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Doing my 1st Whole 30 for Lent, any others in Southwest UK?


Bobkea

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Hello to the Whole 9 Life community,

I'm not very comfortable with this forum way of communicating, so please forgive me if I come across a bit uneasy.

I've been playing with whole 30 now since January and kept putting off going 100% for one reason or another but my partner, who has been completely supportive as he's suddenly found I'm doing so much more of the cooking, suggested we do the period of Lent instead of just a mere 30 days!

I absolutely LOVE the Whole 30 food and although getting Paleo friendly tomato paste, mustard, curries etc is difficult we do have a great local butchers and lots of local veg n fruit supplies. My cooking is already improving although my organisational skills need some serious brushing up!

My main problem I think is that I currently work in a Specialist Beer Shop and the Beer is amazing... this I know I'm going to miss and it's always going to be in front of me!

Anyway if there are and other Whole 30 followers in Southwest U; Cornwall & Devon, then it would be great to hear from you.

Thanks for already changing my life, I'm can't wait to see how much more it's going to change in the coming month!

Kate,

Launceston, UK

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Hi Kate,

 

I'm in Dorset, shortly to move to Somerset, and I'm going to start from tomorrow. Wow, lent is a long one, maybe I will stick with you!

 

Oh good grief, the beer is going to be tough, my downfall is wine.

 

So, I'm with you if niot for the whole of lent, then at least the whole 30 :)

 

Best wishes, Janey

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Hi Janey,

 

Just up the road then :)  If you find any condements that fit the Whole 30 please let me know... I'm finding them the hardest to replace in my cupboards. I'm sure we can both resist these finer things in life such as the wine & beer - I need to work with a blind fold!

 

Good luck with your move to Somerset.

 

Kate

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Hi Kate and Janey 

 

I am near Exeter so halfway between you both. 

 

I did my first Whole30 in September and it went on for 50 days in the end. I just loved the way it made me feel. My come down was a latte and cake at Costa :( I now know that 50 days wasn't enough to cure my habits!!

 

Good luck - I am posting on one of the Starting March 1 threads but I plan to stick with it until at least Easter Sunday 

 

Sharyn

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Gosh you are both much more ironwilled than me, I will have to man up a bit I think!

 

I haven't had any "bad" stuff for a long time, not even chips :) but I do tend to overdo the paleo treats given half a chance.

 

OK so I am starting fresh tomorrow, going to have one last glass of wine and piece of chocolate tonight I think!

 

As for paleo condiments, I get boxes from Abel and Cole and they are pretty good with things like organic coffee, coconut milk and ghee, generally otherwise go to my local farm shop for herbs etc. Just need to lay off the cashew butter and coconut manna.

 

What do you guys eat in a typical day? Thanks, Janey

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I have been teetotal for the past 12 years so beer and wine do not bother me. My weakness is coffee shops, flavoured syrups and cake. 

 

On a normal day I eat

 

Meal 1 - baby spinach topped with home made mayo and some meat or eggs, cooked in oil if cooked. Sometimes a grapefruit. Decaff black coffee

 

Meal 2- homemade coleslaw using bags of stir fry veg and homemade mayo with more meat or fish or eggs. Banana and cashews

 

Meal 3 - meat or salmon with veggies. I like one pot meals so I tend not to add extra fat as we eat the cooking fat. Tonight is pulled pork which has been in the slow cooker all day with pan fried Brussels sprouts with onion. I may make some apple sauce with a couple of eating apples and some homemade ghee. 

 

I like the recipes in Well Fed and always brine chicken before cooking after trying her Best Chicken You Will Ever Eat method. And I enjoy doing different things with vegetables instead of just boiling and draining! 

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Hi Sharyn & Janey,

Good too see a few doing the same as me! And Sharyn, you're doing no 2, wow 50 days is a long time though I have to say 40 days of Lent is looking along time from here (day2!).

My general breakfast is eggs, spinach, avocado & or bacon done in various ways

Lunch is either left overs from the night before or cold protein (ham, prawns, salmon etc) and salad and a small fruit salad

Dinner is still a work in progress... I love nom nom Paleo,.. I've bought the book & app and love her recipes. I've just got Slow cooker and I'm loving that though still experimenting.

