Resource Management: Produce and staples

Despite having done a few Whole30s and having lived on my own for over a dozen years, I am still making rookie mistakes in the kitchen. I regularly allow produce to wilt and go bad, which is a waste of resources. I sat down and came up with a few ideas be a better steward of my resources.

• Only buy what you are going to be using right away in reasonable amounts. If you like variety, find recipes with ingredients you've never tried to introduce new foods.

• Make a grocery list, like the one created from your recipes on plantoeat.org, and only buy what is in your recipes. Don't go shopping when you're tired, hungry, or emotional. If you are using foods which have a short shelf life, plan to go shopping just before making those dishes. 

• Putting a reminder on my phone to remind me to prepare foods which are expiring soon, if I don't have time to go shopping just before.

Conserving my cilantro by creating a mini greenhouse

• When possible I will substitute with ingredients I already have which have the same properties. For example salads and soups can often work with different vegetables. It is important to learn what substitutes well. The internet will has been a good source of information, and experience is the best teacher. 

• Each week I will try to pick recipes with similar ingredients to help me get through the entire vegetable, and to allow for bulk buying. For example I don't often need a whole cabbage for one recipe, or all 5lbs of carrots. 

• During the fall, when many vegetables are sold in bulk for a fraction of the price, I have bought them in bulk and focused on recipes which include that ingredient until the bag is empty. It is important to consider the shelf-life to make sure that you can eat it quickly enough. "Shrimp-kabobs, shrimp creole, shrimp gumbo. Pan fried, deep fried, stir-fried..."

• Plan just enough recipes for the week to avoid waste. I hate leftovers and love variety, so I'm learning to freeze half of a large recipe and to vary my cuisines.

• If I still have random vegetables left at the end of a week, I'll make a salad, soup or stir fry to finish them. I also use up extra produce by eating raw foods alongside my planned recipes.

Random ommlet at the end of a week

After doing multiple Whole30s, I have realized that some things are necessary for making most recipes. Then there are some which are just for preference, and others still which only add variety. Below is a list of things which probably going to be found in over half of your recipes which will help you get started. I will list them in categories and include some thoughts where applicable. Be careful to read ingredients on all labels. If in doubt, double check the list! This is very rudimentary, but for a complete list, use the Whole30 Shopping List (PDF).

Good Cooking Oils:
- EVOO Cold Pressed Extra Virgin Olive Oil (lower temp cooking and dressings)
- coconut oil (high temp cooking)

Healthy seasoning:
- Apple Cider Vinegar

Spices:
- Kosher/Himalayan/Coarse salt
- turmeric
- cumin
- cinnamon

 

Flour of choice due to versatility

- chili or cayenne pepper
- black pepper
- the more the merrier!

Dry Foods:
- almonds and sesame seeds
- Dried Coconut, coconut mana/butter
- Coconut flour

Sauces:
- Whole30 mayonaise (homemade)
- canned or fresh Coconut Milk (watch ingredients!)
- nut butter (pick one favourite)

Preserves:
Olives

Time - Building a week's meal plan

I have found that building a week's Meal Plan can be a big challenge. I often over planned, over bought, and wasted foods. I've also made batches that were bigger than I could eat in a few days, and lost interest. And sometimes recipes flop, and I have to plan another meal.

Some people might just have a knack for planning meals for a week, but I have had to learn along the way. To help someone who is just starting, I wanted to provide a week's Meal Plan which you could follow, or adjust, or just use as a guide.

An example for one week (21 meals):

- Savory Pumpkin Pie (a sort of quiche) - makes 6
- Garlic Lime Chicken Wings (thighs) - makes 3
- Thai chopped Salad with Lime Ginger Dressing - makes 6
- White Fish with Black Sesame Seeds - makes 3
- Roasted cabbage/eggplant make for 6 meals
- Beef Stroganoff -  makes 4-6 meals
- Fresh vegetables to eat raw, fruit, olives, and probiotics
- and leftovers from last weekend, or meals out with friends.

