Whole30...ish

The physical journey back to pre-preg weight and shape - it's just as hard as the mental.

As a general rule I'm a yoyo gym rat. I decide that I want to work out, I start a workout program, and then I stop. I've never gotten as far as having the urge to workout and feeling frustrated on the days I don't have the chance. And post babe me was no exception. I realized that if I was going to get the weight off and get back to my pre-preg self, my diet was the key. So last September, hubs got on board and we started the Whole30. It did exactly what I wanted. I dropped some LBs, I started rebuilding muscle, but most importantly - I started to feel healthier and I wanted to continue this healthier lifestyle.

In all honesty, our Whole30 days were not perfect. We stuck to Whole30 meals but didn't always use Whole30 approved ingredients (i.e. uncured but not Whole30 approved bacon). We only cooked with olive or coconut oil and entirely cut out alcohol, dairy, and grains. But we ate a lot of Larabars (they aren't totally encouraged on Whole30) and smoothies (also not so cheered about). So we'll call this diet Whole30ish.

I felt the need to share our experience because of how it made me feel and everything I learned. I learned to make a number of really tasty healthy dishes, I leaned that I have legit will power (anyone who's done Whole30 can attest to this), and I learned a lot about making healthy changes moving forward. Since September, we've stayed pretty close to the Whole30 lifestyle and are actually in the middle of another round of Whole30ish.  

Below I've mapped out our menu for brekky, lunch, dinner, and two square snacks a day. There are links attached to the recipe namesakes. We've updated a few recipes to make them easier to cook and more to our liking. In the coming weeks I will create a few foodie posts from our personalized and favorite Whole30ish meals!
 

