my big vegetarian whole30

Welcome to my big vegetarian Whole30 experience!  First, let me preface this post by saying that I was bad and did not research enough before I started the Whole30.  I was familiar with the concept, but as a vegetarian, it seemed much more challenging when I realized that I was unable to eat any grains or beans along with already excluding meat.  BUT,  I will say that it was easier than I thought it would be.  I wanted to put together some of the tips and tricks that I used in case you are vegetarian and wanting to do the Whole30, but are intimidated by the restrictions.

First off, if you are considering trying the Whole30….DO IT!  Seriously!  It changes how you think about the food that you eat on a daily basis.  I usually eat pretty healthy, but I definitely have a tendency to binge on chocolate and "healthy" snacks.  There are so many "healthy" foods that really aren't that good for you.  I have done 28 day sugar cleanses in the past, but it really didn't even stack up to how differently I felt during the Whole30.

Here are some of the changes that I experienced during the Whole30:

-Energy:  My baseline energy levels increased and they remained more stable throughout the day.

-I completely quit coffee:  I didn't need it!

-Sleep:  I slept more soundly and awoke feeling more rested.  It was also much easier to get up in the morning right away, even after short nights of only 5-6 hours of sleep.

-Mood:  I felt happier & more emotionally stable as the weeks rolled on.  Small things didn't bother me as much as they used to and I had a more positive outlook.

-Food view:   I began to view food differently and was able to see past emotional cravings and view foods for their nutrient density instead.  I began to assess which foods would give me the most nutrients or a different mix of nutrients throughout the day.

-Weight loss:  I lost about 8 pounds, although that was not my goal with this program.

So what was it like?  How did I prepare for and survive the Whole30?

research

Okay, this is important.  Do lots of research before you begin.  There are quite a few ins and outs, especially when trying to figure out what is approved for vegetarians.  For example, did you know that all grains and beans are out?  This includes gluten free healthy grains like quinoa and other legumes like peanuts.  How rude!  And cheese.  Again.  Rude.  Take the time the week or so before you start to research and to find recipes that are compliant that you will like to try.

planning

I would highly highly highly recommend meal prepping.  Seriously, do it.  Save your Sundays for this process because I guarantee, it will make the week ahead a MILLION GAZILLION times easier.  Meal prepping takes out the indecision that can arise throughout the week.  It gives you a clear, obvious answer for what you need to eat that day.  I don't know about you, but I always eat worse when I don't bring a lunch because then I have to scramble to find something healthy and quick.

On a similar note, pack your food the night before for work.  Again, it helps to keep you on track and it saves you time in the morning.  AKA, you can't be "forced" to buy an unhealthy lunch because you didn't have time to pack yours.

cost

There is this idea out there that eating healthy has to be expensive.  It doesn't.  It soooo doesn't.  You just have to be smart about it.  First, familiarize yourself with the local grocery ads.  Foods are different prices at different stores.  In the Twin Cities, we have a grocery store called Fresh Thyme that has awesome sales on produce each week.  Most cities will have something similar.  Fresh Thyme is spread out across the country and I know Aldi usually has good deals on produce.  Stick with your local ads, shop at multiple stores if you need to (you might not be able to get everything for the lowest price at one store), and buy seasonal produce.  This means that the produce is at it's peak freshness and abundance, so it should be less expensive than during other parts of the year.  I also try to make sure that I capitalize on bulk sales.  For example, when almonds were on sale for $5.99/lb., I bought a bunch in bulk so it would last me a few weeks.  I do the same when pistachios are on sale because helloooooo, pistachios are delicious.

Finally, cost is not just about how much you pay when you buy something.  Do you make it worth it once you have it?  I used to be awful at doing a healthy food grocery run overhaul and then it would sit in the fridge and I would do nothing with it.  Now I take a look at the ads, pick what I want to buy, and then find recipes that fit those ingredients.  I try to be super efficient with this.  If I do mess up and have to throw something away, I always question why I bought that item in the first place.  When you're shopping, ask yourself:  will I actually use this?  Only buy it if you will use it in a timely manner and not throw it away.

