We're Halfway There! Meal Plans! And Camping!

We made it through Day 16 of our Whole30 challenge! We are half way done! And this week is supposed to be the time to start feeling that Tiger Blood!! We'll see what happens and I'll report back to let you know! 

I've got my meal plan figured out for this week and even went and bought all of the groceries and made a few prep items, but ... I forgot something. We're going camping this weekend with my parents. That means I have to figure out Whole30 in a cooler for 2 days. I found this great link on Whole30's webpage where they list several ideas for food choices when you have to eat on the go, in a hotel, or even camping and backpacking.

From an old camping trip.

My goal was to find foods that would be easy enough to make that I wouldn't be tempted to just give up and eat something convenient out of my parents' tent. They are going to have all of the traditional camping foods: hot dogs, marshmallows, biscuits and gravy, etc... so I need to be prepared. But, I don't want them to be so simple that they are just items thrown together and we get bored, nor do I want to have us going hungry. So I checked out this site and came up with a game plan! 

 

 

Here's the Meal Plan for Week 3 of the Whole30 challenge and my meal plan for our first camping trip eating Whole30 style!

Breakfasts: Lagniappe Casserole (WFS)

Snacks: Salmon Devilled Eggs (NW&W) with Homemade Mayo

Monday: Sweet Potato Chili (POAB)

Tuesday: Enchiladas (WFS) w/ Cauliflower Rice (NNP) seasoned with my own blend

Wednesday: Chicken Tenders (ELGP) w/ Parsnip-Sweet Potato Casserole (JSB) and veggies

Thursday: Garlic Mayo Roasted Chicken and Indian Spiced Sweet Potatoes (JSB) , Sauteed  

                 Asparagus (EM)

Friday: Lazy Man's Sheppard Pie (POAB)

Saturday:

      Breakfast: Lagniappe Casserole

      Lunch: Leftovers from the week

      Dinner:  Canned Salmon and a potato/veggie foil package to roast over the fire

Sunday: 

      Breakfast: Eggs with spinach, leftover beef from a roast, handful cashews and 1/2 apple

      Lunch: Tuna with guacamole, boiled egg, and raw veggies (celery, cucumber, carrots, bell pepper

      Dinner: Frozen leftover soup that we can heat up on the camp stove

I'll pack some cashews, unsweetened applesauce, olives, and kale chips for snacks if we feel the urge while sitting with my parents by the fire. We'll have to bring a lot of water too because they typically bring juice packets and beer ... which we can't have ... along with their water. But we want to make sure we don't run out. So, I feel like we've got a good plan of attack ... I'll let you know how it goes!! 

Typically, I start to feel a bit run down and ready to quit after week 2, but I am still feeling as strong as ever. I think that the whole idea behind ditching the scale has really been helping. I am taking notice of things that I probably wouldn't have if I had only been focusing on a number. I feel like I am on one steady ride of energy throughout the day instead of the roller coaster with a crash at 3 PM. I don't get the cravings at 3 PM like I used to either. My skin is still nice and clear and soft. I have no more headaches. I have an overall feeling of happiness, even though I feel my life is still plenty undecided and can be stressful at times. And I'm noticing that my shoulders seem to be slimming down, my stomach seems to be flattening a bit, and I am feeling more muscle tone. It's great!

I know we can make it through week 3!! 

Week 2 Meal Plan!

BBQ Pork on Plantain "bun"

If you missed my previous post on how I make my meal plans, feel free to click HERE and check it out. 

Meal planning makes cooking so much easier, especially if you are still learning. We're in that position right now; we kind of have an idea of what we can eat, but still fine tuning. So for now it's been easier to just follow other peoples' recipes. Eventually I would like to get to where I can start creating my own recipes again. And I'd really like to take some decent pictures to post with the recipes too. Maybe in time. Until then, here's the Meal Plan for Week 2 on the Whole30 program based on recipes I've compiled from a few different blogs and sources.

Breakfast: Lagniappe Casserole (WFS)
Always a favorite in our household! This typically will get us through until Thursday and we just have leftovers for Friday morning, then I'll cook on Saturday and Sunday mornings.
 

Filler: Easy Chicken Salad (WFS)
I wasn't sure I would like this as I am not typically fond of the stuff you buy at the deli. The homemade version is MUCH better and it has become one of my favorites. I love the touch of pepper. Just the right amount!

Monday: Gluten-Free Crab Cakes (JSB) with Dill Sauce (WFS) , asparagus and sweet potato
I was a bit timid to try this one because of my issues with bones in fish and seafood, but the crab did not come with any so I gave it a try and was surprised at how delicious it was. The dill sauce was perfect with it. 

