Whole30 information

I want to start off by saying that I'm mainly keeping this record for us.  I want to be able to look back at old posts and remember which meals we like the most and which ones were ok.  Our plan is to keep eating as clean as we can next month. 

First off.  We made a box.  I'm pretty sure this isn't advised but since we started our Whole30 journey right after Christmas and New Years we had some stuff floating around we couldn't just throw away or donate. 

Inside our box is Reeses' Peanut Butter Cups and a bottle of vodka among other goodies.  We will probably feel terrible February 1st if we actually open this on the 31st but it's there none the less. 

Second off.  I use a lot of recipes from these sources:
Whole30
Well Fed
The Paleo Foodie Cookbook
The 30 day guide to Paleo cooking
Pinterest and the internet general searches can be helpful too!

Third off.  I just found out today that something we have been using in quite a few meals isn't 100% Whole30 approved and I'm going to stop using it, make my own batch, and carry on as though it didn't happen.  For a few reasons.  1) I'm 8 days in and I'm not about to start over because of a Veganise that has soy in it.  2) I'm studying Leviticus right now in BSF and there is an entire category of sins by omission.  This is one of those in my book.  We studied the label hard and found that it didn't have sugar or an incorrect type of oil.  3) Although I'm trying to follow this cleanse as closely as I can these circumstances are purely accidental.  If I was going to break this cleanse it would be over the aforementioned goodies in that box.  Definitely not a mayo that cost me $8.

Fourth.  Money.  I will do my best to give you the details on what we're spending during this entire journey as I find it to be helpful.  My man and I started a budge 2 1/2 years ago and have found it to be entirely freeing to know our limits.  We have upped our grocery budget for this month (mainly for the first shopping trip when I had to buy stuff like coconut aminos, ghee, coconut oil, coconut milk, coconut shredded) but all in all we are sticking pretty closely to what we regularly spend.  Because we are not eating out or drinking we are able to put that money toward really healthy food options.  For instance, whenever I can, during this month we are buying organic.

Fifth.  Do this with someone.  I strongly recommend the "misery loves company" rule of thumb here.  On multiple occasions I have called my friend Renee during the past 7 days just to say, "This is hard. Like really hard" or "can we eat together since we're making the same food" or "do you have any chocolate?" It's been fun to meal plan with her and get everything organized for our weeks ahead.  Plus, she has fun ideas and has done this before!

Sixth.  Have a reason for doing this.  For us it's many things.  1) we eat too much sugar.  2) our kids eat too much sugar. 3) I get headaches regularly (probably from grinding my teeth at night but that's another story). 4) We don't want alcohol to be a part of our regularly daily diet.  5) We have been given these amazing temples and we weren't taking very good care of them. 

Seventh. I'm mainly just coming up with a 7th part because I just didn't want to end it on 6 :) Enjoy this as much as you can.  This is not just a sacrifice of your favorite cheese but a sacrifice of your time.  This is all you will do once you start.  Remember when you brought your new baby home and you learned that breastfeeding a baby will be all you do.  For all time.  Forever.  Yeah.  It's kind of like that.  Just thinking about food.  Prepping the food.  Cooking the food.  Eating the food.  Cleaning up the food.  Prepping for the next meal.  Shopping for the food.  Unpacking the food.  and repeat.