Whole30

My mom recently started doing the Whole30 lifestyle change. She's only on day four, but people say that in weeks two and three, you can really feel a change in your body and energy-levels. Basically, you take out all the big inflammatory food groups (sugar, legumes, dairy, grains) and substitute them with protein, vegetables, and infrequently, fruit. I'm planning to start this too because my diet now mostly consists of beans, which is really not the healthiest thing in the world. Delicious, protein-filled, and hearty, but when your dinner consists of a can of beans, a tortilla, and some cheese, it's probably time to start doing nicer things to your stomach (mine has been rebelling for the past few days after a delectable taco casserole, hence the inspiration to finally start a new lifestyle after decades of stomach anger).

I've started trying to come up with a meal plan for the first week and it's proving to be difficult. When you cut out grains and legumes, you have to buy a ton of animal protein and a variety of vegetables. According to one site, you should be aiming for about one pound of protein and six to eight cups of vegetables a day. A pound of protein! I usually only eat chicken once a week and then subsist on beans the rest of the week. We'll see how this experiment goes!

For my first week, most of my meals are salads. I really need to get more creative if I'm going to make this work because salads get very boring very fast.  I try to grocery shop on the weekends so this meal plan starts on Monday. Here's the plan:

Monday
2 eggs, 1 cup of spinach, 1/2 c cantaloupe
2 c lettuce, 1 c cucumber, 1/2 c tomatoes, 1/4 c almonds
Fish fillet, home-made salsa (1 c tomatoes, 1 c onions, handful cilantro), 1 avocado

Tuesday
Smoothie (nut butter, 1 c fruit, 1 c veggie, 1 c almond milk)
2 c lettuce, 1 c salsa (leftover), 1/2 c hearts of palm, 1/2 avocado home-made mustard vinaigrette
Serving chicken, 1 c salsa, 1/2 avocado

Wednesday
2 eggs, asparagus, lemon, 1/2 c cantaloupe
2 c lettuce, can of tuna, 1/2 c hearts of palm, mustard vinaigrette
Chicken, asparagus, lemon, kale chips (make with garlic and EVOO)

Thursday
2 eggs, 1 c bell peppers
2 c lettuce, can of tuna, 1/2 c hearts of palm, mustard vinaigrette
1 c edamame hummus, 1 c snap peas, 1/2 c bell peppers, 1/2 c carrots

Friday
Non-traditional breakfast: hard-boiled egg, 1 c onions, 1 c tomatoes, 1 c cucumber, vinaigrette
1 c edamame hummus, 1 c bell peppers, 1 c snap peas, 1/2 c carrots

I only plan meals for the work week as weekends tend to get swept up by other things. For that week though, those veggies add up really fast at the grocery store (in terms of cost). I might have to play around with my grocery budget some.

I'm having a hard time thinking of new ways to eat the same old produce. Also, I have issues with eggs which are making up a large portion of my meal plan. I go through phases where I can eat them everyday and then go through phases where they absolutely disgust me. Currently in a disgust phase and yet, guess what I had for lunch?!

Looking back over the week seems like that can't possibly be enough food--I love crackers so much and feel that a meal is incomplete without a crispy crunch or a nice piece of bread, but I will try to persevere! And maybe add some more food to my daily meal plans depending on if it's needed or not. I really don't know. Has anyone done the Whole30 or have any advice on what foods to eat?

For following weeks I will definitely be making a ratatouille. One of my favorite foods is eggplant so I love making dishes with it. My favorites are ratatouille, babaganoush, and eggplant lasagna. Also I like making a pasta sauce with eggplants, but can't eat pasta on this plan, so that's out.