Has it been a Whole30 Days Yet?

Plateau, boredom, stagnant, comfort... just a few of the words that are coming to mind as we enter the home stretch of our Whole30. I'll talk about where we're at with our budget in a minute, but for now, let's talk feelings.

Favorite Whole30 Breakfast

There has been a looming event that has caused a lot of discussion between Kelsey and I over the past week. We knew about it before we started our Whole30, but talked ourselves into starting anyway because... if not now, when? That event is tomorrow... Rooney's 3rd birthday party (Orange & Pink theme).

Our Whole30 will be complete after lunch on March 3(her birthday is March 2), but the party has been daunting to think about. Not only are we preparing a bunch of snacks, and food that we're not able to eat ourselves, it's just so close to the end that it seems it might be easier just to throw in the towel on day 28 rather than sticking it out for the Whole30 days (see what I did there?).

But, then I've been convicted by this article about the Whole30 timeline which describes near perfectly what we'll be feeling this coming Saturday. (scroll down to Day 28 in the post)

It's not that I crave birthday treats and snack food, my cravings for sugar and junk are gone, but it's more of a comfort/camaraderie thing that's making me long for a bowl of ice cream and a cupcake at her birthday party.

So... We're sticking with it. We owe it to ourselves to see what kind of changes come in the final hours of our 30 days.

I've felt nearly the same since Day 6 or 7, except that after my last post, I realized that I probably have not been eating enough calories either, so I've been trying to stuff my face with extra protein and fat with every meal.

Almost looks like a brat on a bun, right?...

Which is fine, other than the effect it's had on our budget, which I've been lamenting about as we've went through this program. As a general rule, I don't like to be over budget in any category, but our food category has kind of been the bane of my budgeting existence since we first started.

I'm trying to block this month out of my budget memory, take the loss, and start over fresh in March. We're trying to digest what we've learned, what we'll continue to apply to our eating routines, and how the heck we'll fit ice cream back into our diets. (I'm only half joking about the ice cream)

All kidding aside, we're 50% over budget for our Whole30 (gulp), but I think we're seeing the end in sight. I'm crossing my fingers but, I think we may have made our last trip to grocery store(s). It's almost sickening how much is costs to eat this well. Granted, there's probably improvements we could make to our shopping experience, but I'm not sure we'll be able to try this again for awhile...

Whole30 Budget: Part III

Whole30 Budget Part I
Whole30 Budget Part II

Hy-Vee Trip #1 $51

Organic Chicken Breasts (3 packages)
Nick's Sticks (10)
Bananas
Sweet Onion
Sweet Potatoes

Hy-Vee Trip #2 $33

Garlic Powder
Hot Chili Powder
Spanish Paprika
Bananas
Organic Baby Spinach
Sweet Potatoes
Green Peppers
Red Peppers
Cherry Tomatoes
Sugar Snap Peas

Costco Trip #1 $44

Organic Ground Beef
Frozen Strawberries
Avocados
Organic Eggs (24)

Costco Trip #2 ($38)

Wild Planet Albacore Tuna
Organic Eggs (48)
Whole Bean Coffee

Whole Foods $65

Organic Coconut Milk (12 cans)
Cashews (2.85 lbs.)
Bananas
Cherry Tomatoes

Trader Joes $5

Ghee

Part I Spending: $465 Part II Spending: $233 Part III Spending: $236

TOTAL SPENT SO FAR: $934 ($334 over budget)

My Favorite Supper on the Whole30

That's where we're at with our Whole30 budget. We have five more days to go! The end is in sight, and I'm hoping we won't need to run to any store from here on out. Crossing my fingers and toes...

How does eating healthy affect your budget? Any tips on keeping costs low without sacrificing food quality?