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Transition Week

Originally posted on Hungry Aggie blog on January 8, 2017.  Updated August 6, 2026.  Reviewed and updated August 28, 2026 for grammar and minor updates.

As I said in my last post, this post is about my transition week into the Whole30 (hybrid) diet.  First, I want you to understand what makes my diet a hybrid of the Whole30 diet and the Paleo diet.  I will be sticking closely to the Whole30 diet with the following few exceptions (that follow the Paleo diet):
  • I am not drinking my coffee black.  I can't do it.  I really don't like it.  Instead of using my normal artificial sugar, Splenda, I am using honey.  (I'm breaking the Whole30 no sugar rule.)
  • I may have a glass of wine here or there.  Most likely only at the wedding I'm going to soon.  (Breaking the no alcohol Whole30 rule.)
I will point out in recipes what aren't compliant with the Whole30 diet when I venture outside of that box, so don't worry!!

So, to the food:  This last week was my transition week into the diet because I had leftovers to eat and didn't want to waste.  Breakfast and lunch followed the diet, but dinner was about eating leftovers.  I prepared my food Monday night for the week.  (I had Monday off work, so this week was a short week for planning.)  (The links to the recipes are in the list below.)

Breakfast:
Lunch
Dinner

Breakfast Salad

Serves: 4
Tasty: Absolutely!
Make again: Yes!
Changes: No

I am not normally someone who cooks using the all natural/organic foods.  If I have to I will, but I generally steer clear of them.  So I was ok with not eating the all natural sausage if I couldn't find it, but in the spirit of following the diet, I was going to look.  I did find the Jimmy Dean’s All Natural Breakfast Sausage at my local grocery store.  (It wasn't in the breakfast meat area.  It was a little farther down in the natural foods area.)  It turned out to be really tasty sausage!  As good as the Jimmy Dean's Hot Breakfast Sausage I normally get.  (I will definitely be getting this sausage again.)  I used about 2 containers of the Nature Sweet Glory's tomatoes.  

The recipe says the salad will last for 3 days.  Since it makes 4 servings (and I planned to eat it over the course of 4 days), I had the brilliant idea to freeze 2 days worth of the salad.  I forgot that eggs don't freeze well...  Well the egg whites were a pretty terrible texture after they had thawed.  So lesson learned!  Do NOT freeze food with hard boiled eggs in them.  I ended up taking out the egg whites and eating around them.  Next time I make this, I will put one day's worth in an air tight container so that I can still eat it on the 4th day.

Asparagus Benedict

Serves: 4
Tasty: Yes
Make again: Yes
Changes: Make better ghee?

The recipe says it makes 4 and they only use 8 stalks of asparagus.. What??  I only made 2 (I poached one egg per day I ate it.) and used the full amount of asparagus, getting me to about 4 stalks per meal.  I made the full amount of hollandaise sauce instead of 1/2.  (When I thought about it, it was too late to change.)  I made my own ghee, but I think I cooked it for too long.  I poached the egg for too long both days I made it, so definitely don't do it as long as the recipe calls for (7-9 minutes).  The first day I cooked the egg for about 8 minutes, and it came out fully cooked.  The second day I cooked the egg for about 5 minutes and it came out a little less than fully cooked but not runny at all.  Better luck next time hopefully.

Blueberry Chicken Salad with Rosemary

Serves: 4-5
Tasty: Absolutely!
Make again: Yes!
Changes: I want to try it with grapes (which are pretty normal in chicken salad) and/or apples.

The recipe called for fresh blueberries, but the grocery stores I visited did not have good looking berries.  I used thawed frozen blueberries instead, and I have no complaints.  (This allows me to make this salad any time of the year instead of only during the time when blueberries are in season!)  The mayo the recipe calls for (Chosen Foods avocado oil mayo) isn't Whole30 compliant, but it is Paleo compliant.  If I had found this brand (or the Whole30 compliant brand) in my grocery stores, then I would have used it.  Since I didn't find either, I made my own and it was super tasty!  (See below)  I cooked my chicken longer than the recipe called for because it still looked a little pink, but it never dried out.  I think as long as chicken cooked for too long, it won't be too dry.  In the recipe, it states that it makes 4-5 servings, so I broke it out into 4 different containers to take to work with me each day.  I ate the salad with a 3 or 4 romaine lettuce leaves to make it have a little more crunch.  It kept me full until about 4pm every day, and I'd have a snack of a banana usually.

Homemade Mayo

Makes: About 1 cup
Tasty: Yes
Make again: Yes!
Changes: None

I used Chosen Food avocado oil as the oil.  (My grocery store had the oil but the mayo...)  It turned out super good.  A lot better than I expected.  It was tangy but definitely tasted like mayo.  I stored what I didn't use in the chicken salad in my fridge in an air-tight canning jar.

Sausage, Potato, and Kale Soup

Makes: A lot (The recipe didn't give an actual amount and I have only eaten one "serving" so far.  I have a lot of leftovers though - at least 3 days worth.)
Tasty: Yes
Make again: Yes!
Changes: None

As much as I'd love to make my own chicken broth/chicken bone broth, I really didn't want to spend the time.  Generally I use Swanson low sodium broth/stock and had some on hand, so I checked the ingredients.  As far as I can tell, the Swanson broth is Whole30 compliant, so that is what I will be using while on this diet.  (If you know something I don't about the broth, then let me know!!)  I used kale instead of Swiss chard because I like the taste of it better.  (Honestly, I will probably never have Swiss chard, knowingly, again.  I had it not too long ago, and it had a distinct flavor that wasn't my favorite.)  The potatoes were a little bland but a little pepper fixed that.  I stored the leftovers in my fridge and will be eating through the week.



All pictures in post were taken by me.  Please do not use without my permission.
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