Why I stopped my Whole30!

I have been debating with myself over the past week about this and I've finally come to peace with my decision to end my Whole30 early.

While I absolutely love the principles and idea behind the program I have become acutely aware that it's not something I want to carry on with.

I have noticed I have had far too much food chatter in my head about it. To me it is starting to feel too extreme for my personality and I'm stressed.  Since I started I haven't been my relaxed self and that isn't healthy for me, I know myself too well.

The entire time I've been primal it's been a very natural feeling, I've never felt restricted or regimented.  So while I don't expect everyone to understand why I've had to end it, I'm just here to tell you that I feel that I need to wrap it up.

Now I have learnt a couple of things from it over the 14 days which were helpful, I feel if I go any longer then the stress of it will be detrimental to me.

I love veggies way more than I ever have.

I don't NEED chocolate after every meal.

Dropping dairy hasn't been as awful as I thought it would be.

I discovered how amazing Ghee is!

I will be just going back to what I know best - primal and with a new love for it! Primal has been such an awesome way to live and eat that I think I had lost my way a little and this has reminded me why I never did 'diets' well, I don't handle extreme restriction or regime very well.  

I'm feeling so much better already after listening to my body and respecting the stress signals enough to stop.  I do apologize to anyone that was following me.  Hopefully you all got some great food ideas from my food diaries over the past two weeks and I wish everyone who is on their Whole30 the very best :-)

Day 14 Whole30

9 hours sleep

7am: 3 soft boiled eggs, 2 slices apple with almond butter and a few macadamias

10am: Coconut and Almonds with Raspberries (not pictured)

2pm: lamb sausage, carrots, cucumber, yellow peppers all dipped in Sunshine Sauce 

7pm: Crispy duck breast, roasted kumara (sweet potato), asparagus and broccoli. Coconut Manna

Day 13 Whole30

Today is that female time of the month so I didn't feel great. It hasn't been long enough to notice if dropping dairy will affect it, hopefully next month i'll have a better idea. Suffice to say I had some pretty rampant sugar cravings, in particular...you guessed it CHOCOLATE!!! boy I really really wanted to cave today but I didn't.  Dallas and Melissa warn that this part of the program can get really intense, I'm looking forward to day 16 when hopefully the cravings will be gone.

On the bright side I am really loving trying lots of new things because I'm not having any dairy, I really do have to think outside the square! 

My new Well Fed cookbook is just awesome!!! I highly recommend this book, for anyone from beginners to those of us that have been at this a long time, like myself! Great ideas and lots of new flavours, herbs and spices that I wouldn't have thought of.  

The introduction is awesome, a very basic yet well thought out way of explaining Paleo and how to transition to a Paleo diet.  Plenty of advice for meal planning and preparation tips.

It would be a perfect gift for that person in your life that keeps questioning about your "crazy diet" but isn't ready to change their eating habits because they don't understand how to do it. I would say if you read this book and didn't like the recipes and suggestions then there is no saving you ;)

Hubby was blown away by tonights  meal and kept raving about the chicken and sunshine sauce.  You must try this!!!!(links below)

8 hours sleep

8am: 2 egg omelet filled with leftovers from yesterday's lunch (pizza inspired mince & veggies)

2pm: Almond and smoked lemon coated chicken fried in coconut oil, on top of asparagus "noodles", drizzled with lemon olive oil. Blueberries with cinnamon toasted almonds and coconut

8pm: The Best Chicken You Will Ever Eat. Ever. with Sunshine Sauce and chopped up carrots, cucumber and yellow peppers with coriander and Buttercrunch lettuce (this meal was AMAZING!!!!!) 

Day 12 Whole30

Today I was craving chocolate hard!!! That time of the month is due so I'm not surprised, I just really really really wanted chocolate arghhhh! I didn't cave, stayed strong but I probably ate a bit much fruit.

7 hours sleep

7am: 3 small soft boiled eggs.  Blueberries, banana with cinnamon toasted coconut and almonds

1pm: Grassfed Beef mince and pure lamb sausages with Italian seasoning, red peppers, mushrooms & kalamata olives with butter crunch lettuce

7pm: Mushroom soup made with homemade chicken broth and coconut cream, apple slices with almond butter, macadamias and coconut manna

Day 11 Whole30

I'm finding my grove with this Whole30, plenty of variety in my diet and a ton of veggies! Day 11 wasn't super smooth, I had a few cravings and found myself wishing I could just have a piece of 85% Lindt and Nespresso with cream, however I didn't as I don't want to short change myself, I need to remind myself why I'm doing this Whole30. 

