First Time l Sept 3

[ACw30]

Day two in the books! The first two days have not been bad, but I am hungry and non-compliant items seem to be everywhere! I’ve planned out the first few days, but would love inspiration for simple meals that won’t end up being so repetitive.

 

[ShannonM816]

One way to keep things simple, but still have some different flavors is to make some different sauces or dips. Look for recipes for whole30 chimichurri, pesto, hollandaise, ranch dressing, tahini dressing, tzatziki, or any other sauce or dressing you can think of. Use them over meats, vegetables, or eggs, or use them as a dip.

Www.meljoulwan.com has several options. 

[Prairie Dawn]

Yay for Day 2!

I would also say, if you're hungry, EAT.  Eat bigger meals, or mini-meals more often, especially in the first few days as your body adjusts.  All the stuff I've read and heard seems to echo this... it takes a while for your body to adjust to 3 nourishing meals a day with enough food to keep you going, especially if you're used to grazing or eating lots of small meals throughout the day.

I'm figuring this out myself... it's such a process just to learn to pay attention!

I like meljoulwan.com as well, nomnompaleo.com is also a great resource for easy recipes that are different and fun.

[Jihanna]

I agree. Whole30 is not a starvation diet and if you're always hungry, then something needs to be tweaked to help prevent that (either by increasing intake in regular meals based on the template or by having mini-meals that hit at least 2 - if not all 3 - macros, those being your protein, fat, and carbohydrates). Remember, there's no counting calories, no counting macros, no points balance that you have to maintain, just good wholesome food and (hopefully) an end to starvation dieting... goodness knows it was an eye-opener for me!

I also have to echo that keeping it simple while mixing up sauces/dips or even preparation helps a lot, in my house. We might sometimes eat sweet potatoes 3 times in a week if they're on a really good sale, but it'll be 3 different preparations (generally baked, roasted, and mashed). The same goes with meats. If your budget limits you to just one or two meats most of the time, change up how they're prepared and spiced, and it'll help a lot to reduce the feeling of monotony.

[heb2014]

14 hours ago, ACw30 said:

Day two in the books! The first two days have not been bad, but I am hungry and non-compliant items seem to be everywhere! I’ve planned out the first few days, but would love inspiration for simple meals that won’t end up being so repetitive.

 

Knowing myself, I, personally, only like to eat leftovers twice at most so the sauces do help change it up, but I never cooked with a lot of sauces prior to this. When I was planning, my thoughts were that if this was going to work, I needed some things to be "familiar" - so while I am trying some new recipes and sauces, I mixed them in with compliant versions of some of our family's staple recipes, a lot of which already complied, just had to change the accompaniment: tacos with lettuce wraps instead of shells or as taco salad; sloppy joes with sweet potatoes instead of a bun; compliant chicken salad with cucumbers instead of crackers; homemade marinara sauce with zoodles rather than pasta; stir fries using coconut aminos and riced cauliflower instead of soy sauce and rice.

Another thing I am used to doing is turning leftovers in to something else - so one night we'll eat roast beef made in the slow cooker with potatoes and carrots, and then I'll shred the leftovers to use as wraps (lettuce wraps in this case) with sauteed bell peppers and onions. Same with pork - I'd turn my left over pork roast into stir fry.

And so far (only 5 days in - ha!), one thing I've enjoyed is that I just loaded up on all types of fresh veggies - whatever looked good while I was at the store), so each night that I cook, I'll pull out whatever suits my taste then, cut it up, toss it in olive oil, add spices and roast it to have as a side. The flexibility is nice, as well as breaking up the monotony of leftovers, and it's pretty easy once everything's cut up.

Granted I cooked most nights prior to Whole30 anyway. If you're new to cooking, it may sound a little daunting, but maybe some of those thoughts could be helpful.

[ACw30]

On 9/4/2019 at 10:36 PM, ShannonM816 said:

One way to keep things simple, but still have some different flavors is to make some different sauces or dips. Look for recipes for whole30 chimichurri, pesto, hollandaise, ranch dressing, tahini dressing, tzatziki, or any other sauce or dressing you can think of. Use them over meats, vegetables, or eggs, or use them as a dip.

Www.meljoulwan.com has several options. 

Great suggestion, thank you! This will definitely mix things up.

[ACw30]

17 hours ago, heb2014 said:

Knowing myself, I, personally, only like to eat leftovers twice at most so the sauces do help change it up, but I never cooked with a lot of sauces prior to this. When I was planning, my thoughts were that if this was going to work, I needed some things to be "familiar" - so while I am trying some new recipes and sauces, I mixed them in with compliant versions of some of our family's staple recipes, a lot of which already complied, just had to change the accompaniment: tacos with lettuce wraps instead of shells or as taco salad; sloppy joes with sweet potatoes instead of a bun; compliant chicken salad with cucumbers instead of crackers; homemade marinara sauce with zoodles rather than pasta; stir fries using coconut aminos and riced cauliflower instead of soy sauce and rice.

Another thing I am used to doing is turning leftovers in to something else - so one night we'll eat roast beef made in the slow cooker with potatoes and carrots, and then I'll shred the leftovers to use as wraps (lettuce wraps in this case) with sauteed bell peppers and onions. Same with pork - I'd turn my left over pork roast into stir fry.

And so far (only 5 days in - ha!), one thing I've enjoyed is that I just loaded up on all types of fresh veggies - whatever looked good while I was at the store), so each night that I cook, I'll pull out whatever suits my taste then, cut it up, toss it in olive oil, add spices and roast it to have as a side. The flexibility is nice, as well as breaking up the monotony of leftovers, and it's pretty easy once everything's cut up.

Granted I cooked most nights prior to Whole30 anyway. If you're new to cooking, it may sound a little daunting, but maybe some of those thoughts could be helpful.

I normally do a lot of cooking on the weekends and try to extend those items through the week. It’s a challenge for me to be creative every day!

[JessFind]

Hi ACw30! I also started to struggle with monotony this week. I really really didn't want leftover chicken a third time yesterday. But I took that as an opportunity to research more recipes! A quick Google search will get you all kinds of ideas, and I feel much more prepared today. Also, to echo the others above, definitely eat more if you're hungry! This takes preparation and making sure you have good options with you, but once you get into a routine of doing that, it gets easier.  Hope your week is going well! 

[ACw30]

Day 4! I ate much more today (all compliant) after being hungry the rest of the week. Feeling much better now.

I went grocery shopping today and continued to be amazed at how much sugar is in every.single.thing!

 

[ACw30]

23 hours ago, JessFind said:

Hi ACw30! I also started to struggle with monotony this week. I really really didn't want leftover chicken a third time yesterday. But I took that as an opportunity to research more recipes! A quick Google search will get you all kinds of ideas, and I feel much more prepared today. Also, to echo the others above, definitely eat more if you're hungry! This takes preparation and making sure you have good options with you, but once you get into a routine of doing that, it gets easier.  Hope your week is going well! 

Yes, it’s all in your frame of mind! I splurged on fresh seafood yesterday, but allowed myself to do it considering the money saved on not grabbing meals or coffee out. And, I have chili con carne in the slow cooker overnight!

[ACw30]

Day 8! Need to do some serious prep for “the hardest days.” Ideas?