April 2016 - from Lisa Marie

Month: April 2016

29
Apr
2016

My Whole 30 Experience [Part 5]: Afterward

Finally we come to the last post in my Whole 30 series (or is it – haha)! I do anticipate a followup post to this series at some point, so subscribe to my blog now and you won’t miss out! Here’s the recap of the different parts to my Whole 30 experience series:

Part 1: Intro to My Whole 30 Experience
Part 2: My Whole 30 Experience & Results
Part 3: My Whole 30 Experience – The Food
Part 4: 10 Tips for a Successful Whole 30
Part 5: After Whole 30 & How I’m Doing

I’ve shared all about the actual Whole 30 experience, but I think the other part people wonder about is what happens after it’s all over? I’m approaching 3 months since we finished our Whole 30 and will share honestly about our eating habits now and whether we have maintained the good results that we achieved.

Eating Habits After Our Whole 30 Experience

After we finished our 30 days, we didn’t want to go crazy eating all the things we couldn’t before, so we did try to gradually bring them back. We did it faster than the recommended Whole 30 reintroduction, but still took about 4-5 days to reintroduce everything. We did not experience any food issues as we reintroduced, so that was nice to know. If you think there is any chance that you might have some physical issues with certain food groups, it really is best to reintroduce one thing at a time and give it 2 days to see if you have any reactions. On Day 1 we added dairy and sugar because I HAD to have my latte! We added Grains a day or so later. About 3 days later, we had some alcohol. And the various other items were sprinkled throughout the 4-5 days. As we added food groups back, we kept most of our meals as close to Whole 30 meals as possible and continued that for over a week.

The biggest difference we noticed as we got back to “normal” eating was the change in our taste for sugar. I need far far less now than ever in my entire life. Some things now are simply too sweet for me. If you go on a sugar fast, but you still have honey and maple syrup or stevia or other sweeteners, I don’t think you will have the same experience. Whole 30 eliminates *all* sweet tastes except for fruit and we tried not to go overboard with that either. That’s what made the difference – learning to do without the sweet taste all the time.

We also noticed the taste of fast food wasn’t as good as before the Whole 30 experience. When you get used to not having processed food, you can really tell the difference. I’m not saying we don’t still enjoy eating out, but we definitely have less craving for the worst of the fast foods. Real and whole foods have great flavor and we are working to have more of them than before we did Whole 30.

Did We Maintain Results?

Yes, and no. I have held to having less sugar, though sweets creep into our diet here and there as we make more and more exceptions the further out from Whole 30 we get. But my taste hasn’t changed yet and I’m trying to keep it that way. We’re still eating less pasta and bread in general and we were keeping alcohol to weekends only, but have fallen off of that as of late. I still don’t have the 3pm energy slump most days and before Whole 30, I had it every single day.

One change that has stuck is my putting a stop to drinking soda, mainly diet soda (Coke Zero with Splenda). I used the Whole 30 experience to finally be my time to go completely without the diet soda and get rid of the craving for that flavor. I knew it wasn’t good for me, and kept drinking it on a regular basis before that. So even after Whole 30 ended, I refused to have any soda and especially not a taste of Coke Zero as I was afraid that I might start craving that flavor again. Almost 3 months since last drinking it, I finally took a taste of some. I was curious to see if I would still like it. Happy to say, I did NOT like it! It had such an overwhelming artificial flavor and I have no desire to have any more. I’m trying to drink more water, though I struggle with that, and my main cold drink has become iced tea.

As a few of our bad eating habits creep back in, there has been a bit of weight gain. Just a couple of pounds, but that’s not the direction we want to go! I really need to keep the weight coming off and that will only happen by continuing to eat in a healthy way and adding in the right kinds of exercise. I have been eating less fruit than during Whole 30, and need to get back in that habit to keep energy levels higher.

Where to go From Here

As we have come out of some busy times with more eating out than usual, I feel like focusing on Whole 30 meals again would be very beneficial for our family. I don’t think it’s realistic right now for us to do another full Whole 30, but I do think we could work in a Whole 15. Or plan out 2 weeks of all meals and snacks that are mostly Whole 30 compliant and not stray from them at all during that time. It would get us back to the better eating habits as well as help us get rid of the couple of pounds that have crept back, I’m sure.

