It's Time... for a Whole 30-inspired Re-Set!

It's that time folks. As you might remember, back in January of this year, I tried mt first Whole 30 experience- NO gluten, grains, legumes, alcohol or added sugars for 30 Days. It was challenging, it was refreshing, it was exasperating, it was awesome. After the first few days of eating only whole, complete foods, I felt great! When the program ended, I decided to continue in a modified Whole 30 type of lifestyle;

• No gluten
• Added in very seldom rice & other non-gluten grains
• No cheese with the excepts of cottage cheese
• No Dairy with the exceptions of Greek Yogurt
• Added in Legumes

For the most part, I have stuck to this "diet" fairly well- I'd say 95% of the time. I have only had pasta once since January, pizza only twice. I haven't had bread/tortillas since January. I occasionally have a little bit of rice with a meal- maybe twice a month. I have only had cheese (with the exception of cottage cheese) 3-4 times, and I try very hard to avoid milk and dairy, minus greek yogurt. On this type of "diet", I've felt great, I've had a lot of energy, and I've avoided the frequent stomach problems I used to have that came with eating lots of bread, cheese, and other dairy.

Fast Forward to now:
The biggest pitfalls for me in the last 6 months have been, weirdly, "healthy" snacks with gluten. Things like graham crackers and granola bars that don't appear to be too bad for me are little tricksters; I eat one, and then I want another, and suddenly, I've had 7. No one needs to eat 7 granola bars in a day, friends.

I think the reason why these snacks have been my pitfalls is because they are foods on "the edge" of health. Granola bars can be gluten free and low sugar- they still really shouldn't take the place of a meal. Graham crackers have wheat, and they've been the small treat I allow myself, but I can't seem to have them in moderation, and they're a gateway to other sweets that I've been bingeing on lately; cookies, crackers, etc.

Overall, I've still been eating mostly whole foods, but added sugars have crept up bit by bit each week, and little cookie-cracker treats have been appearing more and more. Yesterday, I ate almost a whole cheese pizza. What?!

I feel that a 2nd Whole 30 can function as a re-set for me. I need to get back to basics, and really focus on those staple whole foods that I've gotten used to incorporating my diet, but are easy to replace with cheats, snacks and treats. Since I've done one already, and I have a good understanding about what irritates my body, today I will start a modified Whole 30 journey. I'll essentially be getting back to following my first Whole 30 post-plan:

That means NO:

• Grains 
• Gluten
• Alcohol
• Added sugars
• Dairy, including cheese

Exceptions:

• Oats- only regular or thick rolled oats, no granola bars or added sugars
• Legumes- I just can't eat/afford as much meat as Whole30 requires. Eating legumes will help me get in protein!
• Greek Yogurt- plain, no sugar added
• Cottage cheese- no salt or sugar added

Let's Go!!!

Recipe- Healthy Banana Muffins

Now that I've incorporated a bit of wheat back into my diet, I've been looking for healthy ways to eat it. I don't really want to get back to the "pancakes for breakfast, sandwich for lunch, pasta for dinner" scenario, I just want to add a few whole grains here and there! 

This Healthy Banana Muffin recipe includes whole wheat, oats, and is very low in added sugar. There are no eggs or oil in these babies! If you're looking for a healthy breakfast on to the go, try whipping up a batch of these!

Healthy Banana & Yogurt muffins

Ingredients:
1 cup oats 
1 cup whole wheat or white wheat flour 
1.5 cups mashed bananas (3-4 bananas) 
1/4 cup brown sugar/white sugar 
1 tbsp vanilla extract 
1.5 tsp baking powder 
1 tsp baking soda 
1 pinch salt 
1 tbsp cinnamon 
1 cup applesauce 
3/4 cup no-fat plain greek yogurt 
1 cup other fruit, frozen or fresh 

Directions:

• If you have a food processor, stick the oats in a for a few minutes, until they are broken into small pieces- a bit more of a flour consistency. 
• Add oats, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon into a large bowl and sift together. 
• In a separate bowl, mash bananas, and then add applesauce, yogurt, and other fruit. 
• Mix the wet and dry ingredients together, add the vanilla extract, and bake in a greased muffin tin for 25 minutes at 400. 
• If you are cooking in a bread loaf pan, cook at 60 minutes for 350! 

Enjoy!