The most expensive part for me was doing a 2 day juice cleanse for the first two days.  Although it was more expensive, I think it was well worth it and it made adapting to the rest of the month much easier.

my tips & tricks:

Sweet potatoes are your friend.  I ate a literal shitload of sweet potatoes.  Since that was pretty much my only source of high volume carbs, I didn't mind eating them every day.  I mixed in a few other varieties of potatoes, but sweet potatoes are the bomb. dot. com.  I'll post the recipe that I used.  :]

Eggs are also a good friend, although I tried to keep it at 1 per day.  Some days I succeeded, others I did not.  And I have no shame in that.

Mix. It.  Up.  It can be easy to find a few things that you like and to just eat those for 30 days.  And by day 30 you will be bored and chomping at the bit to try anything else.  Try different seasonings.  Try different preparations of foods--hello, zoodles?!?!  Try different foods that you haven't tried before!  It’s one thing to have go-to's, but still aim for diversity.  Not only does it keep things interesting, but it guarantees that your are consuming a variety of different nutrients!

Water.  Drink lots of it.  I was amazed at the end by how much water I was drinking.  I always have a 24 ounce Starbucks cup with me.  When I started the Whole30, I was drinking about 2-3 of these cups every day.  Now I am drinking 4-5 every day.  It actually helps me wake up, too.  I didn’t have coffee until the last week or so and it has been super minimal because I definitely don't want to become dependent on it.

my cheats

Okay, so I'm the first one to admit that I am not perfect.  Not even close.  (Shocking, I know). There are a few products that helped me to survive:

Simple Mills Sun Dried Tomato and Basil Almond Flour Crackers

RX Bars (Blueberry and Apple Cinnamon)

Larabars

Jackson's Honest Sweet Potato Chips

social impact

Okay, so the social impact of the Whole30 can be intimidating.  I rarely ate out on the Whole30 and it was a challenge to explain to friends and coworkers the reasons behind my decision.  It never feels good to have people shame you for a health decision that you are making for yourself.  That being said, it was much easier to stick to once I felt the changes start to take place.  I had evidence that what I was doing was having an impact, which made it much easier to stick to my guns.  Before you start or have to explain to your friends, ask yourself why you want to do this.  Find your why.  It's not the same for everybody and that's okay.  Once you figure out your why, be prepared for a range of responses.  Some people will be in awe and ask how you are doing it and may even jump on board to do it with you.  That's great!  Others will think you are a nut in a box of Cracker Jacks and will dismiss your efforts.  Some might even try to make you feel stupid for trying it.  Don't let those haters get you down.  I know it can be hard.  I've been there.  Remember:  if you are doing the Whole30, you are doing it for you.  Nobody else.

Going out to dinner is a tough one, too because there is such a limited selection of Whole30-friendly foods at restaurants.  If you are comfortable with it, be that person who goes out with friends and inquires about the oils that foods are cooked in, how foods are prepared, and for substitutions to meet your needs.  I think it's funny that one of the common critiques of the Whole30 is that you turn into "that person".  Whatever.  Again, remember that this is for you.  If you are comfortable with it, then go out for dinner and ask the extra questions.  I didn't go out much, but that doesn't mean that you can't.

Here's my advice though:

1. Be honest.  Explain your why to your friends.  Be prepared for a variety of responses.  Just remember, you don't need to justify or argue your decision to anybody but yourself.  This. Is. About. You.
2. If you are feeling really ambitious and don't want to lose the social aspect to food, invite your friends for a dinner party.  Make foods that work for you and for them.  Boom.  Compromise reached.
3. Be prepared.  There were times that I packed my own food for visits to non-Whole30 friendly places or went grocery shopping for myself when I went to visit my sister.  Having my own stash of food made it much easier to stick with it.

Okay, I know this was a lot to take in, but I hope it was helpful.  My next blog project is going to be putting together some of the recipes that I used throughout the Whole30, including some of the juices!  If you have any questions at all about the Whole30 or what I did, please reach out to me in the comments or directly and I can answer them for you!

to your health,

anne

***Correction:  A few weeks after posting this, I was researching the Whole30 again and found that there is a vegetarian FAQ page.  They allow you to include gluten free grains and some legumes, although peanuts are still excluded.  You can check it out here.

real. raw. genuine.

