What's for Dinner?

For as long as I have been a parent (that would be 22 years), the "What's for dinner?" question has always sent me into a tizzy, but it wasn't until a few years back that I really thought about why that question got me in such an uproar:

- Because historically, I have not enjoyed cooking.

- Because putting together a folder full of recipes that my family enjoys had been on my to-do list for at least seven years, and until recently, I still hadn't made that happen. So meal planning always started with me trying to quickly brainstorm for some creative dinner ideas, and ended with me writing a list of the same things we have always eaten for dinner week after week and year after year; spaghetti with quinoa noodles, tacos, chicken chili, grilled sandwiches with tomato soup, baked chicken, etc.

- Because I detest grocery shopping.

- Because whenever I was hungry and out of ideas, I suggested we go out to eat and then immediately felt guilty because eating out costs a fortune and usually isn't too healthy.

- Because inevitably, someone is going to complain about what I'm cooking.

And the big one...

- Because I feel like the whole weight of everyone's health is riding on my shoulders.

So my response to the "What's for dinner?" question has always been something like, "Food." or "I haven't lost a single child to starvation yet, so trust me, I've got it covered."

I should clarify that my husband is always willing to run to the grocery store (though for some reason, he would rather go to the grocery store every single day than purchase more than one meal's worth of groceries) and is always willing to cook.

He's also really great about doing dishes, so I've got nothing to complain about.

But for some reason, every time he goes to the grocery store or cooks a meal, it just doesn't feel right to me because I feel like I'm the one who should be doing those things.

And it's not that I think its a woman's job to do those things...it's just that there's something in me that says it is my job.

Overall, we've eaten pretty healthy around here for years.

Josh gets half a grass-fed, grass-finished cow every year that his boss in Klamath raises.

I grocery shop where I can get organic produce and organic meats.

I avoid gluten whenever possible, don't buy hardly any processed foods, and keep the sugar to a minimum.

I pack the kids lunches every day and let them pick one day a week to have hot lunch. (They always pick Pizza Day.)

For years, I've thrown together a quick but healthy breakfast for the kids each morning. (In the past, that's been refrigerator oatmeal, nuts & fresh fruit, eggs, etc.)

So really, the only times we were eating bad were the couple of meals a week when we were eating out as a family, when the kids were having Pizza day or a party at school, and on Thursdays when I took the kids to the coffee shop for breakfast.

And when we walked down to the frozen yogurt shop.

And when I occasionally got a hankering for junk food and ran everyone to the minute market.

Oh, and my daily run to the coffee shop.

And the occassional run to McDonalds for their magic-Coke.

The more I write, the worse it sounds, so I'll stop there.

After the last Hometown Workshop I taught in September of 2013 though, I noticed three things happening:

- My normally stellar immune system couldn't shake the Whooping Cough I picked up for almost four months. 

- Every time I went to the coffee shop, I felt sweaty and shaky and foggy-brained for hours afterwards.

- I kept getting inflamed/infected hair follicles in weird places (my legs, my armpits) that would get huge and would stick around for months. (I remember getting what my mom called 'boils' a lot when I was a kid and these were similar.)

I knew the first thing I had to give up was my daily run to the coffee shop because it was an (expensive) 15 year habit that I had (unsuccessfully) tried to break for years, and it was the causing the most obvious problems.

Seriously, if the shakiness, the foggy-brain, and the boils weren't bad enough, how about the $19,110 I easily spend on coffee in the last 15 years? ($3.50 a day x 7 days a week x 52 weeks x 15 years = $19,110.)

I'm a creature of habit though, so I knew I had to replace it with something else and eventually settled on Chocolate Yerba Mate tea with four tablespoons of canned coconut milk (Native Forest is my favorite) and 8 drops of Dark Chocolate Stevia. (I've read that when you ingest an artificial sweetener, even a seemingly healthy one like Stevia that your body releases all of the stuff it normally releases when it knows it needs to break down sugar, but because there's no sugar present, all of that 'stuff' is released without a purpose, and that can be taxing on your adrenals. My adrenals are just going to have to suck it up though because those 8 drops of Stevia make me really happy every morning.)

And for some reason, it stuck this time and I haven't made a coffee run in over a year.

Actually, I went a couple weeks back, got my usual coffee and since I didn't feel sick, I got the (un)wise idea to go again the next day too and got sick as a dog.

Never again.

I also decided to give up the once a week soda habit that I allowed myself and instituted a new rule that only allowed soda when I went to the movies.

Seriously, how else am I supposed to wash down all that popcorn?

