Whole30 - Week 3: Meal Plans

Shopping with my guys this week... had to search all over that ridiculous parking lot for a "car cart" of course... thank you to whoever invented these things... and of course because it was green it really wasn't the car cart of choice but guess what, sometimes life is hard and you just gotta deal, right?? haha... So we have switched up our shopping routine... I used to go on Monday or Tuesday and shop for the week, but now I go on Fridays so I can get food to prep over the weekend. It's actually worked out nicely because Mondays are usually hard anyway and we can kind of take it easy.

Grocery Store Tip: Take a pic of your list on your phone in case you happen to drop your list and you have a billion random things you need and for real can't remember any of them. That way you won't have to make a trip back for tomato paste or something random like that. ;0) Does it sound like that happened this week??

Does anyone else just love it when random stranger people come and TOUCH your children's heads and faces??? PLEASE! Come and touch my child, it's flu season, why not?!?!? She was nice and sweet but really, sick kids are no joke! No touchy people!!!

So this week... week 3... the dishes started wearing on me a bit. I told Jacob I thought about setting my timer to see how much time I was spending at the sink and dishwasher during the day and he quickly said, "No babe, you probably shouldn't" haha... I think he knew it would push me over the edge... I've loved the cooking but whew those dishes multiply during the day and over night I think.

Sorry, I really am going to get to my meal plans... these just cracked me up...

Totally me this week.

There's a reason I'm a boy mom... because I truly am considering doing this in a few years... and it made me laugh a LOT thinking about it...

OK, time to get serious. Breakfast. Lunch. Snacks. Dinner. Go.

Breakfast Options:

• scrambled/fried eggs - use Coconut Oil
• breakfast bowl - hash potatoes, sausage, eggs... I added salsa and guac (duh of course) but you could also do spinach, bell peppers etc.

• bacon - make sure it is sugar free (check ingredients) - Pederson is the best!

• veggies/fruit
• potatoes (any kind) - cut up ahead of time, boil 10-15 minutes and store in the fridge; when you are ready to cook breakfast just grab a handful and toss them in the pan on the other side with the eggs, add some rosemary to them with ghee. I also diced mine and made a hash with them.
• smoothie - coconut water, banana, frozen fruit, spinach, avocado, water (technically Whole30 compliant, but they say to use sparingly - lots of sugar for breakfast in the morning sets your blood sugar for crashes throughout the day. I would probably use this as a snack later with just a little frozen fruit)
• coffee - ok, but they recommend to only drink it before noon - you can use coconut milk  (this is a good brand... just check ingredients and make sure it doesn't have any random ingredients... sometimes guar gum can upset your stomach. It is whole30 approved but some people have a sensitivity to it) instead of creamer with a little bit of cinnamon (seriously... this is what I was mourning the most, and it really wasn't that bad this morning!)
• How to make your own coconut milk... haven't tried this yet but Natalie and Jessica said it's great!
• Last week I made my own almond milk and it was dreamy and easy! Great in coffee!
• Paleo Breakfast Casserole - 2 small Sweet Potatoes, 3 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 2 Chicken Apple Sausages, ½ Yellow Onion, 4 Eggs, ½ cup Coconut Milk, ¼ tsp fresh Sage, Coarse Sea Salt and Black Pepper (to taste)
• Preheat over to 350 and grease 8x8 baking dish with coconut oil. Make hash browns out of the sweet potatoes (I used white potatoes because I have a lot of them and just chopped them in my ninja chopper) by grating them and place them in the bottom of the greased dish. Heat 2 tbsp. coconut oil, add diced onion and break up the chicken apple sausage. Season with sea salt and pepper, cook until sausage is cooked through and onions are translucent. Layer sausage and onion on top of the sweet potatoes. Add 4 eggs, 1/4 tsp sage, 1/2 cup coconut milk, ½ tsp coarse sea salt and ½ tsp black pepper into a blender and pulse. Pour egg mixture on top of the sausage and onions. Bake uncovered for 45 min.

Lunch Options:

• leftovers from dinners
• crockpot shredded chicken
• plantain nachos - seasoned with cumin, garlic, chili powder, salt and pepper (check ingredients for preservatives/fillers), top with salsa, avocado
• chicken salad - something crunchy (celery, onions, apples, nuts), something sweet (raisins, dried cranberries, dried cherries, grapes), something acidic (dijon mustard, apple cider vinegar, lemon or lime juice), seasonings, mayonnaise 
• canned tuna fish
• salad -  use leftover meats from dinner, lunchmeat or grilled chicken
• lettuce sandwich wraps - lunchmeat (applegate is a good brand), avocado, tomato wrapped in lettuce maybe with some mayo and a slice of BACON!
• random plate of stuff - sometimes I like to just grab random stuff for lunch... orange slices, lunch meat, avocado, plantain chips and salsa, handful of nuts, grapes... get creative!

Snack Options:

• veggies with guacamole
• mixed nuts (no peanuts)
• fresh fruits/veggies
• chia seed pudding with coconut milk
• larabars
• fruit with almond butter (check ingredients)
• epic bars
• seasnax
• sardines
• unsweetened coconut chips with cacao nibs
• dinner leftovers
• smoothie (see above)
• applesauce (sugar free, organic)
• boiled egg

Dinner Plans:

• Sunday Lunch - 
•  We actually got some Mexican food today for lunch since we had friends in town... fajitas, with guacamole, pico de gallo and grilled veggies! Make sure ask them to leave out the butter! I definitely forgot and almost cried... first fail haha... insert emoji cry face here!
  