Janey, I did exactly the same on Tuesday night... Glass of wine & a bit of chocolate... Enjoy your wine tonight!

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Welcome.  I'm nowhere near any of you, but I'm marking my spot because I find it hard to source some of the ingredients, you know like amnio coconut and the fish sauce.

 

I love cooking and have just discovered the nom nom paleo app, which is brilliant as it has a fabulous 30 meal planner.  I'm not following it slavishly, but it is very inspiring.  I adore cookbooks, so that works for me. 

 

I'm in London, btw, with a friend down in Exeter.  Does that mean I can join? lol

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Hi Mars - lots of people have friends down here, we're a friendly bunch :)

 

Tesco's nam pla is sugar free (or so I am told). I don't bother with coconut aminos as they are too expensive and I rarely used soy sauce anyway. 

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Hi Mars,

Hey so far it's a small bunch so the more the merrier:) get your friend in Exeter to do the whole30 and we clung meet up for as full on whole30 lunch!

I'm still waiting for the coconut aminos, which I found on Amazon, to arrive and it is expensive. Tesco's own brand fish sauce, looks acceptable or is it also called nam pla, is that what you've just said Sharyn? That just one of the slightly frustrating things is all the different names for things... Need an American-English Cook book translator.

I just cooked the chilli lime chicken from the Nom Nom App - finger lickin!!:-) I do love her recipes. Also just made my first bone broth and it wobbles like a jelly which is very encouraging.

Janey, how's the first few days going? I'm craving beer just around dinner time, much more than I thought I would.

Do any of you know a good Paleo friendly cordial? My boyfriend doesn't like water much!

Keep strong & good night.

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Morning ladies!

 

Sorry for the radio silence, had a mad couple of days.

 

So I did start on Friday, like a good girl :) that last glass of wine was heaven!

 

I think that the cravings thing is so psychological, it's mad. So, I find that once I have in my mind I am restricting something, I want it like mad, then the trick is to convince myself that nothing is restricted, it's an active choice that i am making, of an end goal, and then the cravings subside somewhat. Interestingly, I read another thread about wine drinking and how many people have decided to take it out of the equation altogether. I know from my own experience that once I do that, something eventually snaps and I have a mad binge (on whatever it may be). One chap said that he had a rule that he could have three drinks a week, so he can have on e a night for three nights, or three in a row on one night and it made me think even more about the psychology of it all. I'd love to be one of those grown up people who can  have one small square of chocolate or one glass of wine but alas I have irish heritage (!). In fact, I now realise it's about being "present" (sorry to sound naff) while you make those choices. I'm hoping this all stands me in good stead to weather the cravings!

 

I found I don't use a lot of the pale condiments (like coconut aminos) purely because I'm on a budget but I do use a lot of spices. Annoyingly I discovered that the nitrate free bacon I ordered has a trace of sugar, but I'm not going to let that ruin my whole 30 and also I've considered that i may want to continue on after 30 days so again trying to look at it as a lifestyle choice rather than a period of restriction.

 

Thanks so much for your meal ideas, have you got the cookbook well fed? Also against all grain is amazing, but she uses a lot of non compliant ingredients whilst on your whole 30.

 

Looks like its going to be a lovely day, I'm off to the gym in a minute so enjoy and chat later! J :)

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Bobkea- Fresh lime (or another fruit) is probably your best choice for an addition to water. Fizzy water can also a nice alternative to regular water.  And I think Holland & Barrett does a lemon juice that's compliant.

 

I've never seen non-compliant tomato paste, I get mine from Home Bargains (in a tube, rather than a tin as it lasts longer).

 

I think Asda used to have a compliant mustard.  Waitrose has a few mustard choices and their own brand products tend to be priced fairly reasonably.

 

If you're going to follow American recipes it's worth investing in measuring cups and spoons, it's a lot easier than trying to find an online conversion for every recipe.  I'm not sure what American words you've struggled with (most of the translation difficulty I've encountered has been in baking), but if you have any specific questions though, post them and someone will know the answer. 

 

Actually, just realised as I was about to post that tomato paste tends to be sold as tomato puree here, that might be why you've struggled to find it?

