The Whole 30 : Rules, Tips, and Recipes
After a summer of traveling, eating out, ordering Postmates and, basically being on a cooking strike, I finally decided to get back in the kitchen and hit the reset button on my diet. A week before the start of September, I started seeing countless instagram posts about the September Whole 30 Reset Challenge and with an additional push from friend and fellow blogger, Jewel of “After Sunday Dinner”, I decided to join in ! This was not my first rodeo. as I completed the Whole 30, two years ago, during the worst time of the year, Thanksgiving. Although I resisted the temptation on stuffing and all sorts of carb and dairy filled sides, the fact that the Whole 30 was starting in September, made things that much easier.
If you’ve never heard of the Whole 30 or just a little unclear on the rules, its basically an elimination diet, created by New York Times best-selling authors Melissa and Dallas Hartwig that resets your body after 30 days. After your 30 day reset, you should reintroduce food groups slowly to gain a better understanding of how your body reacts to them. After my Whole 30, I discovered that I was extremely sensitive to gluten, which explained the bloat and skin breakouts that I experienced prior to the Whole 30.
The rules may seem strict but the increased sense of awareness that you gain about your body and your food choices, make it well worth the time.
For more details on the rules and what you can eat, visit Whole30.com
Tips :
Meal Prep
Meal prep is a major key to succeeding and even surviving the Whole 30. I chose Sunday nights to do my meal prep for the week. This included washing and chopping all of my veggies, roasting vegetables in large quantities, cooking my proteins, and storing them in these cute glass, bpa-free “Ello” storage containers, that I discovered on one of my many Target runs.
2. Do Your Research
Be sure to always read the labels and when you’re still unsure, google is your friend! I also referenced my Whole 30 books, whenever I needed some extra help.
3. Ask Before You Order
When eating out, make sure to ask your server, how the food is prepared and if what your ordering contains anything on the “ Do Not Eat” list. It may seem a bit excessive to your friends and the server, but hey. you want to make sure you’re following the rules, right?
4. Liven Up Your Water !
Drinking water can get a little mundane, day after day, try adding lemons and infusing fruit to curb your cravings and stay the course. If you really want to get fancy, try adding some limes and mint to some sparkling water!
5. Better With Friends
Everything is better with friends! Find a friend or group to share your Whole 30 journey with. There are also tons of Whole 30 facebook and instagram groups, just in case your friends aren’t quite ready to take the jump.
Recipes:
With all of the rules on what you can’t eat, I can see how you may think that your choices are limited. This is not the case at all. There are quite a few Whole 30 cookbooks and endless Pinterest posts that will have you eating a different meal everyday, if you’re up to spending some quality time with your stove! Here are a few of my staple/ go to recipes, that were in heavy rotation during my September Whole 30 Reset.
WHOLE 30 TACO BOWL
INGREDIENTS:
1 tbsp sweet smoked paprika
1 tbsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground hemilayan sea salt
1 tbsp dried oregano
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tbsp of Spicely Organic Taco Seasoning
1 lb sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 tbsp olive oil
1 lb lean ground Turkey
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved OR 2 large tomatoes chopped
1 medium avocado, sliced
1 small red onion, chopped
1/2 bunch of cilantro, chopped (used as garnish)
INSTRUCTIONS :
Preheat oven to 400° F.
In a small bowl mix together chili powder, paprika, cumin, salt, oregano, garlic power, onion powder, and cayenne pepper (if using).
Toss sweet potatoes pieces with olive oil and half the seasoning mixture from the small bowl, about 2 tablespoons. Bake for 15-20 minutes until tender and cooked through.
Meanwhile, cook beef over medium-high heat for about 5-7 minutes until cooked through. If necessary, drain any large quantities of fat from skillet, leaving about 1 tablespoon. Add beans and remaining seasoning mixture from the small bowl. Toss to fully coat beans and beef with seasoning. Continue to cook until beans are heated through.
To serve either place all ingredients in separate dishes for family style serving, or make individual bowls before serving table.
Serve with any desired optional garnishes (sour cream, jalapeños, sliced green onion, chopped cilantro leaves, lime slices, crumbles feta, etc.).
VEGETABLE EGG BAKE
INGREDIENTS:
4 eggs
1/2 yellow onion chopped
4 small mushrooms sliced
1 cup of chopped spinach
1 tbsp olive oil (1/2 for greasing the ramekin and 1/2 to sauté vegetables)
salt
black pepper
INSTRUCTIONS :
Preheat oven to 350F. olive oil ramekins.
In a skillet sauté mushrooms, peppers and green onion until water from mushrooms disappear. Season with salt and black pepper to taste.
Transfer vegetables to ramekins. Crack eggs on top and ass some more salt. (Optional-you can add a small piece of butter on top)
Bake eggs for between 10-20 minutes, depending on how you like your yolks done.
Serve with some fresh ground black pepper on top and some parmesan cheese.
wHOLE 30 ZOODLES & mEAT SAUCE
INGREDIENTS:
6 medium zucchinis spiralized (preprepared works just fine #nojudgement)
1 yellow onion diced
8 garlic cloves minced
1 pound lean ground turkey
2 jars of sugarless Whole 30 approved Tomato Sauce : Mezzetta® Italian Plum Tomato Marinara Pasta
2 teaspoons garlic powder
sea salt and black pepper to taste
INSTRUCTIONS
Spiralize the zucchinis with a spiralizer. Feel free to spiralize it as thick or as thin as you'd like! Add the spiralized zucchini to a large colander and place it over the sink. Add the kosher salt and massage it well into the zucchini. Let it sit for about 20 minutes, as this process will release a lot of moisture. Rinse the zucchini well with cold water and let it drain for another 10-15 minutes. Pat it as dry as you can with a paper towel and set aside.
Chop the onions and cook until they appear translucent. Add in the garlic cloves and cook for another minute or so, until fragrant.
Add in the turkey and cook until brown and cooked through. Add in the tomato sauce and let it simmer for 7-10 minutes, until everything is well combined and appears thick.
Stir in the garlic powder, sea salt and black pepper, to taste.
Stir in the zucchini noodles and let everything cook together for 4-5 minutes. Serve warm.
The Takeaway
Now that my Whole 30 is over, I have a much greater appreciation and sense of clarity when it comes to the ingredients that go into the food that I eat .. Cooking almost every meal and actually looking at labels and nutritional facts has really changed the way I look at food !
It also doesn’t hurt that the colors of all of the fruits and veggies that I’ve been eating appeal to my creative eye. At this point, I’m not sure if what I enjoy more, cooking the food or plating it and taking pictures of it !