I honestly can’t believe that I’m writing this post, because if you know me, you know that I have essentially existed on junk food for my entire life. As a kid, my school lunch was a sandwich, a bag of cheetos or another kind of chip, and a pudding or Little Debbie Cake. So healthy, right? Snacks were more junk food (Funyuns, Cheez its, Swiss Rolls, Cosmic Brownies, etc) and dinners were more than likely Hamburger Helper. As an adult, I’ve always gravitated towards junk food…fried foods of any kind are among my favorite things to eat! I loved donuts before they were trendy and never turned down a french fry or a potato chip. I never choose the salad and always order fries. I basically LIVE to eat and have my entire life. Food brings me a lot of joy, so it’s difficult to think about restricting myself or not being able to enjoy the things I love.

That brings me to this thing called Whole 30. Though I had made fun of it in the past, one of my good friends did it twice and seeing the changes in how she felt on a daily basis inspired me. I’ve never felt too terrible based on what I’ve been eating, but I do have a couple of food allergies and I thought, why the heck not? I can try it for the three weeks before I go to Italy to detox my system a little bit and prepare it for what’s sure to be an onslaught of CARBS and WINE (the two best food groups, in my opinion). I have to admit that I didn’t do it for 21 days, but the point for me was to feel a little bit better and to learn to eat a little healthier. I definitely accomplished both of those goals despite not eating strict to the plan for the full 21 days. I’m just not that hardcore, I guess! Props to anyone who’s done it 30 (or more days!).

If you’re like me, a self-confessed junk food junkie, I would suggest trying out this way of eating for even just a week! You will learn a lot about foods that bother you, foods that don’t, and what real food really tastes like. It was actually very delicious to eat this way! Note: It might be more of a challenge if you are someone with a big sweet tooth (I’m more of a savory person, myself).

Here are a few of the things I ate while trying this out! It wasn’t all salads (meh) and raw veggies at all!

(Excuse my terrible iPhone snaps!)

Day 1

1. Two hardboiled eggs, roasted red potatoes, Frank’s RedHot sauce
2. Ground turkey, Zucchini sautéed in ghee, wholly guacamole
3. Chicken soup with carrots, chicken, kale, mushrooms, celery, and onion
Snack: Applegate Naturals hotdog and grapes

Day 2

Pre Workout: Larabar
Breakfast: Two fried eggs, sliced and fried Applegate Naturals hotdog,  roasted red potatoes, grapes
Lunch: Leftover chicken soup from Day 1
Dinner: TJ’s Just Chicken topped with wholly guacamole and pico de gallo, sautéed zucchini, and pineapple
Snacks: Banana and boiled egg

Day 3

Breakfast: Pineapple Pastry. Yeah, I have no idea whats in it, but I know it wasn’t approved. In my defense, my friend brought it back from Taiwan for me and they were fresh and delicious!! Totally worth it.
Lunch: Scrambled eggs, ground turkey, and pico de gallo
Dinner: Baked potato topped with ghee, wholly guacamole, and pico de gallo and grapes

Day 4

Breakfast: Two hotdogs with mustard and a boiled egg
Lunch: Roasted squash, ground turkey, Wholly Guacamole
Dinner:  Turkey burgers with green bean “fries” and applesauce
Snacks: Diced pineapples and half a larabar

Day 5

Breakfast: Shredded sweet potato fried in ghee topped with a fried egg. Grapes.
Lunch: Trader Joe’s Just Chicken and boiled egg with Truffle mayo and guac. Sauteed zucchini on the side. (The truffle mayo had canola oil but otherwise approved ingredients.)
Dinner: Pre packaged shrimp from Farm Fresh and green beans

Day 6

Breakfast: Carrot Cake Larabar
Lunch: Sliced and sautéed hot dog with fried eggs and grapes
Dinner: Trader Joe’s Pork Belly, sauteed shredded brussels sprouts, and cauliflower rice with mushrooms and onions

Day 7 

Breakfast: Boiled eggs, sautéed zucchini, half a grapefruit
Lunch: Ground turkey, guacamole, and green beans in a bowl
Dinner: Sauteed turkey burger, red potato with salsa, and sautéed peppers and onions.
Snacks: Half a grapefruit, Seasnax

Tips to making the most of eating Whole30ish

Make it easy for yourself.
For me, convenience is key. Which means having certain staples in the house all the time and prepping time consuming things ahead of time so there’s almost always something I can grab and eat quickly or put together without a lot of prepwork. My favorite staples were:

Trader Joe’s Just Chicken
Wholly Guacamole
Larabars
EGGS!!!!
Ghee

I know I didn’t do this program the “right” way, but it was very eye opening for me, and I feel like even trying to eat that way for a short period of time really gave me a lot to think about and consider when it comes to the way that I eat. I think I will try to eat less dairy and refined sugars going forward, but I don’t see anything wrong with eating white rice from time to time or having a glass of wine (or two) or a brownie (or three). At the end of the day, I believe in eating everything in moderation…but maybe I’ll add a few more veggies into my usual rotation too, now 😉