What’s the new trend when it comes to weight loss? It’s called the Whole30, and was created by two sports nutritionists: Melissa and Dallas Hartwig. It’s similar to the paleo diet but lasts only 30 days. After that period, you learn to gradually add in food groups such as dairy to see how your body responds.
Think you can’t do it for 30 days? On their site, they note: “It is not hard. Don’t you dare tell us this is hard. Beating cancer is hard. Birthing a baby is hard. Losing a parent is hard. Drinking your coffee black. Is. Not. Hard.”
On the list of foods to avoid for the 30-day period: Sugar, alcohol, all grains, beans, peanuts and dairy. What can you eat? We’ve got the details below, with suggestions. In all cases, the emphasis is on organic, clean, minimally processed foods:
- Meat and poultry: Have leftover strips of chicken? Try using unsalted, unprocessed chicken broth to saute them and serve with steamed vegetables, such as Health Valley No Salt Dded Low-Fat Chicken Broth.
- Seafood, such as Wild Planet salmon.
- Eggs: You can prepare them in extra-virgin olive oil (EVO), which is allowed on the plan, such as Vitacost Certified Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
- Vegetables, which you can prepare by making your own salad dressing of EVO with vinegar, such as Bragg Apple Cider Vinegar.
- Fruit – minimally processed options, such as applesauce, are allowed, such as Tree of Life Organic Unsweetened Applesauce.
- Clarified butter and ghee, such as Purity Farms Organic Clarified Butter Ghee.
- Coconut milk, such as Native Forest: https://www.vitacost.com/native-forest-organic-coconut-milk-13-5-fl-oz-4
- Small amounts of nuts (“more is not better,” say the creators), such as NOW Foods cashews.
A sample day:
- Breakfast: Eggs scrambled in olive oil with tomatoes and avocado, plus grapefruit
- Lunch: Roast beef with sweet potato and lettuce topped with asparagus
- Dinner: Broiled salmon or chicken, steamed vegetables, applesauce topped with fresh blueberries and coconut milk