getting ready, part three

So now we've got our favorite frozen veggies, a few cans of tuna or salmon or whatever sounds good (and is safe), some aromatics that keep well on the counter, and a few of our favorite seasonings. Bottom line to make this easy and do-able is that you need your favorite everything. Favorite everything Whole30 compliant, of course.

I'm totally serious about this. This simple little adjective, favorite, changes everything. You can do the Whole30 and get great results without it. You can force-feed yourself cabbage even if you hate it. You'll get the results. It will not be fun. It will not be easy. If you like chicken thighs, do not buy chicken breasts. If you don't like the skin, don't eat it. If you don't love steak, skip it. There are so very many choices in meats and vegetables, that there is just no good reason to choose the ones that make you sigh with apathy. If money is an issue (when isn't it?), still go with what you love. Buy less. Buy chicken instead of lamb if need be. Every meal need not be lobster to be a treat. If you love it, it's a treat.

An important, extremely important in my opinion, distinction here is that stuffing yourself with high-end protein is not the point of this program. You'll eat way more vegetables than meat if you're following their directions. That is why your choice of vegetables really is critical. Some days I could eat three artichokes a meal and be happy. Other days the idea of an artichoke makes me yawn. I try never to eat boring and encourage you to do the same. That does not mean expensive. If you're buying in season, you're already ahead in the price game. If you buy produce you don't love, you are much less likely to actually eat it. That simply doesn't work, though your compost pile may thank you.

So, call it a cop-out if you will, but I will not give you a shopping list of veggies to buy. I don't know what you love. I will buy leaf lettuce, red butter is my favorite, broccoli, cauliflower, baby spinach, tomatoes (even though they're out of season), scallions, carrots, celery, and parsley. That's not overly exciting; it's just what I love this week. Buy what you love. Whatever you do, though, don't bring home 50 pounds of produce with no place for it to go. If you can shop every few days (I can't,) that's great.

Storage and prep ideas, as well as cleaning out the old stuff, coming up soon.