Category: Whole30 Diet

3 Things You Should Eat Every Day

After much experimentation with elimination diets and studying nutrition. I have come up with a few things that you should eat everyday for good health. These are foods that are nutrient-dense and provide you with the vitamins and minerals that sustain life.

I understand if you don’t have access to some of these ingredients or if you have to settle for lower-quality products from the grocery store. These are just some ideas of how to get the best possible nutrition for your body.

Cod liver oil

This is probably the supplement that has created the best results for me. It not only raised my vitamin D levels, but also decreased the number, severity, and intensity of the few seizures that I was having. Studies on the effect of vitamin D have linked vitamin D deficiency to autoimmune conditions, epilepsy, skin breakouts, hair loss, and even MS.

  • High in vitamins A – 90% of the RDI of vitamin A
  • High in vitamin D – 113% of the RDA of vitamin D in a teaspoon
  • Reduces inflammation – the omega-3 fatty acids in the cod liver oil help to suppress proteins promoting chronic inflammation.
  • Improves bone health – the vitamin D helps the body absorb calcium
  • Cod liver oil has been shown to reduce joint pain.
  • Improve eye health – vitamin A protects against eye disease.

[easyazon_image align=”none” cart=”n” height=”500″ identifier=”B003BVIALG” locale=”US” src=”https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41M0au5BmzL.jpg” tag=”mcurle08-20″ width=”333″]

Grassfed Beef

Beef is a powerhouse of nutrition. There is more nutrition in beef that has been pasture-raised on the grass. If you have a budget and a source for great grass-fed beef, include it as one of the things you should eat every day.

Some of the health benefits that grass-fed beef promotes:

  • Supports healthy blood sugar levels
  • Contains electrolytes including sodium, potassium, and magnesium
  • Fights cancer with twice the amounts of conjugated linoleic acid.
  • Six times more omega-3 fatty acids than grain-fed beef.
  • Helps to alleviate rheumatoid arthritis and depression.
  • Decreases your risk of heart disease with the increased consumption of CLA.

Pasture-Raised Eggs

Farm fresh eggs are the highest quality eggs that you can get. Don’t feel bad about substituting the store-bought eggs if that is what you can afford. You can still see some of the great health benefits from them. Unfortunately, you may be supporting big agriculture and bad farming practices.

Eggs are very convenient for breakfast or a snack. There are many ways to cook eggs. You can even mix them with olive oil and vinegar to create mayonnaise and consume them raw.

The following health benefits can be achieved with eggs:

  • Eggs contain vitamin D, vitamin E, vitamin K, vitamin B6, calcium, and zinc.
  • Eggs provide your body with 6 grams of protein.
  • Eggs give you 5 grams of healthy fats.
  • Eggs raise the HDL or “good” cholesterol.
  • Eggs are a source of choline which is used to build cell membranes.
  • May reduce the risk of heart disease.
  • They contain lutein and zeaxanthin which benefit eye health.

 

Consistency is key

Eating highly nutrient-dense foods every day will lead to overall better health. I was very inconsistent for many years taking cod liver oil. I saw inconsistent results. It wasn’t until I committed to taking it every day and had my blood levels tested that I was able to observe a good improvement in my overall health and well-being. Not only did the number in my lab result reflect a healthier body, but I felt better.

These are foods that can easily be incorporated into your daily diet. You can have eggs for breakfast and a hamburger patty for dinner with a cod liver oil supplement at lunchtime. Ground beef is one of the most versatile foods and can be made into a patty or used in a casserole. These are nutrient foods that you should eat every day for great health.

 

My Simple Whole30 Meal Plan and Grocery List

My strategy for surviving the Whole30 diet was to keep it SIMPLE! Simplicity makes life easier. I didn’t try to mimic my favorite foods without the essential elements. I focused on eating whole foods that just tasted great on their own. I’m on day 23 and it is getting super easy and my taste buds have adapted to the whole foods. In some ways, I prefer eating this way.

My meal planning is super simple. I have found that I can cook once and eat twice with many of the dishes that I make. Having a large salad and soup in the refrigerator ensures that I always have a fast lunch or dinner.

My Whole30 Meal Plan

The main menu gets rotated quite a bit. I do tend to have leftovers frequently. This week, I did not have pulled pork, but when I buy a pork shoulder, it gets eaten in a few different creative ways throughout the week.

Breakfast:

  1. hamburger hash with butternut squash and an apple
  2. boiled eggs
  3. scrambled eggs

Lunch:

  1. hamburger patty with green beans
  2. hamburger patty with salad
  3. soup

Dinner:

  1. roast beef with carrots and potatoes
  2. roast beef with salad
  3. salmon patty with butternut squash
  4. soup

Whole30 Grocery List

These are the things that I buy to make my Whole30 menu work. I keep the seasonings to a minimum with salt, pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder.

My Whole30 Grocery List:

  • 2-3 lb. chuck roast
  • 1 dozen eggs
  • value pack of ground beef
  • 2 16 ounce packages of butternut squash
  • romaine lettuce
  • 7 apples
  • 1 package frozen green beans (sometimes broccoli)
  • 1 lb. package of organic carrots
  • 1 bag of potatoes
  • 2 whole onions
  • 1 can of olives (to top off the salad)
  • 1 lb. fatback (I get local pork lard from the farmer’s market. It is great for cooking.)
  • 1 lb. liver (I eat an ounce of liver a day for vitamins and minerals.)

