January Whole30(+5): My Meal Plan for Days 11-16

Well I did so much cooking over the last few days that my fridge is full of leftovers.  And thank God because I'm honestly pretty sick of cooking right now.  Days 11 & 12 are just going to be cleaning out the fridge, but I'll be prepping some extra things over the weekend for breakfasts and lunches next week.

• Sweet Potato Hash with Eggs and Bacon - If I can freaking find Whole30 approved bacon!  When I went shopping on Friday Wegmans was out, so then yesterday I made a special trip to Whole Foods, just for bacon and now I'm not even convinced that the brand I used to get there actually makes it anymore.  They had a ton of different kinds from that brand and they looked high quality, but they all had sugar in them.  The only one labeled "Paleo" with no sugar was turkey bacon.  NOPE.

• Southwestern Frittata - This is an old favorite that I haven't made in a while, but I'm stick of hardboiled eggs and I've been starving in the morning.
• Mango Chicken with Coconut Cauliflower Rice - I've had this on my pinterest board forever and I was thrilled when my friend Jes suggested it as our meal for our lunch date this weekend.
• Lomo Saltado - Basically another take on loaded fries.  You can totally skip the cauli rice, but do not skip the green aji sauce.  It's so good!
• Paleo Asian Lettuce Wraps - These are so good and you'll only dirty one pan!  I'll probably use pork instead of turkey.  I'll also skip the honey and the dipping sauce all together, they are plenty flavorful (and messy enough) already.
• Grilled Chicken Drumsticks with Roasted Brussel Sprouts and Bacon - I want to do a little practice round before the super bowl, so I'm going to do enlist Dave to do some grilling and then finish the wings in the oven with some buffalo sauce just like my mom's famous wings! 

How do you get inspired when you get into a rut in the kitchen?

January Whole30(+5): Days 6 - 10

Day 6, Saturday 1/14/17 - After a wonderful 9 hours of sleep, Dave cooked us an omelet with onions, peppers, and prosciutto for breakfast.  We tagged team lunch and it came out great.  I have no idea how I was still tired, but I guess the Whole30 timeline is true.  Days 6 and 7 are "I just want a nap" so I didn't feel any shame about enjoying another hour of sleep on the couch.  I threw the pork I marinated last night in the oven mid afternoon so Dave would have dinner while I went out with the girls for sushi!  I knew almost everything on the menu would be iffy so I kept it simple and got a sashimi entree and brought my own coconut aminos and la croix.  My entree came with a salad that I topped with a squeeze of lime and the aminos, it was just ok.  The fish was amazing though and it was a great night out with friends.

Day 7, Sunday 1/15/17 - Even though I got another 9 hours of sleep, I still felt like a sloth all day.  I forced myself to be somewhat productive and take all the decorations off the Christmas tree (finally).  I kind of felt like I was hungry all day, but I'm not sure if I was actually hungry or just bored.  Either way, I kept all my snacking compliant.  Dinner was AMAZING.  I want to post a full recipe for the cubano loaded fries, but for now just promise me you'll make the mojo pork and pile it on top of homemade fries.  Do it!  The dijon I was going to use ended up having sugar in it, so I made a chipotle mayo instead and it went great.

Day 8, Monday 1/16/17 - I slept like crap and woke up multiple times during the night.  I felt kind of blah at the gym.  The strength was cleans, I picked squat cleans instead of power since I haven't done them in a while, and they felt heavier than normal at 95 lbs.  The WOD was a 9 minute AMRAP of thrusters (at 75 lbs, ew) and chest to bar pull ups.  I was really struggling with getting my chest to touch the bar every time and combined with the thrusters, it was not my favorite.  Open prep is so fun.  My pants definitely fit better today.  Praise the Lord!  Dave fired up the grill for our steaks and we ate dinner pretty early, so it was easy to get to bed early too.

Day 9, Tuesday 1/17/17 - 8 hours of sleep, so good!  I made an easy chia pudding for breakfast after my friend recommended it in our FB support group and I did not love it.  I'm still feeling pretty tired midday and my skin doesn't look great.  I went to barbell club at night.  We did a whole lot of squat cleans and I felt good.  I made the cubano fries again for dinner and confirmed how amazing they are.  I took some pics and will definitely be posting it soon.

Day 10, Wednesday 1/18/17 - 7 hours of sleep and back to the gym at 6 am.  The strength was push press & push jerk and they felt decent.  I was feeling kind of excited about the WOD of 50-40-30-20-10 double unders (with 10 toes to bar and 5 handstand push ups after each round) since it felt like a little redemption and Dave tightened the screws on my jump rope after Friday's incident.  My dubs went great and I did 20 in a row more than once.  I used one ab mat under my head for the HSPU and they felt surprisingly good.  The after party was pistols (aka one legged squats) and I did my best pistols ever.  I had a Kettlebell Kitchen meal for lunch because my coach was giving them away at the gym for people to try and I had never had the bison beef sliders before.  It was ok.  Dinner also didn't really wow me.  I turned these burgers into meatballs and made a pineapple guac and I wanted to love it, but I just didn't.  I probably would've liked them better if they weren't turkey.

I have to be honest, I'm a little burnt out in the kitchen.  Thankfully we have a bunch of leftovers to cover the next day or two.  I'm definitely planning some super simple recipes for this weekend and next week.  I have a few social events coming up that will definitely challenge me, but hopefully with (mental & meal) prep I can stay strong and abstain.  I had more energy today, but that may also have to do with how much sleep I've been getting.  I've been choosing bed over watching tv reruns and really making sleep a priority.

10 days down, 25 to go... eeep.

January Whole30(+5): My Meal Plan for Days 6-10

If anybody ever told you eating healthy had to be boring, well they lied!

• Flounder with Roasted Asparagus and Cherry Tomatoes - I'll be topping the fish with olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and old bay and baking it at 400 degrees for 10 minutes or until it flakes easily with a fork.  The veggies will have olive oil, salt, pepper, and fresh garlic and be cooked for 15 minutes.
• Buffalo Chicken Salad - I love these Crispy Buffalo Chicken Tenders crusted with pork rinds.  The salad will be simple otherwise with lettuce, tomato, onion, carrots, and avocado topped with some Ranch Dressing and extra Red Hot. 

• Cubano Loaded Fries - I'm pretty much obsessed with loaded fries right now and I've been seriously craving a cubano so I thought why not?!  I'll be topping some homemade fries with this Mojo Cuban Roast Pork, some prosciutto (because I don't think Whole30 compliant ham exists), some pickles, and maybe even some dijon mustard.  Insert gasp noises from anybody who knows me well and understands my extreme hatred for mustard.
• Steak with Sauteed Balsamic Mushrooms and Roasted Broccoli - Beef, it's what's for dinner!  Can't go wrong with a ribeye seared in my cast iron.
• Hawaiian Turkey Burgers with this Bacon Lime Sweet Potato Salad - I adore this sweet potato salad.  Too bad Wegmans didn't have any of the compliant bacon.  I may have to make a Whole Foods run...

What's on your menu this week?