No Sugar, All Spice

No Sugar, All Spice: Whole 30 Experience

Hey Friends! I have survived 2 weeks of Whole 30 and here is what I've learned so far....

-WHOA ADDED SUGAR: Part of the plan is to eliminate all added sugar.... honey, Stevia, high fructose corn syrup, all of it. Everyone who knows me, knows my weakness is CANDY so naturally my sugar monster was very very unhappy being cut off from all sweets. I felt grumpy, tired, craving anything sweet. Thank goodness this has calmed down.... for the safety of those around me! :) 

More importantly, this has opened my eyes to all the places sugar is hidden in foods. Walking through the grocery store I was shocked to read sugar in some form added to so many foods! Dill relish...soups.... sauces... and even my beloved hot sauce. This was also eye opening to my mom who says she "doesn't do sweets," when I asked her to read the ingredients off of foods in their refrigerator. 

Yummy Whole 30 Brunch

- Planning for success: Week one I was pathetic at prepping for Whole 30. Daily I was the hangry resident walking through the cafeteria full of carbs, dairy and minimal Whole 30 choices. Last weekend was full of preparing grocery lists, shopping and meal prepping to prevent another long week at work. Having premade meals and snacks not only made this experience doable, it made it enjoyable. This has also helped me save money by limiting my coffee shop stops and eating most meals out.

Beet and Cucumber Salad

-Being Mindful: Failure to prep also made me realize why I had been making poor diet choices in the past. I was so used to grabbing whatever was around without a single thought. The past two weeks has forced me to slow down, think and really pick foods based on what my body needs. This is by far the most valuable part of Whole 30. Taking the extra time to read a label or ask what is added to the foods I am about to eat is something that I will incorporate into my daily living long past these 30 days. 

-SPICES!!: Everything I've learned so far has lead me to cooking from scratch in order to be compliant with the guidelines. With this said, I have fallen in love with spices. From making my own red sauce, curry lamb meatballs, sprucing up black coffee with cinnamon and even mixing up my own salad dressings. I can not wait to keep adding new fun spices to every meal. They have added the extra kick to each meal... not to mention I feel like Emeril every time I add them.

XO

Samantha

Curry Lamb Meatballs over Vegetables in Red Sauce