My plan right now is for our family to do a Whole 30 once a year. January makes the most sense to me, right after the holidays. And then I want to do a couple weeks of Whole 30 meals once a quarter to help keep us on track with healthier eating. I also want to find a simple 30-day fitness/exercise challenge that we could follow to get us in the habit of being active on a daily basis.

So overall, even though some of our bad eating habits have started coming back a little, there have been some permanent changes for the better in our eating habits. Anything worthwhile takes effort and I know that it will take more focus and planning to continue toward healthy eating for our family. We’re still very satisfied with the results of Whole 30 and highly recommend it!

Whether you are in the middle of a Whole 30 experience, or considering starting one, I hope that this series has been helpful. If you have any questions, comments, or feedback, pleas leave a comment! Thanks for joining me!

19
Apr
2016

Cranberry White Chocolate Cream Scones

categories: Food

I mentioned in a post that I would probably have occasional recipe posts here. I actually had the general recipe for these scones on my other blog, but as I was referring to it yet again to make the scones, I knew it needed reworking, rewording, and new pics, so I decided to do that for you here because…scones. No other reason needed!

These are my absolute favorite scones and they are not like the usual scones that you get to eat. They’re cream scones and are light and fluffy – like little pastry clouds of love. They are also the easiest scones to make – in fact, you CAN make these scones even if you claim not to be a baker. I’ll give you the step-by-step instructions; just follow along for deliciousness that will impress your family and friends. I can’t take credit for this recipe – a friend used to give this mix as a Christmas gift and it was my first introduction to making scones.

Cream Scones Step-by-Step

First, preheat the oven to 425° F and cover a large cookie sheet (or 2 smaller ones) with parchment paper. If you don’t have parchment paper, you can use ungreased cookie sheets.

Add all of the dry ingredients to a mixing bowl and whisk together until well-mixed. Prep your flat surface for patting out the scones by flouring it. Since I don’t have a flat counter, I use our pullout cutting board and cover it with wax paper before flouring. The wax paper trick makes my cleanup afterward so much simpler.

Pour the measured heavy whipping cream into the bowl and use a fork to stir up the ingredients into a ball of sticky dough. You will have to keep working the dry ingredients into the dough ball. It will eventually all come together.

With floured hands, take the dough out of the bowl and knead together a few times. Split into 2 or 3 equal balls and set down on floured surface. I do 3 balls as it makes scones that are between full-size and mini, thus justifying eating 3…or so. If you want lots of mini scones for a group, do 4 smaller balls. Pat dough into circles that are about 5 inches across (smaller if you do more circles).

Melt the butter and brush it over tops and sides of the circles. Sprinkle tops evenly with sugar. For a prettier effect, use clear sparkling sugar. Cut each circle into 8 wedges. You can use a knife, but I do it the fun way – with my pizza cutter.

Transfer wedges to cookie sheet. Make sure and leave a bit of room around each scone as they will spread out a little. Bake for 11 minutes. If you do smaller scones, check sooner. Since ovens always differ, I recommend starting with 10 minutes and adding minutes until the scones start to get a light golden brown color. You want that bit of crispiness on the outside.

Remove from oven when done and cool on a rack. While they are cooling, use the rest of the heavy whipping cream to make whipped cream for the scones. I add about a teaspoon or so of powdered sugar as I’m whipping the cream to give it a slight sweetness. Eat and enjoy!

Cranberry White Chocolate Cream Scones Recipe

Cranberry White Chocolate Cream Scones
2 Cups Flour
1/4 Cup Sugar
1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Cup Dried Cranberries
1/4 Cup White Chocolate Chips
16 oz. Heavy Whipping Cream
3 Tablespoons Butter, Melted
Extra Sugar to Sprinkle (Clear sparkling sugar looks lovely.)

Preheat oven to 425° F. Prepare 1 large or 2 smaller cookie sheets with parchment paper (can leave ungreased if you don’t have parchment paper, though I’ve always used parchment).

