Day 17 already?! The time is flying….well, sometimes. How’s it going for you? We are getting into a groove and Whole30 has pretty much become the norm around here, which is fantastic. We had been testing the waters off the wagon before this whole30 and Brandon and I are both glad to be back on it with happy tummies. Crossing our fingers that we remember how great we feel when temptations arise!

Yesterday I cooked a bunch of meals and I am sooooo glad I did. I forgot about pre-cooking and how much easier it makes the next couple of days. There were 3 options for breakfast today and we chose to go with the cabbage and sausage. Surprisingly my kids love this dish although they have no idea how great it is for them too. 

Lunch was…well….you can decide for yourself.

In support of freedom of speech, our biblical beliefs and biblical marriage I took the kids to eat at Chick-fil-A. I thought we were doing well by eating their new grilled chicken nuggets, or at least new to us since it’s probably been a good year since we’ve eaten there, and the fruit cup. Well, thanks to my faithful Facebook fans I was very quickly informed that the chicken tenders contain msg along with other bad ingredients, and the fruit cup contains citric acid along with other bad ingredients. Although I will say this lunch is one of the better choices when it comes to fast food, it is still not to the standard it should be and is certainly not whole30 approved.

So even though I am glad we went to Chick-fil-A and it was wonderful to see so many of our friends there, I am disappointed and upset with myself for giving my kids food that was not only not good for them, but not whole30 approved. What did I have for lunch? I happened to be snacking on sushi from the restaurant next door and ended up skipping on the chicken. Thank goodness.

Where do we go from here? Well, being that only the kids ate the non-whole30 foods and I think they’ll survive, we are continuing as is. Brandon and I are still going strong and still feeling great eating whole30 approved food. The great things is that we were able to use this experience as a teaching opportunity with our kids on many levels. It has also reminded me to be extra careful with what we eat when we go out and not assume that anything is safe.

More importantly, this experience has been a sobering reminder of “being in the world, but not of the world”. I am proud to be a believer in Jesus Christ and to share His truth with others. If nothing else, I love that our lunch today gave me an opportunity to express that truth again.

In case you are not on Facebook and missed the uproar that was caused today, here is my response to negative responses written on my page: “I created my blog and this Facebook page as an encouragement for us and for others as we strive to be strong as a family, physically strong, and SPIRITUALLY strong. If you missed that part, I’m sorry. We are a Christian family with bible-based beliefs and those haven’t been moved because we eat paleo or have non-christian friends. I support Chick-fil-a partly because yes, we should all have freedom of speech and beliefs wether or not we agree with them, without being persecuted. I also support them because I very much believe in what the bible says about marriage, not what I say, what God says. Chick-fil-a is not discriminating against anyone, they are FOR biblical marriage and biblical beliefs, as we are here at Whole Family. I completely understand that not everyone here is on the same page as us, and I respect that. I am not here to tell you what to believe or think, but to encourage you as you strive to be healthier and strengthen your family. Take or leave what you want, that’s okay. There are many other pages that I am a fan of that do not have the same beliefs as me but I can still glean wisdom from them in various areas. I hope that on this page we can have differences of opinions and have respect that goes all ways. I am not angry at you for shopping on Amazon, please don’t hate on me for eating at Chick-fil-a. Our family loves God, follows the bible as our compass for living, and supports companies that do as well. I will continue to post ideas, encouragement, recipes, and more, all the while weaving God and my hope of glorifying Him through it. I hope you continue to be encouraged by us and respectful of our Christian beliefs, as we will be of yours. Thanks guys.” 

In the spirit of moving on to the matter at hand, check out our delicious dinner.

We were so glad to have our dear friends over for dinner and we enjoyed a feast. Amy brought roasted cauliflower, carrots and garlic and oh my goodness was it good. I made herb-crusted salmon with a mango-kiwi dressing, grilled plantains, and seasoned okra. It was the perfect meal to eat while having great fellowship.

Check out Levi’s plate. He also had seconds and thirds! It was wonderful that not only did my kids eat all their food, so did our guest’s kids. Now you know it was good! Today was certainly not the norm but we got through it and we are better for it. We’re still moving forward, still growing as a family, still in the word, still keeping it simple, and still eating delicious, healthy food!

How are you doing? Are you meeting your goals? Staying strong? Dealing with temptations? We’re cheering for you so keep up the great work!