SugarcubeOD

So if you're trying to kick a sugar addiction, feeding it sugar (fruit or dried fruit) is just giving in to cravings with different sugar. The only way to beat a sugar dragon is to starve it. Some people eat Lara bars and yes, some of them are compliant depending on the ingredients but they're not recommended and especially not if you're trying to resolve a sugar problem. Second, if you want or need a snack, fruit and nuts/nut butters are not your ideal choice. Nut butter is a fat on the program not a protein (while it has a nominal amount of protein, theres much more fat). Hardboiled egg and mayo or leftover chicken salad or a couple meatballs and half an avocado... those are protein/fat snacks that would be of better help to you.

Hi; Calcium alginate is made by combining calcium chloride and sodium alginate, both which are allowable on the program so I'd say this is fine.

I changed it in the body of the recipe as well so that if people don't read further or they print it, the directions are clear

Maybe it's this particular combination of foods? Have you eaten this exact meal in the last 8 days? It's possible that it's a combination of things that mixed together unpleasantly in your stomach.

This has been discussed quite a bit on this forum - if you have a look you'll find many threads and discussions on early menstruation, spotting, hormonal imbalances etc... it's due to your hormones rebalancing and in general is not something to be concerned about however if you feel it's worrisome, we'd suggest you see your doctor.

This was beautiful and I so enjoyed reading it! You tell a good story and the success is outstanding! *you may want to change your user name from your email address unless you enjoy a lot of spam

Some people might have some tips but you might get more responses and better help if you post specific cooking questions on a cooking website. I think if you tell them that you want to make a fig jam with no sugar they'd probably be able to give you hints and tips. You can definitely post here but often specific cooking questions don't get a lot of responses.

Sorry, just to clarify, you read online that chicken concentrate is the chicken fat? I'd say that's not quite right. Chicken stock concentrate would be a cooked down, concentrated form of chicken stock. There was one article I read where she skimmed the fat off the juices that came out of the crockpot after she cooked a whole chicken but she threw the fat out. Any liquid that you cook down until it's reduced is a version of concentrate so maybe take some of that broth you've made and make a concentrate? I also see that Trader Joe's has concentrates and while I couldn't find the ingredients for all of them, some of them seem okay so maybe take a look?

If it's just coffee grounds with natural and artificial flavoring then yes. If it's some sort of concoction or mixture you'll need to read the ingredients.

Oh please don't microwave your food in plastic I would just set it in warm water as you said and then pop the chunk out into a glass bowl... microwaving plastic is really not a great idea, especially crappy plastic like recycled yogurt/marg containers....

There's a lot of hormone changes that can go on when you remove inflammatory foods and other disruptors from your system and those changes to your hormones can start quite quickly. You can google 'whole30 changes in hormones' and you should get some results on the forum and if I recall there's an article or two about it but things should level out as you go.

60 oz of water is great if you weigh around 120 pounds... we recommend 1/2 oz per pound of body weight. Are you also salting your food to taste?

Yes, natural and artificial flavorings are allowed as long as the rest of the ingredients are compliant.

LIke chia seeds to make pudding? Or like a sprinkle on a salad? The puddings are not recommended on the program but if you want to put basil seeds on a salad or soup, yes, go for it. Just remember all nuts and seeds should be limited so just keep an eye on your consumption.

Yes, any medications that are prescribed to you should continue to be taken. Doctor's orders trump Whole30. Vitamins you'll have to do a bit of research and digging to see if you can find any brands available to you that are compliant. If you google 'whole30 vitamins' you should get some forum discussions and then it's just a matter of going to the store and reading ingredients. Good luck!