Reintroduction Wrap-Up

Foods I found out that I'm sensitive to:
-Dairy, esp. cheese
-Corn

Foods with minimal reaction, though not optimal:
-gluten-grains
-legumes

Foods I've added back:
-more fruit
-more nuts
-oatmeal

Foods I don't want to eat again:
-processed things
-artificial color, flavors

Some foods are still delicious and worth a special treat for the sake of celebration. (Tamales and pinto beans at Christmas, I'm thinking of you!) (and a good cannoli!) But there are so many foods I've consumed in my life out of ease or because it would fill me up. So this experience is helping me to change those life long habits.

Foods that I'm ok with, like gluten-grains and legumes, still made me feel heavy and more tired. Getting away from them gave me greater energy and sleep, which I enjoyed.

Now I plan to stay eating this way, and will consider doing a second Whole30 some time in the next few months. I will probably go for long though, as it takes longer than 30 days to get some things completely out of your system.

Interesting experiment. I recommend it.

Legumes evaluation day

Last Friday I sorta did a legumes evaluation day. Should probably do it again.

I had Chipotle with dinner: chicken (w soy in it) and black beans. I felt ok after, but very gassy. They tasted great.

I should try again sometime, as I was (and still am) fighting a sore throat so not my regular self.

Non-Gluten Grain Evaluation Day

Yesterday, I ate oatmeal baked with banana along with bfast, tortilla chips with Guac from Chipotle with lunch, and corn on the cob with ghee with dinner.

The oatmeal gave me no issues. Win!
The tortilla chips. Oy. They gave me a headache. They made my tummy feel terrible. Which makes me almost cry.
The corn on the cob also gave me a slight headache and tummy aches. Like lead in tummy.

It was revealing. And sad how bad these favorite "not so bad" foods are for me.

So I re-read parts of It Starts with Food and re-learned about why these foods aren't good for me. Sigh. But it also strengthened the arguments for why I should avoid them which gave me more determination to diversify my veg intake.

Whole9's Grain Manifesto: http://whole9life.com/2013/02/grain-manifesto/ 

Off-roading Post-Whole30

I've been eating decently. I mean, not quite the square meals like on Whole30, and more nuts and fruit. And less veg in general. But otherwise, decently.

Almond butter! Oh my. I'm in love.

Dates! They can be sugar bombs, so I kept myself from having any yesterday. But yum!

Gluten Results

On Saturday I ate a chocolate croissant with breakfast and a wheat bagel with lunch.

I was entirely surprised that the only side effect that I noticed was feeling tired. No other issues. Will still try to stay away from bread, but even the two days after didn't react any way in particular.

More dairy reactions

I'm glad the re-introduction phase of Whole30 includes 3 days between food groups. I need the recovery time. At least for dairy, I have.

After my dairy evaluation day I woke the next morning super dehydrated. And I've had a low grade headache off and on since. Booo.

Not sure if this counts me as officially intolerant, but I'm not interested in making dairy a frequent part of my diet.

UPDATE: and a ZIT! sheesh. on my chin. showed up the morning after, right on my chin. 

My Dairy Evaluation

Today the research begins! I've chosen to go along pretty closely to what they recommend for Reintroduction. Today I begin with my Dairy Evaluation.

1: Leftover fritatta w ground turkey and veg, 3 dates w almond butter (treat!), some cherries, and chobani vanilla greek yogurt, peacan pieces

• felt heavy after this meal. but ok. I could take or leave yogurt.

2: turkey rolls, mini sweet peppers, carrots, green olives, caprese salad with fresh Mozzarella cheese

• the cheese was so creamy and lovely. But I slowed into a foggy state. turning into a gross headache. throat feels funny, like I've been congested, kind of burning feeling. oh boy.  headache worsened later on and heart burn, too.

3: 2 ckn thighs, squash, sw potato, green olives. free small cup of Bruster's choc chip ice cream.

• heart was still burning from lunch. Ice Cream tasted really amazing and creamy. after I ate it my mouth felt like it was burning. flemmy throat. low grade headache and more heartburn. Oy. Pity.

Whole9's Dairy Manifesto is here: //whole9life.com/2013/06/the-dairy-manifesto/

Day 31: The Results are In!

