I don’t have time for a bunch of complicated recipes. I also don’t have the luxury of storage space since I’m sharing a fridge with my parents. And I need for my two year old to be interested in at least half of what I’m eating so that I can piece together meals for her.
That said, I’m keeping this really simple. So simple that I’m almost worried I’m not doing it right. Any quick search for the phrase “Whole 30 Recipes” or “Whole 30 Meal Plan” will likely yield a number of very delicious looking yet time consuming meals that often require things I don’t have access to right now like a food processor, chopper or other gadgets. And while that’s totally fine if it works, I’m finding that is actually what has intimidated me in the past and thrown me off course shortly after starting.
There are some Whole 30 ingredient staples that you really do need over the course of your journey: ghee, coconut aminos, a good stock of simple dry seasonings (stay away from blends as they’re more likely to include sugar, but if you find some that don’t - win!), various broths and stocks and a little creativity to think of meals differently. There’s another staple that folks swear by but I have yet to find it in on a grocery store shelf: Red Boat Fish Sauce. I did, however, just put it in my Thrive Market cart, yay!
So, yesterday, after deliberating how I’d prepare the chicken thighs I took out of the freezer I realized I needed to just resort to what I know and enjoy, eat the food and move on.
I hopped up from my computer, sliced some red and green peppers, half an onion and cubed one russet potato. Tossed them with seasonings, placed them in a stone baking dish then seasoned the chicken and layered the pieces on top. Just under an hour later I had dinner (and today’s lunch) prepared. The best part? Melody even joined me in solidarity and only ate her chicken and pineapples, at least that’s the perspective I’m rolling with.
To top it off I surprised myself with my on the fly thinking and whisked in a little pineapple juice, straight from the container the fresh pre-cut chunks came in from Lowe’s, into my avocado oil and balsamic vinegar and made myself a tasty dressing for the salad. Go me.
On today’s menu:
Breakfast (Part 1): 1 boiled egg & coffee
Breakfast (Part 2): Green smoothie (Spinach, Avocado, Pineapple, Apple, Coconut Water, Almond Milk, 1/2 lemon juiced)
Lunch: Chicken, potatoes, and salad (tomatoes, beet spirals)
Dinner: Chicken and potatoes (just I’m over it at this point but it was already prepared)
Tomorrow I’m going to figure out if spaghetti meat sauce goes well with spiraled beet “noodles” (boodles?) — stay tuned!
- M