WHOLE 30 UPDATE

I just thought I'd give a quick update on how our Whole 30 diet went. 

So let me just say that my husband and I have completely different views of the diet. He lost 15 pounds. I lost 2. I felt slightly more sluggish on the diet, he had a ton of energy. Perhaps the main difference is that I don't eat too far off from this way on a regular basis. I think I was sluggish because of not having sugar. I definitely ate a lot of sugar before the diet. However, most of my sugars came from honey, maple syrup, plain yogurts, and whole grains, NOT drinks or refined sugars. 

Since being off the diet we've continued to avoid processed foods and we've limited grains and dairy. For instance, if we have a hamburger, we opt for no cheese, take the bun off and don't use condiments that are full of sugar - only mustard. We're also continuing to eat the "Whole 30" way for at least one meal a day. 

Lastly, we have cut back on how much meat we eat, and many days cut out meat entirely. I think after eating so much meat while on the diet, we've enjoyed replacing the meat with a whole grain or legume, which we couldn't eat before. 

I now have all of my energy back and Chris continues to have energy, as well as has lost 3 more pounds! I hope our healthy food choices will be a permanent thing from now on - or at least that is the goal. 

CHICKEN AND SPINACH BURGERS FOR WHOLE 30

I've now made it a little over two weeks on the Whole 30 plan. I have to admit this diet has been really hard for me. Cutting out my favorite food groups has not been easy. I've been trying to get more creative with our meal planning to give me incentive to keep going strong, and this is one of the easy meals I put together for us last week that turned out really tasty.

Our drink was just a little grapefruit and lime squeezed into water.

The tomato salad was just chopped up tomatoes, cucumbers, purple onions, garlic, cilantro, and jalapeño. I squeezed a lime over it and added salt and dill weed to taste. I also added leftover salad dressing that I shared in this previous post.

The recipe for the Chicken Spinach Burgers is as follows:

Mix together

1 lb ground chicken
2 c chopped fresh spinach
1/2 c cooked and mashed sweet potato
1 egg
1/2 t salt

Mold into patties and then cook in about 2T of coconut oil about 5-7 minutes each side. Serve with homemade mayo or (my favorite) a potato/garlic mash (mashed potatoes blended with garlic, salt, fresh squeezed lemon juice, and olive oil).

Enjoy!

Homemade Salad Dressing for Whole 30

My go to salad dressing is simply plain olive oil and balsamic vinegar, but now that the mainstay of my diet has become salads (thanks to the Whole 30 diet that I'm still plugging away on), I'm trying to put a little more effort into my salad dressing. 

This isn't always easy when many vinegars contain chemicals or sugars, and any normal brand salad dressing contains all sorts of ingredients I'm trying to avoid. 

Here is my recipe for one of the various salad dressings I've been making lately . . . 

In a blender or food processor, blend these ingredients:

1 clove of garlic

2 small red sweet peppers

1/4 bunch of fresh cilantro

The juice of one lemon squeezed by hand

2 dried apricots (the natural organic kind without any additives)

1/4 c organic white wine vinegar

2T apple cider vinegar

1/2 c olive oil

1t real redmond salt

This dressing has tang from the vinegar, a freshness from the cilantro and lemon, a spicy bite from the garlic, and yet still sweet from the peppers and apricots.