Tuesday: Sweet Potato-Coconut Soup (JSB) with chicken
As I had guess, my husband heard what we were having and asked if there was any meat in it. He doesn't consider it a full meal unless there is some kind of animal protein involved, lol. The original recipe does not include chicken, but the chicken really made it perfect for us. And the sweet potato-coconut flavor is out of this world!

Wednesday: Pulled Pork with homemade BBQ sauce (TFF) on a plantain "bun" (TR), sweet potato, 

                      and veggies
We ended up running short on time for this recipe, which actually kind of worked because the pork was already done in the crock pot. The BBQ sauce only cooked for about 30 minutes but was still great! We'd never tried plantains before either, but they soon became another family favorite! So good!

Thursday: Sausage and Cabbage (WFS) with Sweet Mashed Potatoes (POAB) and spinach salad
I've never been a huge fan of cabbage, but this recipe works for me. I still can't say that cabbage will be my first choice, but hubby loved it so I guess if you enjoy cabbage you should take his opinion over mine in this case. The sweet mashed potatoes were great also, but I can't say no to anything sweet potato! : ) 

Friday: Spi-Garlicy Chicken (WFS) with Cauliflower Rice (NNP) and mixed veggies

Saturday: Pork chops with sweet potato-veggie medley (EGR: recipe coming soon)

Sunday: Moroccan Zucchini Boats (WIG) with veggies and spinach salad

We haven't made it through all of the recipes yet. We've still got a couple of days to go but, so far, none of them have let us down! They are delicious and filling!  I hope you get a chance to try them out!

Meal Plans!

I said I'd post my meal plan, so here's Week 1. 

Meatloaf "Cake"

I haven't experimented too much with my own concoctions yet. I've just been taking a recipe here, one there, until I get enough to fill up a week. 

I've done a little bit with meal plans in the past, but never quite had enough recipes to last so we'd end up substituting with something not-so-great or we'd just go out to eat. Another problem I've had in the past was choosing a ton of crock pot recipes. These are fabulous ... when you're prepared for them. But when it's 4 PM and you're starting to figure out what you'll need to get the meal prepared, there just isn't enough time at that point. Some of the meals I was able to convert to stove-top recipes, but others were just not going to happen. So that would kind of throw everything out of balance and I'd fall back into old habits of last minute planning and eating bad foods. 

So this time I am prepared!

I am searching for simple recipes that do not include a bunch of ingredients that I would never have on hand. I am looking for quick recipes for days when we don't have much time. I also have a few crock pot recipes, but they aren't the bulk anymore and I try to write down on the previous day that I need to get that ready in the morning. One thing I do love about crock pot meals, though, is that you can prepare them the night before and just pull them out and plug them in the next day. So easy! 

My process:

First, it really helps that I am organized, probably more so than I need to be, but I like it, lol. I keep tabs at the top of my Mozilla window. As you can see, I have one for my blog, one for random weight loss resources, and a quick link to the Fitness Blender page (it's my favorite). Then I have a tab for Meal Planning. I have sub-categories in this tab. The first one is a tab dedicated to recipes. And, as you can see, I have them organized into different categories based on what they are. I may be slightly OCD, but it helps so much! I promise! 

Under the recipes folder, there is a folder for sources of recipes. These would be places like Nom Nom Paleo, Paleo On A Budget, Whole Family Strong, etc. That way I can just go to these places quickly and search for something if I need another recipe. 

There is a folder dedicated to the Whole30 process as well. Just quick links to pages in case I need some motivation or a reminder on what the rules are, etc. 

Roasted Sweet Potatoes & Sawsage N Peppas mixed together

And the bottom two folders are links to holiday foods, for when Thanksgiving rolls around, and then some local farms and farmer's markets in our area so I don't forget. Like I said, maybe a bit OCD. 

So, I add these recipes as I find them ... or I just go out and actively search for recipes. Then I start organizing them into the next folders "W:1" and "W:2" for each week. I label them according to which day we will be having them and what we are making with them. To be organized, you know. And then I just have to do a quick look to see what the day's meal is and what I will need. I usually write out the recipe on an index card and use that while I'm cooking. Then if I really love the recipe, I save the index card and put it in a photo album. I'd like to take pictures and print them some day of each of the recipes and include them in the album with the recipe, but I haven't gotten there yet. 

