Whole30 - Kicking It Up a Notch!

Here we are, half way through the Whole30 January, 2013 Challenge!  Woohoo!  If you're participating than by now you've discovered this kind of lifestyle adjustment, while super rewarding, can also be very, well, challenging.  Personally, I found last week to be a struggle as I did not meal plan as well as I could have ~ I spent a lot of time staring into the fridge puzzling about what I should eat.  But no more!  We're kicking it up a notch with a few tips and tricks on how to have a successful Whole30.

1. Plan Ahead.  Duh - this seems like a no-brainer, but in the rush of life we often overlook it or  just fall back on winging it.  Big lifestyle changes require thinking ahead to be truly successful.  Have the right kinds of food in the house, hide those temptations, look ahead on the calendar for upcoming social events that could result in eating pitfalls, select a handful of go-to, easy recipes for when you're in a pinch, and grocery shop.
2. Meal Plan.  Actually this can be more challenging than it seems, especially if you're the only one in your household who is doing a Whole30.  With a house full of hungry, growing boys, I am a anal committed meal planner right down to rotating weekly and monthly meals and "theme" days (for example, Tuesday is always spaghetti day and Wednesday is soup of the week).  That said, I've done a piss-poor job of planning for my specialized eating, instead making the erroneous assumption that I'd just have the what the rest of the fam was eating minus the no-no foods.  This strategy in my experience has only a so-so success rating.  First, it can be difficult to get enough calories if you're only eating those things that are Whole30 legal.  Second, it can lead to some booooorrrring meals and trust me, that is NOT a recipe for success.  Think about it, in a meal where four dishes are planned, if only two are available for your eating pleasure you're either not going to get enough to eat or you're going to be eating a LOT of only two choices.
3. Go out on a limb.  Hey, you're changing your whole eating style so why not go out on a limb and try something new and/or exotic?  Since white potatoes are out, jazz it up by searching out some veggie you've never tried or experiment with a new recipe.  Make it fun!
4. Water, water everywhere.  Water tends to only get a cursory mention in Whole30 discussions since focus (understandably) swings to the more sexy topics of CrosstFit WODs, proteins, and vegetables vegetables vegetables.  But keeping the body hydrated, especially during a diet and exercise change, is crucial.  If you're experiencing detox symptoms, pure clean unadulterated water needs to be your new best friend.  And if you relate to much this from Crappy Pictures, then you probably need more water in your life.
5. Eat more fat.  This seems counter-intuitive, especially if your goal is too loose weight, but recent studies show eating more of the right kind of fat can actually increase weight loss.  Now this doesn't mean you can load up on deep fried Twinkies, instead eating a little extra healthy fat such as extra virgin olive, grass fed ghee, coconut oil and even - gasp - bacon can aid in your weight loss journey by increasing and prolonging the feeling of satiation.  See the book Eat Fat Lose Fat by Mary Enig (the queen of fat!) for a full discussion.
6. Spice it up!  Spices become the gold standard when not relying on deep frying, breading or drowning in ketchup every morsel of food to pass your lips.  Spices make food more interesting to the palate and take what might otherwise be bland fare to extraordinary.  Plus spices allow you to travel around the world on your plate - Mexican, Vietnamese, Indian, etc. come alive based on the spice blends you use. 
7. Sauce it up!  Like spices, interesting sauces make food more interesting.  And since sauces are often fat-based, this can be an easy and healthy way to get a little extra healthy fat.  Mark Sisson of Mark's Daily Apple  and Primal Blueprint fame just came out with a comprehensive cookbook dedicated solely to sauces, Primal Blueprint Healthy Sauces, Dressings and Toppings that would be worth a look if you're needing creative ideas.
8. Trust an old stand-by.  Eggs.  Soups.  Big-ass salad.  If it was good pre-Whole30, see if you can adapt it to your current eating plan.  There's something to be said for those well-loved comfort foods.  In addition, think outside the box about timing - who's to say that a bowl of comforting paleo legal stew isn't just as good for breakfast as it is later in the day? 
9. Get your short-order cook on.  In a well planned restaurant kitchen and even in your blue plate diners, basic ingredients are prepped ahead of time to streamline meal assembly.  Doing the same in your own kitchen makes meal assembly quicker and presents you with a myriad of options when you open the refrigerator door to stare in.  Chop vegetables in advance.  Make double and triple batches to freeze.  Roast lots of vegetables at once for future meals.  Precook ground meat or chicken breasts to add to salads or lettuce wraps.  Boil eggs and save for later.  Melissa Joulwan has an excellent discussion of this in her cookbook Well Fed:  Paleo Recipes for People Who Love to Eat; while there, check out her excellent hot plate recipe.

This week I've got my meal plan in place and have been sure to include some interesting new recipes I'm excited about trying, including Southwest Shrimp Cakes from Multiply Delicious, roasted cabbage, and spaghetti squash with truffle oil.  Yummo!  Enjoy your eating adventure by making the most out of every mouthful.