As you know, I’m on Whole30…also affectionally called (by me) Hell30.I’m not gonna lie, it’s not a walk in the park. It’s hard and that’s because I’m totally addicted to sugar and my body is really mad about it. I’m technically on Day 10 right now and I feel really good. But I wanted to discuss an incredibly important part of doing this program: Whole 30 Prep!
The good news is that there are so many things you can eat when doing Whole30. And you can have coffee, which is an absolute must in life for me. I can’t stress the importance of Whole 30 Prep, though. Before we begin, let’s talk about this!
The Guidelines Of Whole 30:
1. No dairy, no grains, no legumes (this includes soy sauce).
2. There is also a limited number of fruit servings a day (I believe it’s 2).
3. There are also no treats that are meant to resemble fun things, i.e., pancakes, cookies, French fries, etc., even if they use the approved ingredients from Whole 30.
And that’s sort of it. The point is to ween your body off of sugar and other unnatural, processed foods we’re typically used to eating.
As a way to cope with this, I think prepping some foods to have on hand each week is super important. Before I started it, I cooked up a bunch of food and some I used all the time and others I didn’t like.
Whole 30 Prep Items I Love!
- Spaghetti squash – roast some spaghetti squash, face up (this will help with the moisture), for about 1 hour. Then shred it up and put it in some containers.
- Harissa meatballs – I eat these ALL the time. I eat them for a snack, or will eat them for an entire meal on top of the spaghetti squash.
- Hard boiled eggs – I love grabbing these to eat with my breakfast. And if I’m starving and feel like I’m crashing, I’ll eat this. When I’m having a sugar craving, I try to eat something high in protein instead. It instantly makes me feel better.
- Sautéed mushrooms – I love to add these into stir-frys or simply on a bed of spaghetti squash with a hard boiled egg and some hot sauce.
- Lemony sautéed artichokes – I cooked some canned artichokes in some olive oil, salt and crushed red pepper until they’re crispy and caramelized. And then right before I pull them, I’ll squeeze a quarter of a lemon. Super tasty with eggs.
- Roasted sweet potato slices – I’ll eat these with some eggs or meatballs or mushrooms. They’re good to pull from because they’re savory and delicious and make me feel a bit full.
Not All Items Prep Well:
- Roasted vegetables like broccoli. I found them to be AWFUL after they sat in the fridge for a day or so. I like my broccoli fresh out of the oven. And this actually goes for all vegetables, really, minus the squash and artichokes and mushrooms.
- Peppers. I prepped some padron peppers, thinking they’d be delicious flavor to add…but NOPE. Awful after having sat in the fridge for a few days.
I would also argue and say to not prep TOO much stuff because you can’t eat THAT much.
Store-Bought Items That Are Great for Whole 30:
- Broccoli rice from Trader Joe’s
- Frank’s Red Hot (normal flavor is Whole 30 compliant).
- Coconut aminos (I had no idea what the heck it was before I started Whole 30, but it’s actually a great soy sauce substitute; it’s made from coconuts and it taste AMAZING. And no, it does not taste like coconut but it is sweet, which isn’t my favorite part.
- Party chicken wings. I love eating chicken wings so the fact I can eat them for dinner is a total treat and makes me happy.
- A hot sauce that doesn’t have sugar (Sriracha has sugar). I accidentally tasted a bit of Sriracha and it tastes SO sweet now that I haven’t had much sugar.
- Fruit and nuts. I like having a slice of an apple with some almond butter as a snack.
- Beverages. I love drinking other things besides water so I loved having iced green tea in the fridge, kombucha and La Croix. It made it nice to grab something to drink with some sort of flavor.
ALSO, if you live a life where you work at home all day, you might want to go out for dinner to you know, just get out of the house.
I found going out for dinner a nice break from sitting at home, craving sugar. It does take some work. I found that going to chain-type restaurants was the easiest because they’ll take your psychotic substitutions, where chef-driven restaurants, don’t like substitutions (not mad at them for this, Whole 30 is just not a time to eat at them).
Restaurants That Can Be Whole 30 Compliant:
1. Cheesecake Factory – the cheesecakes will look so attractive but don’t eat it. I ate a salad with ahi tuna on it. Just make sure the salad dressing doesn’t have any sugar. They also have proteins like steaks and chicken that you can have with vegetables.
