The Whole30: Guacamole

A week ago I celebrated my birthday and oh what a birthday it was!

Since my birthday typically falls the week of Mother’s Day, I asked my family for one big gift instead of lots of small ones this year, and they delivered!

I have been wanting a DSLR camera for the longest time. Photography has always been something that intrigued me, but I could never justify spending a lot of money on a camera myself.

The more I began to shift my blog focus towards food, the more I knew I needed to up my photo game, so I’m so happy to finally have one! Now I just need to practice, practice, practice!

Another amazing surprise I received came from a fellow coach friend of mine. He has recently been bitten by the culinary bug and we love discussing recipes, spices and techniques together. He recently picked up the new  The Whole30 book and when he heard I didn’t have it yet AND that it was my birthday, he kindly sent me an eGift Card to Barnes & Noble so I could snag a copy for myself! How freaking sweet was that?!

Thank you, Eric!! You seriously rock!!

Maybe you’ve heard of The Whole30 plan. It’s all over social media and it’s a month-long “nutritional reset” created by certified sports nutritionists Melissa and Dallas Hartwig. The idea is that by cutting out stuff like sugar, alcohol, grains, and dairy for 30 days (meat, seafood, eggs, vegetables, fruit, and natural fats are fine), you can help improve your mood, sleep, energy levels, and body composition. Who couldn’t benefit from that, right?!

Now, I don’t have any plans to begin The Whole30 program right now, but I am finding the principles of it interesting. As of right now, I’m just using this book for the deliciously healthy recipes it is full of. However, I am not completely closed to giving the program a go down the road.

Have you do The Whole30? Did you like it? Share your experiences with me in the comments below!

I couldn’t wait to begin trying recipes from the book and immediately the carnitas and the guacamole jumped out at me. I’m a total sucker for Mexican flavors, so I know that was where I was going to start. It didn’t hurt that my mother had requested tacos for Mother’s Day dinner either….score!

The Whole30 carnitas recipe was actually very similar to one I already use, but mine has more spices and the addition of peppers, so I stuck with my recipe.  (Click here to view the one I use) Next time I’ll add the cinnamon that they use in their to see how that changes the flavor profile because I’m intrigued.

The Whole30 Guacamole recipe was also very similar to ones I’ve made in the past, but I rarely measure when I make mine and just adjust as I go. Being as I was itching to make something from this book, I decided to ditch my daredevil ways and follow an actual recipe for the guac and it was yummy!

Since we are not following The Whole30, we enjoyed this with chips and also on our carnitas tacos…haha!

If you are following the plan,or just watching your carb intake, this would make an awesome topping for burgers, chicken or eggs. It would also be yummy with cut up peppers, carrots or celery. You could even use it place of mayo for chicken salad!

I’m so excited to try more recipes from this book and share them with you! I am DYING to try the Chimichurri Beef Kebabs….they look so good.

Do you already have this book? Have you tried recipes from it already? If so, please share your favorites with me in the comments below!