Today is my 5th day on Whole 30. Have you heard of the Whole 30? It is a 30 day reset designed to figure out food sensitivities by eating real whole foods and cutting out sugar, legumes, grains, dairy, MSG, carrageenan, sulfites, processed food and alcohol. It is quite strict but the benefits are numerous.
I completed one Whole 30 in January of 2015, and since then have done several Whole 14s, but not another full 30 days. Honestly, I know what my sensitivities are and sometimes I just want to share a glass of wine with my husband after my kids are in bed. This time though I am committed to completing the full 30 days.
I am using this Whole 30 as a way to keep track of our favorite meals, write down kids lunch ideas that will work well for their school days and keep my grocery lists and meal plans for each week. One thing that takes so much time is the planning for grocery shopping and preparing meals. Once I am in my groove, I love cooking and the food is delicious!
Top Left: two eggs, purple sweet potatoes, and chicken sausage Top Right: Tomato Peach salad, green beans, grass fed grilled burgers and a garden salad (cucumbers, slivered almonds, Tessa Mae’s Ranch dressing and spring mix Bottom picture: is roasted purple sweet potatoes and ground chicken sausage ready to reheat for breakfast
My absolute favorite, I-don’t-have-to-think-about-whether-this-is-Whole 30-compliant-or-not-cookbook is Well Fed and Well Fed 2 by Melissa Joulwan. I love her style of recipes, full of flavor, easy and can double or triple recipes to save for another day. She has several crockpot recipes and those definitely help us on the nights my kids have activities.
My other new found favorite book is Whole 30, Day by Day by Melissa Hartwig because it literally walks you through each day and how you maybe feeling, things to think about while working through a Whole 30, your meals each day, non-scale victories, energy, sleep and cravings. I think this book would have been really helpful during my 1st Whole 30, but it wasn’t available then. I have really enjoyed filling out each section at the end of the day and using it as another accountability tool. 
Have you heard of The Whole 30 before? Have you ever done a Whole 30? What are some things that have made it successful for you? Let me know in the comments! I would love to hear about it!
**Here are some of my favorite Whole 30 items to make meals easier and to add variety:
Tessa Mae’s Ranch and Cesar Dressings
Frank’s Red Hot Sauce- available in most grocery stores
Thrive Market also has Whole 30 options at a discounted price once you join
*More resources are over on my Health and Fitness Page
