Eleven Things I Can't Wait To Consume Once I Finish Whole30

 So I have one more week to go before January is over, along with my first attempt at the Whole30.  Overall, I'm really happy with it.  Yes, it absolutely feels restrictive sometimes, and it's really not that fun going through the Lady Times of Grr and Arg without any chocolate whatsoever.  But I feel...good.  Really good.  Lighter, somehow.  Slightly more awake, even with the simultaneous effort to switch to decaf.  And it's not my imagination anymore, my tummy is definitely flatter and there is significantly less fluff between my skin and actual muscle.

Speaking of fluff, I tested my body fat the other day with a hand-held gadget thing of my mom's.  I had to guess at my weight, as I'm not weighing myself till February either, but I think I guessed pretty well.  The result was 20.0% body fat, which (according to the Internet, bringer of all truth and light) is on the low side (21%-30% recommended) for a "normal" healthy woman, and on the high side (10%-20%) for an "athletic" healthy woman.  Which is about what I'd expect.  I still want to get it tested professionally, but this is a fine benchmark to start from.  It's also the first item on my 101 in 1001 list that I can consider kinda-sorta-halfway done!  Go me!

But even with all the awesomeness that Whole30 is, there are still definitely some foods I dream about.  Here's the short list, with only the ones that actually make me salivate when I think about them:

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1. Turkish coffee.  Equal parts ground coffee and sugar; one tablespoon of each per cup of water, which makes two servings.  Bring to a rolling boil in a very small saucepan, then lift the pan off the stove so the boiling stops; repeat this twice more.  Pour into espresso cups, leaving behind as much of the dregs as possible.  Best when combined with animated discussion about art, philosophy or politics.  

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2. Heavy cream.  Raw, pastured heaven.  Either dribbled into the above or just sipped on its own.  Also, a big ol' glass of plain whole milk that I will chug like there's no tomorrow.  

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3. Miso soup. Nothing but miso, water, vinegar and a minced chive or two.  

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4.  Nanny's zucchini bread. Recipe to follow as soon as I make it!  

these were disappearing like crazy until I wrote that

5. The chocolate-covered cherries that The Man sent me for Christmas, which didn't make it here until right after I started Whole30 and have been sitting in the cupboard crying out to me ever since.  Yeah.  

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6.  Halava.  Pudding-style dessert made from shredded carrots cooked for a long time with honey, cream, butter, raisins, nuts and cardamom.  

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7. Greek yoghurt. With or without vanilla and a little honey.  

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8. Squash soup made with cream.  It's the bestest!  

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9. Cheese.  Brie with almond crackers, crumbled Bleu mixed into salad dressing, Vermont cheddar or Gruyere melted into soup, Wensleydale with cranberries all by itself...  

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10. BOOZE. Thick, malty beer with a head that takes up half the glass.  Woodchuck's holy-mother-of-god-wonderful pear cider.  Irish coffee (with whipped cream, of course!).  Hot cocoa with a shot of raspberry vodka.  Steaming cinnamon tea with honey and peach brandy.  A big healthy glug or two of red wine poured into beef stew, and also in a glass when I eat the stew, and also out of the bottle while I am cooking the stew.

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11. Fresh french fries from the fast food dive next door to my store, dipped in so-many-preservatives-it'll-outlast-the-cockroaches honey mustard dressing.  It's so, so gross and bad and unhealthy, and I love it.


Which is your favorite?  Think I left something out?  Let me know!


-Nelly