2. Chipotle – the carnitas with guacamole, salsa and lettuce is Whole 30 compliant. Gonna be honest, the carnitas are way too fatty and salty for my taste. Probably wouldn’t eat it again 🙁 The reason why the chicken and other meats are not compliant is that they are cooked in rice-bran oil—who knew!
3. Houston’s/Alexander’s – Protein and vegetables is an option here. Fun fact: I worked at an Alexander’s in college. I was the WORST employee.
4. Pollo a la Brasa – Peruvian rotisserie chicken. If there’s a restaurant in your city, go! You can eat the yucca, too. Just be sure to call and ask if they put sugar in the marinade for their chicken; some do, some don’t.
5. KBBQ – go for the meat that isn’t marinaded. A lot of the meats are marinated with a mixture that sugar in it. I got meat that wasn’t marinaded and ate this tofu soup (just didn’t eat the tofu) and had the boiling egg dish and was super happy.
6. Sweet Green – I believe they’re only in larger cities but it’s my absolute favorite. I like the guacamole greens salad (I just leave out the tortilla chips). There are actually a ton of options on the menu, you just might have to have them leave out certain things, which they’re super happy to accommodate.
Sugar Is Hard to Avoid
The thing you do learn on this diet is that people put sugar in EVERYTHING. It’s sort of depressing when you find out all the things you had no idea had sugar in the, does.
The truth is, I do feel a whole lot better. I feel lighter and faster. I don’t feel bloated. I’ve been waiting for my sugar cravings to dissipate until I take on recipe testing baked goods that I can’t really eat. I think I have the will power now but totally didn’t in the beginning!
I hope you loved this Whole 30 Prep!
And want more Whole 30 Recipes, here are some favorites:
Crispy Sweet Potato with Green Shakshouka
Olive Oil Fried Eggs with Sautéed Garlic Kale
Camarones a la Diabla (minus the rice)
Peruvian Seco with Cauliflower Puree
Roasted Cauliflower and Turmeric Soup
I’ll be coming over straightaway for one. Thanks.
So I decided tonight I’m going to start the Whole 30. Will you be writing any Whole 30 recipes??
Yes, if you look at my latest blog post, you’ll find some links to whole 30 recipes.
Just in case it helps you like it helped me: blame your sugar-loving gut microbes on the cravings and all the feels you get that first week. Their death knell can make one go a bit nuts, and feeling like I could scream at something helped. 🙂
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/bies.201400071/full
Yass!! I only bothered to look into what Whole 30 was when I saw an earlier post from you about it. Grateful for this prep post! My husband and I are thinking about trying it after a trip to wine country in a few weeks.
OH shnikey! My sis had the Whole 30 book up at our mountain cabin over the holidays so I read the whole thing. Luckily you love cooking and I know you’ll come up with some deliciousness to get you through! Hell30, hehe. They are such hardcore bastards with the “AND NO YOU CAN’T HAVE BLUEBERRIES IN COCONUT MILK FOR DESSERT, BITCH.”
Am on day 50…going for 90. It really is brutal.
Hi! I think it’s absolutely great that you’re doing Whole30! I’m doing my second round right now and it’s a ton easier- especially knowing which compliant recipes that I made and loved last time. I just tried it for fun, but I felt AMAZING afterward! Wait til you hit the tiger blood stage 😉 I know you’re not supposed to be promoting this (maybe slightly cheating?) but 2 sweet snacks that I really enjoyed were 1. mejool dates and 2. a frozen sliced banana blended for a few seconds with some cocoa powder = kind of choco-banana ice cream. Also, I actually made a shepherd’s pie (with cauliflower mash) and picadillo (over cauliflower rice) recipes from your blog last go-round! I love all of the recipes you post, so I’m excited to see any creative whole30 recipes that you might post! Best of luck! 🙂
Love this post! I did a Whole 30 last September and loved the results, so my boyfriend and I are doing another one right now. Currently on Day 4. I think the first three days are mentally the hardest. I find that I really need to have snacks on hand. If I let myself get hungry, I’ll become a maniac. Sweet potatoes, avocados and nuts are major keys. Of course I gained some weight back when we got off the plan, but I did find that it encountered some long-lasting habits, like reading labels, making as much as I can from scratch and packing my own lunch everyday. I think it really is worth it in the end. Good luck! Can’t wait to hear what you think when it’s all over.