• Monday - Repeat from week 1! Definitely made two lbs. of meat so I would have lots of leftovers! Love eating this for lunch!
• Jessica's Spaghetti Sauce - Brown 1 lb. ground beef, add onion and drain fat, add two cans of tomato sauce and then fresh garlic and Italian spices. You can also add diced carrots and diced squash. Cook for two hours in skillet, serve over spaghetti squash.
• Spaghetti Squash - Cut in half width wise for longer noodle strands, scoop out the seeds, brush oil over the squash and turn inside face down onto baking sheet. Bake on 375 for 45 minutes depending on the size of your squash. Once it is done and cooled a little, get a fork to shred the squash out. This is SO yummy, once you've had spaghetti squash, it will be so hard to go back to regular noodles!
• Salad, Green beans, Broccoli, Other veggies...

• Tuesday 
• Sausage Egg "McMuffins" from NomNom Paleo - consists of making a sausage patti, and then two eggs as the "bun" part. Check out the website for step by step instructions. There is a link in the website for how to make sausage if you can't find Whole30 compliant sausage, but I think I'm going to use the one in the next bullet from my friend Natalie.
• Natalie's Sausage - 1/2 lb ground pork, 3/4 tsp dried sage (or 1 tsp chopped fresh sage leaves), 1/3 tsp dried thyme, (or 1/2 tsp chopped fresh thyme leaves), pinch of ground nutmeg, coats salt and ground pepper, 1/2 tsp olive oil

Wild nights at the Campbell house...

• Wednesday - leftover night!!

• Thursday - THIS was AMAZING. 
• Oven-Braised Mexican Beef from NomNom Paleo - 2½ pounds boneless beef short ribs, beef brisket, or beef stew meat cut into 1½-inch cubes, 1 tbsp. chili powder, 1½ tsp kosher salt, 1 tbsp coconut oil, 1 medium onion, thinly sliced, 1 tablespoon tomato paste, 6 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed, ½ cup roasted salsa (I use Trader Joe’s Double Roasted salsa), ½ cup chicken stock, ½ tsp fish sauce, ½ cup minced cilantro (optional), 2 radishes, thinly sliced (optional)
• Preheat oven to 300°F with the rack located in the lower middle. In a large bowl, combine cubed beef, chili powder, and salt. toss. Melt coconut over medium heat in a large, oven-proof dutch oven. Add onions……and sauté until translucent. Stir in tomato paste and fry for 30 seconds, then add garlic and seasoned beef. Pour in salsa, chicken stock and bring to a boil. Cover pot and place in over for 3 hours or until beef is tender. Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary. Serve, top with cilantro, radish inside of a lettuce leaf, guacamole.

This was soooo yummy...

• Served on top of Pantacones with guac and sweet angel tomatoes - so a couple of tips for the pantacones... 
• I smashed mine between parchment paper with the smooth side of a meat pounder (at the moment I can't remember if there is a more appropriate word for "meat pounder" because my sad mommy brain is just plain tired...) This was easier than using a glass jar or bowl. Also, if you have more brown plantains, they are easier to smash for pantacones. Green plantains are better for making chips.

This one actually didn't fall apart so he got his picture taken.

I used ghee with these guys tonight too and uhh delicious. Got this bad boy from Amazon of course.

• Friday - Prosciutto Wrapped, Spinach and Artichoke Stuffed Chicken - Y'ALL... this was so good!!! And I totally forgot to take a picture!! We had friends over and devoured this stuff!! Might have felt a little like this...

• 1.5 cup spinach, 1 can artichoke hearts, 1/4 cup coconut milk, 1 pkg. Proschiutto, 8 Chicken filets/cutlets, Sea salt, lemon pepper, toothpicks
• Stuffing: Steam the spinach, then combine with artichokes in a food processor. Add coconut milk gradually and then salt and lemon pepper to taste. (I used my ninja chopper)
• Preheat oven to 350, pat chicken filets with a paper towel to remove excess water. Spread about a tbsp of stuffing onto one side of the filet. Roll the chicken and wrap one slice of proscuitto. Hold together with a toothpick. Repeat with remaining chicken breasts. Lay side by side in a pyrex glass baking dish. Bake 25-30 min.
• Served with mashed sweet potatoes ...
• Heat 2-3 potatoes in the microwave after poking holes in them for 5-6 min, rotate them and do another 4-6 min, maybe more or less depending on the size. After they are soft, cut them open with a knife and let them cool for a few minutes, then scoop out the sweet potato. Add ghee, coconut oil and sea salt or other seasonings and stir! So yum!
• Roasted squash and zucchini - I've made this a bunch of times before and it's super easy... cut up squash and zucchini into chunks, spread them over a cookie sheet and sweep with olive oil. Sprinkle with sea salt, pepper and other seasonings if you like. Bake in the oven for 20ish minutes until soft but not over done.

• Saturday - Probably will have leftovers but just in case... By the way, finally found some chicken apple sausage at HEB! Whoo hoo!
• Chicken Apple Sausage - Slice sausage links and heat in skillet on stove until warm and a little brown around the edges.

• Baked Potato Bites - Chop potato into bites, in a bowl drizzle some olive oil, rosemary or parsley and some dijon mustard. Lay out on baking sheets and cook for 35-40ish min on 350
• Steamed Broccoli and other veggies (squash, zucchini) or steamed carrots with coconut oil

This guy... getting big and getting into baby trouble. Loves that dog food and was so proud of himself climbing up to the table this week. Hope y'all enjoyed the meals, happy cooking!!!