My Top Tip for Simple Whole30 Meal Prep

This week's meal plan is pretty much as simple as it gets. I knew we were going to be out of town all day on Sunday, which meant that I needed to get all of my weekend chores done on Saturday, so I planned my meal prep accordingly! 

A lot of people have asked me how my husband eats through the week. I usually fix two meals for him also, which he eats for lunches and dinners, along with either a smoothie or a no-cook breakfast. This week I fixed him a chicken crockpot meal and a GF pasta bake. 

My best tip for keeping meal prep simple: choose one protein and two veggies per meal and steam or roast everything! I'm also a huge fan of all-in-one meals like soups and casseroles. 

This week I chose two proteins and four veggies to cook (chicken sausage, beef meatballs, zucchini, yellow squash, spaghetti squash, haricot vert) along with my usual no-cook spread. 

Here's this week's meal plan:

Breakfast: Chicken Sausage with Spaghetti Squash and Zucchini // Fortunately these days there are plenty of Whole30 compliant sausages on the market, and I almost always keep some on hand in my freezer for a quick and easy protein! (Trader Joes and Aidels both have one.) Sausage tends to be a little lighter in protein, so I'll make sure to keep a little extra food around in case I need something else to tide me over. For my sides, I steamed up a spaghetti squash in my Instant Pot for 7 minutes (quick release) and roasted some zucchini in the oven with olive oil and salt at 350 for about 25 minutes!

Lunch: No Cook Plate // This week I'm using turkey as my protein (the brands I use are this Trader Joe's organic one and True Story Foods brand, both are Whole30 compliant!) and as usual, a Zupa for veggies ("wholedailylife" for 15% off). I also have some fruit for my carb. This meal is a little light in fat, so I'll add some nuts or almond butter for satiety!

Dinner: Basic Meatballs with Yellow Squash and Haricot Vert // My basic meatball recipe is here, and this week I'm using my favorite beef and liver blend from Da-Le Ranch. (This is the easiest way to get organ meat into my diet!) For the veggies, I simply steamed the haricot vert and roasted the yellow squash with olive oil and salt at 350 for about 25 minutes!

Have a great week!

-Tracey

Whole30 Compliant Instant Pot BBQ Pulled Pork + Weekly Meal Plan

I'm all about easy meals that I can set up and forget about while they cook themselves. This Whole30 compliant Instant Pot BBQ Pulled Pork fits that bill perfectly! This week's meal prep was actually quicker and easier than usual, because I made a couple of extra meals last weekend and stashed them in the freezer.

I also learned this week that carpet melts. Ugh. If you follow along on my stories, you know that my kitchen is pretty small, so when I meal prep, I quickly run out of space. It's not uncommon for me to move things to the living room to cool in there. Well, this week I was baking some oat muffins for my husband and had some extra batter, so I made two bigger muffins in ceramic dishes. After I pulled them out of the oven, I let them cool for several minutes, but then needed the counter space, so I transferred them to the living room, as I often do. I set them right in the middle of the floor in front of the door, because a nice breeze was coming in through the screen, and went on with my cooking. Later that evening I went to pack them up and lifted up the two ceramic bowls to find two big melted spots!! I've never had this happen with metal or glass before; apparently ceramic holds more heat?? Lesson learned....and we definitely won't be getting our full security deposit back on this place. Major bummer.

Here's this week's meal plan:

Breakfast: Yellow Curry with Chicken // I shared how to make this in the "wholedailylife" story highlight on the Barefoot Provisions Instagram, as well as in the comments of this post! The star of the show is the Yai's Thai Yellow Curry, which is so packed with flavor that you hardly need anything else! I just add some broth, a little bit of coconut milk, some chicken, and lots of veggies!

