more about this Whole30 thing... — sarah elizabeth lowe

I am so blessed by the response from yesterday's post about my weight loss journey

and my adventure into eating clean.

(If I owe you an email or response, I will get back to you at naptime today!!)

Like I told you I would,

I'm back today to share some more with you, and I'm so SO excited for all the friends out there who are thinking of embarking on this with me!

we can do it, yall.

(stay with me, this is another long one, but worth it if you are interested in this at all!

(down 45 lbs in 6 months)

I want you to first hear these words. It kindof explains the thinking behind Clean Eating,

which is what Paleo and Whole30 is all about:

Those are great words, right?

It reminds us that eating better should be just so natural,

like its exactly how we were made to eat..because it is!!!

This website has amazing tools and information.

I would recommend buying the e-book, it has GREAT tips and recipes for getting started with your Whole30 challenge.

Today I just want to share a few random things about the way we eat now, and then at the end I've got on of my favorite Paleo recipes for you...Egg Muffins! YUM!

*with all the amazing stuff you can eat while doing this, you would NEVER know you are "on a diet".

It's because Paleo and Whole30 kind of go against conventional wisdom and have you incorporate natural, good-for-you fats and proteins,

and takes out the processed, chemical-filled, filler-filled crap.

After the first few days of your body starting this healing process,

you will be amazed at how enjoyable it is to eat like you were meant to eat.

seriously.

{ PS I promise I do not get commissions from Whole30. :)

I am just so amazed at how this changed my life, and so I can't NOT share it with you,

if that makes sense. :) }

Keeping it simple today, and to help answer a few questions I've gotten,

here's a list of a few of the things we love to eat.

Hopefully this can help you get an idea of what it would be like for you.

(=amazing) :)

**and I want to say this to you mommies**

one of the great things about eating this way as a Mom:

a. you are teaching your kids the best way to eat without all the processed junk.

b. this is a FAMILY lifestyle of eating, no making YOUR meal, and then figuring out dinner for everyone else.

Abigail, my 2.5 year old, will eat any and all of the things we eat!

some typical stuff we eat on Whole30:

breakfasts:

Egg Muffins (see recipe below)

scrambled eggs and sausage patties

strawberry and banana fruit salad

egg omelet with whatever veggie or meat you want to add in it

Bacon (yes, Bacon...its a great natural fat!)

lunches:

(sugar free) sandwich meat/mustard roll-ups

salad with homemade vinagerette

sweet potato, baked or made into fries

*mainly, I eat leftovers from dinner for lunch*

snacks:

apples

banana with a little sunbutter on it (yumm!)

strawberries

egg muffin

scrambled eggs with broccoli or a veggie cooked in it

(Abigail loves that..."eggs and trees!")

Pumpkin seeds

Walnuts

Pecans

Smoothies

(with any fruit or veggie, and a little coconut milk! you can be creative with this!)

Dinners:

(Ill be posting all these recipes soon!)

Sausage Apple Hash

Spagetti with Zuccini noodles

(I can still use my mom's spagetti recipe for the sauce!)

Sloppy Joes

Moroccan Chicken

Sweet Potato Chili Fries

Shrimp Cocktail

Burgers and Steaks on the gril

baked Pork Tender Loin

ok so here's my confessional for y'all,

I have a few "cheats" I allow myself!!

(I found that I personally still lost weight and felt better even though I allowed myself these things...but I am NOT saying you could or should do it too...

I'm just trying to maintain full disclosure here!!)

PS if you are hardcore Whole30/Paleo...hold your judgement ok? :)

my cheats:

(sugar-free) Vanilla Creamer in my coffee...just a splash

Crystal Light Peach Iced Tea

(sugar free) Syrup for my sausage in the morning

the occasional slice of cheese

(I crave dairy sometimes because I am still breastfeeding)

"sausage bites"

(they have no sugar, but do have some preservative crap in them...they are basically like tiny summer sausage bites. I found they give me a little protein boost when I just need something small)

Another great thing about this way of life:

You can eat out or eat at a friend's house without any problem.

No worrying about offending anyone while you are counting points or bringing your microwaveable meal to their house!!

Restaurants and most meals at people's homes will include a meat and a veggie, and usually a fruit option of some sort.

People don't even have to know what you are doing, because you can eat normally...

You can simply just pass on the bread or pasta!

SO. I hope this helps give yall an idea of how I have made this work.

There's SO much more to share, so Ill be back soon with more about this!!

In the meantime, if you are thinking about this, or just curious, here are some of my fav sites to check out, to learn more, and to see some of the amazing things you will be eating:

OK well thats it for today!!!!

but I hae to leave you with one of my favorite things to eat these days.

And my hubbs and toddler LOVE these too!

Paleo Egg Muffins: