Let’s do lunch…Whole 30 style!
Lunch was one of my favorite meals during Whole 30. Because I was making it just for me (not Andy and the kids) and I wasn’t trying to have something that felt breakfasty (like I usually was for the first meal of the day), I branched out and had some tasty things that were right up my alley! I’m talking stinky stuff like tuna salad, saurkraut, and crazy salads with things like onions and dates!
If you’re a food weirdo like me, you’ll probably like these lunches…especially the stinky ones ;)
So, here’s the rundown:
1. Two chicken apple sausages sliced lengthwise to get nice and browned in the skillet (Adelle’s brand is the most popular but I couldn’t find them at my Costco so I found another brand at my local Better Health store), sauteed mushrooms, garlic and spinach in ghee. Side of blackberries.
2. 2 Applegate hot dogs (cut in half to make 4) in butter lettuce wraps (I get butter lettuce for a great price at Costco), topped with Trader Joe’s raw sauerkraut (it’s in the fridge section and it contains pickles too! Be still my stinky-food-loving heart!) and Trader Joe’s spicy brown mustard (only $.99!)
3. Tuna salad (canned wild tuna from Costco, homemade mayo – from It Starts With Food, chopped celery, chopped carrot, chopped onion, salt, and pepper) in lettuce wraps with a deviled egg (hard boiled egg yolk mixed with homemade mayo – from It Starts With Food, yellow mustard, salt, and pepper then sprinkled with paprika)
4. Same as #2, oops!
5. Grass-fed burger on a bed of chopped romaine lettuce, topped with homemade mayo, sliced tomato and spicy brown mustard. A side of homemade sweet potato fries (slice peeled sweet potatoes into thin strips, toss with melted coconut oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder then roast at 400* for about 20 minutes) and a side of strawberries and blueberries.
6. Romaine salad with grape tomatoes, green onions and cubed broiled chicken breast (toss chicken in a little avocado oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder and Trader Joe’s Everyday Seasoning then broil on highest rack of oven in a broil-safe pan or a sheet of foil for 4-6 minutes on each side, depending on thickness of meat), dressed with fresh lemon juice, olive oil, salt and garlic powder. A side of deviled eggs (see #3) and a La Croix sparkling water.
7. Grass-fed burger on a butter lettuce “bun” topped with homemade mayo, sliced tomato and spicy brown mustard. Side of sliced cucumber (I love the little persian cucumbers from Trader Joe’s…so mild, tender and almost seedless!)
8. Big old salad with a little of everything…romaine, tomato, cucumber, carrot, chopped dates, green onion, Applegate turkey, sesame seeds and homemade vinaigrette (olive oil red wine vinegar, spicy brown mustard, salt, pepper, garlic powder and Trader Joe’s Everyday Seasoning).
9. Sliced carrots and cucumbers with 2 Applegate hot dogs on a bed of Trader Joe’s raw sauerkraut topped with spicy brown mustard. Lemon La Croix sparkling water.
10. Sliced avocado, two hard boiled eggs, leftover sweet potato cubes (peeled sweet potato cut into cubes and tossed with avocado oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder and roasted at 400* for 20 minutes)
11. Salad with romaine, spinach, mushrooms, carrots, onion, cucumber, hard boiled egg, broiled chicken (see #6), chopped dates, sesame seeds and red wine vinaigrette (see #6)
12. Tuna salad (see #3) scooped up with Trader Joe’s plantain chips. Carrot and celery sticks on the side.
13. Leftover grass-fed burger, steamed broccoli, and roasted potatoes (see #10 but use red skin potatoes) with a squirt of spicy brown mustard because I can’t quit that stuff!
14. The avocado mango chicken salad from a local restaurant (Red Olive). I skipped the dressing and didn’t even need it! This lunch was delish and it was really nice to have something I didn’t have to make. I took the risk that the chicken may not have been compliant, but I’m guessing it might have been since Whole 30 allows for occasional canola oil consumption so that you can eat out (many restaurants use canola oil which isn’t great for you, but ok from time to time).
15. Trader Joe’s Chili Lime Chicken Burgers (found in freezer section) in butter lettuce topped with Tableside Guacamole (found at Costco in a 3 pack). Sooo fast and easy but delicious!
We ate a bunch of other things, but this is a pretty good sampling. I didn’t include pictures of the days I ate leftover dinner and there were a lot of those days. Always try to make more dinner than you need so it’s available to have for lunch or dinner the next day!
Another helpful tip was to make a BUNCH of extra potatoes each time I roasted some for dinner. That kept the fridge stocked with them throughout the week for easy grabbing at breakfast or lunch.
Also, if I was going to slice a few green onions for something, I’d go ahead a slice all 3 bunches to store in the fridge for later meals. Same goes for peppers and other produce.
If you’re taking the time and effort to prep something for one meal, you might as well take a little extra time to do more. Plus it saves a future cleanup!
As always, let me know if you have any questions! :)