Lunch: No-Cook // This is my summertime staple, and I'm keeping it extra simple this week with just a bottle of Zupa and an easy protein, either Ayobayo or some canned salmon that I'll mix with mayo and balsamic. I'll also have some fruit! (15% off Zupa with code "wholedailylife" and 10% off Ayobayo on their site with the same code)

Dinner: Instant Pot BBQ Pulled Pork with Air Fried Potatoes and Arugula // This BBQ pork is a dish that I come back to often, because it literally takes 2 ingredients and 3 minutes of prep. All I do is cut up a package of pork tenderloin from US Wellness Meats (I buy all of my meat from them; top quality meat is important to me!) into 2" chunks, put it in my Instant Pot, and cover with 2/3 of a bottle of Tessemae's BBQ sauce. I cook on high pressure for 35 minutes, then let the pressure naturally release. After that, I shred the meat with two forks and add the rest of the BBQ sauce! For the potatoes, all I did was slice up some fingerling potatoes and toss them with about 1 tbsp oil before cooking them in my air fryer for about 25 minutes at 390. I'm still playing around with the air fryer (similar to this model, just got it for my birthday!), so if you want to follow along, be sure to watch my stories on Instagram!

Have a great week!

-Tracey

"Cheesy Chicken and Rice Casserole" + Weekly Whole30 Meal Plan

It's amazing what a difference having a three day weekend makes! I used to work 4/10's every week and while I didn't love working until 8:30pm, I did love having Friday off every week. There are enough chores and projects that I do every weekend that having the extra day actually allows me to rest and launch into the new week feeling recharged!

I've said it before though, when I feel like my weekends aren't long enough, it usually means that I'm not resting well during the week, so that's something that I want to try to get better at. I've always been a driven person who tends to take on too much, and it's hard for me to say no to things that I'm excited about. I talk about the importance of resting and listening to your body over in my Instagram stories pretty often, so if you're not following me there and this topic is of interest to you, you might want to check it out!

Also, lately I've been experimenting again with a bit of intermittent fasting. Nothing too crazy, but trying to stick to an 8 hour eating window when it feels natural. (aka, if my body is screaming for real food outside of that window, I listen and eat something!) This was prompted by discussion at my work about implementing this into our weight management curriculum, and I wanted to try it out again so that when I talk about it, it comes from a place of personal experience. Is this something you would be interested in learning more about? If so, let me know in the comments of this meal prep post on Instagram!

Here's this week's meal plan:

Breakfast: Spaghetti Squash with Sausage // Lately I've been trying to use up things that I have at home before buying new groceries. I've had a jar of Rao's marinara sauce in my pantry and this meal totally hit the spot when I made it a few weeks ago, so I just repeated it! It really doesn't get much easier. I just steamed two small spaghetti squash in my Instant Pot (cut in half and de-seeded) for 8 minute with about 1 cup of water, then scooped out the flesh and topped it with some marinara and some beef sausage that I cooked up from US Wellness Meats!

Lunch: No-Cook // You already know this is a go-to for me! I'll be using some Whole30 compliant turkey and Ayobayo Droewors beef sticks ("wholedailylife" for 10% off) as my proteins, along with some sprouted Nourishing Nutz ("wholedailylife" for 20% off your first order) for fat and a Zupa for veggies ("wholedailylife" for 15% off). If you haven't tried the new Kale Avocado + Collagen flavor, I HIGHLY recommend it. It's my new favorite!!

Dinner: "Cheesy Chicken and Rice Casserole" with Broccoli // This meal was an experiment, and it turned out really well! Along the same lines of using up what I already have on hand, I had some Smoked Cheddar Style Dip from The Honest Stand in my fridge that I've been holding on to. To make this casserole, I started by sautéing one bag of cauliflower rice (16oz) in a large skillet with some ghee until starting to soften, then mixed in the entire container of dip. (If you haven't seen this brand before, their products are made from nuts and potatoes!) Then I cooked up 1# of chicken tenders in my Instant Pot (8 minutes on manual with about 1/2 cup water and 1/2 tsp salt), shredded the meat, and mixed everything together (including the extra water in the IP to thin out the sauce a bit). I added some steamed broccoli on the side and called it a meal!

Snack: I haven't felt like I've needed a snack since doing the 16/8 intermittent fasting, but if I do, I'll usually grab an apple with nut butter, a bar, or make a little smoothie!

Have a great week!

-Tracey

GAPS Friendly Whole30 Compliant Weekly Meal Plan (AIP Adaptable)

Over the past several years I've learned to be pretty in tune with my digestion. I have a good feel for what sets it off and what I can handle, and I know what signs to look for to indicate to take a step back. Every once in a while, however, I still hit periods of time where my digestion is sub-par, and I can't pinpoint any particular reason why. 