Day	Breakfast	Snack	Lunch	Snack	Dinner	Dessert
1	Sausage, Egg & Spinach Casserole and Fruit	Apple Pie Larabar	Bacon Bison Burger	Banana and Strawberries	Steak and Veggies
2	Sausage, Egg & Spinach Casserole and Strawberries	Cashews and Apple Pie Larabar	Leftover Bacon Bison Burgers	Apple and Justin's Almond Butter and Grapes	Coconut Almond Chicken Strips with Sweet Potato Fries
3	Sausage, Egg & Spinach Casserole and Banana	Cashews and Almonds	Left over Steak and Veggies	Banana and Strawberries	Turkey Stuffed Zucchini Boats	Mango with Coconut Flakes
4	Sausage, Egg & Spinach Casserole and Banana	Kiwi (2) and Cashews	Leftover Coconut Almond Chicken Strips and Sweet Potato Fries	Banana and Strawberries	Crockpot Pot Roast	Mango with Coconut Flakes
5	Fruit Smoothie	Apple	Leftover Turkey Stuffed Zucchini Boats	Roasted Almonds	Chicken Breasts and Baby Lettuces (Brussels Sprouts)
6	Banana and Coffee	Banana Bread Larabar	Leftover Chicken and Baby Lettuces	Apple and almond butter and Cashews	Eggs and Bacon	Mango with Coconut Flakes
7	Sausage, Egg, & Spinach Casserole and Fruit	Cashews	Leftover Pot Roast	Apple Pie Larabar and Almond Butter	Spiralized Zucchini Pesto Pasta
8	Sausage, Egg, & Spinach Casserole and Fruit	Banana Bread Larabar	Leftover Spiralized Zucchini Pesto Pasta	Apple and Almond Butter	Prosciutto Pesto Chicken Roulade and Cauliflower Florets
9	Sausage, Egg, & Spinach Casserole and Fruit	Almonds and Cashews	Leftover Prosciutto Pesto Chicken Roulade and Cauliflower Florets	Strawberries	Pulled Pork Lettuce Wraps with Purple Cabbage Slaw
10	Sausage, Egg, & Spinach Casserole and Fruit	Apple Pie Larabar	Leftover Pulled Pork Lettuce Wraps with Purple Cabbage Slaw	Apple and Almond Butter and Cashews	Paleo Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
11	Fruit Smoothie	Cashews	Leftover Pulled Pork Lettuce Wraps with Purple Cabbage Slaw	Strawberries and Pineapple	Steak and Baby Lettuces	Mango with Coconut Flakes
12	Smoky Sweet Potato Hash	Apple with Almond Butter	Grilled Chicken Salad	Cashews	Spaghetti Squash Carbonara
13	Fruit Smoothie	Apple and Almond Butter	Leftover Spaghetti Squash Carbonara	Orange	Leftovers
14	Spinach, Egg, & Sausage Casserole	Cashews	Leftover Spaghetti Squash Carbonara	Blueberry Larabar and Dehydrated Mango	Chicken and Asparagus
15	Spinach, Egg, & Sausage Casserole	Apple with Almond Butter	Leftover Spaghetti Squash Carbonara	Cashews and Almonds	Slowcooker Breakfast Meatloaf
16	Spinach, Egg, & Sausage Casserole	Roasted Almonds	Leftover Chicken and Asparagus	Pineapple	Burgers and Sweet Potato Fries
17	Spinach, Egg, & Sausage Casserole	Apple and Almond Butter	Leftover Burger and Sweet Potato Fries	Dehydrated Mango	Eggs and Bacon	Grapes
18	Spinach, Egg, and Sausage Casserole	Roasted Almonds	Leftover Breakfast Meatloaf	Pineapple	Steak and Baby Lettuces
19	Fruit Smoothie	Almonds	Leftover Steak and Baby Lettuces	Apple and Almond Butter and Cherry Pie Larabar	Pork Chops and Baked Sweet Potato	Banana
20	Fruit Smoothie	Cashews and Banana	Leftover Pork Chops and Sweet Potato	Cherry Pie Larabar	Burgers and Salad
21	Apple and Banana	Cashew Cookie Larabar	Leftover Steak and Sweet Potato	Apple and Almond Butter and Cherry Pie Larabar	Spiralized Zucchini Pesto Pasta
22	Coffee	Cashew Cookie Larabar	Leftover Zucchini Pesto Pasta	Roasted Almonds and Apricot	Eggs and Bacon
23	Sausage, Egg & Spinach Casserole	Blueberry Larabar	Almond Coconut Chicken Strips	Cashews	Steak and Baby Lettuces
24	Sausage, Egg & Spinach Casserole	Cashews	Leftover Steak and Baby Lettuces	Strawberries and Bananas	Leftover Steak and Baby Lettuces
25	Sausage, Egg & Spinach Casserole	Coconut Cream Pie Larabar	Leftover Steak and Baby Lettuces	Kiwi (2)	Steak and Salad - no dressing
26	Sausage, Egg & Spinach Casserole	Coconut Cream Pie Larabar	Burger and Sweet Potato	Cashews and Apple	Burger and Sweet Potato
27	Sausage, Egg & Spinach Casserole	-	That's It Bar	Salami and Apple	Eggs and Bacon
28	Fruit Smoothie	Apple Pie Larabar	-	Strawberries and Blackberries	Chicken Fajitas
29	Sausage, Egg, & Spinach Casserole and Fruit	Cherry Pie Larabar	Leftover Chicken Fajitas	Apple and Almond Butter	Pork Tenderloin and Baked Broccoli
30	Sausage, Egg, & Spinach Casserole and Fruit	Apple and Almond Butter	Leftover Pork Tenderloin and Baked Broccoli	Fruit	Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

Overall, I will (and have) continue to encourage the Whole30 lifestyle in my home.  I'm beyond happy with the results and though it's fairly restrictive, I've learned to have a better relationship with the food that I eat. I am certainly not perfect but I am learning and striving for an 80/20 diet - a girls gotta have some FroYo and a glass of red every now and again! 

If you're on insta check out our hashtag for Whole30ish round one #parkisonwhole30. And if you feel the urge - send me your favorite Whole30 recipes! I'd love to hear about your experiences!