This shopping list will feed one person for a week. I do tend to have some leftovers. I cook a weekly roast and eat it with my brother and my folks. There are usually leftovers for another meal or two during the week.

Alt text: Whole30 grocery list from Delish

Caption: Delish created a Whole30 grocery list with some Whole30 favorites. Source: Delish

Soups

I cook up the leftover bones that I have each week to make a savory broth. I add whatever vegetables that I have on hand to the broth to make it tasty and filling as well as some extra ground beef or leftover roast. Having a pot of soup in the refrigerator takes the pressure off of meal planning. If I ever can’t think of something to have, I pull out my soup.

Homemade meat stock is very healing. Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride has it as the main part of her GAPS diet. Dr. Kellyann Petrucci created a whole [easyazon_link identifier=”1635650259″ locale=”US” tag=”mcurle08-20″ cart=”n”]Bone Broth diet[/easyazon_link] for weight loss. I try to eat a cup or two of homemade soup every day. My batch of soup usually lasts about six days.

Conclusion

A Whole30 diet plan does not have to stress you out. Simple meals and eating leftovers make meal planning and grocery shopping a snap. When you eat enough calories for each meal, you are full until the next meal and don’t have to worry about snacks. If you do need a snack, you can quickly grab a few almonds or a boiled egg. I keep a lot of boiled eggs on hand for quick breakfast protein or an addition to a salad. Sometimes I will eat an egg as a side dish for my soup meals.

The meals that I prepare are good on their own. They don’t need a starchy side dish or a creamy dairy dressing. Often we get in the habit of smothering our foods with seasonings without realizing that they have great flavors by themselves. My whole30 meal plan focuses on whole foods. Keep it simple for your best chance at success!

My Whole30 15 Day Update

I have hit the mid-point of the 30 day Whole30 journey! It is getting easier and easier every day. My meals are very simple and I repeat the same foods often. Luckily, I love the foods that I do eat and I’m feeling pretty great. I have noticed a few improvements and a few uncomfortable symptoms that may be alleviated with time.

I am beginning to think that I will likely stick with the Whole30 diet beyond 30 days instead of binging on my favorite foods immediately afterward.

Whole30 Improvement

I was feeling pretty healthy when I started Whole30. My alopecia universalis is cosmetic and can easily be hidden, so while I want it to heal and improve, it hasn’t done so with other elimination diets in 30 days or even 90 days. I don’t have seizures on a daily basis and haven’t had any on Whole30, so it is very difficult to tell if I am heading in the right direction or not. I’m going to be positive.

The one thing that I can say for certain is much better is my morning congestion is going away. When I started the diet, I was having some mild congestion upon awakening. It would usually clear up with a few exercises or some bone broth and I could breathe easily through the rest of the day. I do think that eating cheese and crackers contributed to the congestion. I’m glad that I have broken my addiction to grains and dairy.

Continuing symptoms

The symptoms that haven’t cleared up are alopecia. There is no hair regrowth, but even if I have enough healing, it takes a long time for hair to grow even when you are healthy. So, I’m living with a bald head and a wig for now. I have done it for ten years. I do think that continuing with the Whole30 diet combined with the cod liver oil to raise my vitamin D levels will help. That is something different than I had done in the past.

I do seem to have gas and bloating from time to time. It correlates with eating too many vegetables or my monthly cycle. I had a bunch of fruit yesterday and my tummy just seemed really upset last night. That is unfortunate, but I know I can tweak the amounts and check for improvement. Along with the bloating, I have noticed a slight bit of constipation. I’m going to test out different amounts of fats and carbohydrates to see if it makes a difference this week.

Whole30 breakfast menu

You may be wondering what the heck I have been eating. Eggs have been a staple in my diet. I did find out that bacon has added sugar during the curing process, so I had to cut that out. The following are some of the things that I have been eating for breakfast on my Whole30 journey.

  • Boiled eggs
  • Scrambled eggs
  • Hamburger and squash hash
  • Egg, spinach, mushroom, and sausage bake
  • Apple slices
  • Grapes

Whole30 main dish menu

Lunches and dinners are very similar. I use the same foods for lunch or dinner. I have just barely enough variety not to get bored and the foods tend to keep me full. I tend to mix and match and choose a vegetable to go with a meat dish.

  • Soup and salad
  • Bone broth
  • Hamburger
  • Pulled pork
  • Steamed vegetables
  • Sauteed meat and veggies
  • Salad
  • Salmon patties

Whole30 snacks

I try not to snack too often. I am usually full and snacking is only due to boredom. It is tough working from home right now and taking a break. One of the easiest places to go is to the kitchen and grab something to munch on. Below are the snacks that I have eaten on Whole30.

  • Carrot sticks
  • Boiled eggs
  • Almonds
  • Apple slices
  • Grapes

 

Give it a whirl

The Whole30 diet is one of the easiest elimination diets. I feel that it is a gateway diet into Autoimmune Paleo or GAPS. You get used to less processed foods and the idea of cooking more. GAPS and Autoimmune Paleo have a few other restrictions that would be hard initially. For example, Autoimmune Paleo eliminates eggs because people with autoimmune conditions can be sensitive to eggs. That would take out my snack foods. GAPS has a whole structure of reintroducing foods that can be very challenging to follow. The Paleo-Ketogenic diet eliminates all plant foods, which can be unnecessarily hard. I’ve done all of these diets before usually for about 3 months. Right now, I think Whole30 combined with the cod liver oil makes me feel the best.