Join me on my Whole 30 challenge!!

Brushing the dust off my blog as I begin a journey with the Whole 30 challenge this month! If you have not heard of Whole 30 before you can begin by visiting their website HERE. I have spent the last couple weeks in preparation for this journey. The main things I cannot eat while on this journey are: grains, legumes (including peanuts), soy, sugar (not even natural ones like stevia), dairy, sulfites (meaning no alcohol), MSG, carrageenan. HERE are the program rules. 

I know this may sound "strict" but its only for 30 days as a way to reset the brain and heal the body. After day 30 I will slowly reintroduce some of these foods back in and see how my body responds. Basically a form of an elimination diet. I am actually looking forward to it very much! I have been wanting to do some kind of elimination diet, but I was not sure how to start. So having a whole program set up that tells me what not to eat and what to eat makes it much easier. The book It Starts With Food is on its way to me now so that I can read it and get the full grasp on this program. I did not buy their cookbook though as you can find many bloggers who have already laid out meal plans and recipes for you on their sites for free. The Nourishing Home has been one of my favorites so far.

So as part of my preparation the last couple of weeks, I have been reading labels on many products at the stores when I get groceries in order to find which foods are compliant with the program. I've also been collecting and printing out recipes and meal plans and filing them into their own notebook. I have been cooking meals that are compliant as well, at least for me personally. My family will still eat other things that I will not be eating. Pictured above are a couple of the meals I did. I made sweet potato hash browns one morning, those were amazing!

I am planning to post about my journey here and there along the way. To share recipes and tips, to see how I am feeling and how my body is responding. I know for me the biggest craving I need to overcome will be sugar. Especially dark chocolate. (Oh dark chocolate, I will miss you!) So I plan to use my wonderful essential oils along the way to help keep me on track mentally and physically too.

Would you like to join me on this journey? I would love to hear from you!