Whole30 Day 1

Today is the first day of the Whole30!  Today’s meal plan consists of:

• Breakfast: Egg “muffins”
• Lunch: Salmon Salad
• Dinner: Beef Stew

I spent the vast majority of yesterday in the kitchen, which is also my living room since I live in the city.  The apartment smelled amazinggggg.  My boyfriend/roommate was doing his meal prep as well so our tiny kitchen saw a lot of action.  We now have a very happy and very full fridge for the week.

I made egg “muffins” for the week as well as salmon and sweet potatoes for salads.  Yes, you can put sweet potatoes on salad and it is delicious!  The “muffins” are a great way to sneak veggies into your breakfast and I must say, I didn’t even notice that I was eating swiss chard this morning.  I was also starving after this morning’s workout, but I’m pretty sure I would have enjoyed them either way.

Our workout this morning was not so much exhausting as it was challenging.  I’m not say that it wasn’t exhausting, everyone collapsed when it was over, but I struggled more with trying not to scream than trying not to pass out.  One of the exercises we do fairly often in CrossFit is called Double Unders.  It’s basically extreme jump roping; you try to get the rope to pass under you twice, rather than once, in one jump.  It usually results in a lot of whip lash.  I’m usually pretty decent at them…except for today.  I had an unpleasant commute (thanks to the terrible parents of New York) so maybe it’s because I already frustrated, but for whatever reason I really struggled today.  After the workout was over I was so tired that I didn’t care anymore, but there was a good chunk of time where I wanted to throw my jump rope and yell i.e., have a temper tantrum.  Fortunately I did not do that, nor did I punch anyone on my way to my office, so I’m going to chalk that up as a little win for today.

One of the things I want to do along side my Whole30 is track what I like to call my “little wins”.  Little wins are time when I feel my emotions spiraling out of control but muster up the strength to keep it together.  Some are easier, like not screaming at a jump rope, while other are much harder, like trying not to have a panic attack on the train (that’s a big win).  I’m hoping that as I nurture my body with good food and exercise, the physical and mental benefits will lead to more little wins.

You can make your own egg “muffins” and salmon salads with the recipes below.  Feel free to post any questions in the comment section. I’ll be posting the beef stew recipe tomorrow so make sure to check it out!

Egg “muffins” (makes 8)

1 Tbs coconut oil (plus more for greasing the pan)

1 onion, chopped

1/2 turkey kielbasa, cut into bite size pieces

2 big handfuls of spinach

4 leaves of swiss chard

8 eggs

Salt & pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a muffin tin with coconut oil.  Melt the coconut oil and sauté the onion for 2-3 minutes.  Add the spinach, swiss chard, and turkey kielbasa.  Sprinkle with salt & pepper and cook until the veggies have been cooked down and the onions are golden, about 5-8 minutes.

Scoop the mixture into the muffin tins, I filled mine to the top.  Beat the eggs and fill each cup with egg (each cup takes about 1 egg).

Bake for 25-30 minutes.

Salmon Salad

For the salmon:

1lb Wild Alaskan Salmon

1/3 cup EVOO

2 cloves of garlic, diced

1 Tbs fresh lemon juice (or half of a large lemon)

1 tsp dried basil

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Place the salmon and all ingredients in a plastic bag or tupperware container (make sure the lid fits on tight!).  Shake it up and let marinate for 2-3 hours. If you’re short on time, I’ve made this recipe after only letting it marinate for half an hour and it still tasted great.

In a glass pan, place the salmon in tin foil and pour the remaining marinade over it before sealing.  Bake 35-45 minutes, until easily flaked with a fork.  Voila!  You have salmon for salads for the week OR a tasty dinner!

For the salad:

Arugula or romaine lettuce

Kalamata olives

Sweet potatoes*

Salmon

Fresh lemon juice

Place all ingredients in a bowl (up to you to decide your portions) or Tupperware and squeeze fresh lemon juice (this is your “dressing”).  Mix it up and enjoy!

*For the sweet potatoes – clean and chop a large sweet potato into bite size pieces.  Place in a baking dish and drizzle with EVOO. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.  Bake at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes or until a fork can easily poke through.