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This thread talks about alternatives to coconut aminos and I think I may try balsamic vinegar. But I also read that CA's are salty so may add some extra salt - but taste first as I don't like overly salty food. 

 

If I make a stir fry I have always dressed it with a couple of teaspoons of sesame oil just before serving and that works for me for an Asian flavour. 

 

If any of you are coming to Exeter let me know as I don't work and we could meet for a (black) coffee somewhere  :)

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If you want some flavour I can recommend Jason's recipe for Barbecue Sauce. I used three slices of jalapeno from a jar and it was tingly enough for us. Americans like crazy hot stuff! I make my own tomato sauce and use Sainsburys beef stock which is compliant and £2 a pot on the top shelf above the beef joints. Little tins of tomato paste/puree are double strength and again I use Sainsburys. Just going to make a batch to freeze. Hopefully it will freeze well. 

 

http://paleopot.com/2013/05/paleo-jalapeno-barbecue-sauce/

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Well I survived my biggest test to date.  On Friday, my eldest son ordered a Thai takeout.  I love that food.  However, when it arrived my stomach started gurgling like crazy and then he opened the boxes and I felt ill.  So that's a good sign.  I was able to tuck into my chicken wings and sweet potato chips without wishing I was sharing his meal. 

 

I've bought anchovies to add salt as I don't think I can increase my budget to coconut amnios etc.  Glad to see a BBQ sauce recipe as I was thinking about that today (what with the glorious sun shining down).  Will go and read that linked thread for alternatives.

 

I know what you mean about the American/English translations.  I googled Cilantro and laughed when I discovered they mean Coriander.

 

My gorgeous Exeter friend is the one who introduced me to the paleo way.  It's been her lifestyle for the longest time.  I'm just late to the party. lol

 

Hope you're all enjoying your weekend! 

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SharynF.. do you have a recipe for your tomato sauce please?  I love BBQ wings and ribs, and would love to make the BBQ sauce so that I can stay compliant with my wings.

 

I'm making nom nom paleo's magic mushroom seasoning tomorrow.  I forgot the chili flakes.  Oops!

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Hello folks,

Hope you all enjoyed the marvelous weather we had this weekend (20*C in Bude!)... and Sharyn I love the BBQ sauce link - will definitly be trying to make that!

Feeling a bit more confident as I was planning on doing a shop yesterday for the week including last nights dinner, but as the weather was far to good to be in any store I cooked up a rather mixed mango and prawn stir fry with a few bits n pieces - a pepper, waterchestnuts, chilli and descicated coconut served with some kale on the side. Certainly not planned but quite tastey :).

 

Annebel thanks for the advice. Lemon and limes in water has been approved and I think we'll be buying more of those than previously. Mustard will have to wait till I next pass another supermarket - Tesco is our local and none of their Mustards are complient. I'll double check the tomato paste.

 

I found Whole 30 as I was looking for some recipes and following some interesting links I ended up on Nom nom paleo's blog and from there to the whole 30... its was the promise of feeling energised throughout the day that got me hooked and the fact that they didn't make you pay to find out more though I did get the book it 'starts with food'.  I can't wait to feel energised thoughout the day - there is so much I want to do!

 

How's the 1st week going? For me its not to bad, but I'm finding it a bit flat - neither bad nor good which I think is a definite bonus compared to other posts I've read!

Have a good week.

 

Kate.

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SharynF.. do you have a recipe for your tomato sauce please?  I love BBQ wings and ribs, and would love to make the BBQ sauce so that I can stay compliant with my wings.

 

I'm making nom nom paleo's magic mushroom seasoning tomorrow.  I forgot the chili flakes.  Oops!

I just made a sauce with onions and garlic softened in OO, added a chopped leek, a can of chopped tomatoes and some tomato puree, some mixed herbs and a little home made veg stock ( I save all suitable peelings for stock). Simmered it for about an hour until it was fabulous then blitzed it with my Bamix stick blender.  Voilá 

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Mind if I jump on? I'm from London and well...I have a cousin in Newquay if I HAVE to make a link. But also I would just like to interact with other Brits -- it's very American focused on these forums! I've joined another WholeLent thread so I'll probably end up posting similar stuff but it's nice to have a wide variety of people to talk to!