Combine all ingredients into a bowl. Whisk together. Add 1 1/4 cups of the heavy cream to the mix. Using a fork, stir until batter becomes a sticky ball of dough. Keep working in the loose flour until all is mixed in.

Prepare a flat surface by coating lightly with flour. With floured hands, pick up ball of dough and knead a few times – up to 8 or so. Pat into 2 or 3 circles on floured surface. Pat until circles are about 5 inches in diameter. Brush melted butter onto tops and sides of dough circles. Sprinkle the tops evenly with sugar.

Cut each circle into 8 wedges. Place wedges on prepared baking sheet(s). Make sure to leave close to an inch of space around each wedge. Bake for 11 minutes or until tops are getting golden brown.

In a mixing bowl, whip remaining heavy cream. During whipping, add 1 teaspoon or so of powdered sugar for a bit of sweetness. Serve warm scones topped with whipped cream. Enjoy! Scones are best while still a little warm and served same day. If you save leftovers (What leftovers?!), they will still be yummy, but you will lose some of the slight crisp to the outside and the fluffiness inside.

Variations: Substitute chopped walnuts for white chocolate chips or chopped apricots for the cranberries. Instead of cutting into wedges, cut into circles with the rim of a glass or other shapes with cookie cutters. Pat together leftover bits of dough to use all of it in the shapes.

I hope you get a chance to make these cream scones – they are worth the effort! Have you had these scones before? Do you have a favorite kind of scone?

Be sure to Like my Facebook page if you haven’t and subscribe to my blog posts so you never miss what’s coming next! Thanks for joining me, friends!

13
Apr
2016

10 Tips For a Successful Whole 30

categories: Food, Health & Fitness

Welcome back to my Whole 30 series! In Part 1, I gave you an introduction to the program and what I think about it. In Part 2, I shared my own experiences doing it and the results. In Part 3, I shared all about the food that we ate during the 30 days and included links and recipes. Now here we are at Part 4, where I’ve got a list of Whole 30 tips to help you be successful – you can do it! Be sure to subscribe to my blog here, so you don’t miss the last of the Whole 30 series (Part 5 is coming next week).

I loved finding helpful Whole 30 tips online to help me through, so I’ve got a list of 10 for you! Some of my tips will help make things a little easier and some will help you get the most out of your 30 days so your end results are awesome.

10 Whole 30 Tips

#1. Follow the rules. Follow. The. Rules. I mean it! If you want to see the greatest results and make these 30 days of hard work really pay off, then follow all of the rules listed on the Whole 30 website. Even if you think the rules don’t make sense, they do have reasons for them. It’s only 30 days – stop trying to find a way around it and just do what you’re told. LOL.

#2. Plan ahead. Plan like you’ve never planned before. It’s kind of a side-bonus if you haven’t been a good planner before – you’ll be forced to develop the skill! Plan all of your meals and snacks for each day as far ahead as you can (I did a week at a time). Write out your grocery lists and get all of the food you need. Have the recipes marked, pinned, saved, and ready to go. Prep some snack foods to be easily available. Plan a couple of quicker backup meals and have ingredients on hand for those.

#3. Keep it simple. If you’re a foodie and love to cook new things regularly, then you can skip this rule. But if you’re like most of us, you’ll be trying out all of these new recipes to make the 30 days more exciting and then find that it may be too difficult to constantly be prepping and cooking new foods while you are trying to stay on top of the program. Find some breakfasts and lunches that you like and repeat. Make extra portions of dinners so that you can have leftovers. Try to help yourself out in little ways during the 30 days. It really helped me.

#4. Find Your favorite. As you try new things on the plan, be on the lookout for a fave new meal or snack. And then go ahead and have it a lot! It’s one acceptable way to reward yourself. One of our faves really was apple slices with almond butter, so it became a daily thing. And since I drank a lot of tea during the 30 days, I used the opportunity to find a couple of new fave tea flavors.

