Whole30

My husband and I just ended our first whole30 adventure and succeeded!

If you have never heard of whole30 and you have any kind of dietary issues this is perfect for you. Check out there website www.whole30.com! Basically you take out grains, sugar, dairy, and alcohol for the entirety of the 30 days as well as restrictions on the oils you use. It sounds very intense but they supply you with a grocery list of everything you can eat.  Once your body has detoxing for 30 days your slowly add back in eat food group in hope that you narrow down what it is your allergic too (you hope and pray it is t ice cream). 

We decide to try this out because I have been having a slight reaction to something we eat regularly. Friends of ours had just completed it and successfully found that it was gluten they were allergic to, so I thought why not try it. 

Before we started we ate loosely to a paleo style of eating so I feel like the transition wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. I read a few blogs on how other people did and they weren't all that encourging to be honest. A lot said they gave up or cheated or basically ate the same meals over and over. I was determined for that not be our experience!! 

Here are a few tips that saved us:

1. Plan at least two weeks of meals in adavance. Each day plan your breakfast, lunch and dinner, it makes it so much easier and less chance of your giving up. 

2. Danielle Walker - she is an amazing author of Against all grains & Meals made simple she has some amazing recipes. Whole30 does have it's own recipe book which I hear is incredible. 

3. Lara bars - there are only three you can eat; blueberry muffin, Apple pie and key lime. They help curve your sugar craving and if you ever out they make a good dessert. 

4. Avocados - carry them everywhere and put them on everything. Fats are key because they keep you full and they are good for you. 

5. Frittata - I would make a large one every Monday so we didn't have to rush in the mornings. Quick & easy! 

6. Nuts - just like the avocados, they are a great supply of fats to keep you full and make a great post work out snack. 

7. Do it with someone - my husband has been incredible support in this. Helping make meals and having someone to hold strong with when your craving chocolate. 

8. Save - obviously eating healthier means spending a little bit more on groceries. There is a website called thrive market that's basically Costco but full of low cost products. 

There are so many benefits to it not only finding out what your allergic to but we both lost weight and inches, our skin cleared up, had more energy (after week two), ate smaller healthy portions and so much more. 

You can do it! 

Essential Oils

I have known and dabbled in the world of essential oils for about a year or so now. I am not one to preach that they heal you but I do believe that they can really help aid fast recovery and ease symptoms. Essential oils have a ridiculous amount of uses spanning from being used as a cleaning product to being used in cooking or to the most commonly known use of medicinal use.  

I decided to give a little review of three of the most basic oils; Lemon, Peppermint and Lavendar oils. They can be used in several different ways;

First I used Lemon in my water only adding one or two drops in a glass, which helps get rid of toxins in your body and for a quick energizing boost. It is also an antiseptic which helps fight off any potential bugs that maybe going around in your community. If you don't like Lemon in your water (which I am not a huge fan of myself) you can also apply it to your feet or palms of your hands.

Secondly, I tried using the Peppermint oil in cooking. I found this delicious recipe on Pinterest for Mint energy balls which called for peppermint extract but instead of using a teaspoon of that I simply used two drops of Peppermint oil. Just using those two drop made them very very minty tasting. If you want to try making them here is the link. I also used Peppermint when I had a headache, applying it to my temples to relieve my headache and the back of the neck to help relieve stress and tension. I did some research on other uses and discovered that its aroma is uplifting and invigorating and when used topically can be soothing to tired, sore muscles which I often have after a hard work out.

  

Lastly, I tried Lavender which is the one I am least familiar with. After looking into its uses I was surprised by some of it's uses. I burned my arm on the oven and tried out a suggested use of topically applying Lavender to the burn and it healed up faster than any other previous burns. It can also be used on  minor cuts and bruises. At the same time the aroma is very soothing and has a marvelous calming effect. I am going to try adding a few drops to my next bath to really relax and de-stress.

I am hoping to getting into the diffusing side of essential oils so that my husband and home also benefits. Now the fun part of researching different cute designs and how they function.

I found everythingessential.me website super helpful, it has a substantial amount of information about all the essential oils and blends but more helpful than anything it lists symptoms or ailments that you may have and gives you suggested oils and blends to try to heal them.

If you are interested in trying some different essential oil I recommend the doterra brand. 

Meal planning

Meal planning seems like such an adult thing to do and sometimes I have an epiphany that "oh yeah I am an adult". I am almost in my thirties yet I still feel like I am somewhere between the ages of 21 and 25, it is not an epiphany I like.

I never used to meal plan but after I got married I began to see how much money we spent on food, all the rotten food we wasted, the time spent running back and forth to the grocery store for last minute ingredients, and time spent trying to decide what to make for dinner . Why? Because we would go grocery shopping several times a week, picking a wide variety of foods we liked then during the week we would open the fridge and have the challenge of figuring out what we could cook with the ingredient we had. I would throw away so much rotten veggies, fruit or expired yoghurts etc. So I decided to give meal planning a try to see how much would we really save money-wise as well as how much time I would save trying to decide what to make for dinner that night.

Well, it literally flipped our budget and evenings upside down. We cut our food budget by a third, stopped throwing away rotten food, made healthier meals as well as a new variety of dinners, only needed to grocery shop once a week and we gained back an hour of our evenings. 

I plan two weeks of meals in advance which surprisingly does not take very long. I made a list of meals we love so i can rotate through them not having the same meal too often. The list continues to grow as I keep finding new recipes from friends, Pinterest and cook books. Two of our evenings a week are spent at family dinner and the other on a date night so I am really only planning 12 meals. I shop once a week on Wednesdays which is double ad day. Only buying food for that week (Wednesday to Wednesday), this eliminates those back and forth trips to the store for last minute forgotten ingredients (most of the time). We eat freshier produce and a lot healthier meals which is an added bonus. It is so nice to come home from work or the gym knowing dinner is planned and not having to stress myself of out trying to figuring what I can make last minute. 

I love planning so I can't believe I haven't done this til now, it literally has made our lives easier and saves us a lot of money. Here are a few tips if you are thinking of trying to start meal plan;

1. Make a list of meals so you can rotate them through and not repeat to much.

2. Plan at least a weeks worth of meals in advance

3. Buy only what you need to avoid over buying and wasting food.

4. Look for new recipes so you don't get bored of the same meals.

5. Don't feel confined to what you've anned that day sometimes I move some meals around within the week. 

7. Give yourself a break at least once a week. Go on a date or treat yourself with a meal out with friends.

I highly encourage you to try this, it will really help your budget, health and give you back more time in the evenings.