Hi, friends! My name is Jaime and I’m the Digital Marketing Manager here at Tessemae’s! You probably better know me as the voice behind our social media. I’ve decided to do the January Whole30 right alongside you all! I’ll be sharing my journey with you on our Instagram account (@tessemaes) and recapping each week here with a blog post. And if you’re wondering – yes, committing to doing this for the first time in front of 53,000 people on Instagram and all of you reading this blog is a bit scary.

A little bit about me – I joined the Tessemae’s family in March of last year and it’s been a non-stop roller coaster ever since! I manage our social media, our online store, and our advertising. Basically, anything you see on the internet about Tessemae’s has probably come across my desk first. I’m a single girl in my 20s living in downtown Baltimore with two awesome roommates. While my work life can be pretty hectic running from photo shoot to video shoot, I try to make plenty of time for socializing and enjoying the city life.

Behind the scenes on the set of our latest video shoot with Brian Vetter

I decided to commit to this Whole30 journey for a couple reasons. I’ve never felt I had a particularly “bad” relationship with food, but I also know that I could do better. The motto around this office is “live the culture”. You won’t find any Fritos in the vending machine or even sugar at the coffee station. We’re about all natural, good for you, whole ingredients - duh. I’m definitely one of the rebellious ones around here when it comes living the culture. I will occasionally stop at Dunkin on my drive in for a coffee. And...I'll admit that I’ve scarfed down a bacon egg wrap in the 30 seconds it takes to get from DD to the office just so I don’t have to bring it inside with shame. (Greg if you’re reading this, I’M SORRY!). On the days that I don’t have time to stop (most of the time) I don't eat breakfast at all, which is probably my worst habit. I end up starving around noon which is prime meeting time around here. And if I don’t carve out the time to eat then, I end up running out for food around 3pm, or shoving my face with the closest thing I can find when I get home from work. Which then creates the vicious cycle of snacking again later around 9pm, leading to not being hungry for breakfast when I first wake up….you get the picture.

The Tesse fam got together for my birthday with you guessed it.. carrot cake!

 I’ve also battled with stomach issues on and off for the last couple years. I’d get stomach aches at night, or become inexplicably bloated after eating just a couple bites of my meal. I never cared enough to do anything about it, because let’s face it – cheese is life and I couldn’t bear the thought of giving that up.

While I’m terrified to start this journey, I’m also excited. I have a ton of questions and I’m lucky to have the support of plenty of people in the office. I was chatting with our CEO, Greg Vetter, this morning in the kitchen. He’s done multiple rounds so I knew he would have some words of wisdom for me. I told him about my attempt to cut out dairy the week before starting so it wouldn’t be SUCH a shock to give up all the things I love. He told me to expect to feel like I’m coming down with a cold. Something about lack of mucus intake will cause a runny nose…the more you know! I’ve also got Whitney, our VP of Operations, who is a seasoned pro and lives the Whole30 lifestyle most of the time. If you know her, you know she’s an overachiever and won't be surprised by this. And most importantly, I have Chef Kristen and Chef Cindy in the kitchen who I KNOW I will be running to with 234935872 questions. Can I have this bar? Is this compliant? WTF do I do with coconut milk? How do I poach an egg?? ARE YOU MAKING LUNCH TODAY??

I hope you follow along with me on my #JanuaryWhole30 and find some inspiration and support here. I know I’ll need it! Comment below and let me know why you are choosing to participate this month. I’d love to hear! Don’t forget to follow me along on Instagram, @tessemaes. I’ll be posting there more often and sharing my adventures in the kitchen both at home and in the Tessemae’s kitchen! Let’s do this!

-Jaime

P.s. We are holding a HUGE giveaway this month to celebrate the #JanuaryWhole30! Enter here to win over $600 worth of swag for your kitchen!