Some of my favorite Whole30 finds (Part 2)

I love Whole30 because I spend my time and energy preparing and eating whole, delicious foods without fillers.  I also find myself cooking even more than I usually do because that way I know what’s going in my food.  But sometimes I feel the need to simplify my life a little, and purchase something that’s been made by someone else.  

Cashew Butter.

I bought it years ago, before Whole30, and was decidedly unimpressed.  It had no taste or flavor.  It was $8.99 down the drain (thanks, Whole Foods!).  But then at work recently, someone had salted cashew butter.  I thought I'd hate it, but figured it was worth a try since it was a nice Whole30 compliant nut butter (the ingredients are cashews and salt).  Frankly, my mind was blown!

Dang Lightly Salted Coconut Chips (Unsweetened).

I bought these while on my first Whole30, and frankly I'm not sure why I haven't bought them since.  They're crispy, slightly salty, and have a little natural sweetness from the coconut.  No sugar added.  Just salt and coconut.  I'll be honest with you, I eat these straight from the bag.  They'd also be good as a topper for smoothies, salads, or soups!

Rind Snacks.

I mentioned these in a recent post, but figured I'd mention them again here.  I bought these online on a whim to try.  Something about dried kiwi sounded interesting.  I was a little perturbed by the rind on some of the dried fruits (kiwis, oranges, pineapples) but not the others (apples, persimmon, peaches).  I have to say that (although I've only tried 2 of the three varieties), the kiwis were surprisingly my favorite.  I love the tanginess of the kiwi with the crunch of the seeds.  I can't explain it entirely.  But I do recommend these.  They come in three varieties: kiwi, orchard (peach, persimmon, apple), and tropical (kiwi, pineapple, orange).

Everything but the Bagel Seasoning.

A Trader Joe's exclusive (I'll have a homemade version posted soon).  I LOVE it on my hard boiled egg whites or on top of avocado.  I'm sure it would be great on a baked potato with ghee or even on some proteins.  Gives a punch of flavor without any added sugar and very few calories!

Snack Emergency!

So, you are rocking your Whole30! You go! It's been hard, but you've been prepping and following the plan and doing a great job. But now you're out shopping, and there's nothing to grab in the mall food court; it's a snack emergency!

So, what are you to do??

If you're anything like me, you have planned ahead! I always, ALWAYS, carry Whole30 approved snacks with me. ALWAYS.  They're in purses and my work bag and, if I had a gym bag, they'd be there, too!

Now I know snacking is not recommended on Whole30, but frankly there are snack emergencies (I-ate-lunch-at-noon-and-it's-8 p.m.-and-I'm-not-having-dinner-until-10 p.m.-and-I'm-STARVING kind of emergencies), and that's where these come in.

Here are some of my favorite go-to, always transportable (ok, maybe not the last one), Whole30 compliant emergency snacks:

• Blueberry Rx bars*.  Honestly, I've been obsessed with these bars for several years. Way before Whole30 ever came into my life.  I love that you can pronounce all of the ingredients, they're filling, the texture is good, and they taste super blueberry-y. Runner up: mixed berry! Not all flavors are Whole30 compliant (I'm looking at you peanut butter!), so be careful. These used to be super hard to find but now I see them at Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, Target, and bodegas across New York City. You can also order them online.

• Larabars*. I totally love the lemon bar and cherry pie ones. Key lime are tasty too, and I love the carrot cake ones. Just be careful with these, certain flavors are also not compliant on Whole30. These also have totally identifiable ingredients, are filling, and have a good texture.  These are pretty easy to find; same places as above, plus I see them in regular grocery stores.  If you're a huge fan of one particular flavor, Target usually sells them in boxes of 5 (and they often go on sale). 

• Epic bars.  Two words: chicken sriracha. There's also a cranberry turkey jerky type thing that I have set aside in my bag, but haven't eaten it yet and cannot vouch for its flavor. These give a good protein punch, and a LOT of spice!  They carry these at Whole Foods and Trader Joe's.

• Chomps beef sticks. Think of these as a Whole 30 compliant SlimJim. I joke, sorta. But basically these are easy, on the go, Whole30 compliant beef sticks. Also give you a good punch of protein. And they clock in at around 100 calories.  I've only ever found these at Trader Joe's.  You can also order them online.  There are also some Whole30 jerkies out there (Epic makes some), if that's your thing.

• Raw or dry roasted nuts.  'Nuff said.  I just pre-portion them into little Ziploc bags, and have them available in my bag.  I also eat them as a pre-workout "snack."  Unsweetened dried fruit is also an option, but I find that sometimes I have a hard time stopping when I eat it, so I tend to limit it.  Available everywhere, basically.

• Vegetable sticks. I know you'll think I'm crazy, but every night before bed I cut a giant container of vegetable sticks. I pack it in my lunch bag, and keep it around in case I have a mid afternoon slump, where I need something to eat. This way, I am bound to have something Whole30 compliant and filling available to me. I try not to snack, but if I do, I have these. And if I don't eat them, I just bring them home with me, and serve them alongside dinner.

*Warning: these are emergency snacks, I do not eat bars every day, and can honestly say in the first two plus weeks of this Whole30 I've had two (and one of them was dinner!)

Simplify

Whole30 isn't easy.  Even I'll admit that.  There is just SO. MUCH.  PREP!!!  So much!

