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Getting Back on the Wagon with Real Food

If you saw my Instagram last weekend, you saw I was reading the Whole30. Truthfully, I am always looking for something to help me finally get my weight down, and stabilize it without the up and down fluctuations. It’s been something I’ve struggled with, to some degree, for most of my life. And I’m sure it’s something to which many of you can relate. I’m sure some of you can also relate to my approach to this. I see or hear about some new weight loss fad, some diet that worked for someone I know or read about in a magazine, and I’m in. Over the years I’ve tried so many I can’t count … and while I often start strong, I have fallen off “my own wagon” so many times that it’s a miracle I’m not all battered and bruised! Then I pick myself up, find a new thing and begin to work my way back. It’s a continual cycle for me, and it’s maddening!!!!

The positive (I always like to find that … wink wink) is that I do always manage to reel it back in. And while I’ve certainly not found any silver bullets, I have figured out some important things. For me, so much of my success in these endeavors revolves around my work schedule.  If I am working a lot, with early 6 a.m. calls, my exercise life completely falls apart. And if I don’t plan my meals I’m in trouble and often find myself in temptation disasters. It’s not even that I am eating doughnuts or junk all day either, but I have started to realize I don’t pay attention to what my body is telling me. In the rush, I don’t pay attention to which foods make me feel bloated or which foods make me feel tired and run down. And lately, I’ve been feeling achy … so which foods might be adding to my imflamation in my joints? This list could keep going …

blog91_3Then, at work the other day, I was working with one of our directors and I noticed how much weight he has lost. Of course my interest was immediately piqued, so I asked him about it. He explained that he’d been diagnosed with gout and he’d started this program, Whole30, to figure out which foods were causing it. As a result he has lost 25 pounds in 45 days. He said he’s never eaten so much food, but more importantly his inflammation is down and his overall health has seriously improved … so much so that he is going to do 60 days not just the original 30 he had signed on for! (He did confess he couldn’t wait to have a drink again. There are so few vices left as we get older, haha)

So of course, I ordered the book! I thought I’d see what it was about and find some new recipes. But the guy at work said, “Oh no, you have to read the whole book.” Really?! Ok. So once the book arrived, I set aside a day to sit and read it. Good thing!

The concept is really quite simple. Basically you eat clean, non-processed food. No sugar, dairy, soy, grains, legumes or alcohol. Then, after 30 days, you reintroduce food groups and see how your body reacts. The idea is that you’d then eliminate the ones you determine make you feel bad.

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So, I’m going to give it a go. Even if I don’t loose weight, I have a feeling I am going to feel a lot better … and maybe get to the bottom of what foods don’t agree with me. And I’m excited by some of the amazing recipes! Last night, I made zucchini spiral noodles with shrimp that I sautéed in a pan, and on top this yummy Romesco sauce. I also made this really fun flatbread with carrots, nuts and seeds. I’m not going crazy, but I love trying new recipes.

Honestly, the Whole30 does take more effort, but really, we should ALL be eating like this anyway. It’s wild – if you take the time to read food labels, you’ll be amazed how much junk is in almost everything. It’s hard to imagine how much “crap” we consume everyday.

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What is Pyridoxine Hydrochloride Copper Gluconate anyway!?!

This weekend, after I’d read and been enlightened by the book, I was at the airport and went to grab a little nature bar of some sort. I stopped to read the label and I couldn’t believe it … so much junk! We all just blindly buy and eat it all. I put the bar back and got a banana instead.

So if anyone feels like getting on an October clean up with me, come on! And shoot me your stories! In the meantime, here is the delicious shrimp recipe I tried. Also check out the yummy flatbread!

