The Whole 30: 2nd edition

This is not going to be as fun a report as my nutty foray into the Whole 30 last September. This one is bittersweet.

Oddly, although my Whole 30 experiment was quite successful in that I managed to follow the Whole 30 guidelines for the entire 30 days without falling face first into a box of Oreos, my desire to do so was much, much stronger this time. In short, it wasn't so much the crunch as the sweet I craved.

As someone who's had gestational diabetes - twice - and has only type 1 and type 2 diabetics for direct relatives, I've always been concerned about my blood sugar. My A1C levels have been okay, but they are slowly creeping up. My last fasting blood sugar was 102 mg/dl: not good. I wonder if it would be different this morning. I should have some of those diabetic relatives bring their testing equipment to Thanksgiving. (Do I know how to throw a party, or what?)

In any case, I found that coconut milk satisfied that sweetness craving to the point where I began to need it: in my coffee (which I cut down to one measured cup a day), in my tea, in my hot chocolate (first recipe without the vanilla, which I was thrilled to find completely satisfied my approaching-holidays-have-to-have-hot-chocolate urge), and whipped (!) on my red raspberries (still a favorite). My husband's post workout sweet potatoes induced some "Hot damn! This is good!" shouting. But I also felt a little hungrier this time. I don't know why that occurred, and I find the difference between my two Whole 30 sessions to be worthy of more exploration.

For now, I am quite happy to repeat that the magic worked. I've been sleeping better, working out stronger, lost six to eight pounds, and have been generally satisfied with my unprocessed, unsweetened, and unbreaded diet. While I think the timing of this Whole 30 v.5 will be responsible for many foodgasms at Thanksgiving tables around the country tomorrow, I'm hoping to enjoy the simple tastes of butter slathered on my green beans, turkey seasoned with rosemary and thyme, and bittersweet chocolate in any form administered.

Happy Thanksgiving and Good Eating, dear readers!