I wouldn't say it's hard but it's not easy either, when hubby is sitting there eating chocolate and I'm not then yeah at that moment it feels hard but it's all relative, it really isn't that hard, it's just changing habits and not being so emotional with food. I feel like things are changing for the better, still can't believe I've gone 11 days without chocolate or dairy, I'm over a third of the way there :)

8 hours sleep

7am: 3 egg omelet filled with sautéed kale, red peppers, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, bacon and walnut pesto

12pm: Lamb and Pumpkin coconut curry with green beans & cashews

6pm: 1 tablespoon of Coconut Manna

8pm: Cajun steak with avocado/mayo onto of a large salad, mesclun, cucumber, yellow peppers, radishes, cherry tomatoes

Day 10 Whole30

Yep today proved to be the hardest! Not physically but emotionally, talk about cravings argghh! I didn't cave thankfully but I found myself hungry this afternoon so I ate a snack which I don't normally do.  It was super yummy, tasted like muesli but better.  I'm being careful with fruit because I don't want to lean on sweet fruits in place of the chocolate, blueberries don't really taste all that sweet to me.

I do feel like I'm breaking my chocolate addiction so that feels good, I do miss my morning coffee, I think mostly because of the ritual of hubby and I having our Nespressos and the cup warming my hands.  The short black or lungo just doesn't satisfy the same without cream :/  I tried with coconut cream and thought it was gonna be good until I drank it. Yuck!!! I hate it, not gonna happen!

I dreamt last night I ate a kinder surprise, so weird as they aren't something I eat, they are nice but it was strange.  I woke up remembering it really vividly and I felt guilty for a minute until I woke up properly and realised it was a dream!

I was on a bit of a go slow this morning, I think I overslept as I woke feeling quite groggy, I seem to feel best on 7-8 hours sleep.  Not much else to report, everything seems to be going fairly smoothly :)

9 hours sleep

7am: 2 organic free range eggs, pure lamb free range sausage, fried mushrooms in coconut oil, tomato and avocado

12pm: Tuna ceviche with mesclun, tomatoes and homemade mayo

2pm: Blueberries with toasted Cinnamon coconut & almonds

7pm: Chinese Five Spice Stirfry

Chinese Five Spice Stirfry

Ingredients:

• 1 Tablespoon Sesame Oil
• 2 teaspoons of Chinese Five Spice Powder
• 1/2 onion, diced
• Assortment of veggies e.g.. onions, bok choy, kale, mushrooms, red peppers, snap peas, broccoli etc..
• Sliced Beef or Chicken
• 1 cup Chicken Broth
• 1 Tablespoon Tahini
• 1 Tablespoon Coconut Aminos
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Sauté the onions and five spice powder in the sesame oil, if you need more fat then just use something like coconut oil or duck fat.  

Add your veggies and cook for about 5 minutes.

Add the chicken or beef (small pieces), add the broth and tahini and simmer for about 10 minutes.

Take off the heat and stir through the coconut aminos and serve, top with sesame seeds.  

Notes: Cashews are a yummy addition, Beef cooks much faster so reduce the simmer time to about 3-4 minutes.  

Day 9 Whole30

The first week of my Whole30 is done!!! Day 1 feels like a long time ago!  The first few days were pretty tough, quitting dairy and dark chocolate gave me some intense headaches and acne breakouts and general just highs and lows of energy.  I am happy to say that I'm starting to get the energy that the Whole30 talks about! My acne flare up is now disappearing and I'm feeling pretty consistent energy throughout the day.Fingers crossed that Days 10-11 aren't too bad, they talk about it being the hardest of all the days and the days you are most likely to quit! I can't see that happening but I am prepared for the cravings!

