January Whole 30 – Week 1 Meal Plan

We made it through the first week of our January Whole 30! This is a big deal for us since it is not our first try. When we did it a few years ago, we dropped out on days 4 and 5. The biggest difference has been that we were more prepared this time.

I had been thinking about it since November so I was mentally prepared. Last month I put together a list of 14 Recipes for a Successful Whole 30. When it came time to start, I picked a few of those recipes for our Whole 30 Meal Plan and started from there.

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I knew I would be traveling right up until our start day, so I made a quick run to Trader Joe’s the day before we left on our trip. I grabbed some almond butter, cashew butter, coconut milk, ghee, salsa, frozen veggies, chicken broth, RX bars, plantain chips, coconut aminos and almond milk.

It turns out the almond milk is not compliant so I’m saving that for later. I’m so glad I did this. After getting back from a holiday road trip, it was very tempting to say let’s just wait another week or another day. Since we were already a little prepared, it made it easier to push through and get started.

When we got home on New Year’s Day, I made a quick trip to our local grocery store for other items to get us started. It was tough but I was able to find bacon and chicken sausages with no added sugar. That is harder than you would think. I also stood in front of all the broths reading every label to realize I could not find a beef broth with no added sugar.

The next day I went to Aldi to get a few more items (mainly produce) for this Whole 30 journey. I still did not find beef broth with no added sugar so I just had to use chicken broth this week. Yes, now I have been to three stores. Honestly that is not unusual for me. I try to shop for the best prices in town and that usually involves multiple stores.

Here is what our first week looked like:

Day 1 

• Breakfast – Smoothie with Bananas, Cashew Butter and Almond Milk
• Lunch – Big Salad with a Baked Potato
• Dinner – Healthy Hamburger Soup topped with Avocado

  

  

Day 2

• Breakfast – Two Hard Boiled Eggs, Strawberries and Pears topped with Pecans & Cinnamon
• Lunch – Leftover Hamburger Soup with Chopped Spinach, Avocado, Cucumber & Tomato
• Dinner – Roasted Sausage, Peppers and Potatoes with Green Beans and Salad

  

  

  

Day 3 

• Breakfast – Leftover Sausage, Peppers & Potatoes, Two Eggs, Spinach, Avocado and Berries
• Lunch – Same as Breakfast (This was amazing!)
• Dinner – Taco Bowls made with Ground Beef Taco Meat (homemade seasoning), Riced Cauliflower, Romaine Lettuce, Guacamole and Salsa

  

  

Day 4

• Breakfast – Bacon, Two Hard Boiled Eggs, Sliced Cucumbers, Berries and Almonds
• Lunch – Baked Potato with Leftover Taco Meat and Guacamole, Small Orange, Lettuce and Cucumbers
• Dinner – Sheet Pan Chicken and Veggies (loaded the pan with green beans, peppers, sweet potatoes, broccoli and chicken)

  

  

  

Day 5

• Breakfast – Veggie Scramble with Mushrooms and Peppers, Bacon, Spinach Salad, and Fruit
• Lunch – Leftover Sheet Pan Chicken and Veggies, Spinach Salad, and Fruit
• Dinner – No Bean Chili topped with Avocado
• Snack – Whole 30 Apple Pie (Heated Sliced Apples, Cinnamon, Lemon Juice and Raisins)

  

  

Day 6

• Breakfast – Two Eggs, Bacon, Fruit, Almonds and Spinach Salad
• Lunch – Baked Potato topped with No Bean Chili, Guacamole and Olives, Seasoned Carrots and Sliced Cucumbers
• Dinner – Hot Dog (say what?), No Bean Chili, Sweet Potato Chips, Veggies with Dump Ranch

  

  

  

Day 7

• Breakfast – Two Hard Boiled Eggs and an Apple with Cashew Butter
• Lunch – Baked Potato topped with No Bean Chili, Spinach Salad, and Orange Slices
• Snack – Sea Salt Chocolate RX Bar
• Dinner – Sheet Pan Dinner – Chicken Sausage, Broccoli, Sweet Potatoes, White Potatoes and Peppers served with Green Beans and Salad

  

  

I am pretty excited about this program and hope we can continue to stick it out. The Whole 30 discourages snacking but I did give in and have a snack a couple of days. Usually drinking a cup of herbal tea in the afternoon is enough to get me through until dinner.

Here are some things I learned this first week:

• Scrambled eggs taste the same without the milk and cheese.
• You can still have a fun game day dinner (See Day 6)
• I really like cashew butter even better than peanut butter.
• Most of the meals we were already used to can easily be modified a little to be Whole 30 recipes.
• It is really helpful to have hard boiled eggs and baked potatoes on hand.
• Leftovers make great lunches.
• Dump Ranch makes everything better!

Here are some of my favorite products of the week!

I’m looking forward to trying a couple of new recipes in the second week but I’m sure we’ll have a lot of the same things as well. So far my favorite thing about the Whole 30 has been discovering new foods or healthier versions of foods we already enjoy.