Whole30 January + A Fabulous Giveaway - A 30 Day Challenge from Simply Sissom. Join me in making and eating quick and easy meals that are completely delightful, BUT that just happen to be heavy on the veggies and lean meats... for the month of January.
Sooooo....
Do you want to try out Whole30 with me for the month of January?
Or, let me put it a different way.. do you want to join me in making and eating quick and easy meals that are completely delightful, BUT that just happen to be heavy on the veggies and lean meats... for the month of January?
Yes????
That's exactly what I was hoping that you would say!
What is Whole30?
Think of Whole30 like pushing the reset button (pretty January appropriate, huh?) with your health, your habits and your relationship with food. It's an opportunity to learn how the foods that you've been eating are actually affecting your day-to-day life, long-term health, body composition and how you interact with food.
Let's also take a second and talk about what Whole30 is not. It is not a program that requires you to count or restrict your calories, weigh-in (in fact it's a big no no), or keep track of your measurements.
Yeah, yeah... that all sounds great, but give me some details.
For a full 30 days, you'll completely eliminate the foods that Science has shown to be the most commonly problematic. At the end of the 30 days you will reintroduce those foods you've been missing, while paying attention to any changes that you experience (aka.. bloat, insomnia, weight-gain, break-outs, etc.). END GOAL: you will be able to make educated decisions about when, how often, and in what amount you can include these "less-healthy" foods into your diet.
What is Whole 30 January:
Let's start with what it is not. It's not a super strict meals- all- planned -out type of situation. It's not a cleanse. It is not a course. The message is NOT that the eliminated foods (grains, dairy, alcohol, sugar, legumes, "junk food" and anything that contains carrageenan, MSG, soy, and sulfites) are bad.
This is just a simple and straightforward challenge to give Whole30 a shot! An opportunity to see what foods might be triggers for you. The challenge is to investigate how your body reacts to certain foods, by first eliminating them and then slowly reinstating them after the 30 days are up.
We will get started on January 2nd and will end on January 31st. During that time you'll see a whole bunch of ALL NEW Whole30 compliant recipes that are quick, easy and made with regular, non-scary real food ingredients right here on Simply Sissom.
What are the rules of Whole30 January:
I could spend time writing out all the details, but in all honesty.. the Whole30 website is the best place to get this info. Spend some time looking over the rules and other resources. It's all laid out for you!
Wait, you can only have black coffee?
You guys, I'm going to keep things honest around here because, well... why wouldn't I? Starbucks, creamer and basically anything that makes coffee taste great is STRICTLY forbidden on Whole30 aaaannnnnnd, I could honestly care less. We all make our own choices, and you can do Whole30 your way. Cutting out my morning coffee is setting myself up for failure (or at least hating life). I'd strongly suggest that you don't let a hang up or 2 stop you from participating. While cheating isn't technically allowed (in fact it's forbidden), I know that I need a little wiggle room I this area in order to be successful. This may not be true for you, but it's true for me.
Remember: make your own choices.
I'd strongly encourage you to create a Whole30 January Meal Plan that's specific to you and the foods that you want to eat.
Here's a PDF that makes that easy ->> Whole30 January Meal Planning Template
And here's what it looks like:
How Do I Join You?
Yay, yay yay! Here's what you can do:
- Read up on Whole30 and begin to formulate a plan for what your meals will look like. I have recently added a Whole30 category to Simply Sissom to make looking for yummy Whole30 compliant meals effortless.
- Make sure that you Sign Up for the Simply Sissom E-mail List so you don't miss any new recipes in January.
- Download this FREE MEAL PLANNING TOOL and start making plans for your Whole30 (planning ahead is key for this to work out).
- Join the Simply Sissom FB Community, It's FREE! I will be jumping in on FB LIVE and adding extra recipes, posting my meal plan for each week and sharing tips and tricks for a successful Whole30 that you won't find on Simply Sissom!
- Talk to me about what you are doing by leaving comments on posts or using #SimplySissomWhole30 on Instagram.