After eating for 30 days: no dairy, no grains, no legumes (including peanuts or soy), no sugar, no artificial things…

• Clothes fit better!
• Before/After photo have a noticeable difference in my waist. Met one of my goals!
• Lost 4-8 pounds. (weighed a couple times on day 0)
• Skin is “brighter”? Shiny in a non-greasy way. Not entirely cleared up but getting better. I knew going in to this that it takes more than 30 days to get dairy and gluten entirely out of your system. But encouraged by the results.
• More confident. Sounds funny to me, but I think it’s a combo of the increase in energy and knowing that I’m doing good for my body. This has resulted in wearing pre-baby clothes for my husband around the house. Fun.

This was my first whole30. There are several things I could do better at. But I wasn’t even sure I could do it beforehand. Now that I’m over that, the next time through I’ll have different goals (water intake, sleep, exercise) and more variety for my meals. And in between now and the next time, I plan to mostly eat this way.

Day 30: What I learned

What I learned from my first Whole30

I don’t do the official weigh in and before/after photo until tomorrow, day 31, but with or without drastic results there, I have learned some important lessons.
• My experience confirms the habit research. It is easier to go cold turkey on sugar, dairy, etc. than to just cut back. And I did it. I really did it.
• Grains/bread/rice are not necessary to fill out a proper meal and get full. Eating good fats (olives, coconut, avocado) and lots of veg can fill you up. The protein wasn’t an issue for me, but getting enough veg can be.
• Check ingredients. Soy and sugar are super prevalent in even the most innocent looking things like salad dressing, marinades, seasoning packets, rubs. So unnecessary and not good for us.
• Though it took work, especially lots of planning and lots of washing dishes, the Whole30 and eating well is entirely worth it for the sake of my health. I recommend it to anybody interested.

Day 27re: filling up and other things

I've discovered I graze too much. The Whole30 template says 3 full meals and when I do it, I really don't need the snacking in between.

Another notion debunked: that only grains are filling. Like I need bread or rice to balance out a meal and fill me up. Nope. The good fats are a must. And adequate amounts if veg, too. Truth be told, I still think I need to keep upping my veg, it's the part if my meals I have to work at hardest. There's a good long term goal: learn more variations and flavor for adding more veg to my life.

Read the reintro chapter tonight. Fun to think about. On my non-gluten grain day I think I'll get a Chipotle bowl w brown rice and tortilla chips. Heh, oh wait... The meat has soy. Gotta think this through....then how bout the legume day and get the salad w black beans? heh, fun.

On a different note, I'm nervous about hidden oils or small mistakes I've made that didn't allow my body to get full benefit. The scallop w butter and 4 grains of rice... Did they keep my body from really getting full benefit? The dates... Was it too much sugar? I'm not seeing drastic changes. Wish I had measured. Hopefully my before and after photos will help me see change. Maybe my skin will clear up on day 29? Sigh.

Day 25 Random thoughts

Just had this for breakfast...yummo! what a treat! http://paleomg.com/s...akfast-patties/ They crumbled apart, but I still loved it.

I used to judge those photos of bento lunch boxed with 6-8 different kinds of food for lunch. But wow, it really helps and makes a difference to have a variety of textures, not just colors. and variety in all forms, just really makes a meal more fun. Shame on me for judging.

Day 24 Cranky town again

I think I'm grumpy because while I like the effects of the Whole30, the effort it takes is getting to be a pain. I sound so lazy. I do the cook up on Sundays, but most of my meals require sauteing which requires a pot to clean. Blah blah Blah, forgive my complaining.

Also, I ate some dried dates at a friends house and they were AMAZING and I want them so badly. Bring me all the dried DATES!

Doh! and I tested a few grains of rice today for my mom who was feeling ill. Booo!!

(somebody later suggested that the sugar in the dates might have made me cranky. oh boy.)

Day 21 Beach Trip Summary

I survived our beach trip being compliant. well, a few snags, but moving forward trying to not get bogged down by them.

Snag #1: ate a scallop sauteed in butter. forgot the ghee at home, the local store didn't carry it. husband separated out the butter when cooking fish but not the scallops. felt terribly guilty after eating it. felt a lil funny but wasn't sure if it was the dairy or the guilt. I think my husband finally "got it" that I'm trying to get all of these foods out of my system, so no, I can't have just a little even one time.

Snag #2: one family member seemed to question my eating through most of the trip. the family in general didn't like how much I questioned the waitress when we were out getting seafood. I was gracious and she was trying to be, too, but didn't get my order right (fish cooked in butter instead of olive oil)

Snag #3: did some grazing, eating with family. compliant foods like almonds and pistachios and blueberries.