A likely schedule:
On Saturday, I made the marinade for the chicken (about 10 minutes) and put it together with the meat in the fridge over night. Then I cut up:

• Pumpkin Pie onions, garlic and whatever else for a 'quiche'

I sauteed the onions and vegetables for the Pumpkin Pie (about 15 minutes). Then I mixed the rest of the recipe (about 10 minutes) and cooked the Savory Pumpkin Pie (unattended for about 45 minutes). Then I chopped:

• Raw vegetables for sides - carrot sticks, cucumber coins, pepper slivers, tomatoes, avocados, etc
• Thai salad vegetables, and tossed in a bowl
• Mushrooms and carrots for Beef Stroganoff (put aside for later)

I split the Thai salad between 6 containers and opened a can of tuna to split between 3 of the salads. Then I made the dressing (about 10 minutes) with my immersion blender (or a whisk) and put the dressing one the one salad to eat immediately, and left the rest in a container in the fridge.

Once the pie is cooled, I slit it into 6 containers. I would cut up a cucumber, or celery to eat with the pie in the following days.

Then prepare the White Fish according the the recipe (about 20 minutes), and steam some spinach (or any greens) with garlic (about 15 minutes). And enjoy this for dinner.
Once the Beef was finished cooking, I divided it into containers for meals later in the week.

On Sunday I would enjoy the Pumpkin Pie for Meal 1. The Thai Salad with tuna for Meal 2. For Meal 3, I sliced an eggplant or cabbage (enough for about 2 slices for 4 meals), and brushed it with extra virgin olive oil and topped it with my favourite spices (garlic, onion, cumin, and nutritional yeast). I roasted the vegetable on a cookie sheet (for about 30 minutes) and the marinated Chicken (about an hour) in a roasting pan together at 350F.

By day 4 (or one day before meals were low), I would put all of the ingredients in the Crockpot for the Beef Stroganoff and start just before bed, or before leaving for work in the morning. Be careful to time it so that you are home and awake when the time is up. I would add vegetables depending on availability.

I would then enjoy these meals for the week with an occasional meal out, or special event. I often make a stir-fry with any remaining vegetables, eat fruit on he side, and slice raw vegetables to add flavours to my repetitive meals.



I did eat most of these things in the past week and I think that they have good flavours and help me to preserve my precious time whilst prioritizing my health. I hope that this helps give you ideas for your own Whole30 journey!!

How I got started: It's All About Food

The first time I heard about the Paleo Diet from a coworker, I was completely skeptical; eating like cave men made absolutely no sense to me! Just because foods were added into our diet through the centuries (like so many other things that have changed since their time) didn't mean that they were negative or less healthy. I dismissed it in an instant, and never thought twice.

Then a good friend of mine mentioned that she was starting another diet. Now diets had only a sliver more credibility in my mind since I had seen countless friends starve and neglect themselves for a few days in the name of 'health' only to binge on all of the worst food around as soon as their wills broke! There are so many fads and theories which contradict each other and accomplish little more than depression and will-breaking.

But this friend was smart, athletic and she was very confident that this was not just a fad or anything like other diets. Since I am undeniably unhealthy, and had a desire to treat my body like the temple that it actually is, I decided to find the book behind the diet - with all of the science-y stuff my Biology-head loves!

And then I opened, 'It Starts With Food'. Everything I knew about hormones and building-blocks was changed. It turns out that an unhealthy body doesn't respond to food the same way a healthy body would, and that our processed, sugary foods are creating chaos inside. Leptin Resistance is the one thing that surprised me the most -perhaps I should have pursued my Biology Degree a little further!

'Normally, when you've accumulated adequate body fat, your fat cells send a message (via leptin) to your brain that says, 'Hey, we've got enough energy stored, so you should eat less and move more.' But when receptors in the brain and other tissues become less sensitive to leptin, those messages don't get through. Your brain doesn't hear leptin say that you've got enough body fat stored" (pg. 46, 'It Starts with Food').

The program claims that 'By the time the program is over, you'll know in no uncertain terms which foods are improving the quality of your life and which are detracting from your health' (pg. 13, 'It Starts with Food'). Through the book, they, 'show you how to break free of unhealthy cravings, restore your body's natural hunger mechanism, eat to satiety while still loosing weight, and eliminate the symptoms of any number of lifestyle-related diseases and conditions - forever" (pg. 14, 'It Starts with Food').

So once I realized that just eating healthier, or more moderately wasn't going to work because my body and emotions were working against me, I decided to give this Whole30 a go! I am strong willed and stubborn, so it totally worked to my advantage that the first 30 days are black and white on what you can eat.

