Whole 30 in January

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Replies

  • TJ_Gauthier
    TJ_Gauthier Posts: 317 Member
    Arturo, one of the "rules" of the Whole30 is No added sweeteners. That includes Stevia and honey. It's more along the lines of breaking the need for sweet, rather than it being bad for you. Kinda like their other rule of "Do not try to re-create baked goods, junk foods, or treats* with “approved” ingredients." It's about breaking a habit/craving.
  • TJ_Gauthier
    TJ_Gauthier Posts: 317 Member
    I'll have to be honest, though. I'm not going to be 100% perfect. I don't even know what carragenens and sulfites are. I'm fairly certain that the sulfites are something that's found a lot in sausage and bacon. I don't have the means to shop for my meat at Whole Foods, so Walmart's best will have to do.
  • Hmrjmr1
    Hmrjmr1 Posts: 1,106 Member
    TJ Strive to do the best you can that is the tactical key to victory in this game.
  • carolssalva
    carolssalva Posts: 546 Member
    I'm like you TJ… if I do my best with this, it will be MUCH better than what I am doing. I won't be at Whole Foods either.
    And for sure, the biggest problem for me with Sucralose is the need for the sweet taste that I've developed. I would want to cut it out just to reset my tastebuds if nothing else.

    I was going to pass on this (I had talked myself out of it again) because I wanted to try to stick with NSNG for a while. But now that I'm really reading the NSNG recommendations, Vinnie says 'NO' to artificial sweeteners too. Hmph! There goes my excuse. I just need to try to get more natural with my eating so this will certainly do that. Well, as long as I can stick to it any way. ;)
  • kris3b
    kris3b Posts: 321 Member
    YAY! Carol is in too:)

    TJ, That will be happening in our house too. Nitrates are in a lot of sausage and lunch meats. I am going to try and stay away from them, but will probably have them occasionally if coupons and deals come into play. I am a Walmarter versus Whole Fooder. We make the best choices we can where we shop. Sometimes when you find you are making better choices with less junk, you find some money to buy better on other things. The disgusting volume of cheese currently in our fridge is due to amazing deals we found. UGH!

    I was just telling Jen that I am attacking this with the goal of healthy eating. I may have to tweak and may screw up sometimes, but at the end of the month I am certain I will have done things that are good for me. Excited by the experiment and seeing how my body feels eating cleaner and dealing with foods and stuff that I fear eliminating. The psychological stuff that is sure to come up makes me nervous, but seems that some biggie changes require a tad of the uncomfortable.

    We can do this!!!

    BTW...I had pizza and major carbs last night. Seems the defiant child in me is getting nervous. Haha! I paid the price today with an upset belly.
  • aceronjr
    aceronjr Posts: 96 Member
    Ah yes, I see … if you like things over sweetened then taking a break is definitely a good idea. Resetting your taste buds can help. A lot of artificial sweeteners unfortunately don't do what we've been led to believe, and can still affect insulin levels. Also Splenda is dangerous because its not pure sucralose. It's cut with other sweeteners that aren't zero calories. They get away with marking it as zero carbs because if it's less than 1g you can round it down to zero. For example, one packet of Splenda actually contains about 0.5g of usable carbs. Even natural sweeteners like stevia can affect some peoples blood pressure if taken regularly and in significant amounts from what I've heard. NSNG all the time is a great lifestyle if you don't take any pleasure in eating ;)
  • aceronjr
    aceronjr Posts: 96 Member
    Merry Christmas!! Happy Holidays!! :D
  • heronh
    heronh Posts: 529 Member
    Kris, pastured meat are where animals are raised out in the pastured. Organic don't mean much to me when it comes to meat. So they fed the animals organic grain but then confine them in tight indoor quarters( not to mention other things that I won't care to bring up sigh..)? Pastured farmers generally care about their animals and would try to source the best food they can. I met some of those farmers and they would source food for their animals from farms that farm " beyond organic" but didn't care to get certified organic. The animals live a normal life, they are allow to behave in their natural way, eat a varied diet and they die relatively stress free. The meat taste so much better and is of better quality.
    As for grass fed, you need to do your homework, a lot of people are getting away with grass fed label but they still supplement with grain and a lot of them are grain finished. Because guess what, carbs makes mammals fat and they want their animals to go to market at a higher weight and that's perfectly sound business thinking. But all that pros that came with grass fed beef might be lessen because of that.
    Can we afford it all the time? No. But I am fully aware of our food system and how bad animals are treated. So when I buy that that supermarket meat or spam I know what the truth is. It sucks but that's just the way it is for now.
    I am participating in trying to change the system by choosing with my wallet and that is to buy pastured meat.
    We eat a lot less meat because of the change in our diet. So I hope this year we can eat more pastured meat.
    The thing with pastured meat is that you have to buy the animal by the whole or half, some might do quarters. (Especially if you are buying beef) some stores like whole foods sell pastured meat in individual cuts. Even if the meat is not pastured whole food's meat are always of better quality and they value animal welfare.
  • beerbikegirl
    beerbikegirl Posts: 342 Member
    edited December 2014
    Heron...well put.....my feelings exactly. Ok, maybe Ifeel even a bit stronger. After spending 9 years as the half owner (via marriage) of a very large grain farming operation (over 3000 acres), and knowing what is done to land, small mammals and our ecosystem by grain farming...I firmly believe that returning to a grass fed meat system will save our planet while saving our health. I do what I can to support folks who raise animals the right way - along with the shops and butchers that harvest and sell them.

