Vegetarian Whole30: Week Two Menu

I just keep rambling on and on about how easy the Whole30 is, and I get the sense some of you are virtually rolling your eyes at me.  So let me be honest here.  I ate a slice of bread with butter this weekend.  It happened, and I’m not proud.  But when you get invited to a retreat in Hocking Hills and you’re too embarrassed to BYO vegetables, the Whole30 becomes significantly more challenging.  Especially when dinner on night #1 is pasta and bread.  It wasn’t even special.  Just a small hunk of cold french bread with a bit of butter to quiet my growling belly.

When I woke up the next morning, I felt angry.  It took me a bit to put my finger on it, but I realized that I was angry I’d lost control.  And that perhaps the reason I like Whole30 so much is that it appeals to my strong desire to be in control.  (Verdicts still out on whether this is a good or bad thing. . . )

On day #2 of the retreat, I got back on the wagon.  While my comrades indulged in biscuits and gravy, french fries, all-you-can-eat pie buffets, and 13-variety wine tastings, I ate eggs and potatoes, SALAD BAR x 100, and maybe a little too much coffee.  And I felt really good, actually.  Even when I turned down a cheese-loaded potato skin.  Even after passing on the gooey candied apple.  Even when declining the wine slushy.  Even when offered a hot gooey brownie FOR BREAKFAST. (Full disclosure:  I brought the brownie home and popped it in the freezer for post-Whole30 enjoyment.) I felt so good, I decided to start my Whole30 over again, to make up for that lousy slice of bread and butter.

My Whole30.  

As I mentioned in my last post, my version of Whole30 is a blended one:  Veg Whole30 plus occasional seafood.  We cooked so much last week (using our week #1 menu) that we’ve got a freezer full of leftover emergency dinners and beans ready and waiting.  This is great news, given my second semester of grad school starts this week!

Our Week Two Menu:

Breakfast:

• Weekday:  Kale & Onion Potato Pie (sub ghee for butter)
• Weekend:  Fried eggs with Savory Sweet Potato Waffles

Lunch:

• Mixed green salads
• All-purpose vinaigrette
• Butternut squash and black bean chili
• Dinner leftovers

Dinner:

• Red Lentil Cauliflower Burgers and crispy potatoes with garlic lemon aioli
• Vegan Caesar salad with chick peas
• Spiralized Veggie Noodles with Cashew Sauce
• Tempeh Chimichurri and roasted veggies

Weekend Batch Cook:

• All-purpose vinaigrette
• Mixed green lunch salads
• Butternut squash and black bean chili
• Red Lentil Cauliflower Burgers (freeze extras)
• Beans (if you don’t have frozen leftovers from last week):  soak overnight, rinse, then cook according to package instructions.  Extra beans can be frozen, so cook the whole darn bag.
  • 1 pound chick peas
  • 1 pound black beans
• Spiralized Veggie Noodles with Cashew Sauce:
  • Make cashew butter
  • Make cashew sauce
  • Spiralize veg (store separate from sauce)
• Vegan Caesar Dressing (cashews need soaked overnight)