This was also around the same time Annie started having stomach problems, around the same time when I read It Starts with Food which discusses a 30-day elimination diet called the Whole 30, and how to eat after the Whole 30, and also around the time I convinced my (sugar addict) mother to give up gluten and sugar with me. (I wasn't ready to give up dairy or some of the other things you have to give up on a Whole 30 quite yet.)

So for 3+ months, I gave up sugar and gluten and felt pretty great.

And since I am not a short-order cook, whatever I was cooking at home was what my family was eating when they were at home too, which meant they were giving up sugar and gluten within the four walls of our home as well.

And then for months, I waivered between slipping back into some of my old habits (minus the coffee shops) and staying off of sugar and gluten.

And then, I got it in my head one day that I was ready to do the Whole-30 for real.

So I called my sister and got her onboard.

And I talked to my husband, who was onboard also.

And then I talked to my dad, who was onboard as long as he could drink beer on Saturdays.

And then my dad talked to my husband and convinced him that he needed beer on Saturdays too.

And then my sister talked to my husband and shamed him into doing the Whole 30 sans beer.

And then, all of us started the Whole 30, which meant my kids were eating Whole 30 within the confines of our home as well.

And because I wanted to finally get that binder full of recipes for my family made up, I committed to cooking 30 new recipes during the Whole 30, which meant spending hours scouring every Paleo and Whole-30 related website I could find for recipes (many paleo recipes work for Whole-30). Sites like:

- Nom Nom Paleo

- Everyday Paleo

- The Clothes Make the Girl

- PaleOMG (I skip her Fashion Fridays because for some reason, people posting photos of what they wear every day really annoys me, but her recipes are great.)

- Stupid Easy Paleo

And then I pretty-much lived in my kitchen for the next 30 days.

I don't want to deceive anyone into thinking you can eat like that long-term without spending a whole lotta of time in the kitchen, because trust me, it requires a whole lotta time in the kitchen.

But, for a girl like me who has never enjoyed cooking, I have to admit that I'm kind of enjoying cooking now. And after getting my fridge and pantry under control, I kind of enjoy keeping it stocked and organized.

So weird.

I also don't want to deceive anyone into thinking that eating like this is cheap, because it's not cheap if you're trying to buy organic fruits and vegetables, grass-fed beef, and free-range chicken. That said, I try to stock up on items whenever I see sales (I saved $6 today by buying six bags of frozen, organic blackberries that were on sale instead of just buying one bag like I normally do for the Paleo pancakes I make every Friday morning.), I know which stores have the cheapest prices on different items, I get what I can from Costco (organic eggs, organic coconut flour, almond butter, chia seeds, organic chicken breasts, wild-caught salmon, etc.), we buy half a cow every year like I mentioned and keep it in a freezer out in the garage, etc. And the money we save from not eating out and not throwing out unused food (because I'm doing a better job with meal planning) helps to offset the expense as well.

Some recipes I tried were a flop. Some were way too time-consuming yet mediocre in taste to ever make again. Some were time-consuming, but good enough that I felt I could commit to cooking them on weekends when I had more time. Some could be prepared in big enough batches that I could freeze them. Some were relatively quick and easy. Some could be thrown in a crockpot with little effort. And some have become staples of what we eat around here now.

If I'm just being honest, I've never been able to commit long term to any big dietary changes. But for some reason, I felt really stubborn about the Whole 30 and didn't want to cheat myself out of the experience.

The first few days were filled with headaches and for the first two weeks, I felt exhausted. But during the second two weeks I felt great. I felt like my regular roller-coaster of emotions were leveling out as my blood-sugar started to level out, my skin was clearing up, and the fog was lifting from my brain.

I guess I didn't fully understand how much food affected my mood - how sugar made me easily agitated and gluten made me feel lethargic. I also didn't realize that adult acne (which I'd had since 22) wasn't something I had to live with. (I can't remember the last time I had a zit.)

At the end of the Whole 30, my husband was 18 pounds lighter, my sister was 12 pounds lighter, my dad (who cheated the whole time) was 12 pounds lighter, and I weighed exactly the same as the day I started.

That's just how my body is though, which means I have to base my dietary and exercise choices on how I feel rather than on what the scale says because 'skinny' is never going to be a word that anyone uses to describe me.

I am strong though, and the older I get, the more flattering the word 'strong' begins to sound.

