Whole30/February Photo Wrap-up...

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Well, we are DONE. It was so nice to have a bowl of potato chips!!! I also made some paleo brownies. Because I'm wild like that. I still hate that I had to eat oatmeal every day of it. So, overall (oatmeal aside), I loved/hated it.  I loved how I felt. I hated that there were NO cheats. I loved having strict rules and guidelines (I'm a rule follower) to follow. I hated that it was inconvenient. I loved trying new recipes. I hated all the food prep.

My primary goal for doing Whole30 was to kick my cravings and jump start my paleo diet again. Check and Check. I now longer want a bag of Doves chocolates, and although it's only been a couples of days, I'm already back in my paleo groove. The thing I love about paleo is that I can cheat if I want! When following paleo principles, I usually allow myself 3 cheat meals and 3 cheat drinks. I usually use all my meals, but not usually my drinks (think Starbucks and Sonic vanilla diet cokes).

Okay, so a few of my Whole30 tips:

• Buy a Tessamaes starter pack. These are great for dressings, marinating, sauteing...
• Plan your weekly menus. Since we obviously weren't going to be eating out or picking up from our favorite restaurants, I had to be very intentional about our meals. I planned 5 dinners and then picked up basics for breakfast and lunch (hello Costco!). Dinners usually provided us with leftovers, which was great when I couldn't bear to make another salad for lunch. 
• Many of your favorites can be adapted! I.e.- taco salad (make your own seasoning and skip the chips!), spaghetti (sub spaghetti squash or zucchini noodles).
• Get creative! It's easy to grill chicken and steak every night (and we did this on several occasions), but it does get old. I made up a breakfast casserole using a base recipe I had and also a delicious stuffed acorn squash entree!
• Try new things (especially veggies). It's amazing how your tastes will change and when you're eating the same old things, you may find yourself adapting to new flavors and even craving them (for me it's been black olives!). 
• If you already do paleo, many of those recipes will work for Whole30, but many of them won't. So, again, adapt!
• Do your research! I have many paleo and Whole30 blogs and websites bookmarked, as well as a couple of recipe books, and refer to them frequently. Some of my favorites I found back in 2012 and I still love them!
• Do it with someone! My hubs joined in (no way I could've done it without him!) and a couple from our life group started 2 days after us. Misery loves company, right?! Just kidding!
• Do it for the right reasons. If you're just wanting to lose some weight, this will probably do the trick, but it's not a sustainable life style and isn't meant to be. You'll probably gain it back. For me, "cleaning my gut" and hitting reset for my body after pregnancy and nursing cravings is just what I needed. I have a family history of thyroid and heart disease. I already have thyroid antibodies and PCOS, so taking care of my gut and being proactive about my health is so important to me. 
• HGSply...if you live in DFW, and want a dinner out, check out this place in Dallas. It's super yum, and mostly paleo.

Finally, here is a quick glimpse at some of my go-tos from the month. This will be great to look back at when I do it again starting September 1st!

 And on to pictures. I think I took out my camera once this week. Fail. But I am happy to say I've at least made it a habit to grab my DSLR and not always just turn to my phone! (It may look like I love Scarlett and Hazel the most...but they just don't have a choice to pose for pictures. And they don't move much. Yet. Whereas, Grey flat out tells me, "I no cheese mommy. No pictures." Well then...)

 Baby Hands.

 I love these next two pictures... #twinproblems

 Because feet. Baby feet.