 

This is my third Whole30, and although I'm calling this a WholeLent in reality I'm doing the 34 days + 10 days of the Reintro protocol. (counting the Sundays, Lent is 44 days in total). So far for my previous two W30s I haven't managed to do the Reintro bit properly so I think keeping it fairly regimented within the programme (i.e not thinking about the 10 Reintro days as a separate thing) will help.

 

I ended up buying coconut aminos from iherb, an American online company. It comes out MUCH cheaper than what you can get online here in the UK, even when you factor in postage; about half the price. The way it works out cheaper like that is by using someone's discount code. If you use mine (click here: http://www.iherb.com/?rcode=PJQ508) you get $10 off your first order over $40 or $5 off if your order is below $40. The way I worked it out, the cheapest thing to do was to buy 4 bottles of coconut aminos and use the cheapest delivery available. It comes out at $27.52; i.e.about £4.10 per bottle, including shipping and so on. In fact the delivery arrived within 3 days of me ordering it so I was very impressed! Once you've placed an order you get your own discount count to pass on to people...and if you're canny you can do another order using a different email address. (Sorry to sound like a sales person, I was just very impressed with it. I promise I don't work for them!). £4 is still quite a lot of money though! Before I bought coconut aminos I substituted with roughly half the amount the recipe called for of fish sauce. Adding a bit of balsamic vinegar too would be a good idea as coconut aminos is quite sweet. Perhaps grinding up an anchovy with some balsamic vinegar would work.

 

I struggled with fish sauce; for some reason most have sugar in! I finally found a brand in a Chinese supermarket that was fine; ingredients were anchovies and salt. The other thing I struggled with is balsamic vinegar -- most have sulphites in. So make sure you read the ingredients; they usually have an allergy warning about sulphites. I have found that the organic versions of supermarket chain balsamic vinegars are OK. I recently found that most raisins/sultanas have 'vegetable oil' in the ingredients which is quite upsetting! The best I have found is Waitrose essentials which has palm oil. I'll keep it at arm's length though, unless really needed, as I'm not sure whether it's palm oil or palm kernel oil. Anyone had better luck?

 

I got frustrated with buying mustard too: I could find only one jar in the whole of quite a large Waitrose that was kind of OK (although did have some preservative in that I wasn't sure about). It was really expensive too! So after that experience I just made my own...and was surprised how easy it is! I don't mean just mixing up some dry mustard with water either, I mean making proper, grainy mustard. I think I followed this recipe: http://honest-food.net/2010/10/18/how-to-make-mustard/ but just google 'homemade mustard' and find one you like the look of. 

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wow - thanks for the mustard link. I am going to start experimenting! I always have mustard powder in the cupboard as I like to coat cod or haddock with it before pan frying. And - to be nit picky - it's not just grainy mustard that is 'proper'. Good old yellow smooth mustard is proper too  :P

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haha, sorry, of course, I suppose for some reason I don't think of the stuff you make up out of the yellow powder as 'proper' simply because I prefer grainy stuff. I've just remembered that the only stuff I've ever found that is actually OK and easily available is French's American Mustard...weird as most American stuff is totally out of the question! However, it's smooth and not flavourful so I never even considered it.

 

How is everyone holding up a week in? 

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Hi everyone, sorry for not checking in sooner. How's everyone first week been? I have to say I was hoping I'd be feeling more energised by now. I'm still feeling slightly grumpy which is so not me.

 

TDC you said this was your 3rd whole 30 - it must be good and worth is if your are re-doing it? I have to say not having cooked much in the past, planning, organising and cooking is both great frun and so frustrating! Sorry about the winge but how are you guys feeling anyone started to feel great yet?

 

Thanks for the heads up on the mustard, if its easy then I think I will have a go this weekend.

 

This whole forum is great but it is good to hear from fellow brits:)

 

I've got duck marrinading for dinner tonight.. that should cheer any one up who loves crispy roast duck!

 

All the best

 

Kate.

