Can you believe you’ve made it three whole weeks??? I hope, like me, you’ve found these dinners to be something to look forward to. I can’t tell you how much that has helped me to make it through my day, just knowing that something tasty would be awaiting me for dinner (as soon as I cooked it!). If Alice from The Brady Bunch would come live with me for a little while and cook my dinners, that would be lovely. Let me know if you can figure out how to make that happen.

The meal plan this week is again filled with very redundant breakfasts and lunches. On the Whole 30, we cannot make paleo muffins, pancakes and other treat-like foods. You can expand on the egg idea with frittatas and omelets, but when you boil it down, you’re looking at eggs, meat and veggies with various seasonings. One practical and easy way to get the most variety in your breakfast is to eat dinner leftovers. That may seem strange, but if it was good for dinner, it will be good for breakfast! I’ve told you before that I don’t do this because of my histamine intolerance, but if you don’t suffer from that same condition, go for it. You might find you really enjoy crispy chicken and roasted vegetables for breakfast!

Four weeks of Whole 30 only equals 28 days so there is one more weekly meal plan to come. I will simply include more Whole 30 meals as options, even though you may start incorporating off-plan foods on Day 31. If you don’t want to undo all the great successes you’ve achieved these past four weeks, make sure you add back in only one food group at a time, like legumes, dairy or sugar. Try very hard not to add more than one at a time or you won’t know what might be affecting you negatively. See more about reintroductions in this article from the Whole 30 website. 

One caveat with this weekly plan: I included what I actually ate for dinner on Day 28 just in case you feel like cheating as well. 🙂 No, no, I heartily do not encourage you to cheat, but you can see what I chose at a restaurant just in case you are needing to eat out as well. Just do better than me and stick with the grilled chicken and vegetables and resist your kids’ pizza and pie! If you are not planning to eat out this week, pick one of your favorites from the previous weeks and cook that meal again.

[pdfviewer]http://ourpaleofamily.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Whole-30-Meal-Plan-week4.pdf[/pdfviewer]

Oh, boy, am I ready for this to be over. At the beginning of this Whole 30, my family was 100% on board. They were going to traverse this path right along side me. Never mind the candy after lunch (kids) and ice cream after dinner (husband).

By day 22, they are openly salivating over their french fries, gluten free buns and chocolate. And waxing poetic about how delicious said foods are.

In reality, I knew I would be going through this alone, but the thought of having my family play along was very enticing so I chose to believe it would really happen.

Thankfully, I have you! I know you want to see some changes in your own lives and you’ve made the commitment to see through the 30 days to the other side.

At day 22, it sure is tempting to say, “Twenty-two days was great! I think I learned all I need to learn.”

That wouldn’t be wise, would it? At this point in my journey, I am going to stick it out through the full 30 days, through a vacation and other special occasions, just out of sheer will. I know I will kick myself till next week if I throw in the towel now.

And so, here are my very Whole 30 complaint meals for day 22:

Breakfast: one piece of overnight egg casserole (recipe in my book) and black coffee.

This was not enough food. I am not snacking before bed (most of the time) and I am not stuffing myself at dinner either. This feels good. I don’t like that overstuffed feeling, but I am hungry at breakfast. This is a Sunday for me and Sunday mornings are rushed getting ready for church, but I think that because I’ll just be sitting in church for a couple hours, I don’t need to eat much, but all that rushing around gets my metabolism running. Next Sunday, I will eat more.

Lunch: We had lunch at Smashburger today. Smashburger has a very thorough website that lists all the ingredients in the various components of their foods. Let me just tell you, I hope that by now in your Whole 30 journey, you are an expert at reading labels and can spot non-food ingredients a mile away. Looking in-depth at the ingredients that make up restaurant foods is eye-opening. You may never look at eating out the same way after your Whole 30 experience.

That being said, after reviewing the menu and ingredient options, I chose:

The Cobb Salad, minus the two kinds of cheese, plus a burger patty cooked plain. They sprinkle a seasoning full of all kinds of non-food ingredients (including sugar) on all their meat and cook everything in butter. So I asked to have my burger and egg cooked plain and just hoped for the best. I forgot to bring my own salad dressing so I chose their Chipotle dressing, which had non-compliant oils and all kinds of other preservatives, but it didn’t have sugar so it seemed the best choice.

