Having three full and successful Whole30’s under my belt, I feel pretty qualified to make the following statement:
your success depends on your planning.
For reals.
This isn’t something where good intentions count.
Good intentions end you up at McDonald’s because the meat for dinner didn’t thaw and you don’t have a backup.
I really focus on planning dinners during a Whole30. A well planned dinner can give you not only that meal, but a lunch or two (or sometimes three). It’s easy to turn leftover chicken into chicken zucchini fritters or avocado chicken salad. If I’m cooking a pound of ground beef for one meal, I cook two and separate out half before adding seasoning other than salt and pepper – these three lunches are quick and easy and taste totally different (so they don’t necessarily feel like leftovers!). I do the same thing with vegetables – by having a menu in place, I can see that I’m going to need carrots chopped for the next two dinners and do them all on the first night. Cooked veggies can be added to omelettes or used as the base for the next days lunch (assuming you’re careful not to overcook the first time…shudder).
I’ve been stocking up on bone broth. One $7 package of chicken thighs gave me about 16 cups of broth in the freezer. It’s great for soups, steaming cauliflower for rice, simple sauces or just drinking from a mug – especially this time of year.
I’m also planning some freezer meals this time. We’ve been busier than ever in the evenings and that’s lead to a lot of less than great dinners. Shredded beef taco roast is something our entire family loves that reheats really, really well and my pressure cooker is big enough to cook two roasts at once. When I make chicken soup (super simple – chicken, celery, carrots, and onion), I double it and pour half into Mason jars to freeze and defrost later. I’m definitely planning to try a few of the recipes from this blog post.
One way I simplify my Whole30 is that I don’t plan breakfast. I eat eggs scrambled in clarified butter and either mashed butternut squash or mashed sweet potatoes for breakfast pretty much every day. It doesn’t take a lot of thought. It keeps me full and productive until lunch. And oddly enough, I don’t ever seem to get sick of it.
I’ll post my two week menu plan next Monday and pictures as I can.
I’ve written quite a bit more about my planning in the past:
- 5 for Friday: planning for a successful Whole30 – my personal favorite tips ever
- Whole30 Menu Plans - I’ll be adding to this one as this challenge goes
- 5 Things Friday: keys to a successful Whole30 – some of these are repeats from the post above…that means they’re really important
- Whole30: when life gets hard – life doesn’t stop just because you’re doing an eating challenge
- Whole30 pinboard of recipes – my general board
- November Whole30 pinboard – what I’ll be working from for this challenge
