We're all exercising extreme caution around here in the wake of Coronavirus, disinfecting all of our surfaces and devices and staying home as much as we can. We know we're lucky to work from home, and we know so many of you don't. Our hearts are hurting for the too-many who are sick and for those of you who are taking care of loved ones. We're also grieving for the disappointed and the don't-know-what-to-do. We feel you. No matter your situation, we're all trying to wrap our heads around what the next few weeks will look like. Maybe we can find comfort in the fact that we're doing this for each other: If we can all stay home and stop the spread of this thing, we can help each other. Help humanity. We're grateful for this platform that still lets us connect with you even in a weird and scary time. We'll keep our focus on making our home a place we love, as we wish you and your family good health. And we wish our planet a speedy recovery.
On a much lighter note, here are a few things that took our minds off of COVID-19...
- The Grit and Polish revealed their Butler's Pantry yesterday, and I'm dying! How smart is that side-mounted faucet?!
- Did you see The New York Times' list of 25 Songs That Matter Now? So interactive and inspiring in all the ways.
- I started Whole 30 again this week because I've been having a lot of problems with my health and thyroid (I have Hashimoto's disease), and eating clean will help to get clear test results (and hopefully have me feeling better!). I'm getting another dose of blood work done today to see if it's improving at all and if not, we have to look at some other options. Last night, Chris made the most amazing salmon taco bowls, with homemade salsa and guac, a fresh salad and cauliflower rice. My plate had plantain chips, but my sister (who had the foresight to take a photo) snacked on good ol' fashioned tortilla chips. Have you ever tried Whole 30?
- Speaking of our master chef — Chris's knife skills video made it to the Wüsthof page!
- We're hosting a big film crew for a video shoot this week. (We can't disclose the brand at this time, but we'll be able to show you soon!) We bought these sconces for our dining room and planned to install them during the shoot. But, whoops! — The electrical boxes were wider than the wall plates! We couldn't move the shoot, so I jumped onto Amazon and scored these with two-day shipping. It's a totally different silhouette, and I love it even more than my first choice. (Don't you love it when that happens?)
- I've been getting a lot of questions about my outfits for this shoot on Instagram, so I rounded up what I wore for it! (Or similar dupes)
- More shoot stuff: We put together this place setting for the new dining room. The gold flatware is such a show-stopper. It has such a lovely weight to it and it looks antique. Sources: Plates, water glasses , goblets (Anthropologie, no longer available), appetizer plates, bowls, candlesticks, Napkins.
- Can we all agree that Hannah Ann was the real winner of Pilot Pete's season of The Bachelor?
- Calling in to team meetings like...
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Hello!! I love the way your place setting looks!! Are these marble chargers beneath? Can you link the charger or larger bottom plate? THANK YOU!
Is the bottom item a plate or a charger? Can you link that as well? THANKS! Love this.
I have Hashi’s, too. I tried Whole30 three different times hoping it would help, but it made everything so much worse. I finally concluded that it wasn’t the right program for me. I felt like it should work, so I stubbornly held on, I guess! I feel best when I eat ALL whole foods and don’t neglect any group. Also, I take Armour which has been fabulous.
These Casual Friday posts are so fun!
Question: I always see these gorgeous table spreads with the plates already set. Does that mean the first course is soup? And you eat your meal on that stack of plates, removing the napkin before starting? Is the dessert plate in the stack too, or is that passed around separately?
Nice article you have shared with us and i have enjoyed very much while reading this article.Keep writing such kind of blogs.
Just wanted to share a little about my Thyroid journey in case it might help. I have Hashimoto's, as well. I was constantly begging for doctors to test my Thyroid and telling me my numbers were always "within normal range" for years.
I finally had a doctor test for the Hashimotos antibodies and bingo! It felt good to finally have a reason for my weight gain and low energy levels! Finding the right dosage of medication is another challenge. I have found that when my doc switches my thyroid meds and retests at 3 months, they are always off. They will come back too high (extreme low TSH) then she will reduce my dosage and the bottom will drop out at my next test (high TSH). During that time, I'll break out and gain weight which is so frustrating. I'll have to increase my meds and start to try to find balance again. What I've found is that my body takes 4 to 6 months to adjust to a new dosage of medication. Retesting every 3 months which is normally recommended was actually creating false results and my med dosages were being changed too often. After letting my body take longer to adjust to the new increased dosage, I finally had stable numbers and don't have to go back in for testing for a year unless I start to feel bad. Skin has cleared up, hair stopped falling out, digestive issues have resolved, weight has normalized and energy levels are much better. I find I do best on a balanced healthy diet including all food groups. I try to limit gluten and dairy as those upset my digestion the most. Any extreme diet that limits protein or carbs makes my energy levels tank. I think you really have to pay attention to how you feel. What works for one person won't work for another. I work out a lot, so complex carbs are a must for me!
I hope you find the meds/diet combo that works for you! Thanks for sharing your journey - I think we can all learn from each other!
Hoping we get a Chris Cooks featuring that salmon bowl!
I've totally done all dietary issues over the years! I currently have Hypothyroidism, Chronic Inflammation and Adrenal issues. For 9 months, I've been on a super strict plan avoiding all my food sensitivities to attempt to calm my body so it can heal! I relate so much when you post about food and your new Chris Cooks series! Although most I can't eat anyways (Onions & Tomatoes are MAJOR reactions for me), it makes me feel less alone in this journey!
I don't want to overstep by any means, but I just wanted to pass this along since I saw not too long ago that you were on NP Thyroid. I have been on NP Thyroid for a couple years. Recently, my doctor said that they've been having some issues with consistency with NP Thyroid. My doc said that she had one patient whose TSH went from near zero to 8 while on the same dose of thyroid meds only a couple months apart. She said they've still been seeing decent results with NatureThroid and Armor (if the fillers aren't an issue). We suspect that's why I've been having to tweak my dosage constantly. I decided to go ahead and switch to synthetic (a combination of Synthroid & Cytomel) tomorrow.