Happy Monday!!!

This is going to be a very vulnerable post for me.  I want to talk about you.  But I also want to talk about me.  I think that you and I are probably on similar journeys.  I have been doing a lot of soul searching recently and found some things that I want to work through.  With all of the study that I have done on mindset in the last year or so, I find it absolutely amazing how difficult it still is for me to incorporate some of the practices into my life.  And the really crazy thing is that when I do incorporate them, I feel a million times better.  I feel amazing.  I feel like I can conquer the world.  It’s insane!  So why do I still have such a hard time maintaining these practices long term?  And it isn’t even just with my mindfulness practices.  I find myself doing this with my diet and workouts too.  I constantly limit myself with my mindset.  I know that I feel better when I work out consistently.  I know that I feel like a million bucks when I am eating whole, plant-based foods.  I know that it’s better for my health to engage in these practices.  So why in the hell do I self-sabotage my health and wellness by not maintain these practices in my everyday life.  Now this is where you come in.  I have a sneaking suspicion that I am not the only person who goes through this cycle.  Am I right?  Is this you too??  I thought so.

One of my goals with this blog is to share my journey and to help others who might be struggling with the same things.  Everyone knows that social media is just an individual highlight reel.  I used to get so scared to post anything that didn’t indicate that I am fit as a fiddle and loving my #fitlife.  Hell, I still get really scared to post anything like that.  If you notice when I go on hiatuses from posting….it’s usually because I’m afraid to put out anything but #positivevibes.  I am so afraid of being a failure that I just won’t share anything.  It reminds me of how our moms used to always say, “if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.”  For me, this translated to, “if you can’t post something positive, don’t post anything at all.”  All of this fear and negativity is a super big part of my limiting beliefs and it is something that I intend to work through.  Here’s the thing that I realized:  I’m so scared of being imperfect or off my game that my story isn’t translating as my story.  And I truly believe that my experiences can help others if I can get past this stupid limiting belief that I need to be perfect all the time in order to help others.  

I promise that I will share the real aspects of my journey, both good and bad.  Mistakes are such a good way to learn and I have made plenty of them for you to learn from.  I would much rather be the one to make the mistakes if it will benefit somebody else in the long run.  I just hope that my journey is one that your can identify with and that it serves you.

So with that being said, here is my current status:  I haven’t had cheese, chocolate, or coffee in 17 days.  And I surprisingly don’t want to murder someone.  If that’s not progress, I don’t know what is! :]  I have had a lot of ups and downs over the last few months and my self esteem fluctuated with those hills and valleys.  If I wasn’t doing a sugar cleanse or Whole30, I was crazy bingeing on chocolate and crap and telling myself it wasn’t a big deal.  I have transitioned to a sitting job, so I’m not running around a store all day like a crazy woman, which makes a huge difference in how my body uses energy and more importantly, how much energy my body uses.  I’ve started running recreationally, but my training has been really inconsistent.  Honestly, I think my biggest road block is consistency and it wouldn't surprise me one bit if that was your biggest road block too.  Am I right?  I have been consistent over the last 17 days and that is why I feel better now than I have in a looong time.  

I started the Whole30 with a coworker and it was daunting af.  But I know that I have done sugar cleanses before and felt a million times better than before.  I sort of dived into Whole30 without realizing how much else was limited outside of sugar and processed foods.  As a vegetarian, being told that I also needed to purge grains and legumes sucked.  But you know what?  It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.  I honestly feel super clear headed and my energy levels are more consistent.  The only drawback that I have really noticed is that I need to eat more frequently.  I would highly highly recommend trying a Whole30 "cleanse".  It has definitely changed the way that I look at how I eat and why.  It's supposed to help you develop a healthier relationship with food and I think that it definitely has for me!  And I'm not even done with it yet!  :]

Anyway, I wanted to put this out there and tell you guys where I'm at in my journey.  I just really hope that this helps someone realize that they don't have to be and won't be perfect all the time and that's okay!  I'm really excited because I have some ideas of things to share with you all and I think you will like them too!!  More coming soon!

