by Sam Tackeff | Jan 4, 2016 | Challenge, Meal Planning
While I’m not doing a Whole30 this January, I’ve done several rounds of the nutrition challenge in the past, and one of my favorite parts of the experience is the planning process! For those of you unfamiliar with Whole30, it’s a 30 day nutrition challenge created by Melissa and Dallas Hartwig, which focuses on eating unprocessed whole foods, and cutting out inflammatory foods such as sugar and alcohol. For more information, go to Whole30.com, and make sure to get a copy of their book “It Starts with Food”.
1. Plan, plan, plan! Go into your challenge with a plan in mind. I actually use a Google spreadsheet – here’s my sample Whole30 template, feel free to copy and make your own – to plan my month in advance. I’m flexible as I go along, but having done some of the heavy lifting before I dive in really helps me to stick with positive choices.
2. Batch cooking is your friend. Every weekend on Whole30 I plan an afternoon where I make a few staples for the week. I hard-boil a dozen eggs, roast a tray of vegetables, bake some sweet potatoes, and grill a few pounds of chicken or other meats to keep in the fridge. I like also making a sauce of the week, such as mayo, romesco, or chimichurri. Overall I spend about two hours in the kitchen – so I can cut my daily cooking time down to a minimum!
2. Whole30 should NOT be a consistent test of your will power. Build yourself up for success! Clear your house of treats you know you won’t be able to stay away from. If you go consistently to social events, prepare by eating in advance, keeping a compliant snack in your bag, and stay prepared! If you happen to live in a place where social life seems to revolve around alcohol (ahem, Washington DC?), go to the bartender and order a soda water with a lime. (Pretend it’s a gin and tonic if you are tired of explaining Whole30 to people.)
4. Make a list of restaurants where you can get a Whole30 compliant meal, and schedule in at least a weekly dinner out. Eating at home for thirty days can be exhausting if you haven’t gotten used to it. I like having a few options in my back pocket where I know I can get meals that fit with the program. In the past, I’ve done Chipotle, and one of my neighborhood restaurants where I can order a steak or roast chicken, potatoes, and greens with minimal fuss.
5. Make a list of easy pantry meals that you can fall back on if you don’t want the meal that you’ve planned for the night. This is crucial if you aren’t used to sticking to meal plans. Some nights things change – be it your schedule, the weather, your mood, and you find yourself wanting something different. I keep a list of pantry meals or quick fix meals for these evenings so that I’m not left making a bad choice. Breakfast for dinner is often a solution for us. I always keep a bowl of chili in the freezer to pull out in an emergency.
6. Find support. Whole30 can be mentally challenging, and it always helps to do it with a friend. If you don’t have friends or family on board, there’s a great community out there – Instagram (#Whole30) and Pinterest are both good places to find people on the program.
7. How can I Whole30 with a family? This can definitely be a challenge, but it’s doable! The challenge is certainly easiest if everyone in the house is eating the same meals and your spouse is on board – but you can still do it if they aren’t! I’ll usually make a main dish that works for everyone, with optional non-compliant sides for those who aren’t participating in the challenge. Encourage family members to eat treats out of the house, or if they’d like to eat them at home, don’t feel like you have to sit there suffering and watch them while they do it! Take some me-time!
8. A Whole30 challenge does not need to be boring! If you are worried about eating boring chicken breasts and broccoli for thirty days, I promise you, the Whole30 does not need to be that! Many cuisines are naturally Whole30 friendly. I do a lot of Mediterranean tray bakes, Mexican inspired meals, Italian, and Middle Eastern meals. Spices are your friends – stock up at Whole Foods or Penzey’s before your challenge.
9. Rely on some template meals. You do not need to plan elaborate meals each night of your Whole30. Mel Joulwan champions the “Hot Plates” – Protein + Veggies + Fat + Spices + Sauce = Meal. (Lots of good stuff in her cook book Well Fed!) I like doing theme days for inspiration: “egg night”, “soup night”, or “meat + two veg night”.
10. Whole30 does not need to break the bank. Eating organic meat and vegetables and cooking all of your meals at home can be expensive, but it doesn’t have to be. I practice this year round: find your sales and purchase in bulk. I ask the butcher to package meats in pound increments so I can freeze each separately and defrost as I go along. Trader Joe’s Organic Free Range chicken thighs are delicious. Make use of the frozen vegetable – they can be great convenience foods, and are often riper than out of season vegetables. I subscribe to a CSA farm share in the summer time, and a meat CSA all year long to help lower the cost of these higher quality foods. (Plus, you’ll likely be saving money by not drinking alcohol and avoiding treats.)
