Five Tips for Lazy Whole30 Meal Planning
Have you set your intention to spend more time in the kitchen in 2018? Yeah, me neither. Which is one of the reasons why participating in a January Whole30 holds the potential to be a big bummer. Those countless hours meal prepping and chopping veggies can be a crazy-maker if you let them. That and black coffee. But let’s all shed a quiet tear for our holiday lattes and move on to healthier eating, realizing that meal prep doesn’t have to consume the first month of our new year. I present you with a lazy girl’s five tips for Whole30 meal planning.
I’m sharing these strategies because I’ve been that January Whole30 crazy lady before. I’ve complained to anyone who would listen about how much time I’ve been spending in my cauli-rice covered kitchen. And I’m over it. This year, I’m going to live a simpler and saner Whole30 by implementing these time-saving tips. Because my clean-eating intent is to feel better mentally and physically, not the other way around. Are ya with me?
Smoked Chorizo Avocado Quiche (Whole30)
Okay, let’s go. Meal prep is key, friends! It will lighten your load and make you not dread your tomorrow. Let’s start with breakfast, our first meal of the day. Pour yourself a cup of black coffee. Add nothing. Ha. Life is cruel. Just kidding. After several Whole30 resets, I’m actually fine with drinking my coffee black now. But I also like to add compliant creamers like Nutpods or full-fat canned coconut milk for creaminess.
Tip 1: The day before your Whole30, the kindest thing you can do is make yourself breakfast for the next morning. Lately, I’ve been loving this Chorizo Avocado Quiche. When I make a breakfast casserole or hash, it usually lasts us at least half of the week. Leftovers are your new BFF.
Paleo OMG’s Paleo Chorizo Egg Bake
Sarah Fragoso’s Breakfast Paleo Pizza (use compliant marinara)
Both of these make-ahead breakfast hashes are great with a fried egg!
Against All Grain’s Smoky Sweet Potato Hash
Paleo Running Momma’s Sweet Potato Salad with Bacon, Walnuts and Lime Vinigarette
Zoodles with Avocado Pesto (W30 sans the parm)
Our January 1 W30 dinner: whipped cauliflower, meatballs, sauteed spinach, compliant marinara
Tip 2: With veggie prep, it’s easier to just rip off the Band-aid. Sorry, Melissa Urban, being in my kitchen chopping veggies with care is not soothing to me. I’d rather set aside a block of time and chop veggies for at least the next few days (that is how much I oddly dread it for some reason). Dice and spiralize vegetables and store them in lidded glass containers to easily cook up on a weeknight. With a few exceptions, all vegetable noodles will store in the fridge for up to four days. Don’t do white potatoes ahead of time, they oxidize (turn brown) when cut. Take it one step further and roast several large pans of veggies for quick sides throughout the week (Brussels sprouts, broccoli, kale and sweet potatoes are all great roasted and reheated). Whipped cauliflower can also be made ahead and just reheated when you’re ready to eat.
Sweet Potato Sausage Chili (no, plantain chips are not W30)
Tip 3: Soup is the new salad. In January in the Midwest I’m constantly freezing, so the last thing I want to do is eat a cold salad for lunch! Make a large batch of soup one night for dinner and enjoy it for lunch (or even breakfast!) throughout the week. Some of my favorite Whole30 soup recipes include:
Sweet Potato Sausage Chili from t-Loft founder, Jill Minton
Sweet Potato and Chocolate Chili from the Whole Smiths
Butternut Squash Soup from the Fit Slowcooker Queen
Roasted Eggplant Spread
Tip 4: DIY (or buy) some of your favorite condiments to have on-hand.
I know that hummus isn’t paleo, but I need a dip of some kind for my raw veggies, so I usually have it on-hand. However, during Whole30, I need a compliant dip! My sister-in-law served her riff on this roasted eggplant spread the other day with spears of raw zucchini and other crudité, and I was hooked!
This Sunshine Sauce is also a favorite! For Whole30, just omit the rice vinegar and add more lime juice!
While you’re at it, you could make some homemade mayo, which is so easy you will wonder why you’ve never done it before.
I also love making my own almond butter or cashew butter. This recipe is a good one. So addictive I have to hide it from my husband. Sometimes we have to take a break from the cashew butter and debate the intensity of our love for it.
Preparing Sheet Pan Lemon Chicken From Freezer to Table Cookbook
Tip 5: Use your friends. No, of course not in the mean girl way. Being community with other Whole-30ers makes life better.
One of the biggest blessings of doing a Whole30 is the wonderful community that goes along with it! Grab a few like-minded friends, a few recipes and a location for a meal swap. Last fall, two friends and I met on Tuesday nights to swap meals for the week. That meant I would spend one afternoon cooking and have meals in my fridge for the rest of the week! OR go big and organize a freezer meal club. Using the book From Freezer to Table as a guide, I made seven times one meal and was able to swap six other meals with a group of friends. This is life, changing, I tell you!
Now it’s your turn! How do you drink your coffee while on W30? What are your favorite meals and time-saving tricks? Let’s enjoy the community of a January