getting ready, part four

Before we can get all creative with our new food, we need to create some space for it. The best way I know to do that is to clear out the foods we won't be eating in the next 30 days.

A good starting place is the refrigerator. Some of us (I'm thinking about myself here) tend to let open jars and bottles accumulate on shelves in the fridge. I am so used to them at times, I don't even see them. Best practice is to pull all of these out and then one by one decide what goes back. Throw away without regret anything that's old or immediately questionable. Next look at each label, carefully. You don't want anything in there with sugar or its counterparts, ingredients you can't easily pronounce, dairy, grains, or anything that doesn't sound like food. You'll be the judge of what you keep. If it's a product you'll want after your 30 days, put it on a low or back shelf, preferably in a box, so you won't accidentally grab it in the next month.

For the freezer, you'll use the same method, pretty much. If you have frozen dinners or entrees, they really need to go. Give them away if you can. When you're tired or stressed, it's too tempting to grab something familiar just because it's there. And you'll want that space for the good stuff, anyway. Look at anything that has a label with suspicion. It may be fine, but you'll want to be sure. Be ruthless.

In the pantry or kitchen cabinets, remove cans, boxes, and jars. Apply the same criteria you used in the refrigerator. Either put foods you won't be using this month in a box for later or give them away. Be thorough here and you'll be glad later. Read every label or decide to remove anything with a label. I have so much less food in my pantry now, and I have spent most of my life stocking and organizing shelves, feeling good about having lots of cans and boxes and bottles and jars. It's amazingly freeing.

The thing about all of this, too, is that you don't have to do it all at once. A few minutes here and there are perfect. Too much at once is overwhelming sometimes. When you finish, though, you should be looking at shelves that will support you, not tempt you. Let me rephrase that. Any temptations will now be healthy temptations. We want nothing less than every bit of food we serve and every bite we take to be sheer temptation.

Other people living in the house who aren't doing the Whole30? We'll talk about that next time. In my experience, it's a lot easier than it sounds.