To your health,

Anne

mushroom and brussels sprout hash

Happy Sunday Funday BRUNCH DAY!!!!!

As I mentioned in my #veglife post, one of my strategies for making sure I eat enough veggies is to make sure that I eat them with my breakfast.  Something else I have been really trying to do is to eat seasonally to save money and to diversify my palate.  As I was doing my research, I found that brussels sprouts are seasonal to the winter/January and decided to try to find some recipes that incorporate them.  Eating seasonally is an excellent way to save money, promote local agriculture, and to eat healthy foods!  And this recipe is soooooo simple! 

I actually learned about how to peel brussels sprouts and when I saw that I was supposed to slice them, I’m sure the look on my face was priceless.  Slice brussels sprouts?  What the h?  I had only ever had them roasted or sautéed whole…which is a delicious way to eat them, by the way.  But anyway, yes!  I learned things with this recipe!  And I bought a ton of brussels sprouts as part of my shopping this week, and I am really looking forward to trying them sautéed with scallions on a salad.  I’ll share if it works out! :]

As always, you should tailor this recipe to how you like it, particularly with how long you cook your eggs at the end.  Personally, I like the yolks firm, so I cover it and braise the eggs until they turn firm, but if you like yolks runny, then you can just cover and cook for a shorter time!

Without further ado…..here it is!  My January seasonal breakfast!

Mushroom and Brussels Sprout Hash

2 tsp ghee

2 cups brussels sprouts, peeled & sliced

1 package sliced baby bella mushrooms

½ small yellow onion

1 clove garlic, minced

2 eggs

½ tsp thyme

Salt & pepper to taste

In a skillet, melt ghee over medium heat.  Sauté mushrooms and onions for about 8 minutes, or until the mushrooms start to get juicy.  Add in brussels sprouts and garlic and sauté for about 3 minutes, to soften. Season with thyme, salt, and peper and stir. Make 4 small holes in the layer of mushrooms & brussels sprouts for the eggs.  Crack an egg into each of the 4 holes and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Cook your eggs to your preferred level of doneness and serve!  Voila!

I hope you like this one as much as I did!

xoxo,

anne

butternut squash lo mein

Okay you guys!  

So I seriously feel like I have stepped up my veg cooking game recently.  I have greatly reduced the processed foods that I eat too and it has been absolutely amazing how much happier I am, how much more energy I have, and I even noticed that the cellulite on my ass is slowly but surely disappearing!  I *know* this is related to how I’m fueling my body because I had similar results last spring when I did a no added sugar challenge.  Fueling your body with whole foods is quite underrated and quite amazing.  I’m considering doing a whole foods 30 day kick start challenge, so let me know if this is something you would be interested in joining me in!  I think it would be great to get a small group of people together who are excited to try something new.  But more on that later.

Anyway, I’m very excited about this recipe for spiralized butternut squash lo mein!  It. Is. Delicious.  I think it’s the sweetness of the butternut squash and the salty goodness of the tamari that I am obsessed with it.  Let’s be real…everybody loves a good sweet and salty combo.

 I found this recipe here and tweaked to my tastes.  I also couldn’t figure out for the life of me how to spiralizer the hollow bulb part of the squash, so the ratio is lots of veggies to a smaller amount of noodles, which I’m actually okay with though!

Butternut Squash Lo Mein

1 medium butternut squash, peeled and spiralized

2 tsp peanut oil, divided

1/2 yellow onion (or 1 small yellow onion), sliced

1 red bell pepper, sliced

8 oz. sliced mushrooms (button or portabella)

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 cups kale or spinach

Sauce:

3 tbsp tamari--you can substitute soy sauce or liquid aminos

1 tsp organic maple syrup

1 tsp toasted sesame oil (plain is fine too, just not as flavorful)

1 tsp peanut oil

1/2 tsp ginger (minced, ground or juice)

