Monday Meal Planning: Whole 30 Week 5 Meal Plan

1 / 2 / 3

The final week of our January Whole30 is here! It's safe to say that I have definitely learned a thing or two about the way I look at meals and the way certain foods* affect me. I am looking forward to another week of good, clean food for both me and the little guy still residing in my belly. It feels so good to be giving him the nutrition he needs -- a practice I look forward to continuing once he's eating real food himself. 

I have to admit that these last few weeks of pregnancy are finding me pretty tuckered out and with a bit less pep in my step. That being said, I've relied on frozen meals from November and December and am repeating recipes that are easy {but delicious} or that are super husband-friendly. The meal plan and recipes can be found here. 

Here's to another week of clean eating and continuing these new habits long after the Whole30 is through!

xoxo

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

*Since husband and I started our Whole30 early, we decided to allow ourselves dairy this past weekend as our super generous friends threw us a couples baby shower. I honestly thought that I tolerated dairy well, but after not having it at all for 30 days, then having it in bulk {read: delicious gluten-free pizza} it left me with a serious migraine. Let's just say that Saturday night was really rough for me. And now I am back on the no-dairy train... indefinitely.

Monday Meal Planning: Whole 30 Week 4 Meal Plan

1 / 2 / 3

How was week three of the Whole30? Nothing terribly exciting to report here. Just some long work days and an overcooked beef roast. {I made the mistake of cooking it in a slow cooker overnight, which left it warming all. night. long. Needless to say, it was a bit tough. Lesson learned.} Other than that, just starting to get a bit antsy that we are less than eight weeks from our due date. When did that happen?

Oh, and I ran out of gas Wednesday morning... on my way to the gas station {and then the doctor}... and my sister had to come help me... and the gas can was broken so the nozzle wouldn't work... and we didn't have a funnel... and then a kind soul took pity on us and helped us use an empty water bottle as a funnel...

Oy. #thankGodforsisters #neveragain

Here is this week's meal plan, if you choose to follow along!

I don't know about you, but we have really been enjoying soup for breakfast these last few weeks. It's warm and comforting and also filling and oh so healthy. 

Here's to another successful week!

xoxo

copyright Hiking in Stilettos 

Meal Planning: November 4th - 8th

1 / 2/ 3

Since our kitchen was a bit destroyed from having the painters over on Saturday, I opted for some simple recipes for the week, things that I could make simultaneously. Here's this week's menu of clean, paleo meals:

breakfast:

I made a frittata version of this breakfast lasagna - layer diced sweet potatoes, caramelized onions, wilted spinach (I omitted the mushrooms), cooked breakfast sausage (I used chicken) in a baking dish. Whisk together 12 eggs, spices and the coconut milk from the original recipe and pour into the baking dish. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until the eggs are set. I reheat mine in the toaster oven in the mornings and pair with half an apple or a slice of this bread if I'm being less strict. You could also top with some avocado!

lunch:

Since I've had a cold since last Thursday, no-noodle chicken soup (recipe from 'It Starts with Food') sounded like a great alternative to my usual lunch salad. Carrots, celery and broccoli with chicken and salty, savory spices? Yes, please.

dinners:

Gremolata mushroom beef stew - this recipe is not only delicious, it is really easy to make in advance since most of the cooking is done in the oven. It's great for meal planning because you can put it in the oven and work on something else (like chicken soup) while it's cooking.

Paleo spaghetti with spaghetti squash noodles - no real recipe here, just your standard spaghetti, paelo-ified. I used grass-fed ground beef, garlic & onions, organic sugar-free tomato basil sauce from the local farmers market, and diced zucchini. Serve over spaghetti squash 'noodles' - simply cut the squash in half length-wise and scoop out all the seeds. Bake face-down at 375 on a baking sheet for about 45 minutes. Remove and drizzle with some olive oil, then bake about 10 more minutes. Scoop out the 'noodles' with a fork! I store the spaghetti and the noodles separately until it's time to reheat. Then I reheat it together in a skillet with a touch of olive oil or ghee. (Also, this is a good version using meatballs.)

snacks:
I cheated a bit on this one and picked up some gluten-free, dairy-free chia seed muffins at the farmers market. Not strict paleo since there is some sugar in them, so judge if you must, but I'm okay with it this week. Having to remove everything from our kitchen cabinets + a serious head cold = no baking for me this week.