And since then, I've pretty much transitioned into a Paleo-type diet. I avoid dairy 99% of the time, even though I don't think I'm sensitive to it. I avoid gluten 99% of the time as well because even though it doesn't make me feel sick, it does make me feel sluggish. And I avoid sugar as much as possible, because that is the one thing that always makes me feel sick.

And since then, my husband (who tends to think of stuff like this as witch-doctor voodoo) has been avoiding gluten because it makes him feel lousy, and dairy because it leaves a strange taste in his mouth.

I get that eating Paleo sounds hard and is somewhat controversial, but I feel better when I'm not eating sugar, gluten and dairy, so there is no controversy for me. (Cole loves milk, so I still keep it in the house, and the girls love cheese, so I still keep it in the house too. I just cook without sugar, gluten, and dairy now.)

And oddly enough, I'm starting to like some meats (good quality steak, prosciutto, bacon, etc.) that I haven't eaten in probably 20 years.

And since I mentioned doing the Whole 30 on my blog, I've had a lot of people email me asking questions about it, hence this lengthy post that is about to get lengthier as I try to share a few suggestions for those of you who are considering giving it a go... 

- Go all in. If you're going to commit to a Whole-30, really commit to it. I wanted to keep drinking my Yerba Matte tea with Stevia in it even though Stevia is not Whole-30 approved, but my sister convinced me to go all in and I'm glad I did. I just drank it without Stevia instead. So if you're going to do it, do it without any excuses and without any exceptions.

- Get your kitchen cleaned out, stocked up, and organized. Get rid of all the junk so you're not tempted by it and get your kitchen stocked up with the essentials so you're not constantly running to the grocery store. The best investments I made in getting my kitchen organized was a bunch of wide-mouth ball jars, twist-off lids for those jars, some plastic turntables for a few of my cupboards and one for my fridge, a spice organizer, and some glass jars and bowls that look cute on my countertops while storing onions, garlic, sweet potatoes, squash, etc.

- Spend some time designing a shopping list that you can print up and use every week, or find one online that suits your needs. The Whole 30 site offers this list to use while doing the Whole 30, and I made this modified version that works well for my family and my current style of cooking that you can feel free to use. (Just double click on it to bring it up in it's own separate window and then right click on it to save it to your computer.)

- Scour the internet for recipes, print them up, slip them in plastic sleeve covers (so you don't get them dirty while cooking), and keep them in a binder that has dividers for chicken, beef, sides, etc. If you try a recipe and don't like it, throw it away. If you modify a recipe, write notes on it. If a recipe turns is quick and easy, mark 'quick & easy' on it so you'll know to use it for busy weeknights. Then, when you're planning meals and a grocery shopping list, just pull out all of the recipes you're going to use and make up your grocery list.

I got one of those binders with a plastic sleeve in front and keep my grocery lists in. I also used plastic dividers so I could label and organize all of the recipes I've gathered. (I have the following sections; breakfast, beef/pork, chicken, seafood, sides, soup & salad, misc., snacks, drinks.) Oh, and I put a cute pencil pouch from Target in there too for pens, coupons, a calculator, etc.

Josh even hung a couple of bulldog clips inside two of our cabinets so I could hang up whatever recipes I'm currently using for quick and easy visibility.

- Plan out every meal a week in advance so you don't find yourself hungry and tempted to eat junk. When we did the Whole 30, I always cooked enough at dinnertime that Josh and I could have the leftovers for lunch the next day and I always had a few staple ingredients around that I could use to whip up something quick and easy. My favorite was tuna fish mixed with an avocado, kalamata olives, pistachios, and lime juice - so good and so quick. I also kept grated sweet potatoes with dill, onion powder, and garlic powder mixed in so I could fry it up in coconut oil along with some eggs whenever I needed something quick. Apples dipped in almond butter was my other go-to snack.

You can see the grated sweet potatoes (I like Japanese Sweet Potatoes the best.), and a sack full of my favorite breakfast muffins as well, which are not Whole-30 approved, but they are Paleo-approved. (I use that stainless steel bowl for thawing meat.)

Those breakfast muffins (modified from a recipe in this book) are a staple in our house these days, so I make a double-batch every week:

Mix these ingredients in one bowl:

1/2 cup almond flour

1/3 cup coconut flour, sifted

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/8 tsp. ground cloves (I prefer more.)

1/4 tsp. ground ginger (I prefer more.)

pinch of sea salt

1/2 cup finely shredded, unsweetened coconut

1/4 cup chia seeds

1/4 cup cocoa nibs

1/3 cup raisons (I prefer more.)