    I love the work the Savory Institute is doing.
    http://www.ted.com/talks/allan_savory_how_to_green_the_world_s_deserts_and_reverse_climate_change?language=en

    Ok, off soapbox. I'll try not to get all preachy.
  • TJ_Gauthier
    TJ_Gauthier Posts: 317 Member
    edited December 2014
    Man, you guys are making me feel bad! :(

    Maybe one day, I'll be able to shop better meat. I would love to do something like a Cow Share, but I don't have any freezer space for half a cow. Even better would be for me to start hunting for deer or hog.

    I'm officially starting this thing on January 2nd. That leaves me a little room for a Sonic Hangover Burger, if I want it, lol.

    I even made my whole dinner/lunch menu for the month. I'll just kinda wing it for breakfasts.

    20141224_11285_edit_1419563606261.jpg
  • Hmrjmr1
    Hmrjmr1 Posts: 1,106 Member
    edited December 2014
    Here is another useful whole 30 link Having done this twice I found the email support and info was very helpful

    whole30.com/support/

    https://daily.whole9life.com/
  • kris3b
    kris3b Posts: 321 Member
    Heron and Kim, Thanks for sharing all of the info and your thoughts on all of it. I watched an episode of the PBS series Victory Garden's Edible Feast that was in Minnesota. One of the farms featured was a couple with a duck farm who raise their animals humanely and work to educate others. It was very interesting.

    As a small child, as soon as I connected where the meat on my plate came from I was torn and struggled with it. My mother was supportive, but would say what she would continue to say to me as I was growing up, "Kristin, you can't save them all. You do what you can do." My father did not feel the same way and it was a constant battle so I would always eventually go back to eating it. Back then, other than Grandma's stories of the farm she grew up on, you didn't hear much about the industry. Nowadays, the information is readily available and for me quite unsettling. Knowing all this and how it makes me feel, you would think that it would be easy for the boyfriend and I to go vegan, but we haven't. We were just saying that if we watched programs on it daily, we would do it.

    TJ, WOW! I am impressed by your planning. I am still reading everything over and over again. Haha on the Sonic Hangover.

    John, thanks for sharing the link. Very helpful!
  • beerbikegirl
    beerbikegirl Posts: 342 Member
    Wow TJ, great job planning! I think that is a key component to success.

    That and not expecting perfection, which it sounds like you guys have the right attitude around. I had a friend attempt a Whole30, " go paleo" a couple years ago and she went in with an all or nothing perfection mindset. Her attempt was permenantly derailed 2 weeks in when after eating at Chipotle she read they used a bit of vegetable oil in the meat she ordered. From clean eating back to a truly bad version of the SAd standard American diet, just because she felt she failed at a Whole30 and why bother. For a tiny bit of vegetable oil, after making the best choice in a situation she found herself in with coworkers. Don't be her!

  • TJ_Gauthier
    TJ_Gauthier Posts: 317 Member
    Kim - Wow, that's such a little thing to derail someone! I will NOT be her!

    I plan to sit down with each of the recipes an write out a shopping list for the whole month, so I can go shopping each Friday, So I don't forget anything. If it's there, No Excuses! A lot of the recipes I wrote down are mostly simple to make, so if there's something you want, just let me know.

    John, thanks for the links.
  • heronh
    heronh Posts: 529 Member
    edited December 2014
    Kim, thanks for the link. And I know what you mean by trying not to be preachy. It's really hard to explain why more people should buy meat that can cost 3-4 times the normal price. For us we just shifted our priorities so we can budget pastured meat.
    TJ, half a cow is huge!! If it's just your wife and you. It'll probably take you guys a year to finish it. Good luck with your hunting! Find a food processor that will take good care of your hard earn kill.
  • TJ_Gauthier
    TJ_Gauthier Posts: 317 Member
    That really is a ton of meat, Heron. I got excited, because I saw a sign for a company called Louisiana Boucherie. I'm fairly certain that a boucherie is a Cajun event of splitting a cow (like a cow share), but when I looked them up, they're just a local "mobile meat market" type thing. You know, the guys that walk up to you while you're pumping gas and ask you to buy meat from the freezer in the back of their truck.
  • aceronjr
    aceronjr Posts: 96 Member
    Unfortunately it's kind of the luck of the draw regarding where you live and what is being grown in your area. Some are luckier than others in having sources close by. Also some areas just don't have enough pasture to support cattle. But, there are other animals that can live off the available land and thrive with no or little supplemental feed. Chickens, ducks, geese, goats, sheep (i.e. lamb), and hogs. It's always good to get to know the farmers in your area and buy local when possible. They often will also help get it processed for you at a good price.