I stocked up on loads of food today from the farmers market, butcher and veggie shop.  The best way do be prepared is to have enough food in your fridge and freezer.  I have to say that planning and preparation is key.  I would hate to imagine how you would get on if you didn't have enough veggies and meat in your fridge.  I do a lot of prep work on a Sunday, like chopping up fresh veggies, roasting pumpkin, kumara etc. and cooking a lot of meat so I always have leftovers in the fridge to grab in a pinch.  The biggest excuse I hear from people is that they don't have time and oh it must be nice to have so much time.  It's all about your priorities, if you have time for TV, facebook or the internet then you have time to make good food!  It takes me about an   hour to prepare food for the week, it really is very simple.

Today I really loved the food I ate! Definitely not feeling deprived, however when we went for coffee it was a bit strange not getting a flat white, I opted for a decaf short black and meh I'm just not really a black coffee drinker :(

8.5 hours sleep

7.30am: 2 poached eggs, 2 strips of free range, sugar free bacon, 1/2 avocado, mushrooms and little bit of leftover kumara (sweet potato)

1pm: "Sushi" Made with raw cauliflower rice, tossed with a bit of homemade mayo and sesame oil, filled with sesame seed crusted tuna, avocado and cucumber, topped with coconut aminos.  1 tablespoon of Coconut Manna

3pm: Decaf Short Black

7pm: Lamb and chicken from the Weber BBQ, cumin roasted pumpkin and carrots, green beans and mashed cauliflower with rosemary, ghee and coconut cream.

Day 8 Whole30

Today was the first day I woke up feeling like I'm over the detox part! Phew!!! The last 7 days were tough but I am so proud that I started this Whole30 journey.

First day of real temptation today at a birthday celebration, the array of food on offer were things like cupcakes, tarts, pastries etc..they did have some fresh pineapple, kiwi and grapes so I had a little bit of that. I know what all that food tastes like and how it makes me feel! 

My food was really delicious today and it's all starting to feel very normal which is great, no cravings whatsoever today :-)

8 hours sleep

7am: Shredded red garlic cabbage sautéed in coconut oil with diced leftover kumara (sweet potato), topped with 3 organic free range eggs. 1 Tablespoon Coconut Manna

1pm: Chinese five spice beef with Bok Choy, snow peas, broccoli, mushrooms and topped with a few dry roasted cashews

2pm: A bit of pineapple and kiwi 

6.30pm: Crispy duck breast with roasted gold kumara (sweet potato) and pumpkin, broccoli and cauliflower. A few macadamias

Day 7 Whole30

This morning I woke up not feeling very refreshed and I did drag my feet a fair bit today, I had another wee power nap during my lunch break! Days 6-7 is known as "All I wanna do is nap", I still can't get over how spot on this timeline has been for me.  

Before I started this Whole30 I would consider my diet was pretty 80-90% Primal for the last almost 5 years (expect about 6 months where I was about 50/50), the biggest change has been dropping the dairy (mostly cream, butter and a little bit of cheese) and the dark chocolate, even though it was 85% the majority of the time I was definitely over eating it, is it not ok to have chocolate with your breakfast? ;)

I am feeling pretty damn stoked that I've made it to day 7 without those indulgences, I'm really enjoying all the veggies, so much so that I ate cauliflower with my breakfast, never thought I would ever in my life do that! I mean sure I can eat spinach, mushrooms, tomato or peppers without ever thinking I was eating "vegetables" with breakfast, but cauliflower...what have I turned into!! I'm sure there will be a time during this Whole30 that I will not want to eat this many veggies, but for now I'm loving it.

We went out to dinner for my sisters birthday last night, I knew that the food would be mostly meat so that wasn't a problem but I was a little bit worried about the additives like soy, sugar, wheat, butter etc..considering I'm doing a Whole30.

One of the positives about living in a small town is one of the owners of Snug Lounge (cocktail bar) follows my page so she knew that I wouldn't be able to eat the sauces etc, so she very kindly offered that the chefs can do mine without the extra stuff and they even shredded me some cabbage, I was so blown away buy how accommodating they were, super awesome! The standard feast is $25 "Chow Down", it's all you can eat of skewers like pork belly, peri peri spiced sirloin, prawns, calamari, mussels, chicken etc... So suffice to say I was in heaven!!!

