Coconut "shake"?

[Ray-Dar]

Hey guys! So I'm on Day 6 of my first Whole30, and am feeling great! Today, I decided to experiment a little- a blended 7oz of Organic light coconut milk with a banana, half a kiwi, and some ice. It came out thick and delicious- almost like a shake. Is this okay on Whole30? Or is too much fruit? I'm trying to stick with the rules as closely as possibly and wanted your thoughts.

Thanks

Deborah

[Susan W]

It's really not beneficial to drink your food. Our bodies read food drinks differently than eating and chewing whole foods. I am curious about your coconut milk. Is that from a carton? Most of them have icky stuff.

[Elliottsmama]

I'm also new...well I finish my first Whole30 tomorrow, but I think shakes are out. Smoothies aren't encouraged so shakes would be out too. You aren't supposed to drink your meals. If this is all you ate, then I am 100% sure it's not okay. You need to be having meals with protein, fat, and some veggies. This wouldn't fit the bill. Smoothies are absolutely forbidden I don't think, but they aren't at all encouraged and most would say they should not be a regular thing at all. At most, I have read that some people include very small ones as part of their meal, but even that was not a universal acceptance. Also, I think you need to switch to full fat coconut milk. You want to be careful that you aren't trying to make SAD food with approved Whole30 food because that defeats the purpose...well, some of the purpose. There are lots of purposes with W30.

[Ray-Dar]

It definitely wasn't my whole meal- just a small treat.

The coconut milk was from a can and the ingredients are: organic coconut, water, and organic guar gum.

I totally agree with what ya'll are saying, but I was wondering if as a small and infrequent treat.

Thanks!

[Susan W]

It definitely wasn't my whole meal- just a small treat.

The coconut milk was from a can and the ingredients are: organic coconut, water, and organic guar gum.

I totally agree with what ya'll are saying, but I was wondering if as a small and infrequent treat.

Thanks!

Treats are really best saved for after your W30. So much of this process is about changing your relationship with food.

[Ray-Dar]

It seems all my ingredients are Whole30 approved- just looked up the coconut milk, and it's okay to have 4-7oz per meal. And of course bananas and kiwi are fine.

I guess it's really about the principal of the thing? That's fine though- just checkin'.

[Susan W]

It seems all my ingredients are Whole30 approved- just looked up the coconut milk, and it's okay to have 4-7oz per meal. And of course bananas and kiwi are fine.

I guess it's really about the principal of the thing? That's fine though- just checkin'.

Yes, like I said, drinking food does different things to our bodies than sitting down to whole foods.

It isn't banned if it's part of a meal. It does seem pretty desserty. This is a 30 day program. I feel like I can do anything for 30 days to achieve optimal results.

[Tom Denham]

Best practices for doing a Whole30 have been refined over the years. When I did my first one, smoothies were not encouraged, but they were not explicitly discouraged either. I used to have 6 or 8 smoothie/shake recipes on my site from those early days, but deleted all of them recently because that's not what I want to encourage people to eat. Such a shake is not bad, but there are better choices to be made.

By the way, I think a good kiwi is one of the great tastes of the world.

[Robin Strathdee]

Tom, as usual, says it so well. Here's the thing: if you had a full meal with appropriate servings of protein and veggies, then I don't see anything wrong with having this as a part of your meal (not as a snack or dessert). The fruit serving is appropriate and that's the right amount of coconut milk to serve as your fat for the meal. The main problems with smoothies stem from their tendency to replace actual meals and the overconsumption of fruit.