When these times come, I simplify my diet to one that worked for me right after my SIBO treatment in 2016. It's an all cooked version of full GAPS, with some AIP and low FODMAP modifications. I do usually keep some sprouted nuts/seeds and eggs in my diet (not AIP compliant) unless things are really bad, because I generally do well with them. 

Here's this week's GAPS friendly (and AIP adaptable) meal plan:

Breakfast: Spaghetti Squash Porridge // You can find this recipe here! I topped it off with sprouted sunflower seeds and tahini, which correspond with my current phase of seed cycling. To make this AIP, I like to make the base out of spaghetti squash, coconut milk, and mashed banana, and served with a protein on the side. I also like to mix in come collagen peptides!

Lunch: Simple Chicken Soup // This soup is so easy to make! All I did was put a whole chicken in my Instant Pot with 2 tsp salt, cover with filtered water, and cook on high manual pressure for 30 minutes. When finished cooking, I let the pressure release naturally, then carefully removed the chicken and set aside to cool. I transferred the broth to a large pot on the stovetop where I simmered 1# chopped carrots and about 4 cups of chopped celery for 7 minutes, then added in 1.5# chopped zucchini. While the veggies were cooking, I separated the chicken from the bones and added it into the pot as well! (Save the bones for a future batch of bone broth!) I top it off with green onions and parsley to serve.

Dinner: Beef and Liver Meatballs with Steamed Broccoli and Acorn Squash // Any ground meat will do, but this week I used a ground beef and liver mixture for my meatballs. I'm experimenting with well steamed broccoli florets to see how I do with them, and added some acorn squash that I cut in half and steamed in my Instant Pot for 8 minutes before mashing with some cinnamon and cloves.

In addition to simplifying my food, I'll also be supporting my digestion by paying special attention to eating mindfully and without distraction, as well as to taking a minute to get into rest and digest mode by taking a few deep breaths before starting to eat.

Have a great week!

-Tracey

Blueberry Basil Frittata + Weekly Meal Plan

Would you believe this prep only took me 1 hour to pull together? See this post for a few of my top strategies for increasing your efficiency in the kitchen!

I'm going to keep this blog short and sweet because it's a beautiful day outside and a walk is calling my name, but many of you messaged me saying that you were curious about the frittata, so I wanted to make sure I sent out the recipe!

Here's this week's meal plan:

Breakfast: Blueberry Basil Frittata // I know, call me crazy, but it works!! Think crepe, but much heartier! I wanted to work some veggies in here as well, so I layered some zucchini slices on the bottom of a large pyrex (about 3 medium ones, sliced 1/4" thick) and topped with some sautéed spinach (1 bag, 5 oz) before adding a couple handfuls of chopped basil and 1 bag of TJ's frozen wild organic blueberries (thawed and drained). I whipped up 12 eggs with about 1/2 cup of the new Vanilla Lemon nutpods creamer and 1 tsp salt and poured that over the top, then baked it at 350 for about 35 minutes until the eggs were cooked through! (TRACEY25 for 25% off nutpods!)

Lunch: No Cook // This week I added in some Epic Beef and Liver bites to mix it up along with one of my favorites, AYOBAYO Droewors sticks (10% off with wholedailylife). As usual, I like to use ZUPA NOMA soups as easy veggies (15% off with wholedailylife)! If I don't have any soups on hand, then I swap in sliced cucumbers and radishes. I added some carb from an apple and some extra healthy fat from a handful of Pili Nuts! If you've never had a pili nut, it tastes like the softest most buttery macadamia nut you can imagine. They are delicious!! I talk more about my template and why I include the things that I do on this post. 

Dinner: Spaghetti Squash with Marinara and Sausage // I found Rao's Homemade Marinara sauce on sale recently for $5 per jar and scooped up a few. This stuff is the real deal, and you can tell by the taste. It's the best jarred pasta sauce I've had, and there are no preservatives, added sugars, or junk! All I did for this meal was steam two small spaghetti squash (cut open and de-seeded) in my  for 7 minutes and then quick release, scoop out the squash from the peel and top with the marinara, and add some US Wellness Meats sugar-free pork sausage that I cooked on the stovetop while the squash was steaming!

As always, if I'm hungry in the evening I add another snack or mini meal, usually a smoothie, a bar, or some leftovers. 

If you try the frittata I'd love to hear what you think!

Have a great week!

-Tracey