1/4 cup raw pumpkin seeds

 

Wisk these ingredients in a separate bowl:

6 eggs

2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1/3 cup Grade B Maple Syrup (the real stuff)

 

Mix everything together, spray muffin tins with olive oil cooking spray or grease them with ghee, bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes, cool on a wire rack, store them in the fridge and enjoy them all week. (I use these muffin pans and nothing sticks to them since they're coated with silicone so you don't have to pre-grease the pan.)

- Designate a specific grocery shopping and food prep day. For me, this is usually Sunday. Like I mentioned, I really hate grocery shopping, so sometimes, I just leave my kids with my husband and take myself to the movies before going shopping. (Many years of being a single-mom taught me to really enjoy getting a few hours away to take myself to the movies.) Then, after having those few hours away from home, I usually feel ready to come home and prep as much food as I can for the week. (Boiling eggs, marinating meat, cutting veggies, etc.)

- Instead of looking at cooking as a chore, put on some comfy pajamas, throw your hair up in a ponytail, turn on some music, and let cooking be your 'down time' for the day. Granted, cooking can be frustrating when you're trying to get dinner on the table at a certain time, but whenever you can, make it relaxing and fun.

- Make your kitchen a nice place to be. Buy some plants, (I used to kill every plant I bought, but now I've found a few that don't seem to mind in the least if I only water them once a week.) put up some pictures, and buy a few things that make you happy every time you look at them.

I've got a favorite picture of all four of my kiddos up above my sink which makes doing dishes just a little bit nicer.

And I swear, I smile anytime I reach for one of those measuring cups or ramekins. (I don't think Amazon is selling the ramekins anymore - I found mine locally.) Sorry about the bad lighting in there - my pantry is like a cave.

- Invest in some good kitchen gadgets. Seriously, I don't think I could have made it through the Whole 30 without a food processor. (I got the Cuisinart Prep 11 from Costco for $150.) Having a nice, light set of stainless steel mixing bowls is a huge plus, a high-quality fry pan or two (I use Woll Brand  - you can literally fry an egg in them without oil and it won't stick), a zester, a lemon squeezer, etc. Cooking is so much nicer when you have the right tools.

- Look for food prep and storage tips because they'll save you time and money. I can't tell you how much cilantro I have thrown out on account of it wilting until I read on the internet that if you put the stems in a cup of water and cover the leaves with a produce bag that it will keep for over a week. Genius. (Just bought some cilantro this morning and you can see it sitting in a glass of water with a produce bag covering it there on my top shelf. Oh, and you can see my lazy suzan on the shelf below as well.)

- Don't feel like you have to announce to your kids what you're doing. Just cook what you're going to cook and let them know that whatever you're cooking is their only option. (I tried really hard to cook things that I thought my kids would like or at least be able to tolerate, but they knew they had to try everything and if they didn't want to eat it, they could just go without dinner that night. None of my children perished during the Whole 30, and all of them ended up liking some foods they never thought they would like, so I'm ok with that decision. That said, they only ate Whole 30 meals that I prepared, so when they were at grandparents houses, school parties, etc., they ate what they wanted.)

- Make it a goal to only eat three meals a day. This was impossible for me at first, but once I got my blood sugar under control, it was surprisingly easy. 

- Only cook with coconut oil, ghee (clarified butter), and avocado oil because they tolerate high heats well and are healthy fats. Use olive oil for cold dishes only since it doesn't do well at high heats. I use coconut oil for almost all of my cooking and buy big tubs of it at Costco. It's so good. (It is also a good anti-bacterial and anti-fungal remedy.)

- Every veggie tastes good when you roast it with oil and spices, so don't settle for bland, boring, steamed vegetables.

- Don't feel bad about serving the same thing regularly. I try to serve a decent variety of dinners and try to give a new recipe a whirl every few weeks, but even then, we still gravitate towards a few Whole 30 and Paelo favorites, and I'm totally ok with that. And what I serve my kids for breakfast these days is the same, week after week: Smoothies (frozen mixed berries, an avocado, canned coconut milk, fresh spinach, probiotic coconut water, and pitted dates to sweeten it up), breakfast muffins, fried eggs & sweet potatoe hash, and Paleo pancakes (you can find a bazillion versions of Paleo pancakes online) topped with blackberries and a teensy bit of Grade B Maple Syrup. And what I pack in their lunches is pretty standard too: ground beef with tomato sauce, shredded chicken (just boil a chicken breast for 20 minutes and pour some coconut aminos ot it - it's delish), organic salami with organic cheese and kalamata olives, gluten-free chicken nuggets, etc. Then, I just toss in some nuts, some plaintain chips, some fruit, etc. to go along with it. It works for my kids and it works for me.

