A few friends asked questions about our recent experience with whole 30, it seemed easier to recipe dump here vs. over several separate emails. I hope it might be useful to you!
Daniel and I followed Whole 30 in March and completed the reintroduction phases in April. I was not excited at the start, but it honestly was a much better experience than I expected. The first two days I was an irritable mess– everything Daniel did drove me nuts that weekend. Thankfully it got better, but I would definitely suggest trying to “taper down” sugar intake 1-2 weeks before whole 30 or just be prepared, since sugar withdrawal is REAL.
The biggest take-away from Whole 30 was realizing how much I lean on food to ease stress, celebrate, and pacify boredom. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it was helpful to be forced to use new ways of navigating those feelings. The other main gain I took from whole 30 is that it got me out of the habit of snacking. I now eat a more substantial breakfast and lunch, so that I do feel hungry between meal times. I find that I feel more satisfied when I am eating, and I appreciate actually feeling hungry when it’s time for the next meal.
Survival Tips:
- I was not willing to drink black coffee for a month. Both “califia farms” and “nut pods” have good diary/sugar-free creamer options.
- Lara Bars & RX Bars are great to have for occasions when it might be difficult to stick to the whole 30 rules (e.g. long outings).
- I found once I embraced the guidelines, it was easy to find “treats” that really were satisfying, e.g. eating bacon, topping a burger with guacamole.
- Water gets boring; it helped to drink sparkling water and hot/ iced teas.
- Eat BEFORE food-heavy social outings, it was so much less tempting that way.
Favorite Recipes:
Breakfast:
- Not a recipe, but we often ate some version of eggs, roasted sweet potatoes, and a green vegetable or piece of fruit.
- I followed this recipe once, then I sort of used it as a springboard for variations. This was great to have a breakfast I could simple reheat in the morning.
- My favorite “sweet” breakfast (e.g. to soothe cravings for pancakes or muffins) was roasted sweet potatoes, topped with almond butter, shredded coconut, and slivered almonds.
Lunch:
- Leftovers! That’s why it’s so important to cook dinner at home!
- Buffalo chicken served cold over spinach. I follow this recipe for buffalo chicken (I’m actually not a fan of the chicken over yams).
- Frozen veggies with compliant chicken sausage (read labels but Aidells has several choices)
Dinners:
Eggdrop soup with thai meatballs from A Saucy Kitchen. I usually serve with stir-fry veggies
Copycat PF Chang’s Lettuce Wraps
Eggroll in a Bowl by Jessie B. I don’t like shrimp, so I cook this recipe with ground turkey and it tastes great!
No-bean sweet potato chili by Skinnytaste.
Tuna Patties- 2 cans tuna (low mercury brand), 2 TB coconut flour, 2 TB almond meal/ almond flour, ¼ diced onion (dehydrated works well too!), 2 eggs, and 1 TB lemon juice. Combine ingredients and cook each side a few minutes on a skillet.
When I was in the mood for Italian, I would break up a frozen burger in the skillet & cook with sugar-free tomato sauce and zucchini. Topped with nutritional yeast, it almost tastes like meat sauce!
Hawaiian Pork Tenderloin by Eazy Peazy Mealz (just omit brown sugar). Serve with sweet potatoes and a green veggie side.
Chicken Souvlaki skewers by Chef de Home– great over a salad.
Treats:
- 2-3 cups frozen fruit blended with coconut milk- eat immediately or freeze until it’s the consistency you would like.
- LaraBar or RX bar (check because not all varieties are Whole-30 safe).
- Almond butter & apples
- Bacon-wrapped jalapenos stuffed with pineapple
Thanks for reading & hope you try some of these recipes too! If you’re on instagram, following #whole30 is a great way to get meal ideas in real time 🙂
Cheers!
Kari