Volume 1, Issue 6
Why I Love The Whole30, That Has Nothing To Do With Food
For the month of January, I’m doing the Whole30 — 30 days of eliminating grains, dairy, sugar, alcohol, and legumes from what I eat.
I’ve always loved the Whole30 simply on a personal level. I loved the benefits — more energy, better skin, fewer stomach issues. But after some time following @whole30, @whole30recipes, and @melissu (the creator of the Whole30) on social media, I stan the Whole 30 for a completely different reason.
I just respect the hell out of these people and how hard they work to make the Whole30 inclusive for everyone.
Like nearly everything else, the ease of changing your diet and eating healthier has a strong relationship to privilege.
I’ve come to so admire all the work the official Whole30 team does not only to make their program more accessible for anyone...but also to actively support and make a comfortable space for disadvantaged groups.
Example A: If you are doing the January Whole30 you have a community of people doing it alongside you. You can do the program at any time, but a few key times a year (like January or September), the Whole30 team will host official start dates and help you along with motivational emails, recipes, discounts to partner companies, and more. The Whole30ers actually care about people finding success in the program and are constantly doing things to make it easier. A classic mantra from them is “There is no such thing as a perfect Whole30.” I love this — it appeals to people on all levels, whether you find the Whole30 a big challenge or a small one, whether you have the time and resources to whip up a ton of different recipes or not.
Example B: The day it was announced that Joe Biden won the presidential election, Melissa Urban posted a picture of the “Biden Beats Trump” headline on her Instagram. She lost almost five thousand followers that day, and her post got a ton of comments from people saying she should “stick to food” or that she was “bringing politics into it” and had lost their business (I followed this small scandal closely at the time. She also had a lot of people defending her in the comments). Melissa posted a video the next day saying that she and the Whole30 would continue to be vocal about their values. A quote from that: “I want everyone in the whole world who wants to do a Whole30 to be able to do so...that means that you need to see yourself represented in our community and that you need to feel that we as a community and I as a leader will fight for you just as hard as I fight for anybody else. The bar to join our community is quite low...all you need to do is know that people who don’t look like you, who don’t love like you, whose bodies don’t do the same things that your body does, that they deserve the same basic human rights that you or I have. That’s it.”
Example C: The episode “I Am Racist” of Melissa Urban’s podcast Do The Thing. As Melissa herself puts it, she has a “largely white, largely female audience” and so she shares “some of the introspection and self-awareness exercises I’ve done in my own life to help me be a better ally.” I personally felt like this episode hit some really good notes, and think that this lady just walks the walk.
I already loved the Whole30 before, but this year has made me so, so happy to do a program with integrity through and through. It’s oddly added to my commitment and motivation — I love being a part of this community and I’m so glad I can feel good about my involvement there. It’s rare that so many of the things/companies/products we enjoy in our personal lives also practice values we can stand behind...though I hope we are moving into a time when that is the case less and less.
Crispy Sheet Pan Gnocchi + Veggies
This gorgeous photo by Joe Lingeman
This is known as the random recipe I found off the internet that blew my socks off. If you are a gnocchi fan, or perhaps a Trader Joe’s Cauliflower Gnocchi fan, then this is the recipe for you.
This Crispy Sheet Pan Gnocchi and Veggies popped up the other day when I opened my browser (sometimes the algorithm likes to spit links at me it knows I’ll like). I gave it a whirl, to great success!
Who knew rosemary, grape tomatoes, and bell peppers roasted at a high heat would turn out so delicious? I usually dislike pastas that don’t have a sauce, but the caramelized peppers and blistered tomatoes gave this dish enormous flavor.
The second I finished eating it I wondered how soon it would be acceptable for me to make this again.
I made mine with homemade paleo cauliflower gnocchi. I skipped the basil and cheese at the end — it didn’t need it! Don’t skimp on the rosemary, that’s the best part.
Please make this and tell me what you think!
Crispy Sheet Pan Gnocchi and Veggies From The Internet
(Original recipe linked here at getpocket.com)
1 pound fresh, shelf-stable, or frozen potato gnocchi
1 (12-ounce) bag mixed baby bell peppers (or 2 medium bell peppers), cut into 1-inch chunks
1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes
1 small red onion, cut into 1-inch chunks
4 cloves garlic, smashed
1 teaspoon coarsely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh basil leaves (or not!)