My doctor wants me to switch to Levo + Cytomel again because that's the only time my numbers were stable was when I was on that combo, but it also made me break out like crazy so I'm nervous.
I have hashimotos too. I also tried the whole 30 on advice from my functional medicine doctor. After following it perfectly my blood work come back worse than before I started. I tried regular doctors and functional medicine doctors and just kept getting worse. Then I started following Dr. Christiansons advice for people with Hashimotos and working really hard on the things he suggests- my numbers are now back to normal. I never knew that eating an extremely low carb diet (like the whole 30) can really tax your adrenals- which isn't so helpful for those of us with endocrine issues. I know what a struggle Hashimotos can be. I pray that this strict diet works for you, but if not, I pray you can find something that works for you! Best wishes for your good health.
https://www.drchristianson.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/eBook-Healing-Hashimotos-A-saavy-patients-guide.pdf
I did the Whole 30 process and stayed on a modified plan after I brought the foods back in. I need to do another strict round since something has re-entered my diet and is not agreeing with me.
Recommendations to starting W30 - start cleaning up your pantry, refrig and your eating habits before starting the 30 days. If you wean yourself from the dairy, starches, sugars, sodas, and all the chemicals gradually, then there is less of a shock and you can avoid some of the bad effects of stopping all of the bad items all at once.
Keep a journal of what you eat, how your body feels, and your moods. When you start the food re-entry, go as slow as possible, especially if you find out that you are no longer missing those food items. I added one group per week. Keep up your journal since noting what food you brought back into your diet and its effects on your body is helpful.
I also noted that I could tolerate one serving of something, but multiple servings in a day or over several days resulted in a reaction. Hope this helps some new W30ers.
Please be careful using a statement about us all staying home and helping humanity. I have a child with an hourly job and her hours are being cut because people are afraid. When she can't pay her rent or eat because her pay check is reduced that is not helping. People are traveling to you for your job, if they stayed home would you get paid? Let's just be responsible with hand washing and other forms of cleanliness just like we should do during cold and flu season.
Staying home is absolutely helping. Just look at how slow this disease is spreading in the US compared to Europe and Asia. There’s lots of research that shows that social distancing can combat a pandemic. I’m more concerned about elderly being exposed and dying from this than anything else. There are lots of programs that your daughter can access to assist with food and rent assistance - she should call her local department of social services .
Here in the Czech Republic we ARE staying home. You're catching up quickly in the US-- we were at 11 cases per million just a few days ago. It's so important to stay home, though-- we're under lockdown here. Good luck, everyone.
Hey Jeri, I definitely understand the financial concern for your daughter. However, I truly believe the comment made by Julia was a sincere and thoughtful one. If we can all do our part and make the small changes that the experts are recommending to us like frequent hand washing and avoiding unnecessary outings/ group gatherings, we can hopefully change the course of how this plays out. To me, that is a small price to pay to spare lives of those that are at highest risk, reduce the economic impact, and help extinguish this difficult virus.
I have some health issues (including thyroid problems) that even the Whole30 couldn't help. I started seeing a functional medicine dr who recommended taking it a step further, and cutting out nightshades (along with cutting out the usual...gluten, dairy, sugar, etc.) You could try it and see if it helps.
I’ve read about a nutritionist who has cured herself from Hashimoto’s - Elissa Goodman. She comes up in a Google search if you want to check her out.
Love doing Whole30! I hate meal prepping but this is one of my favorite soup recipes that I make and eat on throughout the week!
Zuppa Toscana-
https://www.farmsteadchic.com/whole30-zuppa-toscana/
My husband and I are doing a Whole30 right now and I'm wishing I was further along in the process while the chaos of our current health climate chills out. I'm hoping a focus on clean eating is tenable while grocery stores are pushed to the limit. I'd love to hear more about your favorite Whole30 recipes!
I love every moment of watching your home's transformation, thank you for sharing. The gold flatware, would you provide the source? Been meaning to purchase, but worried about putting it in the dishwasher? What are your thoughts? Now, would be the best time to stock up. Thanks, Amy G
I believe their hand wash only!
Make sure you find good quality gold flatware. I have a set from West Elm and the gold wore away pretty quickly. I only use it at work so I have never put it in the dishwasher, but it is not an even color anymore. Besides the concern over what I have ingested, it doesn't look nearly as cute as it used to.
I've never done Whole30 but was looking at it via the link you provided and on the front page it says, "No commercially-prepared chips (potato, tortilla, plantain, etc.) or French fries either." There are so many rules and restrictions though - I'm sure they're hard to keep track of but I hope it helps you!
Two things:
1.) You didn't link the gold flatware, don't leave us hanging! :)
2.) Just a heads up that your site always jumps down while it's loading, so I'll be reading the beginning and then it jumps halfway down the page. I'm always like "ah, don't ruin the surprise!" if it's an especially juicy post. Anyway, not a huge deal but wanted to let you know in case you weren't aware.
Stay healthy! Hope you get your thyroid stuff under control.
The loading jump thing happens to me, too! It’s disorienting.
I have also been having the “jump down” issue- I come directly to the site and it automatically jumps down on the page. It’s not a new issue on your site, but thought I’d chime in and mention it’s been happening for me, too.
Working on fixing this! We're aware of it, as well, and it drives us crazy.
Hi - is there a link for the gorgeous gold flatware?
https://rstyle.me/+XFuUbeEeBHEGHj_5-dsPvA
Thanks for the link to the flatware. Ready for a great Friday! Let's do it! -Amy G