Here are some suggestions for simplifying your Whole30 that I've come up with over the past 2+ Whole30s I've done.

Meal plan.  It goes without saying.  I tried so hard at the beginning of this Whole30 to map out dinners for the week.  Sadly, it's fallen a little by the wayside (Sunday night's planned dinner of chicken, sweet potato, and sauteed spinach became halibut with spinach/tomato/olive sauce and half of a sweet potato instead), but it's still good to have a plan, even if life throws you a curve ball and you can't stick to it 100%.

The oven is on.  So when you're baking a sweet potato or potato for dinner, throw in a few extra.  They're a cinch to rewarm and it takes a fraction of the time.  Sweet potato hash for breakfast tomorrow?  No prob!  Same thing goes for bacon or crispy prosciutto.  The recipe calls for 3 slices?  Make a whole bunch.  They'll go great with your eggs and sweet potato hash tomorrow morning!

Hard boiled eggs are super easy to make in bulk, too.  The waters boiling, so why not add a few extra eggs to the pot?  It doesn't even increase the cooking time to add more.  I tend to boil eggs for 3 days at a time.  While they're perfectly fine for a few more days, I prefer mine semi-fresh.

Cut veggies galore.  I should actually do this more often than I do.  I tend to have a nightly ritual of washing and cutting veggies for the next day (except last night.  I passed out after work.  Luckily I got to work today and there were baby carrots and pre-washed celery stalks in the fridge?!).  It's really a smart way to go if you prep your veggies for the week (or half the week) at a time.  It definitely cuts down on nightly prep.

Lastly, if you're a fan of cauliflower rice, buy it premade.  I love my food processor but I am not taking that bad boy out of the bottom cabinet just to turn a head of cauliflower into "rice."  I buy the bagged fresh stuff, but I know Trader Joe's also caries a frozen variety (my friend told me she's found it in the regular grocery store freezer aisle, but I'm not sure if it's Whole30 approved or not).

There you have it.  Some Whole30 hacks I've come up with to simplify my Whole30 life!

Welcome!

This is my third Whole30 and I thought "why not document this?"  I held myself accountable for my first 2 Whole30s by using my Facebook and Instagram to share with the world (translation: annoy most of my friends) the fun I was having.  You might think fun is not the right word, but in all actuality I really did enjoy the Whole30 and how I felt when I was on it and after.  My husband, on the other hand, might disagree with that statement.  While amazingly supportive of my doing the Whole30 (both times, and again now!), and cooking dinners that were Whole30 compliant, he didn't actually do the Whole30 with me.  I'm sure at some point -- at least one -- he wanted to take an English muffin and shove it down my throat!

This round will actually be the Whole33 (at least) for me.  I started on May 29 and am planning on going through the end of June.  But who is counting, anyway?!

While I hear some people binge before they start the Whole30 and eat all the foods they can't have for the next 30 days, I was quite the opposite with all three.  This year, I knew we were having anniversary leftovers for dinner on Memorial Day, so I ate Whole30 the whole day except for dinner.  Easing into it, I like to say...

Three things about my first 2 Whole30s and what I plan to do differently this time:

1. I ate pretty much the same thing for breakfast for 30 days.  Sure, the vegetables changed (a little), but it was almost always egg whites (I hate the yolk!), avocado, and veggies.  Every once in a while I would throw in an Rx bar (I'm obsessed with the blueberry and mixed berry flavors!) for breakfast if I didn't have any prepared eggs at home.  I workout most days at 6:15 in the morning, and then go straight to work, so a hot breakfast -- like scrambled eggs or a veggie omelette or anything that involves morning preparation -- is not for me.

This time, I'm trying to mix it up a little bit.  Sure, sometimes I'll eat eggs and avocado and veggies and call it a day (I have for the first 3 days so far).  The last 2 Whole30s I always thought about making muffin tin omelettes/egg cups but never did.  This time, I'm going to!  I'm also going to mix in some salmon patties, too (I did that once or twice last Whole30 when I had leftovers from the night before).  Breakfast salads?  Sure, I'll do that too!

2. Lunches, too.  Lunch was always (even before Whole30 entered my life) a salad with turkey breast.  When I started Whole30, I added olives and some cashews or occasionally almonds.  This.  gets.  redundant!

Now, I'm sticking with salads: they're easy and tasty and filling.  I'm just mixing up what I put on the salad.  I have an idea for a Whole30 Cobb salad that I'm going to post soon.  Another idea I have brewing is a sweet potato and protein bowl...

3. I would always plan my breakfasts and lunches (they were both pretty much the same every work day), but dinner was always a tossup.  Because my husband was so supportive, I always knew that if he was cooking dinner, it would be complaint (if we had burgers, I'd eat mine bun-less with avocado, he'd have a Mexican cheeseburger on an English muffin).  I just never knew what dinner would be before I got home that night.

This time, I'm trying to meal plan more.  Most of our dinners are Whole30 compliant, even when I'm not on Whole30.  It's almost always a vegetable and protein, occasional potato or other carb.  So I'm just trying to put together dinners that we're going to have ahead of time, now that I'm mixing up breakfasts and lunches.  I don't want to have a steak salad for lunch and steak and sauteed spinach for dinner.  I'm taking meal planning to an art form.   Luckily my husband is totally on board!

Good luck, thanks for joining me, and I hope you enjoy the adventure!