Whole30 Archives | Lynn H. Blackburn

How I Prepped for My First Week of Whole30

Lynn Blackburn — Tue, 30 Dec 2014 20:48:00 +0000

I just started my 3rd Whole30.

The best part about Whole30, Round 3?

Less Anxiety, More Anticipation

No kidding. My first Whole30, I was a wreck for at least 2 weeks before we started. Partly because I’m a rule-following people-pleaser who lives in fear of “messing up” or “doing something wrong.”

**Yes, I am one of those people who dreamed about cheating on my Whole30. I dreamed I drank a Coke. It was awesome, but I woke up in a panic. I also came close to licking peanut butter off my finger while making sandwiches for the boys…that scare probably took a good six-months off my life.**

But this time around? I’m psyched. I’m so psyched we started earlier than we had to. (Our FFCF family isn’t starting until Monday). What? I know! It’s insane. But I feel gross from way too much holiday indulgence and I didn’t want to wait any longer. If you’d told me last summer I would be excited about doing this—for the third time—I’d have laughed, probably hysterically…maybe with a few tears from the stress of it all.

So, if you’re getting ready to embark on your first Whole30 and you’re about to need anxiety meds…I UNDERSTAND.

Take a few deep breaths. Remember that everyone was brand new to this once. Even if you “mess up” you can view it as a learning opportunity and get right back on track. No worries. While this is a rigid plan, it’s not intended to make you miserable. It’s intended to help you feel better. Just ask as many questions as you need to and Whole30 on!

I’ve already shared my Top 10 Tips to prepare for your Whole30, but people keep asking me exactly what I’m doing, so I thought I’d give you the run down of what I did to prepare for our first week.

I prepared a little bit differently than I did the first time through, and I’m more efficient in the kitchen than I was six months ago, but I’m not gonna lie….I spent most of Saturday afternoon in the kitchen. (Thank goodness for the Harry Potter weekend on ABCFamily!)

Here’s what I focused on:

1. Making sauces. I’ve already talked about how important Whole30 compliant mayo is. I made 4 batches. I made some Whole30 compliant Hoisin sauce (from Well Fed 2) because I needed it for a salad dressing and I will need it for a recipe later this week. I also whipped up a huge batch of Cilantro Ranch dressing (take this recipe, use cilantro instead of parsley, leave out the paprika and thin it with some water). This stuff will make your veggie intake so much more enjoyable!

2. Making breakfast a breeze. I prefer to have a nice leisurely breakfast with fried eggs, a few pieces of compliant bacon, half my plate filled with peppers and onions and a half an avocado with a splash of salsa. But most mornings, I don’t have time for that. So I made some egg muffins that will get me by in a pinch. I like these because they are loaded with veggies. I had some this morning with salsa (I like Mateo’s salsa that I buy at Costco, but it’s really not that hard to find compliant salsa), some avocado, and a cup of bone broth.

3. Experimenting with a new recipe. I found this recipe for spinach, sausage and potato soup on Pinterest and it was awesome. It’s going in the rotation. Pinterest is a great source of Whole30 recipes, but be careful. Just because Pinterest says it’s Whole30 doesn’t mean it is. With this recipe, I used compliant sausage and full-fat coconut milk in place of the heavy cream to make it fit within the guidelines.

4. Grilling lots of meat. We grilled chicken wings, a pork tenderloin, some compliant Italian sausages, and eight chicken breasts. It’s always a great idea to grill multiple foods as longs the big green egg is fired up, and it will help our evenings go more smoothly when the kids and I don’t have to wait for Brian to get home, change clothes, start the grill, wait for it to heat up….you get the idea.

5. Making bone broth. I keep reading about how awesome bone broth is, so I’m adding turkey broth and beef broth to my repertoire. So far, I like it.

6. Stocking up on Whole30 staples. I hit Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s and Publix. I bought coconut aminos (great sub for soy sauce), sparkling water, compliant pickles (Trader Joe’s brand has some good ones) and mustards (mustard with horseradish will be a great sub for BBQ sauce with that pork tenderloin), plenty of veggies and some fruit.

I also hopped online and ordered jerky, Primal Pacs and Red Boat fish sauce because I already know I can’t find that stuff around here. Check out Whole30.com for their approved sources and affiliate links if you’re worried about getting something that is non-compliant.

7. Making sure Day 1 goes off without a hitch. We already knew we would be out of town through late Monday evening. So before we left on Sunday, I made sure we had options to get us through Day 1 without any drama. No scrambling for a compliant lunch or having to cook in order to eat. We’ve got all that grilled meat plus we have a few salads in mason jars, so we are set.

