Flaherty Fam: Whole 30

For several months now I have been doing a lot of research on the paleo lifestyle and I have several friends who swear by it. Since I am a huge advocate of clean eating, I always like to learn other people's perspective and insight into nutrition and the paleo lifestyle is in fact clean eating...just different. So, I ended up reading The Paleo Solution by Robb Wolf and really liked what he had to say and the research that backed his opinions. So, I decided that after the holidays I would give the paleo diet a try and see if it improved any of my current issues or if I felt a big difference in my energy levels and fitness. So, while I was in Boston my brother and Kjersten were talking about doing the Whole 30 program, which was exactly what I was going to start in January. I was so excited that they too wanted to do it...nothing like a support group:) By some miracle I even convinced Brett to do it because anyone can do something for 30 days, right?!:) So, what is the Whole30? I pulled this summary from the Whole 30 website: "Certain food groups (like sugar, grains, dairy and legumes) could be having a negative impact on your health and fitness without you even realizing it. Are your energy levels inconsistent or non-existent? Do you have aches and pains that can’t be explained by over-use or injury? Are you having a hard time losing weight no matter how hard you try? Do you have some sort of condition (like skin issues, digestive ailments, seasonal allergies or fertility issues) that medication hasn’t helped? These symptoms may be directly related to the foods you eat – even the “healthy” stuff. So how do you know if (and how) these foods are affecting you? Strip them from your diet completely. Cut out all the psychologically unhealthy, hormone-unbalancing, gut-disrupting, inflammatory food groups for a full 30 days. Let your body heal and recover from whatever effects those foods may be causing. Push the “reset” button with your metabolism, systemic inflammation, and the downstream effects of the food choices you’ve been making. Learn once and for all how the foods you’ve been eating are actually affecting your day to day life, and your long term health. The most important reason to keep reading? This will change your life. Eat real food – meat, seafood, eggs, tons of vegetables, some fruit, and plenty of good fats from fruits, oils, nuts and seeds. Eat foods with very few ingredients, all pronounceable ingredients, or better yet, no ingredients listed at all because they’re totally natural and unprocessed." We have about 1 week left and to be honest it hasn't really been that difficult. I had a little nut binge a few times that I had to get control of fast, but other than that I have really enjoyed eating completely whole foods. It has been a little different not using any natural sweeteners, but you start to really like food for what it is and I love eating the food that mother earth provides...nothing processed, no artificial ingredients or added chemicals, food in its purest form. I am not totally sure I have given up oatmeal and beans for life, but I do see myself eating more of a paleo diet the majority of the time. Either way I have really loved some of the fun recipes I have come up with lately and will definitely keep these as part of our regular meals.

Spinach egg scramble, cinnamon sweet potato hash and sliced tomatoes.

Asparagus and mushroom omelet, chicken and apple sausage and cinnamon sweet potato cubes.

Elk meat spaghetti sauce over spaghetti squash with a side of roasted veggies.

Sliced turkey and cinnamon pumpkin and apple.

Avocado and nitrate-free uncured bacon turkey burger on top of a portabello "bun" with roasted veggies and cinnamon sweet potato cubes.

Pulled pork and roasted veggie salad.

Paleo bread with homeade fruit jam.

Skip that row of jelly at the store and as tempting as regular homemade jam is it is chalk full of sugar. This is a much healthier alternative...1c fruit (we like strawberries, blueberries and a little bit of banana) and 2T chia seeds. That's it...2 ingredients. You can use honey or stevia for added sweetness but I promise the fruit is enough. I just blend the fruit in magic bullet and then stir in the chia seeds. Put in the fridge for 15min and the chia seeds set like a gel making it great for pb&js, toast or on top of pancakes. My kids love it and request it everyday:)