Day (Whole) 30 or How I Learned to Make the Best Damn Potato Salad Ever

Well, he did it! Jordan finishes his Whole 30 today.

I never had any doubts he could do it. This man can be the most determined person ever. He's gone a full 30 days without sugar (save accidentally licking Ransom's dripping fruit popscicle), legumes, all grains, soy, and dairy. I, on the other hand, have enjoyed a steady diet of queso and mini M&Ms.

No, really, I've stayed on the wagon for the majority of our meals - maybe adding a condiment or slice of cheese; but my snack life has been a little (ok, a lot) more lax.

And even as a two-time Whole 30 drop out (aren't you proud, mama?), I have to say it is a pretty good plan. Strict, yes. Time consuming, hell yes. But the food is good and REAL and the results are obvious.

I want to share a few quick positive observations with you before I share what might be our new favorite recipe in the whole world (not just Whole 30, but all of recipe-dom).

• You don't have to go hungry. There's no counting - carbs, calories, fats, nothing. There aren't limits on how many times a week you can eat x. You're actually listening to your body and if your body feels hungry, you eat. Given, you need to eat something good, but you're not denying yourself food in general. This is a big deal for a "diet" - I don't do hangry well.

• You're not eating bizarro "health" food. We didn't eat a single piece of kale, a chia seed, or fake noodle made out of mushroom powder. Sure, you might lose weight from the cabbage soup diet or the one where you just drink water with lemon juice and cayenne pepper but who cares if you're skinny if you're a miserable jerk?

• You can make delicious meals that people wouldn't even realize were Whole 30 - like the recipe below. Meat + vegetables + fruit is really all you need. And when you fully utilize your spice cabinet and lovingly cook things, not just microwave them, you can make tasty food.

So, speaking of delicious meals, here's our Friday night feast. Yes, we've made it every Friday night; it's THAT good.

I found this potato salad recipe right as we were getting started and we made some minor modifications to make it Whole 30-approved, but also, more delicious. If you want to follow the original recipe, you can view it HERE.

We pair this with a juicy, medium grilled steak; which, if you do it right, needs nothing more than salt and pepper - no A1, no clarified butter, just perfectly seasoned beef. But it would be great with any protein and I think it would be perfect for a potluck or picnic. It's also great cold, assuming you'll ever have leftovers.

* Whole 30 mayo recipe HERE

It's been a hard month, no doubt (see: my breakdown on Day 5 HERE). But it's not been un-enjoyable and the results are easy to see. J's got more energy, he's looking all svelte, and we haven't had a single "where do you want to eat" fight!

I really would recommend Whole 30 to anyone seeking a change or even just a re-set on their digestion and metabolism, if for no reason than you'll actually enjoy the food you're eating and the way you feel.

For more information on Whole 30, consider buying the affordable cookbook and reading through the process and trying some of the recipes. You're supposed to do this 100% and take it on as a lifestyle change, but even just starting out with making healthier decisions and home cooked meals is a step in the right direction for anyone.

National Chain Taste-Test: Sonic's Peanut Butter and Bacon Milkshake

This summer has been declared the Summer of Shakes by Sonic Drive-Ins. Around the country, they are offering a wide variety of inexpensive and oftentimes creative milkshakes. Locally, this is particularly hilarious as news just broke that we will be home to a Cook Out franchise in upcoming months.

For those of you who haven't heard of Cook Out, it's a family-owned restaurant out of Greensboro, NC that makes "cook out food" - hamburgers, Eastern NC barbeque, hot dogs - and some of the best milkshakes I've ever tasted. All of their food is inexpensive, comforting, quickly expedited. And with a milkshake menu that boasts over 40 tempting flavors, Sonic should be worried.

A few weeks ago, we stopped at Sonic for the childhood favorite strawberry shakes, but upon seeing the new expanded menu, decided to try something different. Jordan got a chocolate cheesecake milkshake and I went out on a limb and tried the peanut butter and bacon shake (oddly, I thought PB&J was just too weird).

I instantly had buyer's remorse and awaited what I knew would be a hellacious stomachache. However, I was pleasantly surprised.

To me, and probably anyone who has ever dabbled in Thai cuisine, peanuts and peanut butter are not exclusively sweet flavors. And surprisingly, in this shake, the bacon played the part of the sweet element moreso than the peanut butter.

The milkshake tasted overwhelmingly of peanut butter; so if you don't LOVE that flavor, I'd advise against it. But there were finely chopped slices of bacon - I'd imagine they use three to four tablespoons of bacon (not to be confused with bacon bits) in each shake. As I didn't go back into the kitchen, I can't guarantee that anything was added to the bacon, but it's crispyness and sweetness lead me to believe it was somehow candied; which was beautiful - you got salty notes that paired well with the peanut butter and concentrated sweetness and crunch too.

I really enjoy the combination of salty and sweet in foods like kettle corn or salted caramel and to me, this ratio was spot on. Too often savory/sweet fusions become muddled by forgetting the original intention of the dish. But this one "remembered" it was meant to be a dessert and didn't dip too far into the salt zone.

However, as a collegiate Cook Out connoisseur, I do believe that production of milkshakes is an area of cooking with little quality control. The slightest change in the ratio of vanilla ice cream to flavoring(s) can yield completely different shakes; and the same thing goes for mixing times. The variability of milkshakes is much greater than that of pre-packaged (and often pre-cooked) items with specific recipes. So I do believe that this milkshake and what I found to be a perfect balance of salty:sweet could easily be thrown off.

My only complaint with this item was its presentation. Sure, a styrofoam cup and dome lid don't really leave much to the imagination and the retro stylings of Sonic Drive-Ins are both trite and confining, but from a visual stand-point, this looked like any old beige milkshake. First things first, not every shake needs to come with a maraschino cherry. That may be a personal bias (those things are awful), but they also don't pair well with peanut butter or bacon. The dollop of what I can only assume is non-dairy whipped cream (it wouldn't melt!) is cute and added a little 50's flair but would have been more delicious and made the shake more identifiable with a little sprinkling of bacon. If the cream pie shakes get graham cracker crumbs, why can't this come with pork crumbs?

Overall, I think taking a chance on this odd menu item was worth the $1.50 and is even something I might consider ordering again if I'm ever in the mood for PB&P (peanut butter & pig).