We planned all of our meals ahead of time, so I had good food and the family was helpful about separating out portions for me (hamburgers w/o bbq sauce mixed in, kebabs w/o dressing marinade).

I guess I'm still a bit frustrated at how hard it is to get food when at a resteraunt. I know there are some restaurants that make it easier, but I just don't trust em. Even the double portion of green beans that were supposedly "just boiled" came out with bacon on them. I had a few then gave up.

Day 15 Half way mark

Half-way there! Day 15 is done and I'm still compliant!

I won't bore you with the update of all of my meal plans. But I'm very happy to report that I'm on track with no cheats.

It hasn't been as hard to pass up food. My mind has been made up, I don't waver about it. But the hardest part has been just wanting more variety in what I eat.

So here's one thing that's working for me: Try to get at least 5 different textures/colors/foods on my plate at each meal. For example, sauteed ground pork, mini sweet pepper cut in half (like a boat or shell to fill), sweet potato, lettuce pieces, cherry tomatoes, green olives. The variety of flavors and textures makes this incongruous selection of foods work quite well together.

I made it through two days of 8-hour meetings, with junk food on the side. My dad grilled up a bunch of fajitas another night and was kind to find seasoning that worked for me. Plus he grilled lots of veg too, yum! Soon I'm headed to the beach with family. We've planned all of our meals and I'm hoping my in-laws are careful with seasonings after I already had to turn down lots of their food earlier this month because of sugar in things like salad dressing.

I'm less tired, ready to roll when I wake. hoping my tummy deflates now that it's done using sugar and grains for fuel. Hopefully the fat supplies will be put to use.

Day 9 missing more fruit

Day 9: Tuesday July 9
 

1: 2 eggs over easy + sweet potato (should have added a fat, i missed it, was hungry late morning)

2: Packed lunch: 2 chicken thighs + salad + several sugar snap peas + carrot + homemade ranch dressing +1/2 can olives + cherries

snack: sugar snap peas, carrot, mini sweet peppers

3: ground beef + string beans + tomato + 1/2 avocado

snack: unsweetened coconut flake, 2 small cubes watermelon
 

-i miss more fruit so so much. i could leave dairy behind, even cheese. but fruit I adore.

Days 7,8 Cranky-ville

Day 7: Sun July 7

1: scrambled eggs, orange cherry tomatoes, red and yellow sweet peppers, 1/2 avocado, blue berries and raspberries w unsweetened coconut flakes and slivered almonds

2: chicken thigh, sugar snap peas

3: halibut cooked w ghee, asparagus

I was wiped and cranky. It was my cook up day and it was taking forever. Plus husband wasn't crazy about grocery bill and I was tired of it all. But I kept on course.

I offered my toddler a piece of corn and when she turned it down I habitually put in my mouth...almost. 

Hoping for the Energy soon.

Day 8: Mon July 8

1: 2 scrambled eggs + sweet potatoes + some blueberries
2: sauteed ground beef + zucchini, sweet pepper, other veg + olives
3: sauteed ground pork + salad + carrots + sugar snap peas + homemade ranch dressing

Reflection: Woke up this morning to a dream that I was digging through a drawer and dug out and ate a brownie. odd. but I woke up then and didn't feel guilt. heh.

Still have one foot in cranky-town. Still wiped.

Drank unsweetened peppermint tea today and it was delicious! But then followed it with another tea and it gave me a headache...probably something clove related in there. Then tried a second peppermint tea, different brand, and it gave me a headache, too. Still, unsweetened tea may be my answer for helping me drink more water. Happy for that.

Tomorrow and Wed I go in for some teacher summer meetings. So it will be a bit different atmosphere, heh.

Day 6 still going...

Day 6

1: sweet potato and 2 scrambled eggs. few blueberries

snack: mini sweet peppers, sugar snap peas, 1/2 can olives

2: zucchini and red pepper sauteed with gr beef, topped with a few slivered almonds (which tasted so sweet!)

3: sauteed zucchini and red pepper with chicken thighs, 1/2 avocado

reflection: didn't notice the angry days yesterday and day before, according to the timeline. but husband said he noticed. uh, heh. would love a bowl of nuts and fruit.

