Whole30 Meal Plan – Week 1

Whole30 Meal Plan – Week 1

In my opinion, the key to a successful Whole30 is one thing – meal planning.  Cooking within guidelines does not have to be difficult, and there are a million recipes out there to add variety to your Whole30 experience!  However, it is super easy to find yourself at 1pm – starving and with no meal in your lunch bag.  So you give up and grab a sandwich and say “I’ll start tomorrow/next week/next month”.  I promise you, if you have a plan, you can do this!  And you have a plan.  I’m giving it to you – complete with shopping list and pre-week preparation guide.  Here is your Whole30 Meal Plan – Week 1.  Let’s do this!  

Here is what my family will be eating for Week 1.  

	Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner
Sunday, 5/1	Bacon Butternut Squash Quiche with fruit	Spinach salad with veggies & balsamic vinaigrette & hard boiled eggs	Citrus Herb Roasted Chicken with Carrots and steamed broccoli (recipe calls for oranges, I prefer lemons)
Monday, 5/2	Prosciutto-wrapped Mini Frittatas with fruit	Salmon Cakes, raw cut veggies and Homemade Ranch Dressing	Shepherd’s Pie with steamed green beans  (I add carrots to my shepherd’s pie, too.)
Tuesday, 5/3	Hard boiled eggs, slices of avocado and fruit	Leftover Citrus Herb Roasted Chicken OR Shepherd’s Pie, side of fruit	Broiled salmon with roasted fingerling potatoes and asparagus
Wednesday, 5/4	Bacon Butternut Squash Quiche with fruit	Spinach salad with veggies & balsamic vinaigrette & leftover salmon or hard boiled eggs	Fried smashed chicken  with roasted vegetables  [Start Kalua Pig for tomorrow night in slow cooker before going to bed.]
Thursday, 5/5	Prosciutto-wrapped Mini Frittatas with fruit	Salmon Cakes, raw cut veggies and Homemade Ranch Dressing	Slow Cooker Kalua Pig, baked sweet potatoes, steamed green beans
Friday, 5/6	Warm Coconut Banana Bowl, slices of avocado, side of fruit	Leftover Kalua Pig, sweet potatoes and veggies	Chicken apple sausages sauteed with bell peppers and onions
Saturday, 5/7	Bacon & eggs on a bed of spinach, sweet potato home fries   [Start short ribs for dinner before lunch.]	Canned tuna or (hard boiled eggs if you don’t like tuna) mixed with Homemade Mayo on bed of spinach, side of fruit	Balsamic Braised Short Ribs with Candied Carrots and sauteed kale

 

Shopping List & Preparation Guide – Here are the Shopping List & the Preparation Guide for the Week 1 Meal Plan.

Snacks – We snacked when we did Whole30 the first time, more at the beginning than the end.  I anticipate doing the same this time, especially as we will likely be exercising more.  Here are some of our go-to snacks:  a banana with almond butter, a Larabar, a handful of mixed nuts (cashews, almonds and pecans are my favorites – I buy from the bulk bins whenever possible), carrots and ranch dressing or guacamole, a handful of raisins, celery and almond butter, herbal tea (Tazo Passion is my favorite.).  

Recipes

Recipes are either links in the table above or are described below.

Salad dressings – I tried to make all of my own during my first Whole30, and frankly, they were a disaster.  So I buy Tessamae’s dressings at Whole Foods (and other fine retailers, I am sure).  You’ll find them in the refrigerated dressing area of the produce section.  (So don’t bother searching the regular dressing aisle for them, then cursing the lack of availability at even such a fru-fru establishment as Whole Foods, then find them on your next trip there and feel silly.  Been there, done that.)  If you want to make your own, there are a ton of recipes on the interweb.  Just pick one without sugar, honey or syrup.

Clarified Butter or Ghee (basically the same thing) – You can buy this or make it.  Making it is cheaper and it is not hard.  Here is a link – http://gabbysgfree.com/2013/01/clarified-butter/.  I use Kerrygold butter.  I haven’t found much difference between the salted and unsalted versions after it’s clarified.  

Homemade Mayo – Just do it.  It is SO good and not that hard.  (I usually have very good luck making mayo.  Every once in a while, it won’t emulsify, but I am fairly certain that is punishment by the Whole30 gods for excessive snacking or sneaking in a smoothie.)  Here is the recipe.  

Homemade Ranch – Make the homemade mayo, then add the following to 8 oz of mayo and stir.

• 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 tsp dried parsley (or 1 Tbsp minced fresh parsley)
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• ¼ tsp paprika

Fried Smashed Chicken – I put boneless, skinless chicken breasts in between plastic wrap or in a ziploc bag and smash the crap out of them with a rolling pin (cause I don’t have a meat mallet).  I get out my daily frustrations until they are about 1/2 inch thick. Then I dip them in a mix of coconut flour with garlic powder, pepper and salt and fry them in coconut oil, about 3 minutes on each side.  Yummy.  (Adapted from Nom Nom Paleo’s Crispy Smashed Chicken.)  

Baked Sweet Potatoes – Wash sweet potatoes and then poke holes in them several times with a fork.  Place them on an aluminum foil wrapped baking sheet and cook at 375F for 20 minutes.  Flip them over and cook for another 20-30 minutes depending on their size.  Serve with clarified butter on them.

Chicken Apple Sausages with Peppers and Onions – Cut up a couple of sweet bell peppers (I like the yellow, orange or red ones.) and an onion, fajita style.  Saute them in fat of your choice – I usually use coconut oil.  Then cut up a few Aidell’s Chicken Apple Sausages and add to pan when your veggies are almost done. Cook until your sausage browns a little and veggies are tender.    

Sweet Potato Home Fries – Cut up sweet potatoes fairly small (like ½ inch chunks).  Place them on a baking sheet and toss them with coconut, avocado, or olive oil and salt.  Bake at 425F until they are tender inside and crispy outside (like 25-35 minutes or so). Move them around a couple times while cooking, so that multiple sides of the fries brown on the bottom of the pan.  

Vegetable Sides – You can decide for yourself how you like your veggies cooked. I usually steam broccoli and green beans.  I roast brussel sprouts, cauliflower, carrots, and asparagus with oil and salt.  I tend to saute kale with a good amount of bacon, in bacon grease.  I like to sprinkle fingerling potatoes (or any cut-up potato) with a mix of garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, pepper, salt and herbs of your choice, along with olive oil, and roast till crispy.  

 

If you have any additional questions on my meal plan, just add a comment below and I’ll get back to you!  If you have questions on what you can/cannot have on Whole30, check this link out.  http://whole30.com/2013/06/the-official-can-i-have-guide-to-the-whole30/