That should say encouraged, not encountered.
Never heard of this program before. I totally believe that everyone’s body should take in as less of sugar possible. Limiting the daily intake of natural sugars, like fruit, is a good way of constraining that
You’re my hero! I’ve toyed with it, but haven’t done it. If you can do it, and you LOVE food, I think I could. Looking forward to seeing what you think/eat!
I’ve been on and off the program for several years now and it really is a lifestyle change. Can’t live without Aidell’s chicken-apple sausage, Tessamae’s dressings and Primal Kitchen Foods products. Oh and Avocado oil has changed my life. Best of luck!
I love avocado oil! It’s so flavorful. I need to try Tessamae’s dressing and the aidell’s chicken apple sausage! 🙂
Going to be the devil’s advocate. I think the extra attention you pay to the ingredients of processed foods is a wonderful leap forward for you food knowledge, congrats. But… why the exclusion of perfectly healthy foods (dairy, grains & legumes)? Sure, like any food you want to make the right choices (i.e. low fat dairy, wholemeal/wholegrains), but these foods are extraordinary sources of key nutrients! I’m also concerned with the extra ‘anxiety’ this Whole30 causes around eating out. You mention asking about the sugar content of a salad dressing, and yes whilst it is shocking to some that salad dressing may contain sugar, however how much salad dressing are you having? and how much could sugar realistically contribute to that? In the context of a healthy and balanced diet, excluding a gram or two of sugar from a salad dressing is trivial. Primarily, I’m concerned with the ‘all or nothing’ mindset this diet encourages. So, you make it through the 30 days, its been a tough slog – hell30 some might say (haha!) – and then what? If some of the previous commenters are anything to go by, you leave with the best of intentions of putting your new skills into your daily diet, but one or two celebrations later and it becomes oh so easy to return to your regular eating patterns. Why? Because you have further ingrained a mentality of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ foods and such black and white thinking does not lend itself to a middle ground, lets call it ‘moderation’. At its worst, this thinking will result in attributing those values to yourself. Have you ever rejected a dessert on the premise of “I’m being good today” or felt guilt upon eating said dessert? When you think about it, it seems a little crazy, right? Anyway, I really hope this post doesn’t come across as attacking, I really enjoy your blog, its just yours is the latest in a long list of food bloggers that has embraced Whole30 and I feel compelled to put forward a counter argument. If you so choose, finish the diet, at the very least for a sense of accomplishment. However, I would strongly urge embracing a diet that allows wholemeal/grains, low fat dairy and legumes, as well as allowing for ‘fun foods’ on social occasions. After all, what is a birthday without a slice of cake? All the best for 2017.
No reason to play devil’s advocate because I’m not telling anyone to do Whole 30. Instead I’m just sharing a choice I made for myself.
I never said I would never eat those things ever again. I’m a baker! I love all those foods. I personally don’t think there’s anything wrong with a slice of cake. I never will. Doing Whole 30, for me, has been about resetting my diet. In the month of November alone I baked a total of 15 pies. And I tried every.last.one.of.them. So I needed to reset my diet, to ween myself off of sugar.
If you read about it in the book “It Starts With Food,” they call it a Whole30 because they know it’s not realistic for most people to maintain such a strict approach forever – they just ask you to do it for 30 days and use it as a way to address your eating habits and make changes YOU CHOOSE to make. After my first Whole30, I maintained a mostly paleo diet, but had some ice cream once or twice a week. I also made exceptions for trail mixes that have dried cranberries in them (they have added sugar), and definitely made an exception for some salad dressings. There were some other occasional exceptions too, but I learned that processed soy and corn products make me feel pretty bad so I don’t eat things with those in them. The point is to not get caught up in the minutia for the long-term, but to make the changes that you feel food about and that are right for you.
Sorry – it just bothers me when people think the Whole30 is something that you’re supposed to do forever and ever.