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January is here and if you’re like me, you consumed every last cube of stuffing, crumb of sugar cookie and piece of confetti cake left in the house whilst lounging on the couch binge-watching Netflix and reading fiction for the last week of December. Tell me I’m not the only one!
If you’ve seen any of my recipes or have my 28 Day Meal Plan, you will notice that I generally follow a paleo diet but we do make exceptions sometimes…or a lot. December kicked my butt and it’s time to get back on track. I have kept up with my morning routine and getting in some exercise but my diet has been awful and I’m starting to feel the effects like inflammation, brain fog, bloating, and rashy skin. Plus, a poor diet prevents me from battling my on-going hormonal imbalance. Hot flashes and mood swings anyone?
What is Whole 30 you ask? Well, it was created by Melissa Hartwig and is basically an elimination diet. It eliminates soy, dairy, grains, legumes, alcohol (welp!), and added sugar from your diet for 30 straight days. This will flush your system and then after 30 days, you can slowly add some of these foods (and wine) back if you wish. It kind of helps you pinpoint foods that may be affecting your physical and mental health. It’s sort of like the paleo diet but a bit more strict.
Disclaimer! We will probably have a glass of wine or two throughout the month. I mean, January is my birthday month! And there will likely be a fancy meal over the next 30 days but we are going to make an honest effort to stick to a Whole 30 meal plan as much as possible throughout the month.
Anyway, the key to any successful diet or wholesome eating is planning! So, I’ve gone back over my own 28-Day Meal Plan, scoured my favourite food blogger sites and scrolled through Pinterest to round up 10 awesome Whole-30 Recipes that are easy to make and taste amazing to help us get started. These meals are so delicious and satisfying you won’t believe they are actually good for you!
Be sure to pin this post to your Pinterest boards so you’ll have all of these recipes in one spot when it comes time for you to do your meal planning. And please follow me on Pinterest while you’re there.
Let me know if you end up trying the Whole 30 diet this month. We can hold each other accountable and cheer ourselves on.
We can do hard things!
Whole 30 Recipe Round-Up
1. Instant Pot Pulled Pork
The made from scratch barbecue sauce in this recipe is AH-mazing. We love this instant pot pulled pork recipe and like to eat it stuffed in baked sweet potatoes and topped with coleslaw. Be sure to use a Whole 30 compliant coleslaw dressing like this one. Note: when a Whole 30 recipe calls for mayonnaise, it doesn’t mean good old Hellman’s unfortunately. You’re going to want to make your own or buy an avocado oil mayonnaise instead.
2. Instant Pot Chicken Teriyaki
First of all, Lexi is one of my favourite food bloggers. Her meals are healthy and delicious plus, she’s adorable! What I love about this instant pot recipe is you can prepare it ahead of time and freeze. I will likely make 2 or 3 batches of this recipe to freeze for the month. Note, rice is a grain therefore not allowed during the whole 30 elimination diet; however, you could make cauliflower rice or serve with a heaping pile of sauteed vegetables on the side.
3. Slow Cooker Meatballs and Sauce
This is a really good slow cooker recipe by another food blogger I enjoy. Ignore her little advertisement about paleo certified beef. You don’t need paleo certified beef for Whole 30 recipes or at all for that matter so don’t worry if you can’t find it. I haven’t been able to find the Muir Glen organic basil crushed tomatoes nor the diced tomatoes with basil & garlic in any of my local grocery stores so I use the fire roasted crushed tomatoes and then add more basil and garlic to the recipe. I like to serve these meatballs and sauce over spaghetti squash or spiralized zucchini. You could also serve over spiralized butternut squash or sweet potato.
4. Bacon & Mushroom Chicken Thighs
I have made this recipe a couple of times and it is delish. If you don’t follow Cheryl over at 40 Aprons, you should. Her recipes are excellent. We like to have mashed white potatoes on the side (no milk or cream though) since white potatoes are now accepted on the Whole 30 diet. You could also have roasted baby white potatoes if you’re like me and have a hard time eating mashed potatoes that aren’t super creamy.
5. Spaghetti Squash with Roasted Mushrooms and Garlic
This is a hearty, meatless meal that is made in one dish. It’s really easy to prepare and is going to satisfy your comfort food cravings. It is dairy-free but I cheat a little bit with this recipe and grate a tiny bit of Parmesan on top.
6. Zoodle Lasagna Soup
During these cold months, I’m often craving food that will warm me up like soup. Soup isn’t usually a satisfying meal without a grilled cheese sandwich on the side, but this lasagna soup sure is. It’s really easy to make and it tastes just like lasagna.
7. Bacon, Zucchini and Red Pepper Frittata
As a kid, I used to love breakfast for supper…I still do! This meal is in regular rotation in our house and can be found in my 28-Day Meal Plan. I love it with a side of salsa and topped with slices of avocado. It is an easy to make, one-skillet meal that is also great for breakfast or brunch.
8. Baked Salmon with Avocado
We love salmon and always have frozen salmon steaks in the freezer ready to make a delicious salmon meal. Not all of our salmon recipes are whole 30 compliant but this one is and it’s delicious. Serve on a bed of cauliflower rice or with some oven-baked brussels sprouts on the side. Erin at Well Plated has so many delicious recipes.
9. Sheet Pan Steak Fajitas
This sheet pan fajitas recipe is insanely quick and easy to make but is so good you’ll be making it over and over even if you aren’t following a Whole 30 diet. They are delicious in lettuce wraps or on tortilla wraps (if not following Whole 30).
10. Mushroom Bolognese Sauce
We love pasta and we definitely love bolognese sauce with or without meat. This meatless bolognese sauce gets its heartiness from the mushrooms and is super tasty. You can serve this on zoodles or homemade gluten-free gnocchi while on Whole 30 or over regular pasta. So good!
Whole 30 Must Have Tools