Romesco Garlic Shrimp with Zucchini Noodles

Romesco Garlic Shrimp with Zucchini Noodles

Ingredients

  • 4 medium zucchini (makes about 4 cups of noodles)
  • 4 tbsp. cooking fat
  • 1/4 onion, finely chopped
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
  • 2 tsp. salt
  • 1 tsp. black pepper
  • 2 tsp. chopped fresh parsley
  • 1/2 cup almonds, chopped
  • 5 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp. chili powder
  • 1 tsp. paprika
  • 2 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
  • 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 1/2 tsp. red wine vinegar

Instructions

  1. For sauce, melt 2 tbsp. cooking fat in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
  2. When the fat is hot, add the almonds and toast for 3 minutes (stir often)
  3. Add 1 small onion (diced) and cook for about 2 minutes (stir often)
  4. Add 3 cloves of minced garlic and cook for about 1 minute
  5. Add chili powder and paprika and cook about 30 seconds.
  6. Add in the tomatoes and mix into the ingredients. Stir and cook for about 2 minutes.
  7. (Allow sauce to cool before refrigerating. Sauce will keep for up to 5 days)
  8. Peel the zucchini with a regular peeler, then using a julienne peeler (or spiral slicer type tool), make long slices along one side of the zucchini until you get down to the seeded core. Rotate and continue to peel until you've done all sides.
  9. Discard the core and set noodles aside
  10. Add 2 cups water to a large pot over medium-high heat and bring to a boil while you begin cooking shrimp
  11. Melt 2 tbsp. cooking fat in a large skillet over medium heat, swirling to coat the bottom of the pan.
  12. When the fat is hot, add 1/4 chopped onion and cook, stirring until translucent (about 2 minutes)
  13. Stir in 2 cloves of garlic and cook until aromatic (about 1 minute)
  14. Add the shrimp and toss to coat with onions and garlic. Cook for about 2 minutes
  15. Add 1/4 cup water to the skillet and cover with a lid. Cook until shrimp form the shape of a C (4-6 minutes)
  16. Transfer shrimp to a bowl (drain remaining water) and season with salt and pepper
  17. Place a colander or steamer inside the large pot of boiling water.
  18. Add the zucchini noodles, cover and seat until the zucchini is al dente in texture (2-3 minutes)
  19. Drain the noodles and transfer to serving dish or individual plates
  20. Sprinkle and toss the shrimp with parsley and spoon over noodles
  21. Spoon the Romesco sauce over the shrimp and zucchini and serve.
http://www.plankblog.com/cooking/getting-back-on-the-wagon-with-real-food/

0 Comments

  1. Kim weidacosky

    I just ordered the book. Very hopeful it will inspire me to get back to eating healthy Thanks Mary Beth!!

  2. After a crappy week and seeing 3lbs creep back on the scale that I worked so hard to get off (with 16 – now 19 left to go), I read this blog. Thank you,MB, for sharing your struggles. Most of us wouldn’t know of your struggle if you didn’t tell us – we think you’re always beautiful and I doubt most of us notice I change in size. My H just mentioned to me he wanted to start this. He thought it was another plan, but I was like, oh no, just read about this, we need to do Whole 30. So, we’ll see how that goes. With work/kids/etc. I’m finding it difficult to cook, but am hoping we can get our schedules adjusted so I can cook more at home like I used to do. I’m not a great cook, so am hoping these recipes are relatively simple and quick as by the time I p/u kids from school & daycare, I’ve got maybe an hour to hour-half before I need to start getting them ready for bed.

    Thanks for sharing MB and keep us posted on how it’s working for you!

  3. Sounds just like the Paleo diet I am on… It’s great clean eating…

  4. If we all did this, supermarkets would be forced to sell unprocessed foods. I’m in! Fall is a great time for a healthy change, and the organic gala apples out these days are delicious. Thanks for promoting healthy livin’, Mary Beth 🙂 we all need it. Let’s do this.

  5. My doctor told me last spring that I have metabolic syndrome and that I needed to do something immediately, and it’s true that things were way out of hand. He told me to cut out anything low fat, eat/drink only full fat dairy although no yogurt, no breads or pasta, and nothing with added sugar. I left his office in tears, but he gave me a plan and my daughter and I have been following it since April. Between us we have lost almost 90 lbs and we look and feel so much better! We also joined a gym and ride the exercise bike there 5 times per week. We still have some weight to lose but this regimen is not hard to follow. I do have cravings but I haven’t caved yet! I’m not quite sure yet how we will handle “maintenance” when we get to that point, but I’m looking forward to maybe just one frappe! Good luck Mary Beth! <3

  6. Stacey (BraveWidowMama)

    I’m in! I had ankle reconstruction surgery over the summer and added some pounds from all if the ass in the chair time.