Had 2 Whole Foods employees reading labels to try to find sugar free bacon. Nope, none there. Bought some ghee and some unsweetened coconut flakes there. which i'd like to scarf down this second but I haven't opened the bag.

I'd like my daily dose of fruit, too, but I'm trying to "change my relationship with food", said in a sarcastic tone because I know I should, but dang I want those sweet blueberries we picked the other day.

still low energy, looking forward to that changing. on the bright side, my taste buds think everything tastes amazing now that they've been away from sugar for a bit.

Day5: turning into an olive

Day 5: Fri July 5

1: 2 spinach/meat muffins, 6 blueberries
snack: mini sweet peppers, sugar snap peas, 1/2 can black olives
2: Ground Pork, 1 can green olives, salad, carrots, lemon-mayo dressing
3: egg salad w homemade mayo (made a new batch), carrots, green olives, turkey, blueberries, raspberries

It's obvious to me looking at this that I need to buy more avocados before I turn into a big olive. I also need more variety of vegetables. Glad to be going to the farmers market tomorrow to help with that.

Starting to meal plan for next week so I can do the grocery shopping. I should wander around the forums, blogs, and Well Fed to find some fresh inspiration.

Day 4: Uneventful 4th of July

Day 4: Thurs July 4

1:2 scrambled eggs, sauteed sweet potato and onion, some blueberries (freshly picked=so sweet!)

2 mile walk with the family

2: big salad with lime cumin dressing (w homemade mayo), leftover beef and green bean hot plate, 1/2 can black olives
snack: hard boiled egg (undercooked, boo)

3: 6 oz ground pork (yum!) and roasted sweet potato and onions with balsamic vinegar, 1 small avocado, 3 mini sweet peppers, some blueberries
 

Reflection: I think I need to keep pushing to make sure I'm getting enough veg so that I fill up. The things I miss the most: more fruit, croutons on my salad, tortilla chips. The fruit especially, is hard. My daughter eats a LOT of fruit, as do my in-laws. I miss it the most.
 

The hardboiled egg was a much more filling snack. But I guess I undercooked the lot of them. So...egg salad tomorow! Sounds like a nice change, actually. The pork tasted really good. Maybe it was the coconut oil, which I don't always use if my husband will be sharing ...he's allergic to coconut. What a nice change from ground beef!

Day 3 Day @ Aquarium + Cook Out

Day 3: Wednesday July 3

1: 2 muffins: ground turkey and spinach. 2 slices apple.
snack: carrot, 1/2 can green olives, mini bell peppers
2: tukey, 1/2 avocado, carrot
3: Cook out @ in-laws. 2 steamed crabs. salad. 1/2 breast brined "best chicken ever" from Well Fed. 6 amazing cherries. strawberry.

Hardest day yet (3 days, I know...i need to toughen up) especially at the cook-out. My very well-intentioned in-laws cooked several things thinking I could eat them. But the seasoning on the burgers? Sugar was 2nd ingredient. The envelope "home-made" dressing on the salmon? 1st ingredient=sugar. the amazing looking chicken thighes were basted in bbq sauce. It was a fight in my head. My brined chicken came out too salty for my taste. I just wanted a hambuger potato bun to soak up the salty taste.

I know this is when its supposed to get hard. and it's getting there. I keep thinking I'd be more satisfied with a few carbs... the hamburger bun, some of the grilled corn. Maybe it's just psycological. Maybe I need to be sure to eat more veg carbs like sweet potatos. Not sure. Right now slathering something with mayo sounds like it might help. And I'm not a mayo person, but the homemade stuff is decent. Maybe though that's my salty mouth talking, as it's still feeling salty form the brine a few hours ago.

high five to myself for not finishing the granola bar for my daughter or not nibbling on corn I cut for her off of the cob even though it smelled amazing. And she's almost 2, and does this really sweet sharing thing, handing me a tortilla chip today to share with me. Very sweet. And I didn't eat it but loved the gesture.