"Spaghetti" and Mamma's Meatballs & Marinara

Whole30 Week 1 Meal Plan

Breakfasts: Lagniappe Casserole (WFS)

Lunches: leftovers

Snack/filler: Paleo Crock Pot Turkey Chili (WFS)

Monday: Salmon Cakes (WFS) with baked sweet potato and

               mixed veggies

Tuesday: Beef Stir Fry (POAB)

Wednesday: Sawsage-n-Peppas (WFS) with Roasted Sweet

                    Potatoes (POAB) and veggies

Thursday: Spaghetti (squash) with Mamma's Meatballs and

                 Marinara Sauce (SLE)

Friday: Meatloaf "Cake" (WFS) with veggies and spaghetti

             squash

Saturday: Spicy Shred (WFS) with veggies

Sunday: Slow Cooker Jambalaya (ELGP)

So there you have it! 

Our first week on the Whole30 program. The breakfast casserole only lasted us about 4 or 5 days, but I was able to get up and cook on the weekend so it wasn't an issue. There was also plenty of leftover food for lunches and to add to a meal if we wanted. I don't think the Turkey Chili was really my favorite, but I'm not a huge fan of tomatoes and there are a lot in that recipe, so that's just my preference. I did really enjoy all the other recipes except for the salmon (I don't really care for it). But I absolutely LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the Jambalaya recipe. It's my favorite and I'll probably be doing a blog post on that one soon just to give it the spotlight. But the link is there if you'd like to try it.

I hope I gave you some good meal planning ideas or maybe just some good recipe ideas. There really isn't a wrong way to meal plan as long as it works for you and your family. So have fun with it, try new things. And keep it healthy! Or, as I like to say, Get Real! : )

Some Food and an Update!

credit: www.idontwannagrowup.com

First, the update. 

Today is Day 4 of the Whole30 challenge. I seem to have more and more energy when I wake up in the mornings now. I feel like a completely different person, even a happy morning person! I can't remember the last time I felt that way. I always thought 6:30 was so early, but it's not so bad right now. It does help that it's light out; I have a feeling that winter mornings are still going to be a bit more difficult since they're still dark when I get up, but we'll see!

Until then, no more of looking like this in the mornings: →

Kill All Things!

I believe that hubby has moved into the Kill All Things stage of the process a bit more quickly than I did (or will... hasn't happened yet). He's had a stressful week though, so I'm sure that doesn't help much. If you remember from my post yesterday, here is the timeline that is expected:

Day 1: So what's the big deal?
Days 2-3: Hangover
Days 4-5: Kill All Things!!
Days 6 - 7: I just want a nap!
Days 8 - 15: Boundless energy, now give me a darned Twinkie!?
Days 16 - 28: Tiger blood! Feeling awesome!
Day 29: HolyOprahIt’sAlmostOverWhatAmIGoingToEatNow?!?!?!

Day 31: Deep breathing, and maybe some ice cream.

I feel like my emotions have been pretty mild up to this point. I did have headaches the first few days, but I think I may avoid that today. It would be nice! : )

Unfortunately, the days where you just want to take a nap (Days 6 & 7) fall directly on the day that hubby is planning on going on a kayaking trip with some friends from church... so, I hope he isn't too tired by then. It'll just be a day trip though, so hopefully it won't be too much for him.

Recipe: Beef Stirfry

This recipe is from Paleo on a Budget and works for the Whole30 plan.

Ingredients

Credit: paleoonabudget.com

• 1.5 lb ground beef

• 1 bag frozen veggies {Mixed bag… I used carrots, broccoli and cauliflower for mine!}

• 1 medium onion, sliced

• 1 medium fresh tomato, chopped

• 1/4 tsp Garlic Powder

• 3 tsp Basil

• 1 tsp Dill

• Salt + Pepper

• 2 tsp Oregano

• Lemon Juice to taste {Or Apple Cider Vinegar}

• Coconut Oil {or fat of choice}

 

Instructions

1.) Get a big ‘ol skillet heating with some coconut oil, and slice up your onions. When they’re all pretty toss them in the pan to start to sweat, you don’t want them caramelized just translucent.

2.) Once those get to a good spot, toss in your frozen veggies and let them cook for a few minutes, then add in your ground beef and continue to let it all cook.

3.) Once it’s almost cooked all the way through, add in your spices / herbs and Lemon Juice. Stir and finish cooking.

4.) Literally seconds before your ready to serve toss in your tomatoes and give a quick stir. That way you still have the cold bite of the tomato and still tastes “meaty” {and hasn’t softened}.

 

Note:

I will say that I added in a bit more garlic ( I really like garlic) and I added in some sweet potatoes rather than making them on the side.  This recipe was delicious though, and a balanced meal full of healthy protein, fat, and carbohydrates! To read the original post from Paleo on a Budget, click HERE.