8 hours sleep

7am: Cauliflower and Egg Curry - made with coconut cream

12.45pm: Leftover smoked chicken breast from the weber tossed with homemade mayo, leftover smoked pumpkin and kumara (sweet potato), served on a salad of buttercrunch lettuce, cucumber and cherry tomatoes. 1 Tablespoon Coconut Manna

7.30pm: Variety of skewers with Pork belly, peri peri spiced sirloin, prawns and mussels, some shredded cabbage

Day 6 Whole30

Today I've felt TIRED!!! All I wanted to do was nap, I did have a wee power nap on my lunch break so that helped. I cannot believe how the timeline is so spot on! I guess it's all part of the process. This too shall pass! I keep reminding myself that :)

Still loving all the food, not that it's entirely different from my normal primal diet but I have had to get a bit more creative because I'm not having dairy or mindlessly snacking on dark chocolate.  I'm pleased I haven't had any crazy cravings today.  I really need to stock up on more produce and meat, I'm cooking a lot of food, but I love it.  Feeling very well nourished!

I made a batch of Walnut Pesto and Mayo today, it helps to have dairy free condiments around so I don't go off the rails and eat all the cheese!

8 hours sleep

7am: Curried Kale Omelet, 1 Tablespoon Coconut Manna

12.45pm: Cajun Steak, green beans with almonds, cauliflower mash with ghee and coconut cream, a few macadamias 

6pm: Smoked Chicken (from the weber BBQ) with Walnut Pesto, kumara (sweet potato) and large Salad with Buttercrunch lettuce, rainbow chard, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, kalamata olives and lemon olive oil, topped with homemade mayo, 1 Tablespoon Coconut Manna

Walnut Pesto

This works best with freshly cracked walnuts!

• 1/3 cup Walnuts 
• 2 cups Fresh Basil 
• 2-3 cloves of garlic 
• 1/3-1/2 cup Olive Oil 
• 1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice 
• Freshly cracked Pepper 
• Salt to taste (1/2-1 teaspoon) 

Place all ingredients in a food processor and blend until combined. Leave in fridge for at least 1 hour so all the flavours marinade together before using.

Whipped Coconut Cream

I think you all will love this! Whipped Coconut Cream, yes you can whip coconut cream much like you do with normal cream.

Here I served mine with fresh pineapple and toasted coconut chips on top! I have also made it into Chocolate mousse and it's really amazing.

I buy the Kara Coconut Cream but any Coconut Cream will work, so long as it's the cream not the milk. Keep it in the fridge for a day or place it in the freezer for 30-60 minutes. It needs to be chilled before you even attempt this otherwise it won't hold it's shape

1. Use a large bowl
2. Open up the Carton or Tin and scoop out the most solid part of the cream, it will produce a stiffer whipped cream. 
3. Beat cream until it forms soft peaks, it should take about 4-5 minutes using electric beaters.
4. The addition of Vanilla is amazing!
5. Will keep refrigerated well

You are welcome ;)

Grassfed Ghee

The best ghee is made from pasture fed cow’s milk. It's really hard to find good quality ghee in my home town.  So I've decided to make my own. Ghee can be heated to higher temperatures without burning, it also doesn't contain dairy which can be problematic for a lot of people.  I'm doing a Whole30 at the moment and I just love butter so for me it just made sense to make myself ghee.  I would go so far to say is that I find it superior to butter for cooking, sautéing etc...

• Unsalted Butter - grassfed or pastured
• Thick bottom saucepan (I used copper bottom and stainless steel)
• Ladle
• Glass jar with airtight lid
• Tea Strainer

You do need a little patience when making Ghee.

Place your butter in your saucepan and gently heat so the butter melts very slowly - you do not want to burn the butter otherwise you will ruin it.

I used the Lewis Road Creamery Unsalted Butter from pasture-fed cows in New Zealand.

Once the butter has melted you can turn up the heat but not too high, you want it to be bubbling but not too rapidly.

As the butter boils the milk solids will begin to separate, start to skim off the milk solids as this happens.  This process takes about 20 minutes but do not walk away! Keep a close eye on it.

Once you have had it boiling for about 20 minutes, it's different for different amounts of butter, here I've done a batch of 750gms of butter.  Strain the ghee through a tea strainer so that any of pieces are left at the bottom don't end up in your finished product.

Ghee should be stored at room temperature, not refrigerated. Ghee will turn rancid if it is exposed to oxygen for too long.

You will be left with beautiful liquid gold! This stuff is really amazing and you will not regret the time it takes to do this!