11. You do not need fancy appliances to do a Whole30. A good pan, sharp knife, a roasting sheet, and a dutch oven are what I use most often. If you do want to get a little fancy, I love my spiralizer for making vegetables for salads, crispy fries, and vegetable noodles.
12. Know what to expect. It helps to go into the challenge with the right mindset. Whole30 isn’t a crash diet, it’s a way to reframe your eating style, and form new healthy habits. That said, it can very be challenging. Cutting sugar and alcohol cold turkey can be difficult. Be prepared to notice your feelings, acknowledge them but don’t fight them, and persevere. It will be hard, but you can do it!
13. Commit to the month. You can do anything for a month! If you find yourself frustrated, take solace in the fact that this is a finite challenge, and you will definitely learn things about yourself along the way. Choose a few new recipes each week, commit to learning some new cooking techniques, and have fun!
For more Whole30 resources, check out these resource posts on a few of my favorite blogs:
If you are interested in any personal coaching to support your Whole30 (or gym nutrition challenge) – I do schedule one-off consultations to help you strategize your month of good eating in compliance with the program! Email me at sam@thesecondlunch.com for more information.
by Sam Tackeff | Jan 3, 2016 | Meal Planning
No Puptron, the cinnamon roll is not for you.
January is usually the month I get back into home cooking after a holiday hiatus, but almost all our meals have been at home since getting our puppy – which is probably better for our health, but driving me a little bit crazy – I definitely need to get out of the house!
And it’s not been exclusively home cooking around here – we’ve ended up eating quite a few convenience-ish foods along the way. Cafe Spice Tikka Masala meals have been on sale for 3.49 at Whole Foods, and I’ve eaten probably a dozen of them. Have you tried them? They are so good! This week on the docket I have a few Blue Apron meals, a few classics, and some seafood. Easing my way into 2016 with some good stuff.
:: The Weekly Meal Plan: Week of January 3nd, 2016 ::
Sunday: chicken & garlic chive meatballs with quick apple & brussels sprout kimchi (Blue Apron) I also have some roasted butternut squash that will go with this on the side.
Monday: butternut squash and gouda casserole (Blue Apron) I’ve been getting a few pasta dishes in the meal delivery kits and am looking forward to trying this one. They typically include some panko breadcrumbs as crispy topping.
Tuesday: cabbage and beef emergency protein a version of this technique that I got originally from Nom Nom Paleo and have adapted over the years. Also perfect for those of you doing a Whole30.
Wednesday: tray baked kielbasa, red pepper and potatoes with a side of sauerkraut. This is a childhood favorite – my dad would cook kielbasa on Sunday mornings with our eggs, and it’s one of my favorite sausages.
Thursday: shrimp braised in tomato sauce with parsley over cauliflower rice a little bit of Greek inspiration. I might add feta to this as well. I use Rao’s Marinara for almost everything around here – it’s really the best jarred sauce on the market.
Friday: Out! Or more likely takeout from one of our favorite neighborhood spots.
What’s on your table this week?
by Sam Tackeff | Dec 31, 2015 | Soups
At some point a few weeks ago I realized that my camera had been sitting in a drawer for weeks on end, and I hadn’t shot any photos other than selfies with my dog on my terrible front facing phone camera. So I’ve been trying to remedy that – here’s to taking at least a photo a day in 2016. (I also had to download a fresh install of Lightroom on my computer to edit them and now I’m scrambling to find the original box with the serial. I refuse to pay for a monthly creative cloud membership… Grrrr… Where is that box?!)
Given that it’s winter, and you might be looking for something warming and relatively healthy after the holidays, may I suggest potato leek soup as a good option to cook this weekend? I had a large pile of leeks, onions, and potatoes on my counter from my winter farm share, and needed to do something with them before they died completely. The leeks were already getting dry on the outside and I was too ashamed to provide photographic evidence. Another resolution this year is to make sure I don’t let produce go to waste. Soup is an excellent remedy!
My kitchen helper is also on duty to provide quick response clean up to any floor mess I create. I’m still a little nervous that he’s chosen the spot directly in front of the stove to curl up, but if I’m cooking anything that might splatter, I use the back burners.
