanning this long post easier. Good luck!
