Seriously though, the amount of veggies and fruit that we go through on a weekly basis is astounding. It took a bit of adjusting to figure out how much food we each needed in a day (especially for my husband), but we're headed into our third week of the Whole30 and feeling like we've found a groove!
In general, I start planning my meals on Tuesday for the following week. Since I go to multiple grocery stores, I usually try to do one on Wednesday (mostly shelf stable stuff), one on Thursday, and one on Friday to break it up a bit. I do the bulk of my cooking on Friday night and Saturday, and then make one more trip to the store on Sunday to buy things that need to be extra fresh, like lettuce or other raw veggies. This system is always changing through the years depending on my work schedule, our weekends, etc, but this is what is working for us right now!
Here's the plan for this week:
Breakfast for me: Root Veggie Hash with Ground Venison // I actually made this meal for breakfast last week (you can find the recipe here), but didn't need it because I was home on Monday and Tuesday and ate leftover grilled veggies with eggs for breakfast on Wed/Thurs/Fri. Since I had frozen it in portions, I'll just eat it this week instead, and that's one less meal to prep!
Breakfast for him: Frittata + Banana // This has been working well, so no need to change it! As a reminder, here's how I made the frittata: I sautéed up one diced onion with two chopped bell peppers until soft. In another skillet, I sautéed 12 oz of sliced mushrooms until toasty and brown. In yet another skillet I cooked up 8 oz of Whole30 compliant bacon (also from US Wellness Meats), and lastly, while all of that was going on, I roasted up about 1 pound of fingerling potatoes in the oven. I layered all of those things in a large pyrex dish, then whisked up a dozen Vital Farms eggs and poured them over the top. I baked that at 350 for about 25 minutes until the eggs were set.
Lunch for me: Zupa Soup + Turkey + Avocado + Veggies + Apple // It really doesn't get any easier to get Whole30 approved veggies into your diet than with Zupa Soups! I make a point to add some protein and healthy fat on the side, and sometimes some fruit and additional veggies, like in this spread. These soups are PACKED with flavor and I find them nice and filling! They also make a great snack by themselves or with some added protein! If you want to give them a try for yourself, you can pick up a 6 pack, one of each flavor, for $34 (free shipping!) on www.drinkzupa.com with the code "wholedailylife!"
Lunch for him: Chicken, Veggies, Grapes, Nuts // I seasoned the chicken a little differently this week by marinating it in a mustard/balsamic sauce then roasting at 425 for about 25 minutes. The veggies are in my favorite reusable bags by Stasher; carrots, snap peas, and radishes this week. I shopped the sales and ended up with grapes for fruit; I tend to buy whatever is the cheapest to help with the budget!
Dinner for me: Macadamia and Coconut Crusted Chicken Tenders + Roasted Sweet Potatoes + Asparagus // This is a recipe that I created for a project that I am working on with US Wellness Meats and it's AMAZING. The macadamia/coconut coating is so simple and so flavorful! In short, it's just 1 egg and 2 tbsp coconut milk in one bowl and finely chopped macadamia nuts (1 cup) and coconut shreds (1 cup) with 1 tsp each salt and garlic powder in the other. Dip the chicken in the egg mixture, then the nut mixture, and bake on a parchment lined sheet at 350 until cooked through, about 15 minutes. I kept the sides simple with sweet potato and asparagus, both of which were on sale this week as well!
Dinner for him: Balsamic Chicken + Sweet Potatoes + Green Beans + Salad // I meant to cook the chicken two different ways, one for lunch and one for dinner, but wasn't paying attention and ended up marinating it all in the balsamic mustard sauce, so it's the same protein for both meals. However, I shredded the lunch chicken to make it a little different, and there will be some Tessemae's BBQ sauce to mix it up at dinner! The sweet potatoes and green beans are simply roasted with Primal Kitchens Avocado Oil and salt, and I mixed up a vinaigrette for the salad with balsamic and Kasandrinos olive oil.
Snacks (if needed): W30 compliant Rx Bars for him and Artisana Coconut Butter for me!
I spent about $130 on groceries this week and 4 hours on prep + cooking. Using my breakfast leftovers from last week and having two no-cook meals on the meal plan this week definitely helped!
Have a great week, and stay tuned, I have ANOTHER giveaway (I'm teaming up with @tristynleighh) this Thursday!!