Whole 30... Am I really doing this?

At the top of my cookbook pile this month is the Whole 30. The hubs and I have decided to take it on. We are on day 4 and I am actually feeling pretty good (ask me again around day 9). So this blog will take a little turn for the next 30 days while I try to see this thing through.

We've thought about doing this several times over the last couple years and I couldn't bring myself to do it. Why now? I have no idea, but for some reason I feel ready to take it on. I find the inconvenience to be more daunting than eating this way (again... ask me around day 9 if I still feel that way). In some ways it's quite simple. When you are eliminating large food groups (dairy, grains, legumes, sugar, alcohol) its very obvious what you cannot eat or drink. It's getting creative with what you CAN eat that is the challenge.

I am finding ground meats (so far I am partial to pork and chicken) and sweet potatoes to be my best friends in terms of easy go to foods. The other night I made these Spicy Chicken Burgers and I can safely say that these will be a staple during the next thirty days. They were easy and provided leftovers that were super quick to heat up for lunch the next day. I used jalapeño instead of serrano peppers because that is what I had on hand and I doubled up on the amount to kick up the spice. I find when I am eliminating the foods that are my normal go to that kicking up the spice keeps it satisfying. Along side these burgers? Mashed sweet potatoes. This time I added some curry powder to the mash for a boost of flavor that totally complimented the spicy burgers.

Jen's Mashed Sweet Potato

2 large sweet potatoes

2 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 teaspoon curry powder (optional)

salt and pepper to taste

Cut sweet potatoes into equal size chucks. Boil until tender. Drain.

Mash with olive oil, salt and pepper. Add in the curry powder if using.

The other thing I've been digging into? Broiled grapefruit in the morning. This is so yummy! All you have to do is cut the grapefruit in half, sprinkle cinnamon on each half, and broil at 500 degrees for 10 minutes. The top gets all warm and caramelized... add a pinch of salt and enjoy! Why salt? Broiled grapefruit was introduced to me by my grandmother when I was a kid. She always told me that a pinch of salt on grapefruit would bring out the sweetness and she was totally right! Eating it with a grapefruit spoon (In case you are not aware there are actually spoons designed just for this purpose!) always makes me think of her. As someone who tends to prefer sweetness at breakfast, this gives me that while still "taming my sugar dragon" as the Whole 30 program promotes.

That's all for now. I'll be back next week with an update on how we are getting through these 30 days ... hopefully without feeling too deprived!