- Once you're done with Whole 30 and are transitioning into Paleo (or whatever you're transitioning into) show your kids that eating healthy doesn't mean you never have treats. Try out some Paleo desserts, make them Paleo pancakes, make Paleo muffins, etc. It really IS good eating.

I know this is a lot of information and I know it might feel overwhelming at first (it was for me too) but if it's something you want to do, you just have to commit to it (daily) and recognize that cheating is really just cheating yourself out of something worthwhile.

Three months from now, you'll be like a pro at it and you'll wonder why you didn't do it sooner. 

Feel free to leave any questions in the comments section (I'll answer them in the comments section.) and if you've got any good Whole 30 or Paleo recipes, favorite kitchen gadets, or food prep and storage tips please share!

Oh, and please know that the links provided are not affiliate links, so I'm not making any money from these recommendations.

Comments

[Lisa]

I love this post! Thank you so much for taking the time to write it all out. I have been cooking/feeding my family a modified primal diet for the last 2 years. The hardest part is all the planning that is required, I miss being able to throw a frozen pizza in the oven when we're short on time but I sure don't miss the way it would make me feel. It's not easy but so worth it!

[Audrey V]

woo hoo, good for you! I've been paleo for 3 or 4 years and I love it. I too still struggle with the extra 10-15 pounds, but I have to give it time to work out the other issues. My husband actually started paleo this week to help with his anxiety. I'm so happy to see so many people eating healthy, I think it is the key to our health. Just something to think about, eating gluten occasionally might be doing you more harm than you know.
But give yourself a big pat on the back, you are totally awesome and you should feel good about taking charge of your family's health.
When I first went paleo, I felt like I cooked ALL the time, but it does get easier and you become more efficient as time goes on. And it is just relaxing to be in the kitchen, making something healthy for your family.
Congrats!

[Alicia]

Oh my goodness, that is my list for not enjoying cooking too! Especially "Because I feel like the whole weight of everyone's health is riding on my shoulders." Oh man, the guilt we place on ourselves! Thank you for this post and for the great detail. I know I will refer back to it often.

[Kellie]

A lazy suzan IN THE FRIDGE. My life is changed.

[Jennifer]

Let me begin by saying that I really enjoy your blog! And this post...is especially motivational. You are doing something I do not have the self motivation or self control to be successful at...and I wish I did. I would LOVE to cut sugar out of my diet. :)

Please take the rest of this with a grain of salt. I don't want to discourage you or sound negative. However, I feel kind of responsible to tell you about yerba mate tea. (And maybe you already know this)? Yerba mate tea has extremely high levels of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH) in it?

I work as a chemist for a chromatography company and my company has done some extensive analyzing of yerba mate tea with shocking results. For comparison, a standard well-barbequed chicken or steak has about 4ng/g of benzo[a]pyrene (the charcoaled part of the chicken or steak...you know...those desired grill marks). A single smoked cigarette generates about 10ng of benzo[a]pyrene. And of the 6 brands of yerba mate tea my company analyzed, there is a range between 20-160ng/g of benzo[a]pyrene. In other words, there might be a link between high mate tea consumption and cancer, specifically esophageal cancer. (They are speculating this high PAH level has to do with the way yerba mate tea is made...by processing with wood fires).

Again, take this for what it's worth. :) I'm not trying to be negative or discourage you from what you are doing...just wanted me make sure you are aware of what you are possibly putting in your body.

Keep up with the healthy diet! :)

[Heather]

This is awesome! I respond to my 8 children the same way when they ask what's for dinner: "food!" :) We do the same kind of eating here due to food allergies - love the books "Practical Paleo" & "Mediterrianen Paelo Cooking." She's got meal plans in there too!

Oh, and I use a website called "Plan to Eat" to store all my recipes. I don't like pulling out a binder or several books when I go to cook. You could plan your meals there too but I like regular old paper. :) You can share/view recipes with friend- you could find me at Heather Tully. :)

[Andrea Katolin]

Thank you so much for sharing this! I did Whole30 a few months ago and I plan to do it again soon. Wondering what your favorite dinner recipes are? Breakfast and lunch are easy for me but when it comes to dinner, I struggle a bit. Thanks for all the tips and inspiration. It's amazing what good food can do. :-)

[jodie]

Stevia is not an artificial sweetener.

[SandraA]

That question (what's for dinner?)...it's like turning a switch to insanity.