There’s nothing magical about my prep. I’ve done this several times now, so I know where I’m likely to run into trouble (no time for breakfast, starving at lunch, running out of mayo …) and my preparation is designed to minimize that. Your prep will look different from mine. Just spend a little time thinking about your week and your life and try to minimize the challenges as much as you can.

If you’re gearing up for a Whole30, feel free to ask questions in the comments. I’m not an expert, but I’ll be happy to help any way I can!

Click to Tweet: Gearing up for Whole30? Here’s how I prepped for Week 1.

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Top 10 Ways to Prep for Whole30

Lynn Blackburn — Thu, 11 Dec 2014 01:39:00 +0000

Top 10 Ways to Prep for Whole30.

So, you’re thinking about doing a Whole30 in January? Great! Here are my top 10 things you should be doing now – yes, now! – to get ready.

(You can read about my health journey and how Whole30 has played a big part in it here).

1. Learn the program. If you can read It Starts With Food before January, great. But if not, get over to Whole30.com and learn what you can and cannot eat.

2. Try out some recipes. A quick Whole30 search on Google or Pinterest will return thousands of Whole30 compliant recipes. (You can follow my Whole30 Pinterest board to see what I’ve found so far). December is the time to experiment. There’s nothing worse than being in the middle of a Whole30 and trying a new recipe that flops.

3. Invest in a new cookbook (or three). Just because it’s “paleo” doesn’t mean it’s Whole30. But paleo cookbooks are a great place to start. My personal favorite Whole30 cookbooks are Well Fed and Well Fed 2.

Olives are an awesome source of fat!

4. Prep your pantry. Stock up on Whole30 staples. Whole30 compliant coconut milk, coconut oil, ghee, light olive oil, extra virgin olive oil, diced tomatoes, tuna, olives, nuts and seeds. If you buy all of it on January 1st, your budget is going to feel it. Once you start searching, you may discover that it’s difficult to source some things. Can you even find compliant coconut milk where you live? You might need to order it online. If you have an Amazon prime membership, online shopping might make your life a lot easier (it does mine).

5. Organize your fridge. Before we start a Whole30, we read labels and move all the non-compliant food to one side. Think ketchup, maple syrup, and barbecue sauce. Then we put the foods that are Whole30 approved on the other side. Buy some compliant pickles and olives. Get the good bacon (no sugar added). Check your mustards and curries. Some will be okay, some won’t.

Homemade Mayo – A must have!

6. Learn to make mayo. I know. I know. But trust me. Whole30 approved mayo will make your life so much easier. It’s not that hard. You just need some patience and a food processor or blender. And you need to follow the instructions here. The sauces, salad dressings, chicken salads, and tuna salads you’ll be able to enjoy are totally worth the effort.

7. Find Whole30 compliant restaurants in your area. The best way to stay completely compliant is to make your own food. But do you really want to make all 90 meals? I don’t. So ask questions now. Are the eggs cooked in butter? Can you get the chicken cooked in olive oil? Can you get a salad that will work? Does the steak have a rub or can you get it plain? In our area, Tropical Chicken Grille has a couple of Whole30 compliant options. We eat there at least once a week. The Chicken Fresco chop over lettuce with a side of guacamole keeps me sane. Especially around Day 23 when I start thinking if I have to cook another meal I’ll throw my cast iron skillet out the window.

8. Freeze a few favorites. I have Chocolate Chili, Spaghetti Sauce, and Breakfast Sausage (I double the crushed red pepper, skip the brown sugar) in the freezer. There’s nothing like having your day run off the rails and then being faced with having to cook a meal. When you’re exhausted (or you have a recipe fail), you can thaw some chocolate chili, dice up some onion and avocado while it’s reheating, and you’ve got supper in ten minutes flat.

9. Try some new beverages. Your beverage choices will be somewhat limited on Whole30. Coffee? Sure, as long as it’s black. Tea? Go for it. Unsweetened. Juice? Nope. Smoothies. Nada. Water? As much as you can handle, bro! But flat water can get boring, so this month, give sparkling waters a shot.

LaCroix in Pamplemousse – Love it!

I HATED LaCroix the first time I tried it. By Day 15 of my first Whole30, I’d decided they weren’t awful. Six months later, I actually crave them. Our favorite LaCroix flavor is pamplemousse (grapefruit). We also like the White Rock brand (which we buy at Whole Foods) in pomegranate blueberry.

If you’re panicked about the coffee situation, I feel your pain. I was a wreck about it. Chameleon Cold Brew Coffee (black) saved the day. (A huge shout out to our coaches at Five Forks CrossFit for stocking it for us while we searched for a local source!) It’s sold refrigerated and concentrated. You mix it with water and it’s good cold or hot. It’s very smooth and not at all bitter. I drank it iced for the first 10 days. By then, I was able to handle my regular coffee black.

