Last year, I tried the Whole30 Plan. It’s pretty basic. No grains, no dairy, no sugar, no processed foods or additives. No peas or corn (a couple of my fav veggies), no alcohol, no peanuts. I said it was basic, not easy.
But I did it.
I made my own ghee (clarified butter, really) to take out the milk fats. It took me a few cups before I could say I enjoy it, but I learned to drink black coffee. Fortunately, I could have potatoes and sweet potatoes (in moderation), so I was actually able to live without grains. I thought I would have the hardest time with the grains, but really, it was the cheese that got me. I wanted to lose weight, and I did lose some. But mostly, I wanted to learn some new eating habits so could lose weight and keep it off. Well, I have fallen back into some bad habits, so it’s time to work on me again. Harder this time. I am not going to do a strict Whole30 plan this time, but I will use a lot of what I learned and really work to make these changes that I need. I hope.
One thing I learned is that carbs for breakfast are useless for me. Sure, they taste great. But even the “healthy” things like oatmeal or Crispix cereal leave me hungry way before lunchtime. But if I have protein, I am only mildly hungry for lunch. So a protein-rich breakfast it is. I try to have hard boiled eggs, or sometimes I make mini frittatas, crustless quiches, whatever you want to call them. You can fill them with a meat of your choosing. I do try to pick a Whole30 approved one, which means no fake ingredients and no sugar — there is just one brand of bacon that my grocery store carries that does not have sugar. But I would rather cut added sugars out of everything else if it means I can have a cookie or something that actually tastes sweet and will satisfy my craving. For the mini frittatas, I leave out the cheese, and put in veggies, usually red bell peppers because they are one of my favorites in a quiche.
I also learned to love almond butter (a no additive kind, just plain ‘ole roasted and puréed almonds). Like black coffee, this too was an acquired taste. But now I like it more than peanut butter, which tastes overly sweet to me. I can put a couple tablespoons of almond butter on diced strawberries and bananas, or dip a sliced apple. I’m also excited to try a recipe I just saw for sweet potato and zucchini fritters - I think that will make a good breakfast. I am also going to master making poached eggs and serve them over roasted asparagus spears.
Something else I learned is that I can make just about anything for the guys for dinner. They are good sports and will try lots of different things. But while I can, and need to, avoid the carbs at dinner, if they don’t have a starch, they will be trolling through the kitchen an hour after dinner. Just different metabolisms, I guess. So one night, I made a homemade marinara sauce with ground chicken. I served it over portabella mushroom caps for me and big bowls of pasta for the guys. A perfect solution.
I know I won’t stick to a diet. But I can change the way I eat. Wish me luck! And if you have any suggestions, please feel free to share them.
