HOMESTRETCH WHOLE30

Hi friends! If you are still trucking along on a January Whole30, chances are you are probably feeling amazing but potentially a little tired of trying to find meal inspiration. My friend and past colleague Andie is a killer cook and Whole30 pro (Andie and I drank… a lot of wine together during our tenure at VV… so I am in total awe that she’s done two of these flawlessly haha) so I asked her if she’d shake things up for us and share a few of her top tips and meal hacks for an uber-tasty Whole30! Fun fact: Andie is such an incredible cook that she once maintained her “day job” as the head of PR WHILE catering a 4-day photoshoot in Newport - including a full-on lobster bake that we photographed! Still crazy to me that it’s just a hobby of hers, but these days she’s working at a luxury tableware brand so I think she’s getting closer to merging her two passions :)

Anyway, without further delay! Good luck everyone!:

Hi! I’m Andie Jodko, a CT based communications professional and passionate foodie. I was lucky to work with and for Meg (she was my boss!) during her vineyard vines days. I can’t thank her enough for inviting me to share some fun Whole30 recipe ideas with all of you. I so admire the incredible community she has created here, so thank you for having me!

I did my first Whole30 in September 2018 and I am by no means an expert, but I did find the experience to be really meaningful for me in ways that I did, and did not expect. As someone who already spends a lot of my time in the kitchen, I was not intimidated at all by the thought of a lot of cooking. I was; however, concerned that my love of wine and food (that extends all the way to bagel bites, buffalo chicken and the occasional fast food indulgence) would challenge me a LOT. Surprisingly (but also, duh) I learned that my cravings easily fell away when I nourished my body with food that was better for me while still being equally delicious. I’m going to share some of my favorite recipes, sources and meal plan templates that I hope will help you take on a Whole30, or just incorporate more healthy foods into your life. Most importantly though, I hope you find that these foods are delicious and truly satisfying…enjoy! 

The Meal Plan Template:

By far, the most beneficial thing I did for my first Whole30 was to “stack” Week 1 with the Whole30 foods and recipes I was most excited about eating. For me that meant Mexican! I prepped a bunch of delicious building blocks that I could mix and match in lots of different ways. This same process can be used for other cuisines (I love a theme) depending on your tastes, I’ve given some examples below.

The building blocks:

• A couple of sauces/dressings

• A cooked veg or two

• A prepped raw veg or two

• One or two proteins 

• A fresh, acidic element (usually sauce-adjacent)

• Greens

Make it Mexican - 

• A couple of sauces/dressings - spicy ranch, guacamole

• A cooked veg or two - sweet potato roasted w/ taco spices, cilantro lime cauliflower rice

• A prepped raw veg or two - pico de gallo (I used store bought!), chopped bell peppers

• One or two proteins - ground beef with taco seasonings

• A fresh, acidic element (usually sauce-adjacent) - lime vinaigrette

• Greens - romaine

I turned these ingredients into amazing taco salads, burrito bowls, “tacos” using romaine lettuce as shells, a mexican soup and a frittata that used up all the odds and ends we hadn’t scarfed down. Looking to replicate this for other cuisines? Here are some ideas:

Easy Italiano - 

• A couple of sauces/dressings - pesto, marinara (I would totally go store bought here w/ Rao’s!)

• A cooked veg or two - roasted broccoli & cauliflower florets, sweet potato “toasts”

• A prepped raw veg or two - chopped tomatoes, zucchini noodles

• One or two proteins - grilled lemon chicken, turkey meatballs (I love Gwyneth Paltrow’s recipe from her cookbook, “It’s All Good”) *bonus for crispy prosciutto

• A fresh, acidic element (usually sauce-adjacent) - lemon vinaigrette

• Greens - arugula

Ideas - spaghetti (zoodles) & meatballs with marinara, roasted cauliflower & broccoli bowls topped with pesto and crispy prosciutto, Chicken “milanese” (grilled lemon chicken) topped with arugula + chopped tomato + lemon vinaigrette, sweet potato “toasts” topped with chopped tomatoes + basil + lemon vinaigrette, pesto + arugula + prosciutto, pureed roasted veggie soup + turkey meatballs, leftover frittata!

