First day -- meal troubles already

[misc_tara]

I didn't expect to be having issues on my first day, but I found it really hard to get through my lunch. I carefully planned out a week's worth of meals and I decided to stay basic this first week and eat things I know I like. I made chicken salad lettuce wraps for lunch and oddly found it very heavy and after eating only about a 1/3 of my meal lost my appetite. I'm thinking that the chicken, mayo, egg and avocado were maybe too much together.

 

Any suggestions on plating to keep things feeling a little "lighter" yet still keeping the protein?

[GFChris]

Maybe just go with 1 protein (chicken or egg), and 1 fat (mayo or avocado) to start?

[ShannonM816]

While we encourage you to eat plenty of fat, what you listed might border on too much -- not so much for health reasons, but just for taste. I probably would have done a chicken salad with a chopped egg with mayo and skipped the avocado. You don't say what else was in your chicken salad, but you could have mixed in vegetables -- chopped onions, cucumber, tomatoes, bell pepper if you like them, shredded carrots. Even chopped apple can be good in chicken salad, or a few chopped grapes. That might have made it feel a little less heavy.

[misc_tara]

That's how I normally would eat chicken salad (with no egg or avocado), accept it would be on a pita I will try adding more veggies and not going overboard on fats (just because it's compliant!).

 

An upside for today, I actually enjoyed the coffee with coconut milk instead of creamer!

 

Thanks for the suggestions!

[Munkers]

I would second the idea of using just the mayo or just the avocado in this scenario. As you get farther into the Whole30 and get used to the meal template, you might find that you're better able to tolerate large amounts of fat, but if you're not used to it then you might feel sluggish or gross after such a heavy meal. If you're craving avocado, try subbing it in place of the mayo. I make avocado-tuna or avocado-chicken salad eithe with pre-made guacamole or mashed avocado with whatever seasoning I have on had. Both options are good as are Shannon's suggestions of adding extra veg to the mix. I like shredded carrot in mine, personally, or a combination of shredded carrot and apple with some curry powder if I'm using mayo.