Today’s been the best day so far on this Whole30 journey. No headache. More energy than the last few days. But that could be because I slept in. 

Breakfast was not boiled eggs. Yay!

Scrambled eggs with onions, bell pepper, tomatoes, garlic and fresh basil with a side of pistachios, cashews and an mini orange. 

The boyfriend and I are going to a music festival this weekend, so we have to pre-eat and survive the no booze law of Whole30. 

So I made this after we lounged in the pool for a little while.

Balsalmic chicken and vegetables. 
What you need:

• Chicken cutlets
• Salt and pepper
• Garlic powder
• Onion, sliced
• Bell pepper, sliced
• Garlic, chopped 
• Zucchini, diced
• Yellow squash, diced 
• Balsalmic vinegar 

Sauté the chicken in coconut oil. Season the chicken liberally wit salt, pepper and garlic powder. Cook until golden brown, remove from pan and set aside. 

Add sliced onions, sliced bell peppers, chopped garlic, diced zucchini and yellow squash into the pan you cooked the chicken. Sauté until veggies are soft and starting to brown a little bit. 

Add the chicken back into the pan of veggies. Pour in some good Balsalmic vinegar and let it cook down to create a sweet sauce. 

Plate it up and enjoy. 

This is absolutely delicious. I used a Balsalmic vinegar I got at a specialty store in Eureka Springs. Worth every cent. 

It’s the closest I’ve gotten to Asian type flavors. And I was thrilled to create something so delightful in the middle of the afternoon. 

Currently, the boyfriend is eating cashews with salsa since his beloved chips are not compliant. 

Say a prayer for us as we head into the land of music festival junk food and booze city. This will be our biggest test of willpower yet. 

I’m packing snacks, but in case I find a cheese booth…..prayers and happy thoughts are appreciated. 

Dinner tonight was heavenly. 

Looks like another plate of chicken and veggies, but it’s packed full of flavor. 

This isn’t my recipe. I found it on the Whole30 recipes Instagram this afternoon. 

I had all the ingredients to make it, and the photo made it look amazing. 

And it absolutely is. 

What you need:

• Chicken cutlets
• Coconut oil
• Cherry tomatoes, halved 
• One lemon, sliced
• Garlic
• 1/2 can coconut milk 
• Broccoli 
• Orange bell pepper 
• Fresh basil, chopped

Sauté the chicken in coconut oil until golden brown. Add the lemon slices, garlic and tomatoes. Cook until chicken is cooked completely. 

Remove the chicken from the pan. Add the coconut milk to the lemon tomatoe mixture. Toss in the broccoli florets and thinly sliced bell pepper. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cover and cook on medium high until broccoli is fork tender. 

Add the chicken back into the pan. Coat with sauce.  Top with chopped fresh basil. 

I was truly in love with this meal. The roasted sweet potatoes were an added bonus. 

The boyfriend got a hunk of lemon thinking it was squash, and I think that made it not so lovely for him. 

And that my friends is day 3. 

Same breakfast. Last night’s leftovers for lunch. And a kickass Friday dinner all Whole30 approved. 

I still have a headache. And I still miss cheese. And I’m gonna try Whole30 compliant coconut cream in my coffee as a Saturday treat. 

I’m also going to make my own ranch and barbecue sauce. And make another trip to the grocery store. Believe it or not, we are out of almost everything now.  

I woke up exhausted. I stayed up late preparing food and making sure everything was ready to go. 

I wrote notes so the boyfriend would remember to get the lunchbox I prepared for him and take it to work. 

I left for work with my cup of black coffee, and I was determined we would both have a good day. 

Breakfast: Two hard boiled eggs and a mix of raspberries, blueberries and blackberries. Plus another cup of black coffee. 

Lunch: Salad loaded with veggies and sautéed chicken and a banana. 

Dinner: Grilled salmon with a lemon dill sauce with roasted broccoli and sweet potatoes. 

Snacks: Sugar snap peas, cashews and pistachios. 

My day was pretty normal. I did notice I craved something sweet right after I finished lunch. So the banana was a must. 

Black coffee hasn’t killed me yet. 

And the lemon dill sauce I made for the salmon was amazing. 

While I’m excited about the challenge of cooking for Whole30, I’m nervous I won’t be able to make food as good as I could before. Let me be clear. I’m basically just sad I can’t put cheese in everything. 

Tomorrow the boyfriend and I are having different lunches. I decided to experiment on myself, instead of him. He did get a mid-morning headache from not drinking a coke. 

So the sugar detox is on the horizon. 

The thing I was most surprised about Day One was the curiosity of people. So much support and pep talks. 

Every day we are on step closer to my food philosophy. Let’s continue to talk and share and build a community around food.