Whole30 First Timer - My First Week's Menu

Have you seen the buzz about the "Whole 30" challenge? It's basically a 30 day challenge to reset your body and commit to eating unprocessed, whole foods. Meats, eggs, fish, veggies, fruit, nuts, good fats, things like that.

There are a lot of restrictions and, although they make sense from a health perspective, I've always been too intimidated to jump in and just DO IT.

Until last weekend. I over-ate, over-drank, over-snacked, over-baked, pretty much over-did it in every regard. I laid in bed Sunday night feeling nauseous from overstuffing myself at dinner…too nauseous to even sleep, so I turned on my phone and flipped mindlessly through Facebook. 

A friend of mine posted asking if anyone would want to join her in doing the Whole 30 Challenge starting on July 1. She was starting a FB group to share recipes, meal ideas, plus encouragement and other tips. Without thinking, I commented on the post, asking to be included. 

Then I panicked.

Even though I've been gluten free for the past year, I still eat my fair share of dairy, beans, oats, brown rice, potatoes…WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO EAT NOW?!?!?

I pulled up Whole30 on Pinterest and started pinning things like crazy. Meal plans, grocery lists, approved Costco items, "how to be successful" tips, you name it. It slowly started seeming pretty doable.

So, I'm in. This is the end of my first full week and I wanted to share what I ate in hopes of helping give ideas to other first-time Whole 30 challengers.  I ate a lot of the same things, but here goes.

Update: I didn't realize during this first week that I wasn't supposed to eat snacks. All I heard was "don't count calories" and I sort of went with it. 

Monday - Day 1

Breakfast: Omelet with red bell peppers and tomatoes with a side of 1/2 an avocado

Morning Snack: Sliced apple with almond butter

Lunch: 2 Aidells Chicken & Apple Sausages (from Costco) and a handful of dried green beans from Trader Joe's (I was starving in the car on the way home from the store at 1:15pm)

Afternoon Snack: A red bell pepper with Wholly Guacamole

Dinner: (I forgot to eat dinner…I ate that afternoon snack so late that I heated up leftovers for everyone else and forgot about myself!)

Dessert: I was starving around 7:45pm (I still hadn't realized that I forgot to eat dinner), so I microwaved 1 chopped apple with 1 tsp coconut oil and 1/2 tsp cinnamon for 90 seconds. YUM!

Day 1 Thoughts: No cravings all morning, but I really wanted something sweet in the evening. The baked apple hit the spot!

Tuesday - Day 2

Breakfast: 1/2 a banana with almond butter (I was in a hurry)

Morning Snack: Blueberry Muffin Larabar, a few almonds

Lunch: Shredded chicken mixed with 1/2 avocado, chopped red bell pepper and tomato, plus a glop of mayo, all mixed up. 

Afternoon Snack: Trader Joe's Plantain Chips and Wholly Guacamole (I LOVE the single servings from Costco!)

Dinner: Spaghetti Squash with marinara and meatballs

Dessert: Apple Chips

Day 2 Thoughts: I was pretty busy today, so I didn't miss anything on the "don't" list. Except parmesan cheese on my dinner…I missed that as everyone else was passing it around the table. 

Wednesday - Day 3

Breakfast: Omelet with red bell peppers and tomatoes with a side of 1/2 an avocado

Morning Snack: Apple with almond butter

Lunch: A salad (with oil and vinegar dressing, shredded chicken, red bell peppers, cucumber, tomatoes, avocado, and apple chips)

1st Afternoon Snack: Plantain chips and guacamole

2nd Afternoon Snack: A smoothie (a banana, 5 frozen strawberries, 2 frozen pineapple pieces, some blueberries, fresh spinach, and green tea)

Dinner: Rotisserie chicken and zucchini sautéed with ghee and Tastefully Simple seasoned salt

Day 3 Thoughts: I was unusually hungry today. I really wanted some fresh fruit with breakfast, but all I had on hand was an over-ripe banana and an apple that I wanted to save for later. I ate my morning snack by 9am, then lunch by 11am. The salad didn't taste as good as I hoped it would, I think I was missing the feta cheese, so I ate some plantain chips and guacamole. Then I had a smoothie around 2pm. It seems like I had trouble feeling satisfied today. It could have also been because I was home painting all day…maybe being so close to the kitchen gave me the munchies?

Thursday - Day 4

Breakfast: Banana with almond butter (perfect pre-workout breakfast!)

Morning Snack: Egg white veggie omelet with avocado and grapes

Lunch: Shredded chicken with red bell peppers, avocado, grape halves and a glop of mayo. 