Paleo pumpkin granola - again not strict since it uses honey, but you can easily omit that if you wish. I've been having some trouble eating eggs on my early mornings when I eat breakfast at 6:30, so I've been allowing myself some grass-fed, organic Greek yogurt. This granola is perfect alone, with a splash of almond milk, or even atop some yogurt. 

Here's to a week of making up for all that Halloween candy clean eating!

xoxo

copyright Hiking in Stilettos

Meal Planning: October 14-18th

1 / 2 / 3 

This week our meals are pretty simple, since we are {hopefully} leaving Thursday afternoon for our annual camping trip {the government shutdown has currently caused a change in plans}. That being said, I decided to keep lunch simple and only make one thing in advance for dinners. I did, however, complete all the prep work for a second dish in the event that we don't leave town Thursday afternoon. 

 

Here is what our week of paleo meals looks like:

Breakfast

Egg scrambles with miscellaneous veggies {zucchini, mixed greens, maybe potatoes, spinach, etc}

Lunches

Crunchy kale salad or mixed greens with baked chicken and paleo ranch or leftover chicken, kale & wild rice soup

{This soup was a runner up for lunch and will probably appear in the meal list next week or so}

Dinners

Spaghetti with zucchini and sqoodles {spaghetti squash "noodles} adapted from this recipe or Paleo chicken alfredo with zoodles {zucchini "noodles"}

Snacks

Peeled and sliced carrots and celery with sunbutter or sunny cranberry trail mix

This banana bread sounded perfect for an afternoon snack and to take camping with us. I haven't made it yet, but plan on doing it either for the trip or just for the weekend.

On Sunday afternoon I did the prep work for salads and snacks and baked chicken for lunches while the spaghetti was cooking. I also baked the spaghetti squash,  shredded zucchini noodles and diced the chicken for the alfredo. And there you have it!

xoxo

copyright Hiking in Stilettos

Meal Planning: 9/30 thru 10/5

 muffins / bars / chili

 While the idea of meal planning seems to be everywhere these days, it's definitely nothing new to a paleo household. I'd even say it's critical for eating clean on a daily basis. I often get questions about what my daily meals look like, so I'm hoping this will help. Each Sunday, husband and I spend a few hours in the kitchen making a huge mess preparing food for the week - typically one or two dinners, something for lunch, and either a breakfast dish or a snack. Here's what we cooked {and are eating} this week:

Breakfast

Nom Nom Paleo's prosciutto-wrapped mini frittata muffins

I used sliced ham instead of prosciutto, fresh chopped kale instead of spinach, diced green onions instead of sauteed onions, and omitted the mushrooms. I've also recently become obsessed with roasted garlic, so I used that instead of its raw counterpart.

Pair a muffin {or two} with a handful of almonds or cashews, half a grapefruit, or some breakfast sausage. Delicious and portable!

Lunch

Left-over spaghetti squash and meatballs from the weekend {a good sauce is key for this dish} OR mix green salad with oven-baked chicken and homemade paleo ranch OR sweet potato, bacon and egg salad {also a good breakfast option} with a mix green salad.

Dinners

Nom Nom Paleo's thai curry chicken with asian cauliflower fried rice. I made a few edits here too, using whatever veggies I had on hand, which happened to be carrots and broccoli for the curry. I also left out the bacon for the rice since we were eating it with the curry and omitted mushrooms {not big mushroom fans over here} and the Red Boat Fish sauce because I can't find it at the store. This dish will feed us two nights and maybe one of us for lunch.

 

Health-Bent's pumpkin chili with avocado cream. I'm a sucker for anything pumpkin, and this is one of our all time favorite chili recipes. We add diced butternut squash into the mix for more texture and some extra veggieness. The avocado cream is delicious, but if you don't have time to make it, no worries. The chili is great on its own. Plus, it freezes well and makes for good leftovers!

Snacks

I saw this recipe for GF homemade cereal bars the other day and decided to give it a shot. I plan on making a blueberry version of these tomorrow during my off day to use for snacks or for breakfast. {I leave the house by 6:30am most mornings, so I usually opt for grab and go foods.} Not stirct paleo, but most treats aren't.

We made the curry & rice and egg muffins on Sunday and also baked chicken for salads and cut up veggies for snacks. Tuesday I plan on making the cereal bars and the pumpkin chili. And that's how we do it!

Happy paleo planning.

xoxo

copyright Hiking in Stilettos