Right, the soup. You’d think this has become a puppy blog. I’ve been eating this for breakfast for the past few days. Have you ever done breakfast soup? It’s actually quite satisfying.
Potato Leek Soup (for allium lovers)
I recommend that you make this a day in advance. Like almost all soups, a night in the fridge gives the chance to mature into a more robust flavor. Soups just taste better when you make them in advance.
Here’s the thing about this soup. I don’t bother chopping the vegetables. I just boil them mostly whole, and the puree with an immersion blender. Admittedly, the potato gets a tiny bit gluey when you do this.
A better way would be to patiently chop the vegetables in sort of bite size or inch long pieces before putting them in the pot. And then use a masher at the end to get a nice texture. But I’m a little lazy. So I don’t. But do what you wish. If you have guests coming, don’t take the short cut?
a knob of salted butter (a few tablespoons), or olive oil
a pound of leeks, chopped
two yellow onions, chopped
3 cloves of garlic
a pound of potatoes, cut into large cubes
2 bay leaves + a few sprigs of thyme.
a quart of very good tasting chicken stock
two cups of water
salt + pepper
In a large pot, melt your knob of butter over medium high heat, and cook the leeks and onion until soft but not brown. Add the garlic, potatoes, bay leaves and thyme. Cover with a quart of your best chicken stock, and add a few extra cups of water if everything isn’t yet covered. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, and then turn down to a simmer, and let the pot go for about half an hour, until the potatoes are soft and the onions are meltingly tender. Turn off the heat and mash with a potato masher, or do as I do, and blend until the big pieces are broken down with an immersion blender. You can eat it right away, but it’s better after a night in the fridge.
Things to stir into your soup at the end: A little bit of cream or buttermilk, but it doesn’t really need it. To serve, swirl around a little slick of olive oil, and a sprinkle of thyme or chopped chive.
by Sam Tackeff | Dec 23, 2015 | Blogging
Every year around the middle of December I make a nice ritual of looking back at my accomplishments – the highs and the lows of the past year. This year was certainly a full one – I made leaps personally and professionally, traveled internationally, cooked and ate a lot of delicious food, took some risks, made better friends with my fear, and feel pretty thankful for where I’ve ended up today. Plus, I get to spend my time with this wonderful puppy of mine!
I’m going to be doing an offsite in the next week for my health coaching and wellness business, and working on goal setting for my digital strategy business. Sometimes you just need a change of scenery to think about your goals and dreams.
Speaking about a change of scenery, you may notice that this site got a little bit of a facelift this week. While prioritizing my dreams for next year, I realized that I want to spend some of my time building affordable starter websites for small businesses and entrepreneurs. I was feeling a little ashamed at how long it’s been since I gave either The Second Lunch or samtackeff.com a facelift – sometimes when you put others first, you forget to take care of yourself!
No longer! Both sites now have a cleaner, streamlined look, and I’ll continue tweaking over the next couple of weeks until I feel like I’m in a good place. In the mean time, if you know anyone who would like a basic website, feel free to give me a shout! sam at thesecondlunch dot com.
by Sam Tackeff | Nov 12, 2015 | Uncategorized
Tonight’s reading – three quarters of the way through Triathlon for the Every Woman by (Swim Bike Mom) Meredith Atwood. She says it, and I’ll say it – YOU can be a triathlete. Yes. You.
Two years I bought my first bike in over a decade and a half, and signed up for a triathlon on a whim. The race itself wasn’t too pretty, but I spent the entire time smiling. I was hooked. Since then I’ve completed a few more sprints, taken a triathlon course at the YMCA, ran a whole lot of running races, and am gearing up for my first 70.3 this spring. Not only do I get to learn about one sport, but I get to learn new things about three, and consistently push myself to places I’ve not been before.
A few small (okay, sort of major things I need to work on this winter)
- bike maintenance (I still can’t adequately change a tire – even though I used to know how to do this)
- new tires – I currently have knobby tires on my cross bike (Bianchi Volpe), which I plan on racing with because it’s generally light enough – but 56 miles means that I really need to get a pair of smooth tires on her!
- nutrition – 6-8 hours of physical activity requires smart fueling. I’d like to focus on real food sources as best that I can, but I know I’ll likely need some liquid nutrition. More research (and recipe testing!) to come
- clipless pedals – no excuses, I’ve just been lazy about this.
This list is only going to get longer as I start thinking more about it.
