Captain Log....Day 5

[EnvironmentalistPrime]

I sense a rebellion brewing with my crew. I was so happy to have learned about the Whole30.  Between me gaining 30lbs from being sedentary and overall not wanting to do the extreme workouts I had been doing in the past, my spouse's long list of Standard American Diet related illnesses, and my child who is obese, our choice to do whole30 made sense.  We have embarked on this journey together but today marks day four, and yesterday was the worst.  Breakfast was ho hum, lunch was gross, and dinner was meh.  We are all tired and weak feeling from not having our favorite sugar filled delights, and I realized that I apparently put soy sauce and sriracha on everything I cook.   My spouse is already of tired eating at work every day, as he normally goes out to eat. Taking his lunch to work means he's eating in the break room.  My sweet 13-year-old kid has been staying up all night, and I Found him rummaging in the cold ration storage.   I know we are all getting used to the idea of this journey, even myself who've spent hours researching this, reading and listening to the audio book "It Starts with Food" but this voyage is no less perilous.  

Our rations have run low quickly. I didn't realize just how much fruit, vegetables, and meat people could consume when they do not have chips, cheese puffs, popcorn, and bread available.  We will meet up with a farming freighter this afternoon and anticipate a wide variety of locally grown foods.  My main concern is how to cook it all in a way that is appealing to my family who has subsisted on pizza, pasta, and bread.  We have eaten vegetables before but they really were more like condiments than the actual base of our diet.  

I sense that if I do not come up with some surprising and tasty foods soon they will rebel.  From a distant place, on Day 4, I call out to all of those who've made it to the Day 30 Destination with your crew at your side, how did you make it?  Do you have any tips?  

[ShannonM816]

My favorite source of recipes is this site, or the author's Well Fed cookbooks:  http://meljoulwan.com/recipes-index/

You might also like Nom Nom Paleo --  http://nomnompaleo.com

There is definitely a learning curve for cooking this way if it's not your usual way of cooking, but once you learn more about spices and sauces, you'll find things you like almost as much as soy sauce and sriracha. 

Do remember that you don't need to make fancy meals. Find a taco seasoning recipe, make a pound of ground beef with it, pile that on a salad with your favorite leafy greens, tomatoes, shredded carrots or broccoli slaw, diced jicama, celery, bell peppers if you like them,and any other veggies that sound good to you, top it all with a big scoop of guacamole (remember that you each want half to a whole avocado per serving).

Or do burger patties with tomatoes, pickles, lettuce, mayo,  mustard, wrapped in lettuce or collard green leaves, with a side of roasted potatoes or sweet potatoes.

It doesn't have to be too complicated, just have some protein, some healthy fat, and lots of veggies.