Once A Month Meals & AIP?s

[TheDuchess]

  Hi , I am a newbie and this is my first post (I replied once, but anyways...).  I did a search and was able to find lots of info and see that many people are making use of the Whole30 compliant meals on the onceamonthmeals.com site but was unable to divine whether the meals there are simply ingredient compliant or if they actually adhere to the spirit of the program and will keep me on the portion protocol (that isn't what you guys call it- but you know what I mean- the page that shows you how many hand sized servings of protien you should have in a day etc).  I know that for me to be successful I need the food available without cooking- I'll get into why in a second- but freezing ahead a month worth of meals is highly attractive to me.

 

  I have a condition called Interstitial Cystitis (IC) which is generally consdiered an Autoimmune Condition, the doctors change their minds on just about everything to do with IC on a regular basis though.  I am often in too much pain to prepare food- just getting to the kitchen is difficult on some days (no I'm not kidding) so cooking is out but I can handle throwing a frozen meal into the oven and waiting (we try to avoid the microwave).  I previously spent some time eating paleo (except that I included rice) and my husband and close friend both saw an enormous difference (as did I) in my level of illness and energy. I have lately been ill and they both said they would help me with a monthly cook day if it got me back on the paleo wagon- only your true friends will help you move and cook a month worth of meals with you- am I right? (sort of comes with the husband territory but he stil gets points for being awesome).

 

   I figure I might as well go Whole30.  Some questions and difficulties- there is a fairly extensive list of foods that people with IC should avoid since anything high in acid (citrus- most fruits, vinegar, tomatoes, etc) should be either avoided, eaten in very small amounts, or sometimes can be had but cooked off (I have heard rumour that lemon on chicken won't kill me if it is cooked but I haven't had the nerve to try it yet).  There are an almost endless list of foods- hard cheeses, cured meats, coffee, soda, sugar replacements, chemicals of all sorts, rye or sourdough, caffeine, many nuts (almonds are good though and so is coconut thank goodness- I love coconut aminos, butter, oil- all the coconut products).   I could go on for pages with things I can't eat,  I have been eating organic and whole foods for quite some time both becasue of my IC and becasue my husband's degree in biochem put him off injesting or using chemicals in the home long before we met.  It just means there are even more foods that I can't eat which makes menu planning a bit more difficult.  Luckily the only thing I don't LIKE is cilantro (to say I dislike it is a gross understatement).

   I should probably be trying this Autoimmune Protocol wherever that is- will I find it in "It Starts With Food" or should I be ordering another or different book?

 

  Also I wonder if taking my medications will be screwing up my results- they are hardly chemical free but without them I would be in too much pain to function so I guess I will have to just do what I can and let the rest go.  I'll stop there so we don't go from novella to trilogy.  Thank you for your help and support.

[Loulabelle]

Hi Duchess,

 

welcome! I'm too new here to give any real advice on what you should be doing so I will leave that to the more experienced. Thought my experience may help you a little though. I am doing the AIP version of the W30, the food is fairly restricted but I have only had one day where I thought all the food was rubbish and hated eating everything. I do think I was just having a bad day in general though. I'm doing AIP to see if it helps with my arthritis & eczema, I'm too young for the first and only developed the second last year. I'm only on day 16 and so far so good, I have much less pain in my hips and the angry red patches on my arm have faded away to the point my skin almost looks normal. 

 

Both my conditions are autoimmune so I guess if eating this way can help me there is no reason it can't help you to some degree? Keep posting, the people around here are incredibly helpful & friendly 

[Tom Denham]

The information about the autoimmune protocol is in It Starts With Food. Here are links to info online:

 

http://whole9life.com/book/ISWF-Shopping-List-Autoimmune.pdf

http://www.whole9life.com/2013/08/introducing-the-paleo-autoimmune-cookbook/

 

The onceamonthmeals.com people are trying to sell food. The Whole30 is just one niche they are trying to fill, so you can't trust them to guide your Whole30 experience. You have to become an expert yourself and evaluate each offering. Here is basic information that covers almost everything you need to know:

 

http://whole30.com/downloads/official-whole30-program-rules.pdf

http://whole30.com/2013/06/the-official-can-i-have-guide-to-the-whole30/

http://whole9life.com/book/ISWF-Shopping-List.pdf

http://whole30.com/downloads/whole30-meal-planning.pdf

http://www.whole30.com/2013/08/revised-timeline/

http://www.whole9life.com/2013/07/whole30-meal-plans/

 

Taking medication prescribed by a physician is always compliant with the Whole30, although some meds can influence results. You gotta do what you gotta do. 

[Carlaccini]

Hi Duchess,

 

Also let's change the mindset a little.  Let's focus on the food you CAN have or you do enjoy.  Build recipes around that. (I'm not a cilantro fan either)

 

Crock pot would probably be an immense help for whoever will be cooking.  Roasting chickens also is a another one that is relatively low maintenance.

 

I wish you much luck to you and your awesome support.  

[Kboom]

Hi Dutchess,

 

I can't speak to the AIP as I have only done  a full Whole30, although I probably should go to AIP, maybe once I am feeling more comfortable with this.  I can speak to the OAMM cooking.  I actually just did a big cook this weekend, it was Whole30/Paleo.  I found that most of the recipes were compliant, except for the bacon banana "frittatas", which is really just banana/egg pancakes.  That being said, I did make them because I am done my whole30 and I really like them .  I went through the recipes and made sure that the spices/sauces/canned goods added to the recipes were all complaint and if I couldn't find a substitute that was (like Worcestershire sauce) I just omitted it from the recipe.  As for portions, I find their idea of portions is a little off, so some recipes only made 2 meals, while others makes 3 or 4, as well I like to have leftovers for lunch the next day and possibly the next night so I like to have bigger meal portions made.  I have done the OAMM cook day before and I can tell you that it is SO nice to have meals readily made up and ready to either just re-heat or throw in the oven or slow cooker when you need it.  I know that for me, with my 3 kids and husband, having these whole30 meals ready to cook will help me to stay on track and stick with this way of eating for the long term. 

 

Just remember to plan ahead for grocery shopping, prepping and cooking, you definitely need to split these into 3 events/days and you will be exhausted!  The cooking weekend is long and tiring, and you may question your sanity in the midst of it, but once it's done you will be happy you did it.

 

Good luck on your journey!

[Munkers]

Diane Sanfilippo's Practical Paleo has some excellent information regarding AIP and includes a 30 day meal plan of AIP-compliant meals. One caution on this though--I can't speak to whether or not later editions have fixed this, but I have an early edition of the book and there are some errors in the meal plan section. For example, one of the breakfasts calls for sweet potato pancakes which include egg. Egg is excluded on AIP. The meal plan should call for just plain sweet hashbrowns. There are a few other similiar episodes like a throw together meal of canned tuna, avocado, EVOO, olives, and tomato. Tomato is also a no-go on AIP. My recommendation would be have your "no" list next to you as you go through the meal ideas so that you can omit things as needed. The author also has a list of corrections on her website which is available here.

 

For the most part, when it comes to meal prep, it's not a big deal at all to change out veggies or seasoning in order to exclude things that are problematic. Just don't get stuck in the rut of "this recipe calls for one thing I can't have so I can't use the recipe at all."