Crowd Pleasing American - 

• A couple of sauces/dressings - caesar, buffalo ranch

• A cooked veg or two - roasted fingerling potatoes, roasted brussels sprouts

• A prepped raw veg or two - carrots, celery

• One or two proteins - roasted chicken breast, bacon :)

• A fresh, acidic element (usually sauce-adjacent) - mustard vinaigrette

• Greens - kale

Ideas - buffalo chicken salad w/ roasted chicken + buffalo ranch serve alongside carrots & celery, german potato salad with roasted fingerlings + bacon + mustard vinaigrette, kale caesar salad served with chicken or a fried/hard boiled/jammy egg, simple chicken soup with carrots + celery + chicken + kale, leftover frittata!

My Whole30 MVPs:

While I’m into riffing in the kitchen and coming up with my own ideas, I also love sourcing recipes and finding inspiration. The Whole30 community is full of passionate foodies who are amazingly creative, some of my favorites are:

• The Primal Gourmet - Ronny is incredibly creative and as a soup lover, I find his to be the best. Try Caldo Verde and Mama’s Chicken Soup. I also love the way he demos recipes on his feed, always to the best soundtracks!

• The Defined Dish - I love Alex’s mix of Whole30 and non-Whole30 content. She also has so many awesome Tex Mex (my fave) recipes, I love her green chili beef egg cups for a prep ahead breakfast. 

• No Crumbs Left - Teri’s marinated onions will upgrade any recipe and her heroine chicken is a game changer

• Nom Nom Paleo - after being recommended to me by a friend, Michelle’s “Ready or Not” Cookbook has been the #1 source of recipe inspiration for my January Whole30. I actually followed one of her “a week of meals” at the back of the book recently and loved it all. She has great recipes for building blocks like sauces, proteins, etc. Lastly, her Pot Sticker Stir Fry is to die for! 

It’s also important to have on hand ingredients that can elevate or transform no matter what cuisine or pile of nearly expired ingredients you’re looking at, for me those are:

• Eggs - the aforementioned frittatas, egg cups, hard boiled, etc.

• Herbs & Citrus - I love cooking within the theme of cuisines because then I can narrow my needs down a bit, Italian - basil + parsley + lemons, Mexican - cilantro + limes + scallions etc. (Despite my best efforts I always end up with a watery, smelly old bag of what-was-once a green herb in my fridge, ALWAYS…anyone else?)

• The crunch factor - bacon or prosciutto (compliant prosciutto is SO much easier to find!),  and toasted nuts/seed 

• Stock - in a box, homemade or even better bone broth! I use this to help create sauces, add moisture or build a soup out of components I already have on hand

• A back up plan: my fridge, pantry and freezer are my friends, and I stock them with foods they are low or no prep for when I just don’t feel like cooking. For me those items are Trader Joe’s Frozen Chili Chicken Lime Burgers or Turkey Burgers (TJ’s also has some good compliant pre-made meats in the cooler section also like Pork Belly and Grass-fed Beef Sirloin Roast) compliant jarred salsa, pre-roasted/cooked/prepped veggies, a couple of compliant dressings, compliant turkey deli meat, Tio Gazpacho or Zupa Superfood Soup and Chomps. 

WHOLE 30 PREP

I don’t know about you but I woke up this morning literally relieved that I didn’t have a day of eating decadent holiday dinners and drinking wine ahead of me! I LOVE the holiday season and am a big believer in just letting myself enjoy it - but after w full month of over-indulging I always crave healthy food (and no hangover ha).

This year, I proactively decided before Thanksgiving to take on another Whole30 at the beginning of the year. Thankfully my team is joining in and I think it will be fun to do it with any of you that want to join, too! Even better, my friend and Whole30/Paleo master Mycah Hunter is doing it with us too and will help guide us along the way! Her blog is also chock-full of great recipes and tips. She kindly pulled together a whole post for us with tips for prepping for the challenge and setting yourself up for success - including a sample menu to get you through the first week. I thought I’d share this today, when we all might be feeling a little more motivated than usual to “start fresh” and get prepared to take on the new year!

Lastly, anyone that’s done this before, please leave your favorite recipes in the comments! I can take any help I can get! :)

1. Know why you’re doing Whole30

One of the best ways to follow through on Whole30 is to know why you’re doing it in the first place. Whether you want to identify food intolerances or you really want to lose 5 lbs, knowing your why gives you a filter to make the best choices and stay motivated to achieve that goal.