1/2 tsp turmeric

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp garlic powder

Optional topping: sesame seeds

In a skillet, heat 1 tsp peanut or coconut oil over medium heat. Add butternut squash "noodles" and toss for 5-6 minutes with tongs until al-dente. Set aside for later.  In the same skillet, add remaining 1/2 tsp of oil and add your vegetables (sliced onions, peppers, mushrooms).  Sauté for 8 minutes, or until soft. And the minced garlic and stir that baby up!  Then add the kale and stir until it’s wilted.  Add your sauce and reserved squash "noodles", keep stirring with tongs and keep mixing until sauce has coated everything and noodles are as tender as you like them. Finally, top off with toasted sesame seeds and serve!

xoxo,
Anne

how i do #veglife

Hello!

Earlier this week, I shared with you, why I decided to become a vegetarian.  Now, I want to share with you how I do it!

I really think that there is a misconception out there about there being strict rules to being a vegetarian.  There aren't.  What I have enjoyed is being able to research as much (or as little) as I want to and shape my philosophy based on my research and my lifestyle.  Cool, right?

So let's dig right in!

Here is my basic framework for #veglife:

1.  I do not eat any meat.  No chicken, no beef, no pork, no fish.  At first, I thought about including fish, but factory farmed fish is no better than factory farmed beef.  As for "wild caught" varieties, check out my initial #veglife post regarding bycatch.  Oh, and no gelatin-containing items, either.

2.  I do consume eggs.  But try to keep it to a minimum.  This is not ideal, but I still find myself slightly clinging to the notion of needing to get my protein.  And have you ever had veggies and eggs for breakfast?  It's amazing.

3.  I do consume dairy and cheese.  But try to keep it to a minimum.  There is some evidence that cultures that traditionally consume more dairy and cheese actually have a higher incidence of osteoporosis.  Plus, there are a wide variety of plants that contain calcium.  Broccoli, anyone?  Yum!  I also rarely consumer cow's milk.  Haven't you ever thought that it was odd that humans are the only species that consumes the milk from another species into adulthood?  Mother Nature is amazing, so consider this:  cow's milk is naturally created with a specific set of nutrients that are meant to grow baby calves into big ass cows.  Not to grow toddler humans into adult humans.  It's weird.

Spinach pizza = the best version of cheesy goodness

4.  I do consume beer, wine, kombucha....all of that fermented goodness.  I ain't about that vegan life.  (yet)

Now, let me share some of the practices/guidelines that I use to help keep myself in check and to make sure I don't become a bread & cheese vegetarian .  My philosophy is that if one of my reasons for adopting this lifestyle is for my health, then I need to create practices and guidelines to make sure I am keeping in line with that thought.  Here we go:

1.  Eat as many whole, plant foods as possible.  Even when I indulge in pizza, I make sure it is FULL of veggies.  I'll be sharing my veggie pizza recipe a little later on the blog.  I have pasta and I try to make sure it is more than 50% veggies and less than 50% pasta.  There are so many vegetarian substitutions that you can make for the refined crap food in your local super market, that it's crazy!  Spaghetti squash pasta, anyone?  Anyway, I try to keep it simple.  I have some favorites that I use often, but I do like to mix it up and find new ways to use whole foods as possible!

There's a little pasta in there, at the bottom!

2.  Eat veggies for breakfast.  I adopted this practice about 6 months ago when I realized that even as a vegetarian, I was probably not consuming enough veggies.  The struggle is real.  My favorite to whip up, if I have time is veggies & eggs.  My go to veggies include:  zucchini, peppers, potatoes, eggplant (occasionally), carrots, broccoli, and of course, onions & garlic.  I purposely exclude cheese.

Eggs and veggies are my favorite breakfast!