#5. Be flexible. Wait – I tell you to follow the rules and then I tell you to be flexible. Follow the rules first! But don’t let unexpected plans and situations completely derail you from the program because you have to bend a couple rules. Stay as close to plan as you can, but don’t miss out on important opportunities. My husband had a couple of work group lunches during our Whole 30. It would have looked bad for him not to attend. Thankfully, he knew ahead where they were going, found the menu online, and figured out how he could modify a Cobb salad to make it fit Whole 30 (as far as we know). If you have a salad, you can ask for oil (usually olive oil) and vinegar instead of dressing and most restaurants have it on hand and can accommodate you. If you need to attend a potluck or a party, take a Whole 30-approved dish yourself so there is something there you can enjoy.

#6. Get a group. It’s so much easier to stay on track if you have a group to do it with. They don’t even have to be near you, thanks to the internet and Facebook! Before you start your Whole 30, convince a few friends or family members to do it at the same time and create a Facebook group to help with encouragement, accountability, and sharing Whole 30 tips. I was part of a group of coworkers that did this and it helped us a lot. We also created group Pinterest boards so we could share all of our ideas.

#7. Post your pics. One of the things that’s fun is to post your food pics online and use the hashtag: #whole30. It helps you want to come up with attractive meals and it helps give others inspiration. I saw some great food ideas online by looking at #whole30 posts and a friend of mine was inspired to make a new breakfast recipe just because she saw my post on Instagram. So share away!

#8. Get mental. What I mean is use this 30 days to get control of your mental eating habits. Do you have an issue with snacking or dessert or treating yourself with a specific food when you’re celebrating? It’s amazing how we develop mental eating habits. I was stuck in the habit of having something sweet every evening – some sort of dessert. Whole 30 rules tell you not to substitute approved foods in place of your sweets, like dessert. So during Whole 30, I started out by having fruit or other items in the evenings at first but then transitioned away from it. I wanted to use the 30 days to break away from the dessert habit. It was tough, but I did it and don’t have that intense feeling that I need dessert anymore.

#9. Break it down. When you start your 30 days, you may feel overwhelmed in the first few days by doing without some of your favorite foods. You might decide that 30 days is just not possible. Trust me that part of this feeling is the fact that you are detoxing and part of it is you getting over the mental addictions to some foods. But it’s also okay to decide that a Whole 30 is not for you. Do yourself a favor – don’t quit in the first few days. Do a Whole 10! Still enough time to detox, start enjoying some new recipes, and stop some cravings. But at the end of the 10 days, before you stop, decide if you can handle making it a Whole 20. And at the end of that, decide if you can go just 10 more days. You might be surprised at what you can do and how much better you feel after getting several days into the plan.

#10. Incent yourself. You will feel deprived at the beginning of the Whole 30 as you will be giving up some of your fave foods. It’s especially hard in that first week. Find new ways to incent and reward yourself that don’t involve food. Plan something special for yourself if you make it all the way through the 30 days, but also come up with some weekly rewards. And you may even need daily incentives during those first 5 days!

I hope you find some of these whole 30 tips helpful! Are you ready to try a Whole 30? Are you in the middle of one right now and if so, how’s it going? Leave a comment!

There’s still another post to come in the Whole 30 series next week, so come on back! Thanks for joining me!

07
Apr
2016

Do You Struggle With Self-Doubt?

categories: Family Life, Living

Do you struggle with self-doubt? Newsflash: Everybody does. In fact, that’s really more of a rhetorical question, isn’t it? I’d like to share my thoughts about self-doubt and find out how some of you have overcome this issue.

Honestly, now that my age is in the middle of a certain decade beyond the thirties, I find that I struggle less with self-doubt than I did years ago. It’s not really that I think I’m more awesome as I get older. It’s more that I know that most of us struggle with something, and perfection simply cannot be achieved (though we should still strive to improve). But even with that knowledge and a strong sense of confidence in one area or another, wow – does that self-doubt show up SO quickly and almost take over!

