Kale & Black Bean Salad

This past weekend I was trying to figure out what to bring to a cookout using ingredients that I had in my fridge... and I came up with this. I was pretty pleased with the way it turned out! The kale doesn't get soggy and I liked that it was a bean salad that was packed with veggies. I have the feeling I'll be making some version of this a lot this summer! Later I thought if I had a red onion that might have been a good addition, or maybe a red bell pepper, or substitute feta for the parmesan. You could even add quinoa to bulk it up. I think you could use a number of ingredients and it would turn out great as long as you've got a good base dressing. My favorites are homemade dressings, or the Good Seasons packets, which are basically homemade just easier. Homemade is so much better than store bought!

Whole30: DONE!

Yesterday was my last day of the Whole30! While I am pretty excited to try some foods that I missed (cheese, homemade bread, chips & salsa), I am not feeling the urge to completely binge or go crazy on those foods. I miss them on occasion, but what I learned from doing the Whole30 is that I don't need those foods in my diet. If I get home from work starving and craving pizza or something bread-y, I can take a little time to cook a clean meal and I am completely satisfied. It's been empowering to realize this.

It was definitely a challenge, but it really got so much easier by the 3rd and 4th week. I would say the hardest part was being completely strict, as in no leeway or cheat meals allowed. For the future, I've decided that I am going to do my best to eat Whole30/paleo during the week and then give myself some freedom on the weekends. It also taught me how to eat at home. It's so easy to choose to eat out, because, duh, it's easy. But since there really isn't much in restaurants that is Whole30 compliant, I had to eat at home, and it really wasn't bad. In fact, it was good. No, every meal was not amazing. Some were awesome (we made both shepherd's pie and pork chops twice!), and some meals were simple and nothing to write home about. But even if it's just okay, and I can still be satisfied and feel great afterward. It's good food that is nourishing my body, and that's what matters.

Favorite Whole30 Items from Costco

This is probably not ground breaking information, but I just thought I'd share in case others are looking for Whole30 compliant foods to buy at Costco. On my first Whole30 shopping trip it took me forever to scan through the ingredients on each product and figure out what was compliant. That store is huge, but if you know what you're looking for, it makes the chore a lot easier!

Whole30: 10 days in

I'm 10 days in and I have to say, eating Whole30 compliant hasn't really made my life all that different. We are eating delicious food, I feel full after a meal, and we're still doing the same things with our day-to-day schedule. Just maybe a little more time spent in the kitchen prepping (on my part anyway...).

Random notes & thoughts:

+ It really isn't that hard to eat well during the week. Every night in the first week I craved bread, a glass of wine, dessert, SOMETHING with sugar in it, but I am slowly getting used to it. This is interesting to me because I'm not that much of a sweets person, but I guess sugar has always been somewhere in my diet, so when I can't have it I crave dessert. We make mocktails if we're feeling weak - seltzer water and fresh lemon juice - or sometimes I'll have some hot raspberry tea. They certainly don't have the flavor that I'm used to in the evenings, but it really helps to be sipping something.

Whole30: The Start

Pardon the radio silence - I know it's been awhile! And I know 2014 was overall sparse... I took some unintentional time off from blogging, simply to have a mental reset. I felt like I needed to reevaluate what I spend my time on and find out what was worth my time. I don't know if I'm fully back to blogging, but I wanted to document my experience through Whole30, just to keep track of this own personal goal of mine.


I started Whole30 yesterday. Thankfully Michael is doing it with me, even if he's already said he wants a "cheat day" on the weekends. I don't blame him - this diet is no joke. It is whole foods only, omitting all grains, dairy, legumes, sugar, and alcohol. It sounds pretty scary when you read that list.

It all started when I read this post by Anna almost a year ago.