Tomorrow, we start another Whole30 eating plan. The last two times I did this, it was both wonderful and horrible. In order to be able to look back on this experience one day and (hopefully) remember it fondly, I am going to attempt to put together a day-by-day activities list of how I ~~survived~~ thrived during what will be my third trip. As with both of the other adventures, this started with a massive shopping trip to Costco and a bunch of food prep.

Buying a Lot of Chicken & Produce

Today was the second trip to Costco since we moved, and the first after coming back from vacation. That meant that this was both an expensive trip and an incomplete trip. I am terrible about thinking that I can just memorize the list, and that I'll pick up everything needed. I failed at that - forgetting (at least) four things and buying (at least) three things that I didn't need.

Costco Produce

• 10 lb. bag of whole carrots
• 5 lb. bag of baby carrots
• 2 lb. bag of Brussels sprouts
• 10 lb. golden potatoes
• 3 pack of cucumbers
• container of mushrooms

Usually, I will buy at least three bags of the Brussels sprouts, in addition to a 5 pound bag of broccoli and a large bag of yellow onions. However, SparklePony does not want to do either of the latter two right now (while breastfeeding) and is tentative about the former. Instead, we'll have lots and lots of carrots.

Costco Protein

• 7 lb. ground beef
• Chicken Thighs (6x bags of 4 thighs)
• Chicken Boneless/Skinless Breasts (6x bags of 2 breasts)
• Chicken "Party Wings" (6x bags)
• 10 lb. bag of Purdue frozen Chicken breasts
• Fresh Salmon
• 2 dozen Grade AA Organic Eggs
• 2 dozen Grade AA Eggs

I had plenty of Chicken Thighs and Breasts already on hand - so I am going to have to cook a whole lot of those really soon. I probably also didn't need to get both the frozen chicken breasts and the packages of frozen breasts. I am experimenting with seeing if SparklePony will be able to just throw a frozen breast into the microwave and chop it up for lunches. I also get two different kinds of eggs because SparklePony says she can tell the difference between them when fried or scrambled.

Pantry and Refrigerator Clean-out

First part of Whole30 prep is to eliminate all non-compliant foods. That means going through the pantry and taking out everything that might be tempting to grab-and-go during the month. I put them all into a bag and hid them somewhere in the house.

Next, I go through the refrigerator. Things that can survive and are worth keeping go into the freezer. Foods and drinks that won't be able to survive the month get eaten (which means I had to finish off a bottle of Pinot Grigio, a block of provolone, and a serving of Farfalle pasta). Anything that I don't want to eat and won't survive the month just get tossed. It really is amazing how empty my refrigerator is after this process.

Initial Food Prep

This evening, I took care of a few things:

1. Cook 3 pounds of ground beef with basic seasoning - separate into ½ lb. per deli containers
   1. 1½ tsp salt
   2. 1½ tsp black pepper
   3. 1½ tsp garlic powder
   4. 1½ tsp chili powder
2. Freeze remaining ground beef in 2 lb. vacuum sealed bags
3. Marinate 3 packages (12 pieces) of chicken thighs
   1. 1 cup olive oil
   2. 1 tbsp black pepper
   3. 1 tbsp salt
   4. 1 tbsp garlic powder
   5. ¼ cup coconut aminos
   6. 2 tbsp sesame oil
4. Separate baby carrots into 2 servings per deli container
5. Hard boil 16 eggs

Additionally, there was plenty of rearranging the freezer several times to make everything fit.

Planning Some Meals

Breakfast tomorrow (it's a workout day) is going to be simple. I'll bring a potato to work with the ground beef for lunch, and it'll be Salmon for dinner. The marinating chicken will get cooked on Friday, which will provide for leftovers through the weekend and early next week.

Weekend food prep to-do:

1. Peel and slice a lot of carrots
2. Slice the Brussels sprouts
3. Slice cucumbers
4. Go shopping for additional produce
   1. Celery (HOW DID I FORGET CELERY ???)
   2. Bell peppers
   3. anything else to add to salads or chili
5. Pre-bottle salad dressing
6. Pre-mix spice combinations
   1. Taco seasoning
   2. Curry seasoning