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hey y'all. i can't think of a post title, so there. i'm now in freestylin' mode. as i eat my zucchini "noodles" with marinara sauce, you may think, wow, she's stuck with the whole30 plan - you go girl. well, this girl is not going at all. well, i kind of am. what with being sick and having to take nyquil every night to keep coughing and other physical discomforts at bay, i wasn't being totally whole30-compliant because, much to my dismay and slight disgust, nyquil contains high fructose corn syrup. gross. can we not even avoid that kind of ingredient in our medicines??? also, i was not reaping the -i-feel-totally-awesome benefits that many whole30ers attest to once they've hit the two/two-and-a-half week mark because i have been dealing with this virus for over 10 days now. i am getting better every day, but i wake up with coughing fits at around 2 or 3 in the morning every night, and i still have the urge to cough throughout the day, and i feel so tired and under the weather. it's hard to do the plan when i am so tired and taking care of a sick toddler, too. brett was getting a little tired of whole30, too, and last night he went out and bought a couple bottles of wine. ha! so we've decided to eat paleo definitely for dinner and breakfast and have leftover dinner for lunch as much as possible. we are trying to stick with this in a more do-able way that fits our life. this doesn't mean we are stuffing ourselves with refined/added sugar, gluten, dairy, and alcohol. au contraire. it means we are going to eat those things a lot less than we did before embarking on whole30 because we have discovered that it's a way more healthy lifestyle to maintain. i'm glad that the whole9 people who started this program never refer to it as a diet, but rather as a healthy way of life. the word diet holds such negative connotations in our culture: fad, temporary, deprived so you binge later and gain everything back, is what comes to mind when i hear the word.

we have learned a lot in the 18 or so days we have done this:

we need to eat more vegetables. they are filling and good for you

meal-planning, while tedious and annoying at times, is helpful in the long run

we have been introduced to a wealth of interesting, healthy, delicious recipes that we can now throw into our rotation of meals

we don't need to snack as much if we are eating three square, healthy, vegetable and protein and greens-based meals a day

we experienced the true taste and natural sweetness of fruit and vegetables alike because refined sugar was absent from our diet. in fact, one of the first nights, sweet potatoes were one of our sides for dinner, and i couldn't get over just how sweet it tasted. before whole30, i had never made a habit of putting brown sugar on my sweet potatoes, but this time, without the interference of other sugary influences, it was possibly the best-tasting sweet potato i've ever eaten

we felt more even-keeled because we weren't experiencing the highs and lows of eating sugar

one of my faves-so easy, too

our favorite snacks now

brussels sprouts, when cooked properly, taste amazing

brett also felt less congested, but didn't know whether to attribute it to abstaining from gluten or dairy

dare i say our marriage was even strengthened through this? maybe it was the commiseration of going through the denial of some of our favorite things to eat, or meal-planning, and chopping up an endless amount of vegetables for nearly every meal?

so, in a nutshell, whole30 is a great way to re-set your system, by focusing your diet (diet as in what one eats) on a protein and lots of vegetables to keep your system well-fueled. it's about eating whole, good-quality food in lieu of over-processed, sugary, simple carbs, alcohol-turning-into-sugar fare.

i seriously would consider trying this again when i am not sick, so i can enjoy the benefits to an even greater extent. then again, i honestly don't think whole30 is for everyone, and while 30 days may not seem like a long time, it truly is when you add up all the meals and snacks. That's 90 meals plus planning ahead for snacks that are approved, like nuts (no peanuts) and fruit (which is only supposed to be consumed in moderation), or making something vegetable-based like kale chips or paleo "cookies" which are made with almond meal, banana, apple, and cinnamon. 

okay, enough talking about food. here's a picture of my stella bella.

lucky duck inherited her dad's long eyelashes

lately she lies on a stair step and calls out dramatically for me