Day 5 Whole 30

Wow today was worse than yesterday! At first I woke up feeling ok but as the day progressed I was super cranky and really did want to kill all the things! Geez this part I feel will be the worst of it, here's hoping!

I also had the worst hankering for cheese today which was weird, I don't think I've ever craved cheese in particular, I do love dairy but boy it was weird. Not really missing the chocolate at the minute which has surprised me although I'm not that cocky, I know it will come ;)

Food wise I did well, although I REALLY wanted to add cheese to this mornings omelet, I didn't :)

8.5 hours sleep
7am: 2 egg omelet filled with mushrooms, bacon, cherry tomatoes, basil and rainbow chard, sautéed in ghee. A few macadamias and 1 Tablespoon of Coconut Manna, decaf nespresso
12.30pm: Leftover Sheperds Pie from last night (made with Kumara and lamb mince), served with red cabbage sauteed in ghee and garlic
7pm: Pinenut and Rosemary crusted Lamb loin fillet with pureed parsnip and fresh green peas. Fresh Pineapple with Whipped coconut cream and toasted coconut flakes

Day 4 Whole 30

Today has been a bit tough,  I understand the "Kill All The Things!", see this timeline to understand what I'm talking about.

*It’s probably because your brain is never very happy when you tell it that it CAN’T have something, and take it out of it’s habitual and accustomed comfort zone. An unhappy brain is a stressed brain, an anxious brain, a fearful brain. No to mention your hormones are desperately trying to keep up with your new food choices, your gut is trying to heal, you’ve had a headache for the last three days, and you REALLY MISS YOUR DIET COKE. So yeah, maybe we do know why this is happening now…

In my case it's not diet coke it's dark chocolate and dairy!


Before I started this Whole30 I was very apprehensive, I didn't think I needed it but I'm realising very quickly why I really did need to do this.

So why go to the extreme and do a Whole30?
For me this is a reset, I needed to quit all the little primal/paleo treats I was having, I had lost my way.  I miss the me who could go out to a cafe and not even be tempted by cake, to see the hot chips being delivered to someones table and not even want them.  I used to be that girl and somehow along the way with all the little treats I started having it had turned into a common place in my eating template and it was leading me down a path of feeling unhealthy and all of my old health symptoms returning.

I eat Primal for my health, yes I have been extremely successful with weight loss.  Weight loss was initially my motivator.  What I've come to realise over these last 5 years is that essentially I want to be healthy.  I've been fat, I've been thin and I've been a normal size. I've been sick, miserable, unhealthy and I've been well, happy and healthy and I know I choose the latter.  Healthy to me means having healthy hormones and sleeping well, having consistent energy throughout the day, loving life, exercise that feels natural, eating the foods I love and stopping when I feel satiated.  Unhealthy to me means having whacked out hormones and not sleeping well, energy ups and downs, not enjoying life, exercising for the "calorie burn",  eating only to my "calorie count".  This is what I have discovered is healthy or unhealthy for ME!

8 hours sleep last night
6.45am: 3 hard boiled eggs mashed with ghee, bowl of blueberries with toasted coconut and almonds
1.15pm: 2 lamb chops marinated in tarragon, tomato paste, lemon juice and paprika, brussel sprouts and green beans, 1 tablespoon of Coconut Manna
3.30pm: A few macadamia nuts
7.30pm: Lamb Shepherds Pie with Mashed Kumara (sweet potato) on top, fresh green beans and peas, broccoli with ghee

Today was mentally quite draining and I definitely had a short fuse for parts of the day, there was a moment when I kinda yelled at my sewing machine but otherwise I was ok.  I had an hour thai massage tonight so that was helpful for easing any tension.  Hopefully tomorrow isn't as harsh and then it might just be two days of feeling like I wanna nap and then the detox part of this Whole30 will be dusted and I will be bouncing with Tiger Blood!

Day 3 Whole 30

I am already learning a lot about the relationship I have with food. Before this Whole30 I honestly didn't think I could quit the chocolate and dairy and it felt unnecessary.   I am surprising myself with the transition and I'm starting to realise why it is actually necessary for me to do this.