- Comment on this post... because, well... who doesn't want to win FREE STUFF (see below for more details)
What if I Want More Information and Support?
I'm not a nutritionist or doctor or anything else that fits anywhere within the realm of Science. I feel like this needs to be said loudly and repeatedly. Just. a reminder.. I AM NOT a nutritionist.
So if you want more in-depth resources, a stronger knowledge base and specific menu planning support I would definitely recommend reading material that is more formally organized than what is provided here.
Melissa Hartwig (co-founder of Whole30 program) does an excellent job of spelling out everything that you could ever need to know on her website - and provides TONS of delicious recipes that are completely Whole30 compliant in her 2 cookbooks. I own both, and they are each fabulous in their own right.
Whole30 Cookbook: I love how this is organized! If you are someone that loves to cook once and eat twice, this one is for you.
Whole30 Fast & Easy: Another 150 Whole30 compliant recipes, but with an emphasis on simple and easy (kinda my thing).
A Fabulous Giveaway:
GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED!!!
Let's talk about the FREE stuff! I picked up some stuff for this giveaway that I find helpful when making healthy, real food, Whole30 compliant meals.
If you want to enter the giveaway, just leave a comment on this post telling me what you think about giving Whole30 a shot.
You can say "not happening," or "I'm interested," or "bring it on, I love a challenge!"
Here's what the winner will get:
Giveaway will close on January 1, 2017 at 12pm EST. I'll pick one winner by randomly choosing from the list of comments. Giveaway open to U.S. residents only because of shipping, but if you are not from the U.S. and would like to leave a comment , I would still be thrilled to hear from you!
Lastly: If you have a question about Whole30 January, leave a comment!
And if you aren't already signed up for the Simply Sissom email list... get it done! I don't want you to miss any of these Whole30 January recipes!
Marcie says
I would love to accept the challenge!
Bailey Sissom says
Marcie!!!! I'm so glad that you are accepting the challenge:) I think it's going to be great!
Beverly J King says
I am in! Excited to get started!!
Bailey Sissom says
Yay! So glad that you are planning to join!
Sherri VanAartsen says
Is whole 30 similar to the Daniel Fast? I want to try this but hesitate because it seems many of these types of plans do not have "normal" family friendly ingredients. I love to cook but I feel like it will be a fail if I have to cook different food for my family. Can you help?
Bailey Sissom says
Hi Sherri. I've never heard of the Daniel Fast. I COMPLETELY understand the "family-friendly" issue. I have been playing around with some recipes in preparation for Whole30 January and I have found that most meals can be fed to the whole family with a little moderation. For example, tonight I made spaghetti and meat sauce. I put my sauce over some sweet potatoes that I had made ahead and everyone else ate theirs over whole-wheat pasta. Like any diet.. the ingredients can be as fancy as you like, but the recipes that I will be sharing will be basic, recognizable ingredients. That said, there may be a couple items (that you will use A LOT) that might be a little obscure, liquid aminos (soy sauce substitution) and coconut oil come to mind.
Sherri VanAartsen says
Thanks for your encouragement. I have done other healthy eating that after about 3 days my husband is tired of and then he eats his "comfort" foods and is very unhealthy and I go it alone. I am eager to give this a try and get back to healthy eating as I feel so much better. I am hoping this whole 30 can be a lifestyle change and that my family will participate in and be a permentant thing.
Bailey Sissom says
I hope to include lots of family friendly recipes!!!! I hope they get on board with you:) Still working on my hubs, lol!
PATRICIA ROWELL says
This is just what I needed this morning! My family has gone through a very traumatic year with lots of grief and loss. My husband and I had started eating healthy whole foods , basically vegan, in the summer of 2016. Unfortunately, since my mother passed away last January and all the other stressful events took place, we have struggled to keep on track. We want to get back to healthy living! I have several physical illnesses that cannot be treated or cured. I refuse to take pharmaceuticals, so I am in constant pain, fatigued, etc. This is the main reason we had started down the path of eating correctly. I am on board for the 30 days and hopefully my husband will be too! THANK YOU!