Day 2

Day 2: Tues July 2

1: 2 eggs over easy w sautéed Sweet Potato and onion
Snack: hand full of blueberries while picking them. 2 raspberries
2: leftover beef + broccoli. Mini bell peppers, a few sugar snap peas, 1.5 cans of green olives
3: hot plate: beef w green beans, tomato
Snack: 1 carrot

Reflection: low grade headache most of the day. Groggy most of the day. But positive attitude.
I think I'm in love with olives.
Silly: we were watching a competition TV show, and I got nervous for the competitors. I really wanted to eat some multi-grain chips! Or something for the anxiety! I've been trying to hydrate more because of my headaches, but I needed more so I went to find a carrot. It did the trick. 
And re: carrots...the organic whole ones are so sweet! My toddler likes ours but when we were at a friends house she didn't like it. I wonder if the organic has anything to do with it. 

Day 1.

M1: 2 muffins=ground turkey, spinach, egg. 1/2 avocado
M2: salad w turkey rolled & cumin-lime dressing (made from homemade mayo), black olives
Snack: mini bell peppers, carrot, green olives
M3: beef n broccoli hot plate w yellow bell pepper, whole avocado

Reflection:
- loved the cumin lime dressing.
- this salad wasn't filling enough. Need more protein and fat probably. Need to add protein to my snack, too.
- beef n broccoli was nice and spicy, picky husband approved! But the Chinese 5 spice in the stir fry sauce has cloves in it, which gives me headaches.
- this afternoon I started getting a headache. Still have it. My guesses: early sugar/other stuff withdrawal, dehydrated, the cloves from dinner.
- and the mind games begin! The habits are calling my name and i'm working to deny them. Plus I'm tired from staying up too late last night.
-overall, success.

Day 0: Cook up

I'll post my summary of each day of my Whole30. I'm also posting this on the forum.

My first Whole30 is my summer project. I've been researching and planning for months. I'm a high school art teacher with a skeptical husband (mostly re: food prices) and a spunky 22 month old baby girl.

Day: 0

Today (Sunday June 30) I did my first Cook-up day.

• Cooked up protein
• chopped up veg
• made meat-spinach muffins from Well Fed
• bagged snacks of veg and olives

Reflection: I feel mostly prepared. DIdn't go crazy with forbidden foods. I think I'll miss tortilla chips most? And sugar added into things. And my brown rice, black beans, and corn in my Chipoltle.  It's embarrasing to admit that my Cook up took 5 hours today... I can be slow when recipes are new...or when I don't thaw the spinach enough beforehand...noted.

meal planning wk 1

Prep mode

Meals all planned and strategized for week 1. -check
Grocery list for week 1. -check
Attempted to recruit friends and family. -check
Working some new recipes into this week's rotation. -soon (tonight and tomorrow)
Asking questions on forum re: replacements for husband's allergies. -not yet
Call Mom to gauge her interest level so far. -soon
Enjoying some forbidden foods, without going overboard. -check
Farmers Markets. -try again today
Take measurements, before photos, skin photos. --> before Monday
Cook-Up for next week --> Sunday

I'm looking forward to starting this thing!

A very articulate log of a journalist's Whole30

Margaret Brinson, of the Jackson Sun's Whole30 week 2
http://www.jacksonsun.com/article/DQ/20130617/LIFESTYLE/306170011/Columnist-Cravings-dissipate-natural-foods-satisfy-Week-Two-Whole30

Prep mode

Just returned from a business trip to Salt Lake City where I ate convention center food all week. It was an interesting experiment to begin moving towards Whole 30 goals. But honestly the quality of the food was kind of "eh", so I relied on their Ceasar salad at lunch and dinner and oatmeal at breakfast. But no guilt here, it was a good hard working trip.

I also spent much of my plane time in both directions re-reading and meal planning using the book Well Fed.

So much of this looks like it will depend on preparation. I've probably said that several times here...

Food goals for this pre-week include:

• finsh week 1 meal planning
• try out Wednesday Shady Grove Farmers Market
• finish assembling Week 1 grocery list
• try out a 1-2 new recipes for husband's sake
• get word out to more friends and try to find a couple that might want to join me

First Well Fed recipe

I'm practicing and trying to ease my husband into the reality of at least my meals changing, which I hope he'll adopt at least part-time.

I made my first "hot plate", in a Greek version. Husband approved, mostly. We both thought that the many seasonings I added didn't quite come through.

But I can foresee really making a habit of her hot plate system, batch cooking meat and veg on the weekend and throwing it together on week nights.

Reading Well Fed

This weekend my copy of Well Fed finally arrived from amazon. It might be a game changer. It might be the biggest reason a true Whole30 experiment is successful for me. It's teaching lots of practical tips for food prep, both how to do a big batch prep on the weekend, and lots of tips for daily food prep of fresh veg and dressings and meats.

