Whole30 Day 19: A New Kind of Trip Planning

I am flying to Las Vegas on Sunday. That’s right, Vegas. The proverbial den of sin and excess (and, for my purposes, the proverbial den of the yearly symposium for my company’s content management system of choice). It will be my first trip there, and I am feeling a slight trepidation at the prospect of Vegas and Whole30. Why? I dunno. Let’s look at the facts here:

FACT: Vegas without alcohol is entirely doable. I’m sure of it. It may be inherently WRONG on several levels, but I believe it’s doable. Also, Vegas without alcohol makes one less prone to the “what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas” thing. Not that I’m likely to have a Vegas trip like that, anyways, but still.

Whole30 Day 18: Close Calls With Illegal Sausage

Yesterday was an unfortunate day for my husband, and almost an unfortunate day for me. It involves illegal sausage.

Throughout Whole30, we’ve occasionally purchased packages of chicken sausages to have as quick backup meals (since they’re generally fully cooked and just need heating up). To this point, I’ve done all the chicken sausage purchasing, and had discovered, through my label-reading, that chicken sausage is a tricky business. You’d think it’d be pretty safe, but did you know a lot of chicken sausage is made tastier with CHEESE? Or SUGAR? I mean, really…why in the world does a garlic chicken sausage need sugar? Answer? IT DOESN’T! WHO DO I NEED TO WHACK IN THE FACE WITH A BUNCH OF KALE?

Whole30 Day 17: All Hail the Plantain Chip!

I’m not a huge snacker when the sun is up, I’m really not. I can generally go through the entire workday with only having a piece of fruit or a beautiful cut-up red bell pepper in between meals. When snacking gets me is at night.

“Hi, I’m Caroline, and I’m a night snacker.”

“Hi Caroline.”

Anyway, I’m also not generally a “sweet” snacker; and am much more susceptible to savory treats. As those of you who are doing it well know, Whole30 presents some challenges for us savory snackers. What is there, really? Nuts, olives….um, nuts?

Whole30 Day 16: The New Cookbook is Assembled With Pins

I adore cookbooks. I really do. I could buy SO MANY COOKBOOKS. I love paging through a well-designed cookbook with devastatingly beautiful (and mouth-watering) recipes. It’s super inspiring and makes me want to do a cookup the likes of which has heretofore never been seen.

And then the moment passes. And the cookbook goes back on the shelf. And I promptly forget about it.

Whole30 Day 15: Halfway to More Awesome

Whooo-hooo! Day 15’s in the books! Halfway there! Cue the balloons! Release the confetti! Halfway there! Halfway there! Halfway there!

Um, that’s great and all, but halfway WHERE? Halfway through 30 days, sure, but is that really what I’m measuring? More and more, I think not.

More and more, I think there is no halfway point to this effort, because this isn’t really a 30 day sprint, as originally advertised. This is a lifestyle change. The 30 days is just a palatable chunk that’s not overly scary on the outside. It’s simply a doable time period in which to diligently and very intentionally change your deeply ingrained (and often deeply unhealthy) habits.

Whole30 Day 14: A Rainy Sunday In the Kitchen With Felix

Wow, I was a beast in the kitchen yesterday. I got so much done. I was completely exhausted by the time the evening rolled around, but it was completely satisfying at the same time. Maybe it’s just me, but I’d contend that Whole30 changes how you use your weekend. It becomes a strategic time, ripe with possibilities for efficiencies in meal planning. Sunday seems to be my most productive day, and yesterday, considering it was pouring down rain and there wasn’t anything better to do than to watch history being made via YouTube, was ripe for a meal-prep fiesta.

Whole30 Day 13: Keep Your Edges Sharp

Happy Sunday! I just sharpened all the knives in my kitchen! Whooo! Might not sound like anything worth blogging about, but — and I’m hoping any cooking enthusiasts who agree will back me up here — it’s a singularly satisfying feeling to put a beautiful, new edge on a faithful Wusthof kitchen implement. And, as I was running the six or so knives through our new Edgeware Pro Edge Elite Electric Knife Sharpener*, I realized how integral a good set of sharp knives actually is to an effort like Whole30. There’s a lot of chopping, y’all. A LOT. And I tried to imagine getting through these 30 days with a set of dull or cheap (or dull AND cheap) knives. It made me shudder. I’m sure it’s doable, but pleasant? Nuh-uh.