3.  Reduce use of vegetarian/vegan versions.  I would hazard a guess that this is one of the biggest struggles for vegetarians and vegans alike.  Again, my focus is health and getting all of the nutrient dense foods that I can, so it doesn't make sense to buy an abundance of vegetarian or vegan processed foods.  Examples: Veganaise, Vegan butter, vegan cheese, veggie burgers, vegetarian cereals, snacks, etc.  Now, I do have some in moderation when it comes to snacks, but overall, I try to keep them to a minimum.  Here is my reasoning:  Have you ever heard the philosophy that every time you see a "low fat" snack or "reduced sugar" snack that you should instead interpret "chemical shit storm"?  My thought process is similar.  If I'm a vegetarian for my health and I'm eating vegetarian cookies, does that make them healthy?  No.  Don't get me wrong, I have some veggie dogs in the freezer because I felt left out at an event, but to be honest, they weren't very good anyway and I don't think I have had one now in several months.

4.  Avoid health claims/health foods.  I promise I wont repeat the entire previous paragraph, but it all still applies.  This is called marketing.  Think about the claim on Twizzler's candy that it is a "naturally low fat food".  This may be true, but that's only because it is pure sugar.  Now when it comes to eating things like cheese, I would prefer to eat a full fat version, than reduced fat because it is at least closer to its natural state.  To be honest, I avoid almost all reduced fat/sugar products.  So, I try to keep packaged foods to a minimum, but if I do get them, I go for the packaged products that ARE full sugar/full fat.  Example: breakfast cereal.  Due to marketing and government recommendations, many people assume that breakfast cereals are healthy because they are naturally low in fat and ohhh, look! It has been fortified with "xyz" nutrient!  And the manufacturer says it's healthy!  So it must be healthy, right?  Wrong.  If we are being realistic, breakfast cereal is not much more than processed grains and a few vitamins and minerals that they added back in so that they could say it's healthy.  Most of those nutrients won't be absorbed into our bodies as well as if they are consumed from a whole foods.  (Look up bioavailability).  I also want to add that this applies to organic products, too.  Just because the "cane juice" on the label is organic, that does not make it better for you than regular sugar.  Which brings me to my next point:

5.  Reduce added sugars.  This applies in a few ways.  I do not put sugar or cream in my coffee or tea.  I don't usually get a latte at Starbucks (maybe 1/month).  I avoid fruit juices like the plague (sugar water, anyone?).  I'm sure all of my coworkers would interject here that I have a hard time staying away from the candy jar in the HR office.  Sugar is as addicting as cocaine!  And the Butterfinger cups have no added colors or preservatives, so they must be healthy, right?!  RIGHT?!!  Anyway.  My key word here is try.  When I do use sweeteners, I try to stick to organic raw honey or organic maple syrup because there is at least some mineral content.  I tried agave awhile ago, but to be honest, I wasn't a fan anyway.  Also, check out the documentary called "Fed Up".  You can find it on Netflix and it is a very interesting perspective on the obesity epidemic, particularly in young children and the addictive nature of sugar.  Which, of course, the sugar industry doesn't mind.  Also, I'm sure you have heard now that the FDA will require "Added Sugars" to be listed on nutrition labels beginning in July 2018.  Apparently the sugar industry is not too happy about this.  If you reduce the sugar in your diet to naturally occurring sugars in whole foods, you will be amazed by how you feel after a couple of weeks.  For more info on my experiment with the No Added Sugar Challenge, click here for the background, here for day one reflections, and here for week one reflections.

6.  Take my vitamins!  I am currently taking a multivitamin and a vitamin D supplement.  I would love to take a gummy because I have the hardest time swallowing large pills, but most have gelatin in them, so I settled for a children's chewable.  I don't know that I truly believe that vitamins work.  From what I recall from college, if you remove all confounding factors, there is no evidence that they work (read: due to bioavailability and such).  The reason that I continue to take them is as a reminder that those who take them typically engage in healthier habits like exercising, eating well, hydrating, and resting.

7.  Eat when hungry.  Stop when full.  I do not count macros or calories, but trust that if I am eating a whole foods, plant-based diet, then I am doing well and likely consuming more nutrients that most Americans anyway.  I'm a total grazer, and I always have been, so I snack throughout the day.  The only times I have experienced issues with energy levels is when I have found myself reverting to the bread & cheese lifestyle or making other less healthy decisions and I course correct as needed.

I can't wait to share my favorite go-to's!

As always, feel free to ask any questions that you have!

xoxo,

Anne