So yes, I am a fan.

Farmers Markets

Wandered into my first farmers market of the season. I'm not good at impulse buying, so I asked for business cards and if some vendors minded if I took photos of their price list. Came home and started recording prices for grass fed beef and lamb.

Meanwhile, I'm asking my husband to price grass fed beef at Costco and other stores he frequents, since he does the bulk of the grocery shopping for the family.

W30 TJ's and Costco

Really helpful post on the form re: what folks buy from Trader Joes and Costco to be Whole30 compliant.

Update: another helpful blog post re: Costo paleo-friendly fare.

W30 travel tips

Here are some travel tips I found on the Whole30 forum. Helpful for my upcoming trip to Salt Lake City. Though I won't quite be officially beginning until after then. Though part of me says "why not start sooner"....hmmm.

Read this when I'm a couple days in

It's crazy how I almost fear doing this. Can I really go that long without bread? without sugar? It's like the sugar dragons are breathing down my neck and I haven't even tried to slay them yet. yikes.

Well here's an article, "How to survive your first Whole30", that I should read when I'm a couple days in. Noted.

reset

What is the Whole30?
"Think of it as a short-term nutritional reset, designed to help you restore a healthy metabolism, heal your digestive track, calm systematic inflammation, and put an end to unhealthy cravings, habits, and relationships with food." from page 204 of It starts with Food by Melissa Hatwig and Doug Hartwig

Chapter 17 explains why it's 30 days. Basically, its the minimum to establish new habits. But they advocate no cheats, no slips, and no gradual weaning. they explain on p202:

"Despite what you may believe, habit research shows dramatic changes are actually easier for us to manage, both physically and psychologically." They go on to explain the brain science behind their claim.

And, "Simply limiting added sugar ("I'm going to have only one sweet per day") leads to incessant battles of willpower, continued cravings, and small sugar hits, which keeps your brain focused on sugar." Yikes. Why is it so scary to give up sugar completely?

They have a whole chapter (ch 4, Your Brain on Food) about the psychological slavery (my word not theirs) that sugar holds us to. I think that chapter has been one of the biggest influences to do this.

I'm not sure how much of a book is legal to quote online. I'll look into it. (I wouldn't want to keep somebody from buying the book. It's worth the $10 kindle purchase!) But I'd like to take notes and share quotes here on this blog to help keep me motivated and think through my eating. 

So. I need a reset. I desire real habit change. Lets do this.

the other BIG reason

can't believe I forgot this. But my other major motivation for doing the Whole30 is to slay my sugar dragons. and I'm a bit afraid.

My goal is to get rid of cravings, mindless noshing, and the unsatisfying cycle of eating more sugar and not being satisfied followed with more eating of sugar.

why this came about

Why should I make such a big change? the benefits I hope to get out of it:

• overall long-term health
• lose fat around my organs, where our family collects it, and where it's most dangerous
• clearer skin
• more energy
• better sleep

Coco-mania

Today I was picking up some groceries from Trader Joe's (with the regular husband directive: no extras! he knows I love the place). They now have coconut oil in a spray. Noted! And when I asked about coconut meat or flakes, non-sweetened, the helpful crew member checked into it. The computer said they're sold out at the store and the warehouse won't be getting any until June!

how this came about

My sister-in-law, Christine, shared some recipes on Facebook from Just Eat Real Food. I liked the look of them so I pinned a few and eventually started following them in my own news feed.

I think that's where I read somebody citing Whole30. I visited the site a couple times over the course of a couple months. I later became interested in the 21 Day Sugar Detox. But when I started comparing, the Whole30 seemed like a better fit for me.

[what is Whole30? here's the short version: http://whole9life.com/start/ ]

Last week I finally bought the book and devoured most of it immediately. Last night I started taking notes for myself about a meal plan and what this might really look like.

I have so many thoughts that I figured a blog might be a good place to store them. Mostly for myself, but also for friends who are interested. I'm also hoping to find a few friends to do this along with me to help with motivation.

So here's the plan. I'm a high school teacher. I want this to be my summer project. I need some time to get a real meal plan down on paper. I'd like to work a few of the meals into my family's rotation. My husband is skeptical, so I also need to strategize how to not spend big money on the food changes. I hope to start a couple weeks into summer, maybe July 1.

So...who's in?