Whole30

My husband, Tim, and I started the diet, Whole30.  We are now half way through and I'm enjoying it.  I think it is harder for Tim than me because he has to figure out what to eat while at work.  I have left overs and a kitchen full of compliant food to choose from. 

So what is Whole30?  They claim it is a health reset.  It's not a cleanse or diet to lose weight.  It is meant to reset your body so it can function better and you receive health and have more energy.  You eat a lot more vegetables, meat and fruit.  No grains, legumes, dairy, or sugar.  It hasn't been easy and there is a lot more cooking that goes with it, but I feel like I'm really taking care of my body and expanding my children's palate.  I'm still waiting for my energy to increase and my sugar cravings to go away, but I'm not giving up hope yet.

What have I learned through this process?  Exactly what I wanted to: How to cook.

I'm so scared of playing with seasonings and this has helped me overcome that.  This and watching "Worst Cooks in America".  The show also helped me improve my knife cuts and encouraged me to sharpen my knives so I could have good knife cuts.

I've also tried things I never would have before: cooking a whole chicken, making my own condiments like mayonnaise, salsa, pesto sauce, vinaigrettes, and spaghetti sauce, eating brussel sprouts, artichokes, swiss chard, butternut squash, plantains, dates, blood oranges, spaghetti squash, zucchini noodles, beets, and leeks.  I still want to try cooking with figs and fennel.    Not everything turns out great, but we can still eat it.  I'm just so excited that there is so much I can do in my kitchen now.  This realization of abundance has definitely made me more grateful to God and all the things he has provided for us.  I'm not dependent on processed foods anymore.  At the same time, I am much more grateful for them as well.  They really do make life and cooking a lot easier.

This diet has meant so much more to me than just eliminating food from my diet.  It has really opened up my eyes to the world.  This and the Netflix original documentaries "Cooked" and "The Chef's Table".   I also couldn't have done it without the participation of my husband.  His excitement for good, real food helps motivate me to try things and learn more.