Experiencing Self-Doubt

We experience self-doubt in just about everything: our spiritual walk, marriages, parenting abilities, job knowledge, hobbies, service, writing, blogging, Facebook Live video (had to mention it because I tried it for the first time yesterday and felt like nobody was going to watch or care!). I’m not saying that it would be good that we forge ahead in everything that we do, never wondering if we’re doing the right thing or could do something better. I think there is a healthy amount of doubt that can be helpful and point you in a new direction.

When I’m talking about struggling with self-doubt, I mean that sudden feeling that you are not worthy or good enough to do what you are trying to do or that you are making a very bad decision and why in the world did you ever think you could do this and you wonder if everybody is shaking their head, thinking “What is she doing?” It can be overwhelming and make you suddenly quit the very thing you are doing. That is not healthy doubt. Fight through it, friends. It’s okay to take a step back and look at everything objectively, but don’t let it scare you away from doing something awesome or even doing the regular daily things that we all need to push through and move forward.

I’ve experienced that feeling many times in the past in motherhood and jobs and marriage and on and on. I experience it less now, but it still pops up unexpectedly. I started a new job and of course had to learn all new things which always makes me question myself about 3 days in wondering if I can really do the job (yes, I can and already learned a bunch and am improving). And then restarting this blog was another experience. I have been working really hard on planning and writing posts. All it took was one day of almost no views of a post that I had worked so hard on for me to suddenly feel like maybe I shouldn’t be trying to blog again and what was I thinking – why would anybody want to hear what I have to say? Happy to say that I conquered those feelings and am forging ahead anyway, but I was really caught off guard at how overwhelming that feeling was and how quickly it came on. It helps to be on the lookout for it and realize that it may be a fleeting feeling and 24 hours later you’ll be fine. So never make any rash decisions when you feel that self-doubt – wait a bit!

Overcoming Self-Doubt

Try to remember that NOBODY is perfect and EVERYBODY experiences self-doubt about something! We’re all here trying to do the best that we can. And don’t worry too much about what others think – keeping on with what you’re doing isn’t always about others. Sometimes it’s just about you. Don’t be afraid to reach out and ask for help, advice, and encouragement when needed. People can’t always read your mind and know to give you the blessing of that extra boost that you need. If you’re experiencing some self-doubt right now, take a deep breath, take a mental step back and think about whether your self-doubt is reasonable. Consider me your encouragement today that you should keep moving forward! You are more amazing than you know – don’t wait for others to tell you that in order to believe it. You are worthy and what you do does make a difference even when you don’t think it does. Have confidence, hold your head up high, and power on!

This post didn’t quite go where I originally meant it to, but I’m not going to have any self-doubt about it. Obviously somebody needs some encouraging words today and I hope that you find them here and are blessed by them!

What things are causing you to experience self-doubt? Have you felt overwhelmed by it? What helps you to overcome it? Share in the comments and help the rest of us! Thanks for joining in, friends!

05
Apr
2016

My Whole 30 Experience [Part 3] – The Food

categories: Food, Health & Fitness

Welcome back to my Whole 30 Experience series! In Part 1, I told you about the program and how it works. In Part 2, I shared my experience and the results. Now I’m sharing the part you’re really curious about – the Whole 30 food! I’ve still got a couple more posts in this series and they will be helpful for you if you’re considering doing a Whole 30 yourself. Do yourself a favor and subscribe to my blog here so you don’t miss those posts when they’re published!

Though I searched for new recipes to use during the 30 days, I wanted to keep things as simple as I could and also repeat recipes that we liked. It was hard enough for me to stick with the plan and the food prep 3 meals a day, so anything I could do to make it a little easier helped. I don’t have a bunch of fancy gourmet Whole 30 dishes to share with you – just good real foods and recipes that even my son enjoyed. Most of the recipes I used were either my own or new ones I found on Pinterest or by searching. And I used some recipes from the Whole 30 book I purchased. So again, having the recipes from the book is nice, but you can totally do a successful Whole 30 just by searching online for what you need.