2. Get the Whole30 book

It’s extremely helpful, straightforward, and it will get you motivated. It also has tons of delicious and easy recipes. If you don’t want to buy thebook, the Whole30 website still has lots of great resources.Whichever you choose, I HIGHLY encourage reading up on the program before getting started.

3. Go shopping

Whole30 founder, Melissa Hartwig, suggests, “Before day one, you should have your first week of meals planned, grocery shopping done, pantry stocked, and you should have some Whole30-compliant emergency food stashed away.” From my personal experience, I also think it’s helpful to buy more vegetables and protein than you think you might need. Here’s a Whole30-approved grocery list that will help get you started.

4. Get rid of tempting foods

This may sound silly, but I think it’s crucial to get rid of any non-compliant food/snacks you have at home (especially things with sugar) before you get started. After a few days into the program, your "sugar dragon" will most likely start to rear its' ugly head and you may find yourself digging around for sweets. You’re better off getting those chocolate chips in your pantry out of sight and out of mind! Here’s a pretty accurate timeline of thoughts/feelings you might experience over the next 30 days.

5. Plan ahead

Planning out your meals for each week will save you time and money! Every Sunday, I map out our meals for the week and make my grocery list. I’m not a huge meal prep person (I work from home and have the benefit of using my kitchen during the day), however I do like to prep our breakfasts and lunches whenever I can. As for dinners, I try to stick to recipes that take no longer than 30 minutes to throw together. Bonus points if I can make the whole dish in one pan. If you need some inspiration, I’ve put together a sample menu plan for the first week below!

Breakfast:

Egg Muffins

Lunch:

Crunchy Detox Salad (omit honey in dressing)

Dinner:

Monday: Whole30 Orange Chicken

Tuesday: Taco Salad

Wednesday: Egg Roll in a Bowl

Thursday: Sheet Pan Salmon with Dijon Cream Sauce

Friday: Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Bell Peppers

FEWER, BETTER: A YEAR'S EXPERIMENT IN MINIMAL CONSUMPTION

I’ve been mulling over this post since early fall but lately I’ve felt more confident than ever that it’s something I need to do. I thought I’d share now in the event anyone is insane enough to join me but I’m diving in headfirst regardless.

I’ve decided to stop shopping for an entire year, starting January 1.

So far I’ve only told a few people and their reactions have been 94% sheer disbelief… a whole lot of “HAHAHAAHAHA” “sure Meg” “Meg love you but there is no way you can do that” and “you will fail” (thanks C ;). Unfortunately most people don’t realize the best way to get me to do something is to tell I can’t :) There have also been a select few that immediately encouraged me and told me they thought it was a great idea. To those people I say THANK YOU. You have no idea what a relief it was to have even a glimmer of support!

My reasons and thoughts about doing this are so all over the place that I think the best way to manage is a Q+A style format. I’ll answer the questions I’ve gotten so far but please feel free to leave any others in the comments and I will add to this post. Here we go:

Why?

I’m tired. And I feel a little bit like a phony. Everything I’ve written about buying quality over quantity is true. And I adamantly follow my “one in, one out” rule and can purge like no one I’ve ever met. But it’s almost to a fault. I’ve figured out that I purge in order to replace. My quest for the perfect everything is quite literally endless and it’s worn me out, financially and mentally. I’ve done a LOT of thinking about this and the best solution aside from licking my wounds that I could think of what to go through all four seasons following my typical purge behavior but without the ability to replace things. What do I actually love? What do I actually need? I’m so obsessed with finding the best version of everything that I’m not sure I know anymore.

I also have less headspace than ever before. When I did some deep soul searching and thought about what actually makes me “busy” I realized a lot if it is my own choices. My weekends are stressful because I have so many things to do, but most of them are optional. I don’t remember the last time my list of errands wasn’t 75% packages to be mailed back, things to return to J.Crew, bills to mail… it never stops. So, I think of this as additive (time regained to focus on things I care about like Nell + C) vs. substractive (no longer being able to shop). I simply need a break.

I’ve come to terms with the fact that my attitude on consumerism in good in theory but not in practice. I spend too much money frivolously and a lot of it is influenced by this very space on the internet. We’ve all contributed to creating a new world of over-consumption and a few weeks ago a light bulb went off for me that telling people to buy things isn’t the only way to have a voice here. True, I won’t make much money, but that’s never been why I’m here in the first place. The benefit of blogging for me is connecting with others and I think I’ll be a lot healthier if I connect with you all over something other than shopping.