    TJ - So give us your opinion on gator meat?
  • TJ_Gauthier
    TJ_Gauthier Posts: 317 Member
    Now that you mention it, I think a lot of people raise goats for meat, around here.

    Alligator meat is awesome! I've only had it a few times, but it's great every time.

    I don't know if they do it everywhere, but cajuns will cook darn near anything. I had my first turkey heart on Christmas eve. That was definitely very good.
  • heronh
    heronh Posts: 529 Member
    TJ have you ever gone hog hunting? Aren't they a big problem in the south?
    Anyways, the processors in our area makes hot dogs so you can have wild boar hot dogs made! So good! Come to think of it, the one we had was Cajun style wild boar hot dog.
    Heart is good, it's a muscle.
  • beerbikegirl
    beerbikegirl Posts: 342 Member
    TJ - I just saw where you live. My brother in law and a couple of nephews are in Denham. Walls. One of the nephews, Brian, owns a muffler shop (I find it funny calling him a nephew as he's within 5 years of my age, my brother in law is 15 years older than my husband).

    Anyway, don't fret about the meat. Just eat meat, get the best you can. But as you move through life think about finding little ways to make the switch, support the folks raising the animals right. And hunting is a great source of meat from animals eating and living their natural lifestyle. I'm at an entirely different stage in my life, much further down the professional path and fortunate to be able to afford pasture/grassfed meats...and even donate to causes that support the practice. You & your wife have a great attitude now, keep it up!

    Heron - I haven't yet bought a cow share. Hubby has a thing about frozen meat (which I happily eat). Slowly but surely I'm convincing him. I keep thinking I should buy a half with my bonus...maybe this year.
  • TJ_Gauthier
    TJ_Gauthier Posts: 317 Member
    Heron, I've never been hog hunting. I've only actually ever been squirrel hunting 3 times and only got 1 squirrel. They are a big problem. They're a huge problem in Texas. I would really like to go hunting for them, but I just don't really know what to do.

    Kim, I don't know any Walls. I do have a similar situation, though. One of my uncles is 2 years older than me. I've just taken calling him my cousin.
  • Hmrjmr1
    Hmrjmr1 Posts: 1,106 Member
    TJ over here in Ga Wild Hogs are considered vermin and no need for a license to hunt them except during Turkey and Deer season, you have to have a license to be hunting period. But most game processors will only process them during deer season because of the higher risk for Brucellosis the Blood borne pathogen found in Feral Hogs. Here is a link on it from CDC

    http://www.cdc.gov/brucellosis/pdf/brucellosis_and_hoghunters.pdf

    That being said hunting them any time of the year is fun and does a service for both farm and other wild game populations.
  • carolssalva
    carolssalva Posts: 546 Member
    Conversation in other thread: We are thinking that it may be easier to checkin on one thread for Whole30, Jen's Jaunt & Water challenge and any other challenges. Probably just our regular checkin thread.
    Are you ok with that TJ?
  • TJ_Gauthier
    TJ_Gauthier Posts: 317 Member
    John, they're a nuisance animal here, too. But there seems to be a lot of weird details that I'm not sure how to work out. They'll actually pay you 5 buck per tail of nutria, but you have to get permits and maps/routes, so I've just never pursued it.

    Carol, that's a good plan. We'll just do the normal weekly chat/accountability.
  • kris3b
    kris3b Posts: 321 Member
    I just got my first email from Whole30. This just got very "real"! :smiley:
  • carolssalva
    carolssalva Posts: 546 Member
    Did you buy the book Kristin? How did you get the email? Nervous about that much reality
  • Hmrjmr1
    Hmrjmr1 Posts: 1,106 Member
    Hmrjmr1 wrote: »
    Here is another useful whole 30 link Having done this twice I found the email support and info was very helpful

    whole30.com/support/

    https://daily.whole9life.com/

    Here ya go Carol,
  • kris3b
    kris3b Posts: 321 Member
    Yeah, what he said Carol! haha I just signed up for the emails (not the paid subsciption)
  • TJ_Gauthier
    TJ_Gauthier Posts: 317 Member
    Kris, how did you sign up for just the email? Everything I click has a payment info section.
  • kris3b
    kris3b Posts: 321 Member
    Try this TJ. Go to:
    http://whole30.com/contact/
    You may get a pop up for signing up. If not, go down the page on the right side and click on this:
    4zd7109kycza.jpg

    If you are still having problems, you can shoot me an email with your email info and I will sign you up :)
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