Afternoon Snack: Trader Joe's Roasted Plantain Chips

Dinner: 3 Aidells Chicken & Apple Sausages

Dessert: Strawberries and blueberries

Day 4 Thoughts: We headed to my in laws' cabin for the holiday weekend and I brought a bunch of snacks and veggies, all chopped and ready for omelets and salads. Being around Mike's family, who was eating and drinking whatever they wanted, wasn't too tough so far, but I'm definitely glad I brought a lot of my own snacks. (first picture below)

Friday (4th of July)

Breakfast: Omelet with red bell peppers, ground sausage and tomatoes with a side of 1/2 an avocado and a banana

Morning Snack: Strawberries

Lunch: A salad (with oil and vinegar dressing, shredded chicken, red bell peppers, cucumber, tomatoes,  grapes, and avocado)

Afternoon Snack: TJ's Roasted Plantain Chips and Wholly Guacamole, more strawberries

Dinner: Grilled chicken with TS Seasoned Salt and olive oil, with a  side of carrots, red bell peppers and broccoli sautéed in olive oil and TS Seasoned Salt

Dessert: Apple Chips

Day 5 Thoughts: At the 4th of July festival that we went to, I treated the kids to homemade mini donuts and some apple pie. I decided to have a bite of each and it was totally worth it. It was a holiday, after all! My only "cheat" so far and I don't regret it one bit. When we returned home from watching fireworks, my father in law left us a baggie full of recently baked chocolate chips cookies...my biggest weakness. Thankfully, I wasn't tempted in the least and I thought it was absolutely hilarious. 

My father-in-law's idea of "pillow mints" - so funny!

Saturday - Day 6

Breakfast: Omelet with red bell peppers and tomatoes and 1/2 an avocado 

Morning Snack: Handful of almonds, cashews, walnuts and raisins (individual bags sold at Trader Joe's)

Lunch: My daily salad (with oil and vinegar dressing, leftover grilled chicken, red bell peppers, cucumber, tomatoes,  grapes, and avocado)

Afternoon Snack: Apple and almond butter, Trader Joe's dried green beans, strawberries

Dinner: Steak and steamed broccoli

Day 6 Thoughts: I've been especially tired today. And I couldn't stop snacking in the afternoon. We headed home from the cabin after dinner, so hopefully being home and in my routine tomorrow will help proceeding with this challenge a little easier than being on "vacation".

Sunday - Day 7

Breakfast: Omelet with sautéed zucchini, red bell pepper, and tomatoes with 1/2 an avocado and blueberries.

Morning Snack: none

Lunch: We went to Chipotle (I ordered a "salad" with no dressing. It was just lettuce, chicken, extra fajita vegetables, tomatoes and guacamole - forgot to take a picture until I was almost done eating!)

Afternoon Snack: TJ's Roasted Plantain Chips and Wholly Guacamole

Dinner: A hamburger with mustard and no bun - after the 30 days, I'm going to try to make Paleo ketchup

Day 7 Thoughts: Mike and the kids keep trying to eat "my" food. I'm trying to convince Mike to try Whole 30 with me, but he wants to see what kind of results I get first. Everyone sneaks my plantain chips and fresh berries, and they always ask for bites of my sausages and salad. The food I'm eating is DELICIOUS!!!

This week might not have been my perfect preference for a first week, given the fact that we went up with my in-laws' to their cabin for the long holiday weekend, but is there really ever a "good" time to start? 

In 3 weeks, I'm heading to KC for my high school reunion, then 3 weeks after that I'm speaking at a Tastefully Simple conference in Baltimore. Then it's my birthday. Then Labor Day. Then Columbus Day…I mean, seriously, I could come up with a gazillion excuses! But I didn't want to. I just wanted to dive in and get 'er done. 

What am I expecting to get out of this 30 day challenge? I'd like to have more energy, be less lethargic, get less sugar cravings, and leaning out a little before my 20 year reunion and my speaking engagement wouldn't be half bad, either! I also plan to gradually introduce each food group back into my diet to see how it makes me feel. I've always had a sneaking suspicion that I'm lactose intolerant, so maybe I'll have an epiphany there? We'll see. 

I committed to not measuring or weighing myself until it's over, but I cheated and weighed myself this morning. I'm down 4 lbs, which could be water weight, but it's 4 lbs I haven't been able to lose no matter what I've done! In the end, the only thing I really care about is that my getting-too-snug jeans start fitting me properly again. 

Here's hoping!