Lastly, in preparing for this challenge I’ve done a bunch of research and found that 100% of the books I’ve read give the impression that you have to be a crunchy, outdoor-oriented individual with little interest in fashion or appearance in order to live and consume responsibly. This really bothered me. I care a lot about what I wear and I think that’s ok. I don’t think a desire to be polished, professional, and invest in quality pieces negates your eligibility to commit to sustainability. Of course this is just my hypothesis as I’ve never done this before, but in general I felt like all of the books I read were great but weren’t speaking to me, as a professional working mom that values aesthetics.

What are the rules?

I am not shopping for myself in 2019. I am not making that commitment on behalf of my household. Actually, while C loves to shop, he’s much more responsible than I am and is much less inclined to make impulse purchases. I’d imagine that once we remove shopping from our weekend “activity” list it will have some impact on his choices as well, but that won’t be intentional. That said, we do still have a household to maintain, so here are my rules (influenced in part by Cait Flanders’ The Year of Less):

• No purchasing clothing, shoes or accessories

• Essentials like socks + underwear are allowed but only via replacing ones I have with similar versions (i.e. Gap Body, no upgrades!)

• One purge every season. In the past I’ve rushed to purge when I feel cramped by my belongings and while I clean out a lot, I haven’t been as thoughtful as I should be and end up re-buying versions of things I used to own.

• Similarly, I am allowed to replace an item ONLY if it’s made it through an entire season (and requisite purge) and I will need it for a future season in 2019 (i.e. a pair of nude flats that I wear year-round). C will be the judge if something is actually worn out.

• Capture use of all cosmetics (including shampoo etc.). One of Cait’s key points in her book is that we think we need to stockpile way more than we do - she found she only used a few bottles of shampoo in an entire year, not ten, for example.

• I can replace fully used up cosmetics + toiletries but only with an exact replacement. This is where I can put the good behaviors I’ve learned into practice, as I currently love my makeup routine and have no reason to “try” a million new things.

• Use up ALL skincare before buying or replacing. I have a cabinet full of stuff I felt I desperately needed when I bought it. Therefore I need to use it all up - I have a hunch this will get me through at least the early summer. After that my replacement rule is in effect.

• Nell is growing like a weed - I can buy her her requisite staples at H&M and BabyGap and can order a Mac & Mia box for her once a season. She’s a baby and doesn’t need much more than that.

• Because I’m worried that I will compensate for my loss of shopping for clothing but over-shopping in other areas like home, I’m cutting myself off there as well. The only two things we know we need next year are curtain rods for the living room and another IKEA chair. Aside from that, home is off-limits and the same seasonal purge process will apply. I’m pretty minimal with clutter as it is but I’ve been really inspired by my Danish colleague’s approach to home lately and am excited to further simplify.

Will you blog about it?

I think so? Again I am viewing this as additive vs. subtractive, so if I find that I have more free time and Nell is sleeping and I feel compelled to share on a regular basis I will. If I find that I have more time and blogging/social feels like a chore and/or a temptation, I will share that too, but mostly I will post regularly on instagram.

Will you accept blogger gifts, paid partnerships, or sponsorships?

Yes, but only if they are aligned with my mission in 2019. I.e., if I am looking to replace a worn out button down and a brand offers to send one, I will try it. But typical sponsored posts of things I don’t need or buy won’t make the cut. To be fair, I’m pretty small fish in this world so I’m not overwhelmed with relevant requests, and I say no to most of them already anyway.

I would also be open to working with brands that value sustainable, investment pieces, and quality lifetime investments (like YearlyCo) that help me better commit to my experiment.

What does your support network look like?

Hmmm right now? 1.5 coworkers that think I can do it, and this space. Hoping to gain momentum as I go haha.

Can we join you?

Sure! That’s why I am posting now. I’ve been doing “inventory light” and evaluating any obvious holes in my wardrobe in order to set myself up for success. If you’re really wanting to join me, shoot me an email as I might consider a Facebook group etc. if there is enough interest. (UPDATE: the Facebook Group is off an running! Click here to join us!)

I can’t think of anything else major. Again, if I feel like it, there may be financial and wellness posts along the way. I am doing Whole30 along with my colleagues and Mycah in January, and I think it will be easier to focus on things like that without the distraction of shopping etc.

Looking forward to taking on 2019 with a renewed, simplified perspective on what matters.