The funny thing was that I got my water from the soft drink machine, took a sip and it was most definitely not water. You know how the water and lemonade are typically on the same tap and you just push the little water lever underneath the big lemonade sign? What was in my cup was like carbonated lemonade mixed with sprite. I quickly dumped it out and managed to get pure water next time. I looked at the kids, with apparently a horrified face, and they very seriously and compassionately said, “That was not a cheat, mom.” I guess they’re being supportive after all.

Dinner: orange chicken over sautéed cabbage and broccoli

Dessert: applesauce with a few almonds on top. I thought the Instant Pot was a worthwhile buy just for making broth, but no, it is worth it for this applesauce. Seriously!

Breakfast: blog work plus two eggs, scrambled, black coffee

Lunch: cucumber slices with turkey, almonds

Dinner: chili, salad with ranch dressing, family had cornbread and chocolate! Yes, they’re mean.

I am feeling fine, but I am ready for this to be over and/or ready for more tiger blood! Why did it last only one day???

The video of the chili preparation can be found on my YouTube Channel.

I have only 11 days left of this reset diet and fall has finally arrived so I’m feeling pretty good today. I think just mentally knowing I’ve made it this far creates positive feelings. I’d love to know how you’re doing if you’re following along.

Breakfast: two eggs, a couple slices of ham, applesauce and black coffee. I am getting kind of bored with breakfast, but frankly, this is not new to Whole 30. Trying to stay away from paleo treats, Whole 30 or not, means eggs, meat and vegetables for breakfast all the time. I’m used to it, but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t like to have a cinnamon roll now and then.

Lunch: turkey, celery, mayo, salt and pepper all run through the food processor to make a turkey version of chicken salad, eaten with cucumber slices

Dinner: fish sticks with tartar sauce, sweet potato fries and side salad

As always, the dinner prep video can be found here or linked below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M20Etb7tQBQ&feature=em-upload_owner

Dare I say it? I believe the Tiger Blood has begun to set in. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, cruise over to the Whole 30 Website and check out the timeline section.

I am still on the tail end of this horrible cold, but after not sleeping at all the night of Day 17, I went to bed early last night (Day 18) and did not set my alarm for this morning and slept a solid nine hours! There is no discounting the power and benefits of a good nights sleep!

I rolled out of bed, had to do a little work real quick, slammed back a cup of black coffee and scooted out the door to workout. And I was fine. Then I came home, ate some breakfast, checked on the kids’ schoolwork progress, then got myself de-stinkified and here’s where the magic happened. All of a sudden, I was filled with so much energy. My mind was clear. I had a great big to-do list to tackle while the kids were at their classes this afternoon, I felt spunky and totally psyched for the day. I credit the Whole 30 for this. It’s been a long time since I’ve felt this way.

I was just listening to Diane Sanfilippo and Liz Wolfe on their podcast, Balanced Bites, (which I highly recommend) and Diane was talking about her program that is very similar to the Whole 30, but it’s only three weeks long, the 21 Day Sugar Detox. What I thought was, “Ooh, if I were doing the 21DSD instead of W30, I’d be almost done. I could say I’m doing 21 DSD instead and quit in three days! Then I’d be done before my trip.”

But I stopped myself. I want the full 30 days. I am going to finish!!! The end is in sight so it’s a lot easier to say that now than it was 19 days ago.

On with today’s meals:

Breakfast: two eggs scrambled, three slices of bacon, black coffee

Lunch: pile of greens, ranch dressing, pecan crusted catfish (I had to practice the dinner for tonight). Thankfully, this was DEEELICIOUS so I was thrilled to get to eat this dish twice in the same day! The ranch, with it’s lemon and dill, was so good as a sort of sauce with the fish, that I decided to add a side salad to our dinner tonight. On the menu, I listed something else because I figure most of you will not be practicing the dinner. 🙂

Dinner: No surprise here, pecan crusted fish, but this time it’s red snapper, alongside a bunch of roasted veggies and side salad, with more ranch!

You can watch this dinner prep over on my YouTube channel. 

This cold that has been knocking me off my feet the past few days is finally subsiding. It was short-lived, but powerful. I am thankful it is on its way out, even though I am at the stage where I could participate in an all male choir.

As I approach day 18 of my Whole 30 journey, I am most definitely counting down the days until this thing is over. I knew when I started that I would have a weekend trip at the tail end of the Whole 30, but looking at the calendar, it was still the best time to tackle the challenge, so I went on with it. But now that my trip is approaching, I’m not looking forward to having to be so persnickety about my food while away.