Whole 30 Food – Breakfast

I did keep it simple most of the time with eggs, sugar-free bacon, and fruit. But I’m not a fan of eggs.for.all.of.the.days. So I needed some egg-free ideas. Here are some additional breakfast recipes for you:

Easy and Delicious Whole 30 Breakfast: This is a type of egg casserole, with sausage and veggies. I really wanted to like it, but did not, mainly because I have issues with texture. My husband did like it and son thought it was okay. But it’s easy and makes a lot, so adjust the recipe and it might be a family fave for you!

Breakfast Pumpkin Custard: This was really a nice change for breakfast. Now I’m not a big fan of bananas sadly, so I liked this better when I made it with bananas that weren’t super ripe, but if you like bananas then use ripe ones. We all liked this one and it’s surprisingly filling. I always added some extra chopped pecans and a few plain coconut chips to my serving and I preferred to eat it cold.

Paleo Cinnamon Apple Bake: This is not approved as a Whole 30 meal on its own, but enjoy it as a side to some bacon, sausage, and even eggs. It’s so yummy – we consider this one a keeper even when not trying to eat Whole 30 food.

Berry “Muesli”: After looking at some ideas online, I realized I could create my own Whole 30 breakfast and I loved it! You can adjust the ingredients to your liking, but I used: sliced almonds, sunflower seeds, fresh raspberries and blueberries, chopped pecans, and coconut chips, topped with unsweetened almond milk. This was one was so satisfying for somebody who really likes yogurt, granola, and berries for breakfast.

Whole 30 Food – Lunch/Dinner

I don’t have a lot of new lunch ideas. I tried to keep it easier by making enough dinner so there would be leftovers available for lunch. So my lunches were mainly leftovers or salads. I recommend keeping some cooked chicken on hand (you can find a couple of brands of precooked chicken chunks with only approved ingredients) and making a variety of salads. One of my fave combinations was lettuce, spinach, red grapes, and pecans with a homemade vinaigrette.

Dinners were easier because meat with no added ingredients and vegetables makes a great dinner. We enjoyed grilled steaks and ribs with a sugar-free rub, in addition to pork loin roast, chicken breasts, and salmon fillets. And the fact that potatoes are allowed is fabulous! Here are some of our fave dinner sides and main dishes:

Colorful Roasted Vegetables

Butternut Squash and Pear Soup

Mexican Chicken Soup

Crustless Chicken Pot Pie

Pork Loin Roast: This is one of our fave dinners and it’s so very simple! Just mix up the rub, put it on the roast and bake. Just as delicious as the marinated pork loins you can buy, but you have control over the ingredients.

Pork Loin Rub
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Rub on pork loin roast (up to 2 1/2 pounds) and bake for 350 degrees for about 1 hour or follow baking directions included with the roast.

Beef and Veggie Chili: Another one of our faves that came out of a protein diet book many years ago. Adjust ingredient amounts as much or as little as you like.

Beef and Veggie Chili – Low Carb
1 pound ground beef
Chopped onions
Chopped green pepper
Chopped mushrooms
I can diced tomatoes, with juice
1 1/2+ tablespoons chili powder
Salt to taste
Water

Sauté chopped onions and green pepper. When soft, add chopped mushrooms and continue to sauté until soft. Set aside. Brown ground beef. Drain fat and add to vegetable mixture. Add in tomatoes, spices, and enough water until chili is the consistency you prefer. Simmer for 20-30 minutes. I always make a double batch.

Whole 30 Food – More Tips

Notice that there’s no dessert section? Sorry, dessert isn’t allowed on Whole 30! If you MUST have something, we enjoyed some apple slices with almond butter in the beginning days, but eventually tried to stop doing that so we could retrain ourselves to know that we didn’t have to eat something sweet every evening. Here are a few more random food tips to get you through:

Pay very close attention to labels! We could only find 1 brand of sugar-free bacon that we could eat. Not really worth it unless bacon helps you through. It was yummy but you could tell that the flavor was different. So yes, almost all bacon uses sugar in the curing process – news to us!

Watch out for condiments. The difference between ingredients in different brands is amazing. I ended up making my own mayonnaise from the Whole 30 book. It’s best to make your own salad dressing as well, which can be as simple as equal parts oil and vinegar and salt and pepper to taste.