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Hi Kate,

 

There are several reasons why this is my third in 6 months:

1.) I still have some weight to lose. My weight loss on the Whole30 has been relatively moderate but steady. In the September W30 I lost 2kg, in the Jan W30 I lost....2 kg! I was disappointed after the September W30 when I first stepped on the scales at the end as everyone else seemed to be losing more like 5 kg after 30 days! However, I'm not particularly overweight and don't have a huge amount to lose. Plus the September W30 coincided with ramping up CrossFit in a more intense manner. Over the last 6 months I've definitely improved the overal composition of my body in terms of fat vs muscle definition. Additionally, about halfway through the September W30 I realised that it was becoming about so much more than losing weight (more on this in a second!). When I weighed myself after the second one I was mildly pleased to find I'd lost another 2 kg, but I wasn't too bothered because....

2.) More importantly, I'm able to fit into clothes that I haven't even looked at in years. One top I bought 12 years ago fits me really well; I literally haven't used it since I first bought it. So I'm totally on board with what they say about not making the numbers on the scales the most important thing. Before I did my first one I was weighing myself almost daily; now I rarely do (and obviously not at all while on the Whole30!). Although I fit into clothes that I used to be able to fit 12 years ago, I'm about 10 kg heavier! 

3.) I have NOT had the miracle tiger blood, energy, happiness, etc. that many others else have experienced. But then I didn't consider myself to be particularly lethargic, unhappy or stressed out. In addition, I had already cut grain out of my diet relatively consistently over the past 2 years, and have not really had much dairy over the past 6 months; additionally, I'm not a massive snacker, and in particularly haven't really eaten a lot of sugar, chocolate, etc. in the past 3 years or so. all in all, I wasn't an absolutely terrible eater. Room to improve, sure, but not terrible. However, my general outlook on life has improved, I am generally more cheerful in the morning, and whereas I used to be quite a lazy person before, I'm much more willing to be doing work rather than hanging out in front of the TV.

4.) My overall awareness of nutrition, my environment and general wellbeing has improved, and continues to do so. Each and every Whole30 has built upon the last in terms of my knowledge about what food does and doesn't feel good, how I respond to certain food, how I make decisions, etc. In the intervening time between the various W30s, the choices I make when eating out, when bored, when cooking, etc., continues to improve, and to me this is one of the greatest benefits. Although I've considered myself to be a Paleo eater for the past 2.5 years, until I did the September W30, I had never really done a week straight eating the way I'd like to eat. The Whole30 is helping me to retrain my brain and I approach food in a much more healthy way.

 

About planning and cooking: this has got to be the hardest thing, yet it is the most important. I cook for two, myself and my boyfriend, and I have to prepare three meals a day for both of us. That can be quite stressful at times, just in terms of trying to plan what to eat...and I actually really enjoy cooking! So I can imagine how much harder it must be if you've not had to do much of that before. Have you got the WellFed books, or been on her website? If not, I highly recommend getting both her books (and I'd say get them in book form rather than Kindle). If you're not familiar with her weekly cookup plan, then have a look at this:

http://www.theclothesmakethegirl.com/2010/01/14/paleo-kitchen-the-method-behind-my-madness/

And her are four weeks of her cookup plans, specifically for the Whole30:

http://www.theclothesmakethegirl.com/2013/12/29/whole30-2014-week-1-meal-plan/

http://www.theclothesmakethegirl.com/2014/01/04/whole30-2014-week-2-food-plan/

http://www.theclothesmakethegirl.com/2014/01/11/whole30-2014-week-3-food-plan/

http://www.theclothesmakethegirl.com/2014/01/20/whole30-2014-week-4-food-plan/

 

Hope that helps!

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Day 14 - almost halfway :)

 

I had to take my cat to the vet again this morning because he is still not eating properly after last week's op :( I had to wait at home for a phone call for blood results and this is the sort of time I cave in and eat - to fill that unfillable whole. Today I had some fruit and coconut milk, in a bowl with a spoon. Not totally compliant but so much better than stopping off at the bakery on the way home. I am proud of this so I hope no moderator tells me off (!!). I feel as though I am starting to cope better with these comfort eating times as I understand the physical manifestations of my weird brain. 

 

It's hump day tomorrow and we are off to the beach to fly kites, walk and play silly games. Just what the doctor ordered. 

 

Onwards!!

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