My Take on Whole 30: Easy Recipes and Snacks

I cannot believe it has taken me this long to do Whole 30! Honestly it seemed overwhelming and so I just never dove into it. When some of our best friends were gonna do it we decided to do it together! Here is a simple breakdown of everything you need to know and some of our fave recipes so far.

My husband and I both have felt GREAT doing Whole 30. I have noticed an extra glow in my skin, no hormonal acne, weight loss and overall tightness in my body. I haven’t thought about taking a digestive enzyme at all which is amazing. Essentially, you are removing inflammatory foods and you will for sure see benefits. You may even learn that you have certain triggers. Make sure you take note of any symptoms that have gone away like gas, bloat, eczema, auto immune symptoms etc. One thing that I love is that I still feel fueled up to workout and go about my busy life throughout the day. All it takes is a little planning and you’ll be set!

First the rules. The good thing is that this has been around for a while now so any question you have has probably been asked before. Just google “roasted salted almonds whole 30 compliant” and you’ll have your answer. It’s YES by the way if the ingredients are only the nuts and salt. Here are basic rules from Whole30 Get Started Guide which you can find HERE.

Basically the deal is that you are training your body to cut cravings, which is why you are not allowed to create healthier versions of cookies/pancakes. We are on Day 15 and here are some tips that we have learned along the way.

1. Snacks! You will want some snacks around since there aren’t many fillers like rice, bread, grains in the meals. Here is our breakdown of compliant snacks:

   • Fruit: apples, oranges, berries etc.

   • Almond Butter: great for with apples or random spoonfuls

   • Nuts: We always have stock of a mix of raw and roasted salted nuts like: almonds, pistachios, cashews, macadamia nuts.

   • Veggies: My fave is to air fry carrots and dip them in Whole 30 Compliant Ranch!

   • Packaged options: Chomps, Seasnax, Unsweetened Plain Forager Cashew Yogurt

   • I also like making bite sized meatballs and having them around to pop in my mouth throughout the day if needed. These Complete Meatballs are my fave! Just leave out oats to make Whole 30.

2. Here are a few things you will always want to have on hand to help you casually put meals together based on what you already have:

   • Butter Lettuce - wrap anything up and boom its a meal. Our faves include turkey, healthy hot dogs or chicken sausage, homemade burgers, tuna.

   • Riced Cauliflower/broccoli and spaghetti squash. This adds nutrients to any meal and creates the “bowl” feeling.

   • Protein options like canned tuna, salmon, chicken, ground beef, ground turkey, shrimp, eggs, turkey bacon, sausage (Applegate is a great brand for options here.)

   • Veggies: brussel sprouts, asparagus, greens, tomatoes, avocados, bell peppers etc.

   • Potatoes: Both sweet potato and regular potatoes are allowed!

   • Whole30 condiments/sauces: Primal Kitchen Mayonnaise, mustard, pasta sauce, coconut aminos, ranch, teriyaki etc. If you have these, a protein, riced cauliflower and greens you are set for any meal!

3. Here are some of our favorite meals so far!

   • Chili

   • Zuppa Toscana

   • Chicken, Bacon, Ranch Spaghetti Squash Casserole

   • Below are three of my faves so far from Whole30 Fast & Easy Cookbook.

4. Restaurants! While we haven’t been able to experience going out to eat we have been able to order out and here are some things we have done.

• Chipotle Whole30 Bowl: Key is to get the salad and then add Cauliflower rice for a more filling bowl. You can also def split the guac between two!

• Sweetgreen has a Whole30 Menu.

• Create your own salad anywhere. You can easily do this and be good to go!

Thrive Market has been SO HELPFUL during this. If you are not already on the Thrive train get on it!! They have a Whole30 section and amazing meat/seafood boxes to get you all set up! Join here for an extra 25% off your first box.

Day 30 update!

We are feeling great!!! Both of us have lost weight and feel “tighter.” You can tell how much inflammatory foods like gluten, dairy and sugar cause bloat and cravings. The other major bonus are the new habits created around cooking meals and keeping healthier staples in our home so that the first thing we don’t grab for is a bag of chips or Benjamin’s snacks. Here are a couple more recipes that we have loved!

A few people have messaged me and said that they gained weight when they did it. Here are some tips to make sure that doesn’t happen:

• Don’t force more food than you are used to eating. For example, we sometimes eat breakfast and sometimes don’t. I usually listen to my tummy and if I’m hungry I’ll eat but I don't sweat it if I can’t get to it.

• Space out the potatoes! We only had them a few times a week and it made them that much more enjoyable.

• Don’t overindulge in a lot of fruit. This may result in high sugar intake and a blood sugar spike, especially if having a lot potatoes too.

A few bowl/salad ideas with the ingredients listed above:

• Salmon/Cauliflower rice stir fry topped with Coconut Aminos. Also great in lettuce cups.

• Chicken Sausage with potatoes and greens.

• Turkey, tomato and avocado in butter lettuce cups.

• Breakfast hash with fried eggs and bacon.

• Tacos in lettuce cups or bell peppers.

• Spaghetti squash with ground beef and red sauce.

• View every single recipe we made HERE.