Whole30 Meal Planning and Day 1

Whole30 as I said before is removing a lot of items from your normal eating routine. For the next 30 days (or 90 meals), the program eliminates what becomes a lot of issues for people. I must say I have gone a week without sugar previous, however 30 days might prove to be a challenge with some of the other items on this list.

What I have found to be the biggest issue people have with Whole30 is the meal planning. It takes a great deal of work to actually sit out a meal plan since a lot of prep is involved in making this program work. In their book, they provide a lot of meals to help you out with that process. Additionally, a lot of people have also paved the way for helping you out with meal planning. I went seeking what other fellow program users had done on Pinterest. And, I was not disappointed. So many people have done the Whole30 program, and with great success, created a lot of amazing meals. After finding a great deal I really like, I decided I would start making a few myself.

This day proved to be a a bit challenging as we had gone grocery shopping prior to dinner to get all the essentials we needed, since our pantry had to be "reorganized" to remove some of the items we had been using before. Our local butcher proved to be an excellent source of grass-fed beef from a local farm. And, we have another local organic grocery store which had sustainable wild caught fish. However, our chain stores proved a tad more tricky. Reading labels is essential in this process and I could not believe how much sugar is in everything! Typically we use sauces to flavor meats and create our own sauces, but this also proved difficult as almost all  (even organic ones) included some form of sugar. I also found a lot of starch filler in drinks like almond milk and even soy as a filler in almost ever sauce or non-dairy item. So, the real test for me will be creating new flavors without certain kitchen staples I have been used to using.

Day 1: 

As the first day, I don't believe I felt any sort of "missing out". Here are my meals! (Breakfast not included as I woke up later than normal.) Meal 1 - 3 cups of organic green tea and pomegranate seeds for flavor.

Meal 2- Lunch was Sweet Potatoes cubed and sauteed in my cast iron skillet with coconut oil. I also cooked an egg in the leftover coconut oil. Added salt and pepper and lunch was made. This was delicious! I drank a cup of pomegranate oolong tea- no sweetener.

Meal 3- Dinner was Swordfish seasoned with Old Bay, Shallots and a homemade Dijon marinade (Dijon mustard, shallots, lemon juice, and garlic powder) sauteed in a pan. In another pan I had sauteed green beans cooking over avocado oil and roasted garlic seasoning. I used the leftover Dijon marinade and EVOO to make a salad dressing for my side salad of 50/50 salad blend. I did place the fish on top for a warm salad and i found the fish flavored the salad perfectly. Water to drink with lemon for dinner.

So day 1 was a success - 3 meals done! I did not miss sugar or sweeteners at all. I do think making your own sauces is the way to go on flavoring meats. We are starting to use more spices as rubs (like with the swordfish) and less with basic bottled marinades to create new flavor profiles.