Retraining after survival mode- Whole 30, one day at a time

Cooking has been theraputic, both for the physical work that goes into it, and the way it makes me feel inside. I don't think I really understood the latter until this weekend when I had to eat boy scout camp food. It did a number to my body-and although as another mom pointed out, I got quite a few work outs in, I still felt "off".

Prior to this weekend and during it too, I thought about doing another Whole 30. We had awesome results last time, and the crap food at the camp made me feel like I needed a reboot. Yet I'm unsure I could take much more on at this point-I felt like I was in survival mode the past couple of weeks trying to work out the kinks in a new routine.

My friend Kindra has been the source of great inspiration, she has revolutionized how she provides for her family, and it has encouraged me to do the same. Yesterday she posted this great article, Back To School Blues and that summed up how I felt. With the start of school, I felt my focus was on survivial-sort of how it was for awhile when the kids were first born. We haven't completely reverted to how we used to eat (the large pantry is for cooking appliances now and I don't really use a can opener except for my coconut milk) but the type of cooking I was used to doing had slipped. Taking care of myself had slipped. Eating healthy and exercise is a huge part of  self-care for me, and had been for a long time, but I had to take a step back from going full throttle to going half way, and I felt the difference- it was magnified when I was stuck eating food somewhere else with limited options.

So all that said, I'm turning the page and jumping back into the clean eating wagon as much as I can- and not thinking of the Whole 30 as this monster sized goal, but breaking it down meal by meal.

Tonight I needed a crock pot meal that would satisfy all of us, and something that would cook just in the afternoon, since we were home after 1 p.m. I opted for Slow Cooker Chicken with Sweet Potatoes since I had everything on hand, minus the applesauce. In lieu of that, I chopped up apples in the ninga, and then added the rest of the seasonings. The result was a Whole 30 compliant meal that left enough food for lunch for all of us tomorrow.