Today has been much better after yesterday's miserable headache I had for most the day.  It really illustrated how much caffeine and sugar I was actually getting from the chocolate :/ 

I am feeling excited for this journey and sharing my experience with you all.  It's bought my passion back.  I will say that I'm spending a lot of time in the kitchen, even more than I usually do so before you go jumping into a Whole30 you might need to prepare for the time you will spend making sure you are eating enough, especially veggies.  Also the money you will be spending on so much food!  I have just ordered the book Well Fed so I'm looking forward to it arriving so I wont run out of ideas.

One of the things about the whole30 is when you sit down for a meal you cannot be distracted, this means no TV, texting, internet or whatever could be distracting you.  I am being very conscious of this so the TV is off when I eat so I can be fully engaged in eating!

7am: 3 poached eggs, 2 strips free range sugar free bacon, 2 portobello mushrooms and 1 tomato cooked in ghee. A few macadamias, Decaf Nespresso

12pm: Lamb Curry and a few almonds.

6pm: Smoked Chicken (smoked my own) tossed with homemade mayo, sundried tomatoes, fresh basil and spring onions, on top of mesclun salad, cucumber, yellow peppers.  I also added a little diced kumara (sweet potato) fried in ghee. A few macadamias

Lamb and Cauliflower Curry

I was making lamb bone broth from a leftover lamb bone that I cooked on the weber over the weekend.  It smelt so incredible that on a whim I decided to make a curry with the lamb that was falling off the bone!

To make your bone broth please see my blog for directions and just use lamb instead of chicken. 

Serves 1

Once your broth and lamb is ready transfer it to a smaller pot, add in the following ingredients:

1 1/2 tsps Cumin

1 tsp Ground Coriander

1 tsp Tumeric

1/2 tsp Ground Ginger

1/4 tsp White Pepper 

Salt to taste, I use about 1 tsp.

1/2 cup Coconut cream

1/2 tin chopped tomatoes

1-2 cups Cauliflower florets, small pieces

Bring to the boil and then turn down the heat and simmer for 15-20 mins, the liquid should reduce.

Once ready serve with some fresh coriander! (I didn't have any for photo)

*This was made super fast and without much thought or preparation, I'm sure some additional spices would make it even better like bay leaves (remember you remove the leaves before eating ;)), garam masala, cardomon, curry leaves etc..

Day 2 Whole30

Today was actually pretty rough, talk about feeling like I had a hangover! General just blahness! The worst headache from midday until 7pm, I felt like my head was in a vice! Not pleasant :(

Thankfully I was expecting this as I had read the Whole30 timeline so I was prepared that day 2 and day 3 would be this way.  

Food wise I found it not too hard in regards to the chocolate, I won't deny that I still would've loved some but I was able to focus on all the yummy food choices I was making. 

The chocolate and the dairy will still be there after my Whole30 if I decide that it will be included in my regular diet or if I decide to keep it as a treat - I won't know until I've finished my Whole30.

7am: 2 poached eggs, 2 slices of free range, sugar free bacon, portobello mushrooms sautéed in ghee with garlic, salt and pepper. 1 Tbsp Coconut Manna, Decaf Nespresso

10am: 2 macadamias

12.30pm Scotch fillet steak seasoned with Cajun spices and fried in ghee, mesclun salad with red peppers, cherry tomatoes and topped with creamy avocado dressing. A few cashews.

6.30pm Leftover Lamb, Kumara (sweet potato) and Brussel Sprouts cooked in ghee, bone broth and balsamic vinegar, a few macadamias

My sleep was great, 9 hours and only woke once and straight back to sleep :-)

Day 1 Whole30

So I completed my first day of a Whole30! I'm excited about the challenge and a wee bit nervous about it, I don't think I really ever wanted to admit to myself that I rely far too heavily on dark chocolate or dairy.  I have always justified my Lindt 85%, after all dark chocolate is pretty healthy but at the end of the day it's still become a wee bit of an addiction. I would generally have one square after each meal (including breakfast) and sometimes more during the day when I was feeling a bit peckish. When I first started Primal nearly 5 years ago I never consumed the amount I do now, it's a little out of control. 

As for my beloved decaf Nespressos...no sugar and no cream arghhh! I'm not a fan of black coffee but am willing to give up the cream and sugar because I don't do things half assed, I'm either doing the whole30 or not doing it, no exceptions. It's strict but I like that, after a few bad habits that have crept in over the last 6 months I need a few boundaries to reset my ninjaness!

