30 Days Later...

At the end of ten days it was seen that they were better in appearance and fatter in flesh than all the youths who ate the king's food. -Daniel 1:15

A photo posted by Rosalie (@mrsduryee) on Dec 12, 2014 at 5:49pm PST

Chris and I started a Whole30 challenge in the middle of November. If you're not familiar with Whole30, it's a 30 day diet (they wouldn't call it that but it DEFINITELY IS) that limits the foods you eat, not caloric intake. It's based on the book "It Starts With Food." For 30 days, we avoided grains, dairy, sugar and sweetener of any kind, legumes, soy and processed food, and synthetic oils.

  Our fruit bowl overfloweth. (3 bunches of bananas not shown). #whole30   A photo posted by Rosalie (@mrsduryee) on Dec 12, 2014 at 9:58am PST

Prioritizing things like organic, grass-fed, pastured and, wild-caught, we could eat any meat and eggs for protein. In addition to a palm-sized protein portion, we ate two servings of vegetables at each meal and an occasional fruit and nut snack. We exclusively cooked with (or used) olive oil, avocado oil, ghee and bacon fat. To see some of the things I made while we ate Whole 30, check out my Pinterest board. We battled Thanksgiving and two Christmas parties with this limited diet, but overall we ate really good food and improved our health. Here are some reasons I am thankful to have completed my first Whole30. I feel better. Digestive issues, muscle cramps and just general feeling gross have all cleared up. I am sleeping better. My 14 month old was not sleeping through the night when we started, and consequently, neither was I. But I was also struggling to fall asleep, stay asleep and feel rested by the sleep I did get. Once we started Whole30, my sleep improved even though Austin's did not (though it's better now!). I lost weight and fit into a dress I could not wear in September. We slayed the sugar dragon. Chris eats gluten and dairy free all the time. Sometimes people hear this and say, "you must eat so healthy!" But really, the opposite is true. Gluten-free foods are FULL of sugar to make up for the lack of flavor. So we ate a lot of sugar and craved a lot of sugar. I plan to use honey and maple syrup almost exclusively, and we won't be eating naughty baked goods quite so often.

  Turkey broth in the crockpot: bones, carrot peel, celery ends, peppercorns, parsley, bay leaf, rosemary and thyme. I'll strain it before bed and make turkey soup tomorrow. Can't wait! #bonebroth #whole30 #whole30thanksgiving #myfirstbroth #amidoingitright @whole30   A photo posted by Rosalie (@mrsduryee) on Nov 11, 2014 at 12:23pm PST

I am comfortable making things from scratch. I have made my own bone broth (both turkey and chicken) pasta sauce, ketchup, vegetable oil free mayonnaise, and a slew of salad dressings. Sometimes twice in one day. My coworkers in Spain tell me this will come in handy, because premade food, even spaghetti sauce, is hard to find in Spain.

Breakfast frittata. #whole30 #day3 so far so good. We've had eggs and meat and veggies for breakfast every day so far and I've been amazed at how long I am satisfied. Yesterday's lunch was not enough (I brought it to a bday party) and we are used to small Sunday dinners so we just had bacon and Greek salad, which did not feel like enough. I persevered though, eating just one date as a “treat." Today I am making a chicken and veggie soup, which we will need after family photos in 30 degree weather. Already I feel better in my tummy and think I might be sleeping a bit better too. A photo posted by Rosalie (@mrsduryee) on Nov 11, 2014 at 9:27am PST

Sort of related, I learned a new way to cook. I grew up eating whole foods, not packaged, and I am grateful for the healthy foundation I received. But my idea of a healthy plate included a big helping of grains - rice, potatoes, pasta, cous cous, quinoa, garlic bread. Now, while I know I won't be avoiding every bag of corn chips that comes my way, I am comfortable putting my taco filling (or bolognese or shrimp scampi or even cincinatti chili!) on top of a big bed of sauteed cabbage.

  Here's a recipe that is Whole30 compliant, paleo, delicious and uses thanksgiving leftovers. Throw chopped turkey, celery, carrots, red pepper and apple into a bowl. Then mix a dressing of 1 tbs dijon mustard, 2 tbs coconut aminos (or soy sauce if you're not concerned about whole 30), 2-3 tbs lemon juice (one lemon basically) and 1/3 cup oil. I used olive but avocado would be amazing. Something lighter than olive. Pour over the turkey mixture, mix thoroughly and add salt, pepper and chopped scallions to taste. Some sesame seeds or pecans or walnuts for crunch would be tasty too. I ate a bowl of it with a big mug of green tea. #whole30 #whole30lunch #thanksgivingleftovers   A photo posted by Rosalie (@mrsduryee) on Dec 12, 2014 at 1:19pm PST

We saved money. Although our grocery bills were higher than ever before, we ate out one time in 30 days (and it was at the Whole Foods salad bar). No fast food, no dinner date nights, no coffee stops.   (I included that verse from Daniel to be funny. I know the context is significantly different).