Grated Pecorino Romano or Parmesan cheese, for serving (or not!)
Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and heat to 450°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
Place the gnocchi, peppers, tomatoes, onion, garlic, rosemary, salt, and a few generous grinds of black pepper in a large bowl. Drizzle with the oil and gently toss to combine. Spread the gnocchi mixture out evenly on the prepared baking sheet.
Roast, stirring halfway through, until the gnocchi are plump and the vegetables are tender and caramelized, 18 to 20 minutes total.
To serve, spoon the gnocchi and vegetable mixture into individual bowls and garnish each bowl with the basil and grated cheese.
A Spiritual Passage On The Human Instinct to Be Kind
It’s always a delight for me to have a new book in my life that nourishes the warm, fuzzy, humanity-loving part of me.
The following passage comes from The Book of Awakening by Mark Nepo, which I found lying around my parents’ house and have been quite enjoying. I found this explanation to be the best possible reason we could ever have for being kind. I’ve put my favorite parts in bold.
The Spider & The Sage
In India, there is a story about a kind, quiet man who would pray in the Ganges River every morning. One day after praying, he saw a poisonous spider struggling in the water and cupped his hands to carry it ashore. As he placed the spider on the ground, it stung him. Unknowingly, his prayers for the world diluted the poison.
The next day the same thing happened. On the third day, the kind man was knee deep in the river, and, sure enough, there was the spider, legs frantic in the water. As the man went to lift the creature yet again, the spider said, “Why do you keep lifting me? Can’t you see I will sting you every time, because that is what I do.” And the kind man cupped his hands about the spider, replying, “Because this is what I do.”
There are many reasons to be kind, but perhaps none is as compelling as the spiritual fact that it is what we do. It is how the inner organ of being keeps pumping. Spiders sting. Wolves howl. Ants build small hills that no one sees. And human beings lift each other, no matter the consequences. Even when other beings sting.
Some say this makes us a sorry lot that never learns, but to me it holds the same beauty as berries breaking through ice and snow every spring. It is what quietly feeds the world. After all, the berries do not have any sense of purpose or charity. They are not altruistic or self-sacrificing. They simply grow to be delicious because that is what they do.
And for us, if things fall, we will reach for them. If things break, we will try to put them together. If loved ones cry, we will try to soothe them — because that is what we do. I have often reached out, and sometimes it feels like a mistake. Sometimes, like the quiet man lifting the spider, I have been stung. But it doesn’t matter, because that is what I do. That is what we do. It is the reaching out that is more important than the sting. In truth, I’d rather be fooled than not believe.
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Now for my own bug story: Once I was in Brooklyn waiting for the Q and there was a large bug right by the subway track. The bug had been flipped on its back and was buzzing and clearly struggling to right itself again. Maybe this bug was a locust or something, because it was really loud — I’ve never heard an insect seemingly cry out in distress. It was oddly...sad. I felt the urge to go flip the bug, to get him on his right side again, but there were a few people behind me, and I didn’t want to look stupid. Specifically: There were two guys my age behind me and I didn’t want to look stupid in front of them.
The bug continued to buzz loudly. I negotiated with myself. It was just a bug. It was probably gross to touch it, right? And how stupid would I look in a New York City subway extending a kind hand to a...bug? So I didn’t move.
And then one of the guys behind me, the ones I had been so worried about judging me or laughing at me, walked up and flipped the bug.
I got home after taking the Q that night and told Jake about the bug incident. “Always flip the bug, Sarah,” he said. He was right. Always flip the bug.
It’s kind of a silly story, but it’s what I think of when I read Mark Nepo’s passage, and it reminds me of how kindness truly is a natural response that comes from within.
I practice not closing off to that instinct. I also practice not getting caught up in displaying kindness to look a certain way, to prove I’m a selfless person, or because I’m worried I’m not doing enough.
You don’t have to force it.
You don’t have to worry about Being A Kind Person™.
You just have to, when the instinct arises, flip the bug.
What Should I Do For My Birthday?
Any suggestions for what this quarantined, Whole 30-doing girl could do for her birthday in a few weeks?
Jake and I will still be housesitting then, so we’ll be in Easton, PA with two dogs.
Cake and alcohol are out of the question (@Whole 30…what was I saying about loving it again), as is seeing other people. So...any suggestions?
Leave me a comment if you have any ideas!