I recently did the whole 30 challenge. That is, no sugar, dairy, gluten, grains, legumes, peanuts, soy, or alcohol for 30 days. So you basically eat avocado, drink coffee and snack on your tears all month….just joking…..mostly.
I am so grateful I did the whole 30, it taught me a lot. During the process though, I found it difficult to keep inspired with food and found a lot of help from other bloggers. So I decided to share my meals from the whole 30, if they can help you get inspired for your whole 30 journey.
What I ate during the whole30
Whole30 Breakfasts
- eggs, in every combo – on repeat. These were my main combos:
- with avocado, spinach, and yam
- with tomato and spinach
- with bacon and yam
- with sausage and avocado
- fruit, coconut, nuts cooked in coconut oil then simmered in almond milk (I liked this best when it was leftover, heated it up, and served with almond milk)
- banana with almond butter and smoothie*
*I made a smoothie booster mixing chia seeds, hemp hearts, and ground flax.
Whole30 lunches
As often as possible, I would try to have dinner leftovers on hand for lunch. This was the easiest way for me to ensure I had a good whole 30 meal ready for a busy time of day. Other days I would stick to these lunches:
- turkey roll-up with lettuce, avocado and ranch dressing (homemade, see below)
- lettuce wrap with turkey and avocado
- chicken curry salad in lettuce
- salad with chicken, pear, sunflower seeds, balsamic dressing
Whole30 Sauces
Sauces became one of my most enjoyable parts of a meal. I would add sauces and dressings to almost every meal. They were easy enough to make and lasted most of the month.
- coconut curry (mix canned coconut milk, curry powder, and mayo)
- great on eggs, yams, and cauliflower
- ranch (blend a bit of mayo, coconut milk from a carton, chive, a bit of garlic, some salt, and lemon juice)
- great on lettuce wraps and turkey roll-ups
- cashew sour cream (recipe here)
- great on meat, stirred into soups, with eggs
- cilantro sauce (pureed cilantro, olive oil, salt, and a bit of water)
- delicious paired with curry dressing or cashew sour cream
- cashew creamy sauce (puree about a cup of soaked cashews and 2-3 cups of water or broth)
- perfect to make a creamy base for soups or stroganoff
- balsamic dressing (olive oil, balsamic, salt, dijon, and garlic)
- not crazy exciting but nice and tangy for salads
Whole30 Dinners
This seemed to be the easiest meal of the day because the combo was always meat and vegetable. Some of these I ate more often (like meatballs) and I bolded the recipes I found most satisfying.
- roast chicken, roasted squash and salad with apple, pumpkin seeds, balsamic dressing
- curried cauliflower and yam, porkchop with orange-cumin peaches
- chicken fajitas on lettuce with cashew cream and squash sauce
- turkey meatball soup
- almond crusted chicken, coconut curried creamed spinach, salad with apple, sunflower seeds, balsamic dressing
- squash soup and turkey roll ups (with avocado, lettuce and ranch)
- meatballs in basil tomato sauce
- meatballs in basil tomato sauce with zuchinni noodles (these noodles are suprisingly satisfying! I just grated the zuchinni, tossed with lemon juice, olive oil and salt and served them room temperature)
- mole pork on lettuce with cashew cream, cilantro sauce and roasted yams
- bacon and potato soup
- roasted yams with curry mayo, sausage, salad with roasted pecans and pears
- turkey meatballs, beets with tahini sauce, squash fries with bacon
- baked drumsticks, roasted potatoes, green salad
- thai coconut curry chicken soup
- cauliflower falafel, roasted beets, salad greens, tahini dressing
- creamy chipotle pork chops and roasted green beans with almonds
- vegetable soup
- drumsticks, squash soup, salad
- beef stroganoff (with cashew mushroom sauce) and baked yam chips (pictured below, it tastes better than it looks #notafoodblogger)
- stuffed squash with caramelized onion, apples and sausage
- baked chicken, with cashew mushroom kale sauce
- baked chicken, roasted squash, roasted green beans with cashews
- burgers on lettuce
- creamy tomato chicken soup
Some tips to get started with a Whole30 challenge:
- Write a list of all the meals and snacks you can think of that you would enjoy – keep it handy for the month
- Start a Pinterest board (many of my whole 30 meals are pinned here)
- Eat up or stow away your non-whole 30 foods before you begin
- Get someone to join in so you can keep accountable and encouraged (this is what got me through the last half of the challenge)
- Make a whole bunch of meatballs, sausage patties, and sauces to have on hand
- Try to make larger dinners so you can have leftovers for lunch as often as possible
- Make a meal plan, and try to plan for every meal and some snacks to have on hand