Whole30 January 1!

I'm really excited to be doing another Whole30 in January!  In fact, I feel like I NEED to do it!  Husband is on board and so are some friends.  It's gonna be great!  You should join us!  In fact, I've started a FaceBook group for us!  See you there!

Tips for a successful Whole30:

1. Plan, plan, plan!  Plan your menu at least a week in advance.
2. Pre-cook as much as you can over the weekend (or whenever you have the most free time).
3. Make dishes that have meat & veggies all in one so that you don't have to plan to make a veggie with every meal.
4. Start stocking up on seasonings now (to avoid a high grocery bill in week 1).
5. Start stocking up on kitchen basics now (to avoid a high grocery bill in week 1).

I have compiled a list of compliant Whole30 Recipes that I have personally  made and enjoyed.  The list has hyperlinks to each recipe.  Please keep in mind that some minor modifications may be needed in order to be Whole30 compliant (such as using ghee or clarified butter in place of butter...etc.)  Also, some things may be SWYPO for you, such as the banana ice cream.  If that's the case, please don't use those recipes!  If anyone has any recipes that they would like to add to the list, please let me know.  There are a ton of resources on the web for Whole30 recipes including the Recipe Sharing portion Whole9 forum, which I strongly suggest that EVERYONE use!  I browsed that forum every single day of my first Whole30 and I still browse it at least once a week.

I always do a lot of prepping & cooking on Sunday for the following week.  I strongly suggest you make a menu plan each week and do as much of the cooking as possible on one day so that there is always healthy, compliant food available with little or no work required.  Below is a typical sample week that I would do.  This * symbol represents what I will be cooking up ahead over the weekend.  

Week 1 Menu

*BBQ Crockpot Chicken with steamed mixed veggies

*Crockpot Shredded Beef (add lots of onions & peppers to pot or make additional on the side)

*Ground Beef & Cabbage 

*Beef/Turkey Cabbage Soup

Ribeye Steaks with Sweet Potato Fries & homemade mayo

Baked Lemon Pepper Cod with sauteed Asparagus
Shredded Beef with Fried Eggs

*Sausage & Egg Scramble

*Hard Boiled Eggs

Week 1 Shopping List

Whole Chicken

Beef Roast

3lb Ground Beef (or turkey or venison...)

Ribeyes (you can grill extras and use it for lunch the next day)

Pork Sausage (be sure there is no sugar or nitrites/nitrates)

Fresh Wild Caught Cod - I watch for this to be marked down at the grocery store and then buy it and cook it  within a day or two

Mixed Veggies (fresh or frozen)

Onions

Bell Peppers
Cabbage

Broth & Stock (I make my own)
Soup Veggies - celery, onion, carrots, zucchini, green beans, whatever you like
Tomato Paste 6oz

Eggs (I buy 4-5 dozen per week!)

Sweet Potatoes

Asparagus

Seasonings

As I am gearing up for my next Whole30 (January 1st), I am developing some helpful lists for those who will be joining me for their first Whole30.  Here is a basic list of spices & seasonings that I keep on hand:

This is my entire spice/herb shelf.
I also store some of my vinegars & oils on there.

Paprika

Salt & Pepper

Sea Salt

Onion Powder

Thyme

Cayenne

White Pepper

Garlic Powder

Chili Powder

Parsley

Lemon Pepper (no MSG, no sugar) 

Oregano

Cumin

Turmeric

Basil

Smoked Paprika

Dry Mustard

Cinnamon

Kitchen Basics

As I am gearing up for my next Whole30 (January 1st), I am developing some helpful lists for those who will be joining me for their first Whole30.  Here is a list of basic items that I always keep on hand:

Light Flavored Olive Oil (for making mayo & ranch dressing)

Mustard - because it's about the only packaged condiment that's compliant!

Coconut Oil - for cooking

Ghee or Clarified Butter - you can buy regular butter and clarify it yourself

Garlic - I bought a giant bag of it at Sam's Club

Onions

Eggs - used for meals & snacks as well as for making the mayo & ranch.  Farm fresh, free-range, organic are best!  

Coconut Milk - the canned full-fat stuff (no "lite").  NOT Silk!

GOOD (contains guar gum)

Photo Credit:
http://www.thaikitchen.com/products/coconut-milk.aspx

BETTER (no guar gum, cheapest I've found, VERY thick)

                                                    BEST (no guar gum, no BPA)

Photo Credit:
http://www.edwardandsons.com/native_shop_coconut.itml

Weekly Cook-up & Banana Bread Muffins

 My weekly cook-up this week wasn't nearly as extensive as last week, but we had several servings of soup left over as well as the spicy pork.  So... on Sunday I cooked the two spaghetti squash that I had in the pantry from the farmers market.  I tossed it all in butter with some garlic powder, salt and pepper and then let it cool and put it in storage containers in the fridge.  I also made a batch of chunky marinara sauce using the recipe I found on Spark Recipes.  Sunday night I sauteed some shrimp and reheated the spaghetti squash by sauteing it in (more) butter with fresh garlic.  

This "shrimp scampi" wasn't as awesome as I thought it would be.  I think I need to do a better job cooking the shrimp next time.   






Monday night I reheated more of the squash using the saute method again and topped it with the chunky marinara.  This has quickly become a favorite dinner for me! 


                                                                                    
 

I also made these banana bread muffins.  I replaced the olive oil with coconut oil and left the walnuts out (because I didn't have enough of them).  I topped one with coconut butter (first time trying coconut butter ever!) and it was really good!  These were a hit!

I've decided to go to CrossFit on Monday, Wednesday and Friday nights (and maybe Saturday mornings) for now, so tonight I will cook up the 3lbs of boneless chicken breasts that I have and saute any veggies that are in my fridge.  That should get us through Thursday or Friday.