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Whole 30 – Week 1 in Review

Happy Sunday, friends!!! Today marks the end of my first week doing Whole30 and I wanted to let you guys know how it went. Every Sunday I’ll be doing a week in review to talk about the recipes I tried, the snacks I’m loving, how I’m feeling, and any challenges I faced. If there’s anything else you’d like to know as we move forward, please don’t hesitate to let me know in the comments below or via email!

Before I review this past week, let me answer some basic questions regarding Whole30.

  1. What is Whole30? According to Whole30.com, Whole30 is”cut[ing] out all the psychologically unhealthy, hormone-unbalancing, gut-disrupting, inflammatory food groups for a full 30 days.” The best resource truly is the Whole30 website, which explains everything in detail (including what you can and can’t eat), gives recipes, and connects you with others doing Whole30.
  2. Why did you decide to do Whole30? I chose to do Whole30 for 2 reasons: 1) I have been wanting to transition back to clean eating for awhile and thought this would be a great way to kick it off, and 2) I have had sensitivity to dairy products lately and wanted to see how by body would feel if/when I cut out dairy.
  3. How will you transition back to “normal life” after your 30 days are up? Let’s be honest, there are some things I can’t live without. So, at the end of this 30 day adventure I plan on gradually adding back wine (a staple in my house, hehe) and some grains.
  4. Where do you find your recipes? Truthfully, the best place to find recipes has been Pinterest. I created a Whole30 pinterest board here that has all of my favorite recipes including the ones I tried this week. I also used this Trader Joes shopping list to shop for most of my basics and snacks for the week.

WHOLE30 MEALS IN REVIEW:

  • MONDAY: Chimichurri Chicken Wings – oh my gosh, y’all, this was SO dang good! The only thing we did differently with this recipe was use drumsticks in place of wings and we omitted the ranch dressing. We served this with baked red potatoes that we seasoned with rosemary.

chimi-chicken

image via real food with dana

  • TUESDAY: Slow Cooker Sweet Potato Chili – this was so good that my husband and I both went back for seconds. The only change we made was that we used bison meat instead of ground beef. The best part about this recipe, too, is that is makes about 10 servings so you can eat it for lunches throughout the week.

sweet-potato-chili3

image via one lovely life

  • WEDNESDAY: Zoodles with Trader Joe’s Organic Pasta Sauce – we needed an easy dinner on Wednesday because we meet with our community group on Wednesday nights, which means we have to be leaving our house by 7:15. So, a quick dinner it is! We simply made pasta but in place of the pasta we used zucchini noodles. If you’ve never made them before, here’s a great tutorial. For the sauce we used Trader Joe’s Organic Tomato Basil Marinara which has zero sugar. We truly expected to be underwhelmed by the sauce since it was sugar free, but were pleasantly surprised at how delicious it was!
  • THURSDAY: Whole30 Sloppy Joe Bowls – this is a great recipe to make in the winter! It was so warm and filling and hit the spot this week when it was less than 32 degrees outside. This one is super easy to make, too, and if you have any leftover filling you can use it in an omelette the next morning.

sloppy-joes

image via physical kitchness

  • FRIDAY: Barbeque Chicken Salad – this recipe is one I will be repeating next week for lunches. It was super easy to make and so tasty.  I will say that my husband was quite skeptical at first because it doesn’t use “real” mayo, but he tried it and ended up eating it two days in a row and fighting me for the last serving. Instead of making our own mayo, we bought Tessamae’s Mayo from Whole Foods (it tastes delicious). I ate mine as is with a spoon and Travis made a panini with his with bread and some melted swiss cheese (good option if your significant other isn’t doing Whole30).

paleo-barbecue-chicken-salad-recipe-8

image via the pinning mama

  • SATURDAY: Creamy Balsamic Chicken & Brussel Sprouts – this was a great meal if you’re pinched for time and ingredients and it’s super tasty! We had some left over chicken, so all we had to buy was a small amount of brussel sprouts and some mushrooms. The first thing my husband said was that he wished we had made more it was so good!

creamy-chicken

image via chocolate salad

Week 1 Updates:

  1. So, how am I feeling? I am feeling two things maybe – tired and satisfied. I don’t know if the tired thing is normal, but I didn’t work out some days because I just felt so exhausted. I feel satisfied though in that all I’m putting into my body is natural and organic. I didn’t realize how bloated I was feeling when I was eating anything and everything I wanted.
  2. What was the hardest part about week 1? This is an easy one. The hardest part about this has been not being able to drink wine. I am a wine-o for sure and love a good glass of red wine with dinner. In place of wine I’ve been drinking tea though, and that has helped!
  3. What was your favorite part about week 1? I think my favorite part about this week was meal planning and cooking. It’s so easy for me to fall into the habit of eating out or making the same thing over and over when most of my time is devoted to my little girls (1 and 3 years old). I love cooking, so it was great to be back in the kitchen and it really didn’t take that much additional time once I had my week all planned out.
  4. What was your favorite snack? My favorite snacks this week were dried mangos, sliced cucumbers with organic salsa, and RX Bars.

All in all, week 1 went great. I’m excited to see how I’ll feel after week 2. Be sure to check out the other bloggers doing Whole30 with me to see their favorite Whole30 recipes, hacks, and shopping lists.

Whole30 Bloggers:

My Life Well Loved – How to Start Whole30

Life in the Green House – Whole30 Update

Taz + Belly – It’s Whole30 Time

Life Lutzurious – Whole30 Tips

Casual Claire – Whole30 Start $50 Kroger Giveaway

Two Peas in a Prada – Whole30

Lauren McBride – Busy Mom Whole30

A Lo Profile – Mini Egg Frittatas

Makeup Life and Love – New Year New Goals Whole30

Tessa Lindsay Garcia – Whole30

Sunflowers and Stilettos – Whole30

xx-anna

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