On the other hand, I’ve done so well this time around that I am determined to see it through the full 30 days. As Melissa Hartwig states, a Whole 27 is not just as good as a Whole 30. So as I prepare to go away next weekend, for a time when I would typically indulge in some paleo and non-paleo (but still gluten free) treats, I am instead planning to cook most of our meals. This will put a little bit of a damper on my fun, but it is most certainly not the end of the world.

Considering that I’m suffering from a cold and hardly slept at all last night, I managed very well in my noon-time workout today and really never felt like I was crashing. Maybe this is a little bit of the Tiger Blood beginning to rear it’s head? Maybe??

Again, I have failed at taking breakfast and lunch pictures today. I need to write it on my hand or something. Geez.

Breakfast: overnight egg casserole (recipe in my book)

Lunch: romain lettuce wraps with deli turkey, mayo, mustard and pistachios on the side

Afternoon snack: pumpkin spiced coffee from Trader Joe’s – this is just spiced coffee, no cream or sweetener or anything delicious like that

Dinner: Beef stroganoff, mashed cauliflower (minus all the yummy dairy) and green beans.

After dinner treat: cinnamon spice herbal tea. It’s mind over matter here. If I tell myself that a piping hot cup of herbal tea counts as dessert, I’ll believe it. Really, I will.

This is one of my quickest and easiest dinners and it’s super tasty! It doesn’t really require much explanation, but as promised, I have a video of this dinner prep for you over on my YouTube Channel.

I am on the downhill slide! Whoo hoo! It feels good. I really am beginning to believe that there will be an end.

Aside from a miserable cold, I’m feeling pretty good. According to the Whole 30 Timeline, day 16 is the beginning of “tiger blood.” Boy, do I want some of that. Even with this head congestion and near constant drippy nose, I have a remarkable amount of energy and clear-headedness today. Is it just placebo effect? Have I heard so much about the wonders of the Whole 30 that I am imagining some positive effects? Maybe. But who cares! If I’m feeling better, I’m feeling better and I’ll take it and be thankful.

I am starting to feel a bit of meal fatigue, getting bored with my food. I’m super thankful I took the time before I even began day 1 to write down 30 dinner ideas. I’m varying from that list a teeny bit, but not much.

Honestly, I would enjoy a little more variety in my breakfast and lunch menu, but I’m already cooking dinner each night and getting much more creative with breakfast and lunch would have me in the kitchen way too much and thinking about food way too much. Keeping the first two meals of the day more streamlined may not be very exciting, but it’s practical and convenient.

Here’s what’s on tap for today:

Breakfast: bacon and egg salad – two hard boiled eggs, three slices of bacon, 1 Tbsp. mayonnaise, salt and pepper, all smashed up together, black coffee

Lunch: Trader Joe’s turkey burger fried in a skillet with a little avocado oil. I ate this as a sandwich with romaine lettuce for the “bread” and some mayo.

Dinner: Pork and Veggie Unrolls. I’ve streamlined this recipe a bit so watch the new video if you’re intrigued by this recipe, but a bit intimated by it. (My video editor is taking a sick day so the videos are going to be delayed a day or two, but if that’s something you’re interested in, subscribe to my YouTube channel and you’ll get a notice when I post new videos.)

Here’s the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifMevMV8dkQ

Here we go with Week 3. I hope you’ve been pleased with the meals the previous two weeks. Week 3 brings more old favorites and one new, unbelievably delicious dinner! Our favorite meal this week was from Day 19: the Pecan Encrusted Snapper (the recipe will be posted soon). You could make this with any firm, white fish. I tried it out with catfish as well as the snapper and it was delicious. Try your best to find wild caught fish. Frozen is just fine! As always, I’ve prepared all of these dishes on video so you can watch the preparation and hear all my tips and tricks. You can catch each video over on my YouTube channel.

Just like with the Week 1 and Week 2 Meal Plans, the recipes highlighted in pink are available for free here on the blog. The recipes highlighted in blue are available in my book, Your Paleo Holiday. Or you can watch the videos and pay attention. 🙂 [pdfviewer]http://ourpaleofamily.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Whole-30-Meal-Plan-wk3-1.pdf[/pdfviewer]