So day 1 was kind of tough, mostly because of the chocolate.  You just don't understand how strong of a hold some foods can have on you until you give them up, not only of a physical nature but also the psychological aspect. I will admit on Friday night I went to bed a bit cranky because like a child I wanted my chocolate fix!  Seriously though I did know this would be a challenge, I know I can do it, I'm so damn stubborn and I know I will succeed.

I do love the concept of a Whole30 (brief outline):

No weighing or measuring yourself

No calorie counting or weighing food

3 meals a day (4-6 hours apart) - no snacking if you can help it

A palm or two size of protein (high quality - grassfed, pastured etc)

Add Fats, choosing 1-2 fat sources per meal as below:

1-2 Tablespoons of fat like coconut oil, ghee, olive oil

A handful of coconut flakes and olives

1/4-1/2 of a 14oz can coconut milk

Half to one Avocado 

A little bit of starchy veggies (like pumpkin, parsnip, sweet potato etc) 

1-2 small servings of fruit

The rest of your plate should be fibrous veggies, like 2-3 cups per meal, per day! Talk about an abundance of food, I am going to be Well Fed alright. I am very interested in getting my hormones balanced and my circadian rhythm working better.

Day 1:

Awake at 6.30am

7am: 3 hard boiled eggs mashed with homemade ghee and salt, bowl of blueberries, raspberries, shredded coconut and coconut milk. 1 Tbsp Coconut Manna

1pm: Chicken Salad with homemade mayo and leftover sweet potato, Black decaf Nespresso, a few raw macadamias

7pm: Roast Chicken and Lamb from the Weber BBQ, kumara (nz sweet potato), carrots, broccoli with ghee and lemon juice. A few raw cashews.

Asleep by 10.30pm

Yes I missed my chocolate, however it was very interesting to see how attached I had become to it.  Overall I felt pretty good, my blood sugars felt unbelievably steady, didn't feel any fluctuations in energy, so it was a relatively smooth day 1.  I did have a headache on and off throughout the day, I'm guessing it was possibly a wee bit of caffeine withdrawal, because of the amount of dark chocolate I normally consume. 

If you are considering doing a Whole30 then I really suggest you read "It starts with Food".  I had read all the posts on Whole9life.com and there is some great data there, all over the internet you can find other peoples successes and testimonies, literally everywhere! However it wasn't until I read this book from beginning to end that I really understood why I should do this.  I had ideas of doing a Whole30 but allowing myself the chocolate and the cream in my coffee, I was convinced that I didn't need to give these up for 30 days, like really how much of a difference will it really make? Listening to this podcast and reading the book has really opened my eyes, I highly recommended "It Starts With Food", to date it's the best book I've read.  I'm a HUGE fan of the books from Mark Sisson, Nora Gedgaudas, Robb Wolf, Loren Cordain and Paul Jaminet.  There is something about this book and the way it's written really spoke to me and I now understand the huge Whole30 movement that is going on around the World, it's very exciting :)

Whole30

You might all be wondering why I'm doing a Whole30.  After all I eat a pretty awesome diet, Primal is a very sustainable way of eating and I love it so why mess with it?... 

Well because there are still a couple of niggling symptoms I have that I'd love to improve and I'm curious if doing an elimination diet (Whole30) will help.

As a lot of you know I have PCOS.  Since being Primal I have reduced my symptoms but they still niggle me so I'm hoping that eliminating dairy will help with this.  Also I would love to be able to sleep solidly through the night, I don't remember the last time I sleep the entire night through.  I always get 8-9 hours but I always wake 1-2 times a night.  From all the stories and testimonies I've read about the Whole30, sleeping soundly through the night is a big driving force in my decision.

Whole30 is designed by an awesome Paleo Power couple Melissa and Dallas Hartwig.  There is no sugar or honey, stevia etc.., no legumes, no grains, no white potatoes, no dairy (yes that means butter - ghee is ok), no alcohol.

I'm not into "diets", they don't work, they will damage your metabolism and make you crazy!

In some ways the Whole30 seems like a diet in terms of the perfection and how unsustainable it can seem, yes it's very strict, however it's called the Whole30 not the Whole365.  30 days out of your life is nothing and it if means it will set you up with some great boundaries then it's a damn good reason to do it.

