100 DAYS OF REAL FOOD… CAN I DO IT? WATCH ME! My Week One Meal Plan and Links

I started this blog in October to chronicle my journey on a Whole 30. http://whole30.com/ I am not a nutritionist and I cannot offer advice on how you should eat or exercise. I love to cook, but I don’t have the creativity that most food bloggers possess, so I research and try their recipes.  I can share my journey and the tips and tricks I use to eat clean and train for WELLNESS! I am 40 years old and active, and my doctor is fully aware of my eating and exercise plans… in fact in my Nov. physical she was so pleased to see my physical and mental transformation that she decided to try a Whole 30 to see if it helps her chronic foot pain 🙂

I have learned so much about my relationship with food thanks to the completion of a Whole 30. I know that I have a crazy bad addiction to sugar, and I have a serious inflammation response to grain. I know that I feel so much  better both physically and emotionally when I am fueling my body with clean foods, yet I still find it hard to resist the lure of a Hershey’s Kiss, or salty hot waffle fries from Chick Fil A, and don’t even get me started on my love of Smash Burgers. My mission in this WHOLE 100 is to simply strip away the vice grip unhealthy food like substances seem to have on me. I want to take on this personal challenge to better understand my triggers of binge eating, and to get closer to controlling the domino effect that seems to happen when I have one chip, chocolate kiss, burger etc. Most importantly I hope to give myself the gift of feeling my best. At 40 years of age I have struggled with food addiction all of my adult life and vanity has been my major motivator. I have been hungry, tired, and spent thousands of dollars trying everything to look my best, so now I am taking on this challenge to FEEL MY BEST!

Planning is essential to success in all endeavors. I spend time weekly planning for my success. I plan my meals and I use Pinterest as well as cookbooks and blogs to ensure I have delicious recipes to fuel my body, mind and spirit! Below you will see what my meal plan looks like. I go to the grocery store on Sunday with my husband and our youngest son (7) who now declares the trip super fun because he loves to pick out new fruits to try. He calls himself a fruititarian 🙂 I love  leaving with a cart full of colorful produce, delicious protein, and I always pick up a bouquet of fresh flowers to keep in the kitchen!

MEAL PLAN:
All of the recipes I have for dinner are listed with the links to the blogs I found on Pinterest. Feel free to follow me on Pinterest! My Whole 30 Board is full of good stuff if you want to know how to modify a recipe to make it compliant let me know and I may be able to help. http://www.pinterest.com/julesfultz/whole-30/

Breakfast: I am a routine kind of girl so I pretty much eat the same things for breakfast daily

Sun. eggs with blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries coffee with canned coconut milk

( Coffee tip: I brew my coffee much lighter; for example in my carafe I fill to the 6 line then I only use 3 scoops of coffee instead of the 1:1 ratio.  I had to try several different brands before I enjoyed it without sweet and low I like Church and State http://churchandstatecoffee.com/ I also like a low acid blend with cinnamon that they sell at Whole Foods)

Mon.  eggs with berries and almonds and green tea
Tues. Aidells Chicken Apple sausage with roasted butternut squash and coffee with canned coconut milk
Wed. Aidells Chicken Apple sausage with roasted butternut squash and  coffee with canned coconut milk
Thurs. Aidells Chicken Apple sausage banana with almond butter and green tea
Fri. Eggs with an apple and almond butter and green tea
Sat. Aidells Chicken apple sausage with berries and coffee with canned coconut milk

Lunch:
Sun. Applegate Farms frozen turkey burger patty with avocado and  grilled veggie mix of squash, zucchini, red onion, mushrooms, and red bell pepper
Mon.  Leftover Chili and roasted green beans
Tues. Leftover Chili and roasted green beans
Wed.  Leftover Ragu with roasted spaghetti squash
Thurs. Leftover Ragu with roasted spaghetti squash
Fri. Leftover pulled pork with roasted zucchini spears
Sat.  Leftover pulled pork with roasted broccoli

Dinner:
Sun.- Chili with roasted green beans
To roast green beans I toss with olive oil or bacon grease then add salt and pepper and place in a 375 degree oven for 20-30 minutes basically until they are browned and a little crisp- YUMMO!
http://theclothesmakethegirl.com/2009/02/22/my-favorite-chili-recipe/

Mon.-Best Chicken You Will Ever Eat Ever & grilled asparagus spears HEADS UP!!! You need at least 2 hours to brine so plan accordingly- DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP IT IS SOOOO WORTH IT!
To grill asparagus toss with olive oil salt and pepper and place on a grilling tray until nicely charred
http://theclothesmakethegirl.com/2009/06/09/the-best-chicken-you-will-ever-eat-ever/

Tues.- CROCK POT! Spicy Chicken Sausage Ragu with Zoodles
RECIPE NOTE: I only use 1 can of chicken broth because the recipe calls for way more than that and creates a soupy Ragu. I avoid sugar so I purchase my Spicy Italian Chicken Sausage from Whole Foods, but you could use Spicy Italian Turkey Sausage from the Turkey Store Brand if you are not near a Whole Foods.
http://forthemommas.com/cooking/slow-cooker-chicken-sausage-ragu-recipe

Wed.- Balsamic Chicken with shaved brussel sprouts with bacon and balsamic vinegar HEADS UP!!! You need to marinate the chicken so make sure you leave time for that!
To make brussel sprouts cook bacon until crispy and then remove from pan and create bits, add shaved sprouts to the hot bacon drippings in the pan and sauté when done add bacon bits and a splash or 2 of balsamic vinegar
http://www.biasrichandsweetkitchen.com/2012/06/balsamic-marinated-grilled-chicken.html

Thurs.- Pulled Pork with Cauliflower Rice HEADS UP!!! You need to pre-season the pork with a rub and let it sit in the fridge for a day or so!
For Cauliflower rice use a food processor and pulse cauli florets until they look like rice heat a skillet with 1-2 tbs of olive oil and cook “rice” until soft add salt and pepper to taste
http://civilizedcavemancooking.com/crockpot/crockpot-pulled-pork/

Cashew Chicken with leftover Cauli Rice
RECIPE NOTE: Sub. arrowroot flour for cornstarch and use Coconut Aminos in place of soy sauce
http://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/2011/05/spicy-ginger-cashew-chicken.html

Sat.- burgers and avocado with grilled veggies
For burgers I use salt, pepper, onion powder and garlic powder to season then I grill it up and top with avocado!
For grilled veggies I toss with olive oil and season with salt and pepper if I am feeling crazy I will add some curry powder too 🙂 then I place on a grill rack and cook them up!