Whole30 Day 17

I am on day 17 of the Whole30.  I am so excited because a few other ladies at my church have decided to
join the party.  All those that
have been doing it are reporting great results.
And me?  Well eating healthy is not the issue.  HOWEVER I find that I do a lot of emotional
eating.  I follow the prescribed meal
plan at each meal (protein, veggies, and good fat) and for the most part I am
satisfied until the next meal.  But I
find that if my tenacious toddler pushes the right buttons, or I have a lot to do, I am reaching for
something to snack on (a mini escape if you will), EVEN WHEN I AM NOT HUNGRY!  Sigh. Always something to commit to prayer, so glad God never gets tired of me.  Some of you have asked for recipes, below are a few suggestions.  Enjoy!

  • This website has a list of 31 family recipes for Whole 30.  If that doesn’t work for you, try this website.  I am a big fan of her recipes.
  • Baked sweet potatoes are simple and delicious. Poke holes in unpeeled sweet potatoes and bake in the oven at 400 degrees for a hour or more.  I sometimes bake them for a hour and a half. I find that the longer I bake
    them, the sweeter they are.  Once cooked, top with coconut oil or ghee.  ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS!  The longer I go without added sugars, the more I can appreciate the sweetness of the SWEET potato.
  • oven baked sweet plantains These are delicious.  You can also fry them.  I prefer to bake them with either olive or coconut oil because I can pop them in the oven and forget about them.
  • Roasted vegetables are delicious.
  • Green plantain chips are delicious.  Use an oil that is Whole30 approved.  I personally love these with coconut oil.
  • cauliflower rice can be used for stir fry or experiment with different seasonings.
  • Roasted portobella mushroom  you can use this as a “bun” for your hamburgers (may be bending the rules here a little bit).
  • Visit this website for some great condiments recipe.  Or again, you can do a google search on Whole30 condiments.  Pinterest also has some great ideas.
  •  Get a roasting pan and/or crock pot.  Believe me when I say you will not regret
    these purchases.
      I find that when I braise the meat and put it  in crock pot or roasting pan and let it cook for a few hours, the meat is ALWAYS super tender.
  •  When possible try to season meats night
    before.
      This technique combined with
    cooking the meats at low temperatures (I normally do 300 in the oven) always gives great results.
  •  Go easy on the salt.  Experiment with different herbs.  Go crazy with garlic and onions.
  • I learned from the this cookbook that
    adding foods like tomato paste and mushrooms to a dish adds another element of
    flavor, its so true, try it!
  • Challenge yourself to buy a new vegetable each
    time you visit the grocery store.
      Don’t know
    how to cook it, no problem, Google to the rescue.
      I LOVE GOOGLE!  You can find a ton of WHOLE30 approved
    recipes on the internet.  Don’t assume that  because you didn’t like a
    certain vegetable as a child you wont like it as an adult if it is prepared a different way.
     
  • Try to get at least 8 hours of sleep each night,
    it really makes a big difference in your eating habits.
      If you want more of the scientific
    explanation, Google it.
  • Don’t be too uptight, have fun in the
    kitchen.
      EXPERIMENT!  And if it doesn’t turn out right, there is
    always tomorrow to try again!

If you are doing the Whole30, I would love it if you left a comment to let me know how its going.

Anika Jones

About the Author

Anika Jones

Anika Jones is a speaker and author of the book Lessons Learned Along The Way: A 40 Day Devotional. She blogs about faith and family at LivingForLater.com and posts weekly videos on her YouTube channels, Living For Later (@livingforlater) and Living Life Now (@livinglifenow). Anika loves speaking about developing intimacy with God and understanding who we are in Christ. She serves alongside her husband in ministry. They live in Illinois with their 6 children.