Another option…try your coffee with coconut oil instead of cream. My husband drinks his this way every day. You can buy a mini-aererator like this one (we picked it up at Bed, Bath and Beyond with a coupon for $15) and get a nice frothy, creamy feel to your coffee.

Pistachios make me happy.

10. Find some compliant emergency foods you actually like. Stash them in your car, purse, desk drawer, etc. No, a lunch comprised of beef jerky and a Lara bar isn’t ideal, but it can keep you in compliance until you can get to a salad bar. My emergency stash includes nuts (check what kind of oils are in there), dried fruit (check for added sugar), Lara bars (watch the ingredients), and beef jerky (choose carefully).

That’s my Top 10 Ways to Prep for your Whole30 list.

If you’ve completed a Whole30, what would you add? Do you have any questions about Whole30 you’d like me to answer in a post? Tell me about it in the comments!

My next Whole30 post (coming next week) will include my favorite Whole30 foods. I’ll be talking brand names and where to buy/order, so check it out.

Planning a #Whole30 in January? Here’s what you can be doing now! Top 10 Ways to Prep for Whole30.

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Whole30 and My Health Journey

Lynn Blackburn — Sat, 22 Nov 2014 03:47:00 +0000

What You Eat on Whole30

Did you catch Dr. Oz on Thursday?

I don’t watch him often, but I set the DVR because of the segment on Whole30. I’ve done two Whole30s in the past six months and the results have been pretty awesome.

So awesome that I’ve started getting a lot of questions about my health journey.

I’ve hit the point where I’ve lost enough weight that people aren’t afraid to ask me about it.

They don’t say, “Have you lost weight?” That’s what you ask when you think someone might have lost weight.

The people who are asking want specifics.
They want to know how much. And they want to know how.
So I’m going to answer that question here.

In some ways, the answer is B-O-R-I-N-G. In others, it’s A-M-A-Z-I-N-G.

I’m eating clean and training hard.

I’ve lost 30 pounds by eating paleo (and occasionally kicking it up a notch with a Whole30) and doing CrossFit. I’ve written a few blog posts about CrossFit, but I haven’t written much about how I eat.

Partly because I don’t have any interest in writing a food blog. Partly because I don’t want to bore people.

Mostly because I know that once you start writing about something—fitness, food, faith, fiction—anything you SAY you are passionate about, there comes with that a sense of accountability.

It’s kind of like the stickers on the back of my car. The ones that tell people in my community where I worship and where I workout…the kind of stickers that make me think twice before giving in to road rage or pulling through the Krispy Kreme drive thru.

Despite my fear of being busted with a half-eaten sleeve of Thin Mints, I’ve decided to start writing about how I eat and how I exercise because they have become big components of how I do life.

I’ll still be writing about faith and fiction, but I’ll be adding in posts on food and fitness from time to time.

While I make no apology for my faith or the fact that I would love to see everyone come to know Jesus as their personal Savior, that’s not how I feel about the way I eat or exercise. I promise I’m not going to try to convert you to paleo or beg you to join a CrossFit—although if you want to, I’ll be happy to help!

I’m not an expert and can only write from my own personal experience. I have a long way to go, but I am convinced that taking care of my body matters for the Kingdom. God has good works for me to do, and if I’m lethargic and exhausted all the time because I’m filling my body and clouding my brain with junk food, then I can’t do what I was put here to do.

There are any number of ways to eliminate junk from your diet. You can count calories, cut out sugar, only eat vegetables, only eat organic. I have friends who’ve gone those routes and have had great success. What’s worked for me is eating paleo, so in general the recipes and tips I’ll be sharing will fit with a paleo lifestyle.

So what is paleo?

The term “paleo” is shorthand for paleolithic nutrition and gets its basis in the idea that man did not evolve to eat the way modern man eats and that we need to eliminate foods that were unavailable to prehistoric man including grains, dairy, sugar, and chemicals.

Please don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater here. Just because the idea of “eating paleo” is based in evolutionary biology doesn’t mean it’s a crock of dino dung.

For the record, I am a creationist.

I cannot fathom how anyone can appreciate the intricacy of the world around them and honestly believe all of that came about by chance.

But you don’t have to believe in evolution to know that most of us consume way too much. Too much sugar, too many chemicals, too many calories. Too much stuff that God never intended to go into our bodies.

For me, paleo is the framework for eliminating the junk and cleaning up my diet. It’s worked great! When I eat this way, I’m not hungry. I have a ton of energy. And my body composition is slowly but surely changing.

I’m doing another Whole30 in January, so over the next few weeks I’ll be posting some tips and tricks that I’ve learned from my previous Whole30 experiences, as well as sharing some of my favorite recipes. I’m looking forward to sharing this part of my story with all of you!

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