whole 30 | day 1 + major prep day

Just finished up our first day of Whole30.

Thankfully, I didn't have work today so I literally had the entire day to prep and plan for our first week of Whole30. The prep, of course, started last night when I prepared breakfast + lunch for today. Eugene usually leaves for school around 5:30am - and because it took me until 1:00am to prep, I wasn't too sure if I would be able to wake up to send him off with all his food. 

For the first day,  I prepped breakfast (in a plate, per his request), lunch (packed to-go!) and iced tea. I froze lime wedges and made some of the iced tea into ice cubes so he could have a nice, cold iced tea in the morning. This was our first day without our usually sugared up, milky coffee drink so we had to be ultra prepared! 

As expected, I didn't wake up in time to send him to school -- but thankfully he follows directions very well and was able to set everything up before he left.

BREAKFAST

Aidell's Chicken-Apple Sausage, Spinach, Bell Pepper, Eggs // Guacamole // Kiwi

LUNCH

Grilled Chicken seasoned with Trader Joe's Everyday Seasoning, Guacamole, Sprouts, Tomatoes + Beets

on a bed of Organic Spinach

Later that day, I finished up my grocery shopping at our local Fresh & Easy. I never shopped here before moving to Downey but this has been our main go-to for groceries. It's relatively cheap and has really fresh + great quality products. Here I am with my Whole30 shopping list and my first (possibly ever) Starbucks black iced coffee (*cue dramatic music*)

Then I came home and purged my pantry once more. This time, I ended up just taking anything that was not Whole30 compliant out and separated it out in a bag. Sometimes, when I prepare food, it is straight up Top Chef style -- not because it's done with amazing skill but because I try to cook as fast as I can and often will set a timer for myself! I was afraid that I would accidentally use something that I wasn't supposed to, so I decided to just put it all away for this month. 

Here is our Whole30-compliant pantry! 

As you can see, we have a lifetime supply of tea (which we are growing to love so much!), lots of condiments to help make our food tasty and lots of little snacks to keep us going throughout the day. 

DINNER 

Chicken Pho with Zoodles // 

I followed my recipe for chicken pho and added extra greens (bok choy, lots of cilantro and mint leaves), gave it some squirts of fresh lime and topped it with a lots and lots of bean sprout.  I cooked two cornish hens in filtered water for almost 8 hours with a pack of spices for the original pho flavor. 

P.S. Do you see that Sriracha?! 

I made it!

Yes, that's right. 

Today, I made my beloved Sriracha sauce from scratch. 

It is whole30 compliant and made with fresh red jalopenos. Nothing processed! The most amazing thing is, it is a worrrrrthy substitute. It (almost!!!) tastes the same as the real sriracha. 

YAY!!!!!

I asked Eugene if I could eat Chicken Pho yesterday for dinner as my "last supper" before Whole30 but he said that I couldn't feed the beast and just indulge in all my cravings. Cold turkey is his style, boo.

The chicken pho with zoodles and homemade Sriracha sauce actually hit the spot and fulfilled my craving. The sauce tasted almost exactly the same as the real thing in the pho broth and provided the perfect amount of spice kick to my dinner. The zoodles were also a very satisfying substitution to noodles and the best part is, I ate an entire (large) zucchini in the process - veggies are the best.

I love making broth because you always have some to save for a rainy day - literally! These babies will definitely save me when I'm having that random craving for pho (which is usually like every other day!) 

It's only been one day but the experience so far has been awesome. The months of planning definitely helped gear our minds and bodies for this change. I am excited to see how this will help us make lifelong changes to our eating habits. I'll be posting quite a bit about different things I learn and different recipes I try. Stay tuned -- tomorrow I'll share my Sriracha Recipe! Hooraaay! :o) 

 See ya tomorrow, friends! I'm pooped!

- - - -

btw -- Eugene just had a random spurt of hunger + cravings for something, so I heated up one of my pre-baked sweet potato with a small spoonful of ghee (clarified butter) and a sprinkle of cinnamon. 

CRISIS DIVERTED.

 Goodnight!

Xoxo