Bailey Sissom says
Patricia.. first of all, I'm so sorry to hear about your Mom. I can't even imagine. Second of all, I'm SO excited that you are on board! I'm hoping that getting a group of people together to do this together will help hold everyone (especially me) accountable!!!
Katie havelda-dent says
I'm tempted to join you! I've talked about doing this for a while!
Bailey Sissom says
Join me!
Amanda Rupsch says
I'm thinking about it!
Bailey Sissom says
Yay!!!!!!
Anne says
Totally interested! Off to the Whole30 website now...
Bailey Sissom says
Wonderful! I'm really excited that you decided to join me:)
RW says
Thanks for the information, I'm interested.
Alisha says
I will join in . This will be my second round.
Pamela says
I’m in! Excited to do my second round.
Bailey Sissom says
Yay Pamela! Definitely join the Simply Sissom FB community... we could use the advice of some vets, lol!!!
Kim says
I was looking into doing Whole30 for the start of January and this post is giving me the push I needed. Thank you so much for the encouragement!
Bailey Sissom says
Of course! Saying it out loud gave me the push that I needed too!!!
Holly says
I'd love to join the whole 30 challenge!!!
Bailey Sissom says
Yay!!! Glad to have you Holly:)
Tiffany says
I’m in!! I love a challenge
Bailey Sissom says
Great!!! So glad to have you Tiffany:)
Annamarie V says
I am really interested in Whole 30, I have a couple of paleo based cookbooks called Well Fed and love them and she talks about whole 30 in the books.
Bailey Sissom says
I have the Well Fed Cookbooks too and I LOVE them!
Heather Kidd says
I’m interested in healthier eating. I am going to look into it a little more though. But would love to be able to do something like this.
Bailey Sissom says
Would love to have you join!
Krista Colgan says
I am sitting here eating chocolate covered pretzels, looking forward to 2018 and how I can make it the best healthiest year ever! Going to give this a try! Thanks Bailey.
Bailey Sissom says
So glad you are doing it too! Annnnd... how much do I wish that I had chocolate covered pretzels at my house that I could sit and eat right now!
Cameron says
I did Whole 30 in September and made it about 26 days. I said I did Whole 26! LOL!! But I would like to do it again with a little support. The hardest thing for me was finding family-friendly recipes that my whole family will WANT to eat. Because it was super hard being the only one in my family doing it.
So I'm in!
Bailey Sissom says
I'm so glad you are joining! Definitely hard to feed a fam that IS NOT doing Whole30 (I'm in the same boat). I'm hoping to share a lot of recipes that can be Whole30 and feed the whole family with a few tweaks. For example.. Spaghetti and Meatballs for dinner, but I skip the spaghetti and use a sweet potato instead!
Sherri VanAarsten says
The family friendly part is what is holding me back. My husband agreed to give it a go with me if I can find "normal" food recipes. He doesn't like foods he can't pronounce 😀 I am still struggling with putting a meal plan together to begin
Bailey Sissom says
Hey Sherri! Great news, I'm posting about creating your Whole30 meal plan in about 30 minutes. If you aren't already an email subscriber... def sign up. They will see it first!
Sherri VanAartsen says
Yahoo!!!
Wendy says
Perfect way to start the year! I did whole 30 last January too. Felt great afterwards. Hope to keep some of the better changes around longer this time.
Bailey Sissom says
Great! I'm with you... I'm a little bit famous for being super healthy in January and losing my way somewhere around March!
Katie Burke says
This sounds like exactly what my January needs!
Meaghan Mullins says
I'm interested! I'm going to check out the Whole30 website. Thanks for to healthy recipes and easy breakfast ideas.
DH says
I’ve been following you for a while now, thank you so much for all you post, it’s been a huge help for me and my family!!
Totally on board for a whole 30 January challenge!!
jberry says
I'm interested. I've made some truly healthy eating habit changes in the past 18 months. I fall back often, doesn't help that we travel for work.
Laura Click says
I’m in! I did whole30 last summer and am excited to “reset” with new recipes and meal planning resources!