  7. Amy King

    I love Whole30…it’s truly changed my life. I did my first “round” about a year ago and lost 19 lbs. I’ve done 3 other rounds since then and now pretty much eat “Paleo”. I have never felt better, slept better, had more energy, amazing skin, on and on! I’ll never go back to eating any other way again!
    I’m excited for you to start your journey! Planning & food prep is KEY! It also helps a lot if you have someone you are doing it with. There is also a Facebook group called “Whole30” and one called “Whole30 Recipes”. Join them! And the author, Melissa Hartwig, just came out with a new book this week called, “Food Freedom Forever”. I just started it and it’s amazing!

    Here’s to healthy lifestyle changes! Blessings, Amy

  8. I have friends who only eat packaged food that has five or fewer ingredients. I think it’s on the right track, but I’m sure I could mess up even THAT diet! Recently, I did IgG food allergy testing and found out which foods are potentially bothering me. I’ve found that 2 of the 10 that were positive make me feel terrible. I’m working on the rest with a two week elimination diet for each. I’m so happy MB is so focused on health and wellness! Yeah positive role model!

  9. Andrea Welmaker

    I have a friend whose husband is a doctor. They started Whole30 over the summer and she was telling me about it a couple of weeks ago. I started reading the book and my family started it this past weekend. There are so many great recipes out there. What I love is being able to eat my favorite foods. I love fruits and vegetables. It’s so easy to cook for my family and have foods on hand for my family to eat. They can grab fruit, raw vegetables and nuts. You have probably already found it but there is a Whole30 recipe Instagram page. If you haven’t you should check out. Thank you for your blog and recipe. I love knowing someone else is doing Whole30 also!

  10. A grest blog Mary Beth! For health reasons I have had to eat a relatively simple diet for most of my life with minimal processed food. Whenever a temptation makes me waver from this I end up feeling lousy then think why did I do that? With this form of diet I find my weght rarely changes more than a couple pounds up or down. In on sense I have been lucky since I had to follow this “clean” diet since I was a child. I think it is easier to change your way of eating at an early age more so than as an adult. I am sure you will succeed as you do with all your goals and feel better. All my best to you in this new endeavor!

  11. Pinterest has some great Whole 30 recipes! My husband doesn’t even know he’s eating healthy! 😜

  12. I’d like to read this book. I think it would be so helpful.
    I also agree with planning meals. It takes a little extra time but worth it!! TY, Mary Beth…another great blog!!

  13. Angela T

    I haven’t read or heard of this book, but the concept of certain foods causing havoc to your body has been with me for the last 5 years. I am a big believer in this. Besides digestion, my biggest problem, I was also having sore throats and sinus colds/headaches. After talking to a friend, I cut out all dairy. It was hard at first but boy has it made a difference in my life. I no longer get sore throats or sinus headaches and when I get a cold it gets resolved quickly. I also have discovered which food/beverage I can tolerate and which ones I need to limit my intake on. I think this is a life changer not a 30 day tryout. Good luck with your nutritional journey. You will feel better doing it. : )

  14. Estella M.

    Love it! I’ve been meaning to do a cleanse for a while now. I am excited to jump in with you! I get so distracted with life and am terrible about watching what I eat. There are so many “mysterious” things in food now days. An important part is self care is what we put into our bodies. I really want to be more conscientious about that. Thanks for sharing!

  15. Christine

    I had a friend who tried this she lost 14 lbs in the month. I’m game to try it. I think I’ll buy the book as well.

  16. I love my spiralizer! It is rare that I eat pasta, I eat zucchini noodles or yellow squash noodles in place of pasta in my traditional pasta dishes. I also simplify it by buying garlic paste in a tube (there is also other varieties such as ginger, lemongrass and Italian herbs, etc) and I really do not feel deprived when I eat the spiraled veggies. What brand of sprializer do you use? I have a small hand held one and one that is mountable on my countertop.

  17. I have been thinking of getting this book. I had heart surgery last year and have strict dietary guidelines. It’s quite the pain … I need to check the book out before I buy it…in the meantime, I am in Florida waiting on Matthew and I just ate a cookie. 🌴⛈😍

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