You can have fruit juice! 100% fruit juice is allowed on the plan, though not recommended as it’s high in natural sugar content. But you can have some in moderation, so what this means is that sparkling apple juice is allowed (Martinelli’s brand is just pure apple juice)! We enjoyed it a couple of times to make our dinner feel extra special. It also helps a little if you are really missing wine.

Find a new “fast food” to make if plans fall through. I needed something that was quick and easy to make in case I wasn’t feeling up to making the full meal I had planned or didn’t have things ready in time. Come up with this backup plan and stock up. Our favorite was Aidell’s chicken apple sausages (they are so yummy), sliced or not, sauteed in a pan and sliced potatoes (baked a bit first) fried in a pan with a little oil and salt/pepper. Add some fruit for a quick additional side.

Find a favorite snack. In the beginning of the 30 days, you’re going to be desperate for a few snacks and maybe even an emergency “dessert”, which will taper off a bit as you go. But you want to have a good Whole 30-approved snack option. Our very favorite snack was slicing up an apple and dipping the slices in almond butter – yum! And I discovered coconut cream concentrate (coconut butter), so I mixed a little of that with my almond butter for a slightly different flavor. I also used approved Lara Bars sparingly and kept one in my purse for emergencies. My faves were Coconut Cream Pie and Pecan Pie.

Whole 30 Food – Dislikes

There were a few things that I didn’t care for during the Whole 30 food plan. Here are a few:

Black Coffee. You are allowed to drink black coffee on the plan. I do not like black coffee. I only drink sweetened, creamy coffee. I decided to go without coffee rather than attempt it black or with unsweetened milk of some sort. That was crazy of me! But I survived by drinking high-caf tea every morning. I do like my tea unsweetened, thank goodness, and happened across this brand of high-caf tea at Whole Foods. One cup has more caffeine than a standard cup of coffee. One cup in the morning was just enough to keep me from having any caffeine withdrawals, but not so much that I felt over-caffeinated at all. And the rest of the day I used regular tea.

Ghee. So I did use ghee regularly through my 30 days because it is the closest to butter, but I really did not care for the flavor and have not had it since. My feeling is that it’s like they took butter…and then ruined it! But when you can’t have butter, it doesn’t seem quite so bad.

Egg casseroles. I have an issue with textures and eggy casseroles turned out not to be my thing, which is a bummer because they are handy for breakfast and even dinner sometimes. Try some out and see what you think.

Bananas. Oh how I wish I liked bananas. It would make sugar-free life much much easier. I can handle them if they’re not very ripe, but once they’re ripe, they need to be in banana bread or cake for me to eat them! If you do like bananas, you will be able to create yourself some Whole 30 smoothies or combine them with cashews and coconut for breakfast.

Cauliflower. Another veggie that I wish I liked. My husband and son asked me not to bother making anything with cauliflower as well (even though they actually like it – they just didn’t want to have much of it). If you and your family like it, you’ll be able to try new things like mashed cauliflower and cauliflower rice.

Whole 30 approved mocha. I tried a recipe, but modified it according to what I like and don’t like. It was the worst-tasting thing EVER. There was no substitute that was going to work for me, so I decided it was better to go without for a while than try drinking poor substitutes. Don’t be afraid to try a couple of crazy recipes though for your fave foods and drinks that you’re missing – you never know!

Whole 30 Food – Resources

I hope you found a few more helpful Whole 30 food ideas in this post! You can find many more recipes and ideas from a few places: either of the Whole 30 books, the Whole 30 website, searching for Whole 30 recipes online (there are forums and groups that share ideas as well), and Pinterest, to name a few. In fact, I do have a Whole 30 Ideas Pinterest board that you can check out. I’ll be continuing to add to it as I run into new ideas.

I’ve tried to include as much info as I could about the food. Have you found a new recipe to try? Are you going to try Whole 30? What other questions do you have about the Whole 30 food? Comment and I’d be happy to answer you!

Don’t forget – there are still a couple more posts to go in this series. Up next will be a post with some helpful tips for those of you attempting a Whole 30! Thanks for following along!