The book is so good, I could quote every word, but I found a 60 second summary about Nutrition and Whole30 on The Whole9 website: Nutrition in 60 seconds

WHOLE30 = Animal Protein + Lots of Vegetables + High-Quality Fat + Seasonings

The NEW Recipe Book with all of the Whole30 details!

It was actually 25 days before Easter last year that I began my first Whole30. I was so reluctant to not just wait the 25 days and enjoy Easter festivities whole-hog. But as I was reading through the book, I couldn't put my health off any longer. I managed to enjoy the feast, avoiding non-compliant foods and just appreciate the transformation that I was seeing in my body!

It's not easy, and everyone knows that. Here's the Timeline for what the average person experiences while on Whole30.



In my experience I never hit the energy boost most people see about half-way through. I did feel things changing, but much slower. I think that I have a lot of tings going on inside that need to heal and that my body wasn't there quite yet. Reluctantly, I am convinced that I need to do a Whole60 and see how things improve with a continued dedication to my health and wellness.

So after my first Whole30 I observed these non-scale victories:

- I was able to enjoy a meal with friends while passing over corn chips, pita bread, Bailey's, and cheesecake and it got easier the more often we got together!
- I discovered other foods which I loved, and healthier snacks for when spending time with friends - fallen in love with vegetables and learned to love kale
- actually did something for 30 days with no cheats
- I exposed cravings for just empty promises which were not worth pursuing
- plus I had lost 10 pounds!

My love for coffee was developed as dairy and alternatives were cut out

I shared this thought at the end of my Whole30:
"I find that I eat when I'm not hungry (like while playing [board] games, or watching a movie), I think that fulfilling my cravings will make my life better, and that i deserve a treat. All are proven false when you step away from the situation and think about it logically. And just reminding myself of the truth and finding my solutions in prayer and healthy relationships is so much better! Loosening the power of temptation and idolatry is NECESSARY and I am not sacrificing ANYTHING - really. But it's not easy!"

Actually, I felt things changing, but I knew that there was more health that would come if I were just to pursue it a bit longer. However, emotionally it was taxing and while observing excess weight leave and feeling more energy starting, I was getting a bit depressed and couldn't think about anything other than the new La Boulange pastries in our cafe! So, I decided to take a short break from my quest, and started up a Whole45 on April 22nd. These two consecutive Whole30 stints really changed my appetites, energy, weight, and determination. I couldn't wait to eliminate all of the problematic foods from my diet again in the fall and see how food affects my mood, allergies, and energy!

So beginning January 15th, I will embark on my 4th Whole30, for 60 days!

Introduction to Montreal Whole30

Hello there, it's Rebecca here.

I am starting this blog to try to help people become acquainted with Whole30.org and to give some insights from Montreal, Canada. The Whole30 Network is already so big and gives such helpful hints and encouragement. However I find that the noise from Montreal is dim and I'd like to hear more hints as I attempt my 4th Whole30 (actually my second Whole45 of the four rounds).

About me: I am a single woman on a tight budget, trying to find new recipes and flavours, and to save my health from the downward slope it has been on for years. I work part-time at a coffee shop and part-time with childcare. My schedule is a bit unpredictable making meals harder to plan for.

Actually, I typically pack three meals into an industrial-sized lunch pail and head out for the day. I also host friends at my house almost weekly, and I need good crowd pleasing meals to deliver. I love creating things and sometimes a recipe fails! I am trying out the plantoeat.com meal planner to help me budget my groceries and meal prep time.

Nutritionally, I am interested in limiting my nightshade intake more than ever before (tomatoes, potatoes, peppers - including chilies - eggplant and more) but not strictly. I am also trying to limit my intake of eggs (it's so easy to whip up an omelet or boil some eggs), nuts, and caffeine (did I mention that I work at a cafe?).

I have been using a LufaFarms.com basket to gain access to local and organic products, and will focus on getting my proteins from there.  I live close to a farmer's market, but I love the convenience of a one-stop shop with comparable pricing. As much as possible, I will be buying organic produce whenever it's considered a dirty dozen.

Join me as I travel through my non-scale victories (#nsv) and discover a healthy lifestyle which is made to last!

Rebecca