I'm an experimenter, I like to do the best I can with the information I have.  Elimination diets are the best way to figure out if you have any food intolerances, its something I've never done before so I felt like after reading the book "It starts with food" I was convinced. 

I love how Melissa and Dallas have written their book and make it very clear that the Whole30 is about health, it's not about losing weight so therefore I don't view it as a "Diet" per se, however many people report weight loss amongst some pretty amazing health testomonials.

The Whole30 and the way I eat isn't really that different so most of it won't be too challenging.  The hardest parts for me are going to be no dairy - no cream in my coffee or butter on my veggies, no sugar - I have sugar in my coffee, no chocolate - sugar in chocolate.  Everything else isn't really much of an issue for me, I gave up refined carbohydrates and refined sugars in excess a long time ago.  It will be interesting to see whether stripping out these "indulgence" foods I've been having will make a difference in my health.  I will keep you posted!

Bone Broth

The glorious homemade bone broth! It is extremely nourishing for your body, it helps heal your gut, removes toxins, aids digestion, good for your joints, the list goes on... It also is a great way of using up that whole chicken or roast lamb bone that still has some meat on it.

We are very lucky here in New Zealand that all of our Lamb and Beef is grassfed, I sure don't like wasting the bones - especially when I have cooked my roast on the weber, you get the most delicious smokey flavour.

How do you get thick and gelatinous bone broth? When cooled bone broth should be thick and much like jelly! I know that a lot of people struggle with this so I thought I would give you a step by step process.

Ingredients:

• Leftover Meat bones
• 1 large Onion
• 1 large Carrot
• 2 stalks Celery 
• 2 Tablespoons of Apple Cider Vinegar
• Water

Instructions:

1. Peel your onion and chop it into quarters, peel the carrot and dice, remove the flowery part of the celery and chop up into pieces.
2. Place the bones, along with the rest of the ingredients into a large soup pot (you can also use a crockpot). Fill up your pot with water, the addition of apple cider vinegar and letting your bones sit in cold water (with the acv) for at least an hour will give you the best results.
3. After an hour slowly bring it to a boil and then reduce to a very low simmer and cook for at least 8 hours, you can do 24 hours if you want to, the longer it cooks the better as you are drawing the nutrition out of the bones.
4. If you cook the broth for longer than 8 hours you will need to check the water level occasionally, it might need topping up.
5. When you are ready to strain the stock place a mesh strainer over a large bowl and pour the broth through the strainer. At this stage you will have this aromatic liquid that you will want to drink straight away, please don't, you need to cool it to remove the fat. I'm a huge believer in eating fat but when it comes to drinking bone broth it's not ideal - especially with chicken fat. Pour the liquid into glass jars and allow to cool for at least an hour, to cool it down faster place them in a cool water bath, then you can refrigerate.
6. Once the broth has cooled the fat will harden on the surface. This will help keep the broth fresh. The broth will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days otherwise it's best to freeze. keep well in the fridge for one week. You can also store in ice cube trays which makes it easy to use when needed, if you do this make sure you have removed the fat first.

Zucchini Carbonara

This is one of my favourite dishes:

Ingredients:

Serves 2:

• 1 large breast of chicken chopped up into bite sized pieces 
• 4 strips of streaky bacon chopped up 
• 5-6 large sundried tomatoes chopped up 
• 75gms Creamy feta (more or less depending on your taste preference) 
• Handful of Toasted Pinenuts 
• 100-200mls Heavy Cream 
• 2 Egg Yolks 
• 2-3 zucchinis julienned 
• 1 Tbsp Basil Pesto 
• Knob of butter 
• Garnish: Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese and Salt & Pepper

Instructions:

First toast your pinenuts!
Then fry your bacon, once browned put aside, fry the chicken using the bacon drippings. Once the chicken is almost cooked throw back in the bacon, sundried tomatoes and pesto.

In a bowl add your egg yolks, cream salt and pepper. Add the wet mixture and let simmer on a very low heat, you don't want the egg to curdle. Only cook for about 2 minutes. Add your feta and take off the heat.

In a separate non stick frying pan melt a knob of butter and flash fry the zucchini, you don't want to do it for long otherwise your zucchini will go mushy, add the zucchini noodles to the creamy chicken and serve immediately, grate some fresh parmesan on top and some freshly cracked pepper and salt.

Warning: Super rich!!!