Thanks for the very informative post. Your commitment is amazing.

Here's a tool (Clever Cleaver) I love to use (think carrots and celery). The blade is very sharp, so it's kept AWAY from kiddos.

http://www.amazon.com/Clever-Cutter-80112-Cutting-Board/dp/B003BZVNH0/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1415301876&sr=1-1&keywords=clever+cleaver

[Janet K]

Thank you so much for taking the time to share all this information. I have been thinking about changing my way of eating for awhile now. We eat pretty healthy, but I know gluten and sugar and probably dairy are things I need to avoid. I am currently doing a 21 day sugar detox...(kinda sorta... I know, I should go all in).
In June I gave up coffee, and was surprised how easy it was. That is until we went to visit my inlaws last month. I drank coffee, just cause someone made it in the morning... I could have easily made my tea. Well, I have been to the coffee shop every day this week & joint pain is back. I know what I need to do.
I love my crock pot. It saves me on days that I work a little late. Dinner is all made. I also love my food processor. Almond Butter is so easy. For a treat we make "ice cream" with just frozen bananas.

[Ruth Tacoma]

In April I gave up all flours and sugars because I was sick and tired of being sick and tired. It made life a little interesting because eating that way is definitely not 'convenient' so I always needed to be prepared with healthy options, even on the go.

I tried a gluten free muffin recipe recently and they tasted amazing, but made me so sick. In the summer it is so easy to eat clean, but cold weather comes and I start wanting a warm muffin and comfort foods like that. I'm going to definitely give your muffin recipe a try, it sounds delicious!

The absolute hardest thing to give up was flavored creamer in my morning coffee. I saw the pumpkin spice creamer in the store and bought one. Big mistake. Not only did it make me feel sick, it honestly did not taste good to me either. Blech. I'm still enjoying a cup of coffee in the morning with half & half, but teas are sounding better these days.

Thanks for sharing your journey! Feel free to share/highlight a recipe from time to time!! :) I always love a good recommendation.

[Kim]

Thank you for this post. It is so packed with great information and very inspiring.

[Chuck99]

I found your blog by accident recently (I was searching for University of Oklahoma, and found Cole's birthday trip to 'your' OU). It's a nice read, so I've been checking it out since.

As a son, and a former victim of the 'what's for dinner backlash', let me tell you something I learned as a single father.

A parent should always consider 'What's for dinner' as a child's shorthand for "I love you, and you always take such good care of me, and you're such a great cook that everything is always better when you do it - and oh, yeah, I haven't eaten for 15 minutes, and my stomach thinks my throat's been cut'.

After all, Mom and food are the most important things in the world to a kid, and that one simple question sums it all up, along with how excited they are to see you again.

[Julie B.]

Karen, I really liked this post! Chris and I have been using emeals.com for 2 years now. It is meal planning made easy. I hate hate hate grocery shopping so I love it because it provides a shopping list each week. It is awesome! And they have a paleo recipe plan!

[Dana]

We eat predominantly paleo in our house as well. I totally understand what you mean about feeling better. It's so weird when people try to discourage you from eating this way and I always tell them that "It just makes me feel better" there's really no other way to describe it. We tend to have favorite recipes and I too use plan to eat and I love it. Its super easy to download all your recipes from the internet and I love that it gives me a basic shopping list and I can input a meal plan. I have pretty much got the meal planning down to a science. Weird as it sounds what works best for me is I have assigned different meats to different days...so Mondays-Pork/Pulled Pork, Tuesday-steak/beef, Wednesday-chicken etc. I just change the way I cook them. It just makes it easier for me. Oh and coconut oil is a life changer. Thanks for sharing! :)

[Melinda365]

Great post- so motivational and honest! As an alum of your photo class (best all-around photography class ever!), I read your blog for the photography and to keep up with your cute family. I know I should eat this way- thanks for the tips. It's good to know that a regular family can do this. As a retired empty-nester, I really have no excuse. I love how your pantry and fridge look- great ideas! Keep us posted!

[Kristin]

Fabulous post!!! I'm curious how you decided to go Paleo/W30 with Annie's diet restrictions (especially nuts and eggs)? I would love to do this, but my daughter is allergic to peanuts and her allergist recommended staying away from all nuts. Thank you!

[Rae]

Okay totally aside from all this great information, what brand of sink is that? I love it!!

[Sylvia]

That tuna quickie that you posted, is it really just all those ingredients? I'm assuming you chop the pistachios. I love all those ingredients and would love to make that...sounds delicious. Thanks for always such great posts!