Hi Friends! Hope you’re having a great week! I’m day 10 into my Whole30 challenge and thought I’d share some of my favorite recipes I have been making. Are you familiar with the Whole 30? It’s a program designed to reset your body in 30 days by taking out the most common inflammatory/blood sugar disrupting foods. That includes grains, legumes, dairy, processed foods, sugar, etc. So right now I’m eating lots of meat, vegetables, eggs and a little bit of fruit! And checking in with this helpful guide.

Over the last 10 days, I have already started seeing results. I feel more energetic, less bloated, and I’m sleeping better. I know there are other factors that have played into my wellness: I have started running with Charlie on the trail and have been going to bed early. I sometimes feel eating well and exercise go hand in hand. When you feel good about one of those, you tend to engage in the other. For me, the combo has done wonders for my body.

I don’t think this diet is hard, probably because I’ve eaten clean for a while with cheats here and there. I’ve shared plenty of paleo recipes before. The tricky part about The Whole 30 is going out to eat. It’s really hard to order from a restaurant and not have your food cooked in dairy. However, I shared my story on Instagram and a helpful follower sent me every item I could order on a menu downtown at True Food Kitchen. I’ll share that at the end of this post.

You may ask why I’ve decided to start this now… Usually people do this as a New Year Resolution or because nothing else has worked. I’m not trying to lose a ton of weight (although a few lbs would be GREAT). My main goal is to feel good again. Energetic. Fit. And not eat chocolate all day and drink more wine than I need. I’m starting this now because I have a good few weeks of time on my calendar where there won’t be any ‘special occasions’ tempting me to stray. Even if I make it 20 days instead of 30, I’ll feel good about re-evaluating my diet.

To be perfectly honest, I have really enjoyed challenging myself to create new meals! It really became same old over here for a while and I’m glad I branched out. Recipes with lots of ingredients or instructions totally turn me off, and with the exception of the beef fajitas, these were all pretty simple! The beef fajitas weren’t complicated- they just had a lot of ingredients but those are SPICES! No big! And now that I know how to make great seasonings without buying them, I’m super pumped.

I’ve been saving all my recipes to Pinterest including ones that I’m excited to try, so make sure to follow me here!

You might think mustard and pecans is a weird combo but I’m telling you, roasted nuts with anything is DELISH. This recipe is actually my own. Combine 2 parts mustard, 1 part apple cider vinegar, and 1 part olive oil in a bowl. I say ‘parts’ because this really depends on how much salmon you’re making. If it’s just for you, I think 2tb mustard to 1 tbs both vinegar and oil will do. Chop up pecans (or walnuts) and mix in bowl. Again, your choice as to how much. I roasted both the salmon and the asparagus for 14 mins at 425. I personally like Atlantic salmon better than Sockeye because I think it has more flavor. If you do sockeye, I suggest cooking a minute or two less.

Good news! Trader Joe’s has SO many awesome options for Whole 30 meals! I picked up these delicious Garlic Herb chicken sausages which are Whole 30 approved and so good. I decided to cook cauliflower rice and sweet potatoes for my sides. You can buy cauliflower rice at Trader Joe’s as well and many other grocery stores sell it as well. I roasted mine for about 10 minutes at 425. Make sure to keep an eye on it because it can burn easily. It’s also fun to cook stove top in a skillet. I mixed it with salt, pepper, olive oil, and a little bit of garlic! For my sweet potatoes, I dice them and roast at 350 for about 30 minutes.

This recipe is by far the easiest and the perfect afternoon snack. Mix avocado and a small can/packet of tuna and add a bit of salt. I love adding a squeeze of lemon juice too! Delicious!

Eric absolutely loved this recipe and I was proud of myself for trying something different. See recipe here!

I love making salmon recipes and really enjoyed this lime and garlic salmon. Just something different that had a lot of flavor! You can check out the recipe here.

Are you a chicken soup lover? This is the healthiest, creamiest, most delicious recipe and it was so easy to make! I love having it as leftovers too. Perfect for rainy days like today.

Finally, I know how to make taco seasoning without buying it! I’m so excited. These turkey tacos were delicious. I added avocado to mine and ate sweet potatoes on the side. See taco recipe here.

Thanks to a helpful follower, here is everything you can order at the wonderful restaurant downtown Austin:

Charred cauliflower
Spaghetti Squash Casserole with no cheese and sub almond ricotta
Poke bowl, subbing grains for kale salad and no ponzu on the tuna
Ingredient Salad with no beans and subbing horseradish dressing for kale dressing
Either burger with no cheese or remoulade sacue
Kale salad without breadcrumbs
Carrots app with no yogurt sauce. Add almond ricotta!

Another Austin Whole 30 friendly restaurant: Picnik on Burnet

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Have you tried Whole 30 before? Do you have a favorite recipe? Leave me a comment below if you do!

-XO-

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