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As I am planning for my 2nd official Whole30, I've been putting together a game plan and reflecting back on what really worked for me during my first Whole30. I'm sharing them now both as a reminder to myself, and in hopes that they will be helpful to some of youWhole30-ers out there! Since my first round, I have started and quit at least 2 Whole30s. Lately I've really been struggling with my eating habits, and when I say lately, I mean the entire month of December (and in reality, the last 10 years). SO... time to get this under control. Here are some of the tips I find to be super helpful during a Whole30.
1// BE PREPARED!
Cue the song from the Lion King. No really though, this is the most important tip I can give you. Prepare, plan, and then prepare some more. The more educated you are and the more solid a plan you have in place, the more successful you will be. Meal plan, meal prep, have healthy food choices at the ready.
2// SNACK SMART
The goal is to eat enough of the right things at meal time so that you don't need to snack in between meals (with the exception of pre- and post-workout). But sometimes, when I'm at my desk at work all afternoon, and my stomach starts to rumble, or there are cookies in the break room, I just need to eat something! So the key is to be prepared with HEALTHY snacks like...
- Veggies - Roasted veggies like baby carrots or brussels sprouts are fantastic snacks. I've also been known to crack open a can of green beans every now and then. Is it weird that I eat them cold? Yes, I know it is.
- A bit of protein - I do hard boiled eggs as part of my weekly meal prep, or any leftover proteins like chicken will do.
- Healthy Fats - My favorite is half of an avocado with a drizzle of Cholula.
- A handful of nuts - I find that raw almonds satisfy me but don't turn into "food with no brakes," meaning that I can eat a few to curb my hunger and don't feel the need to overeat.
- An apple & prosciutto - This is a perfect salty/sweet combo.
3// KNOW YOUR "FOOD-WITH-NO-BRAKES"
During my first Whole30, I discovered that some foods, even though they may be Whole30 approved, have high potential to turn into "food-with-no-brakes" for me. This basically means that Whole30 compliant foods trigger unhealthy habits like binging, and I have a hard time not eating them if they are around. Once you get started, you may figure out your own food-with-no-brakes. Here are the ones I stay away from:
- Nut butters & (certain) Nuts - Nut butters like almond butter are, for me, "junk food" on the Whole30. They are creamy and fatty and delicious. And it's hard to stop eating them. I LOVE carrots dipped in almond butter. But unless I portion out the almond butter beforehand, there's a very good chance that I will eat too much of it. Next thing you know, I'm eating it with a spoon. For now, I'm not going to buy it. I also don't keep salted cashews around. They are just too good to stop eating.
- Dried fruit - I love the "Just Mango" from Trader Joe's. In fact, I love it a little too much. I decided to stop buying it because I found myself grabbing a piece every time I walked through the kitchen. If I'm going to eat fruit, I might as well eat a fresh piece of fruit instead of "nature's candy."
- Plantain Chips - I see a lot of people posting about plantain chips from Trader Joes. I tried a bag once, used them as a dipper for guacamole, and could NOT stop eating them. So I just don't buy them anymore. And if you really do your homework, you will learn that "chips" in any form are not in the spirit of the Whole30. They are too hard to stop eating!
4// ON SUNDAYS, WE MEAL PREP
Sundays are for MEAL PREP. With the Whole30's focus on fresh real food, it can be really intimidating, especially if you feel like you have to cook a full blown meal from scratch every time you want to eat something. BUT, if you are prepared with Whole30 approved foods ready (or semi-ready) to eat, you can avoid spending hours cooking every day.
Meal Planning around Proteins
I usually base my meals around proteins that can be used many different ways. For example, if you make my Crock Pot Carnitas, you get a TON and you can freeze half for another week. Then the half you keep out, you can use it for a bomb salad with taco fixins and guac, lettuce tacos, fry it up with sauerkraut, make a "stir fry" with broccoli and garlic, eat it with eggs, etc.
If I make a batch of regular hamburgers, one night I might eat a burger, but then the next night I might do a stir fry with cabbage, red bell peppers, hamburger, and coconut aminos (REALLY GOOD).
The key takeaway here is... if your staples are multi-purpose proteins, then you end up with a ton of meal options with minimal work.
My Weekly Meal Prep Plan
Here's my general plan for meal prep on any given Sunday. Sometimes I don't have the energy or willpower or TIME to get all of it done (it's kind of a lot), but in an ideal world...
- Prep 5 lunches for the week (chicken salad, some kind of protein and veggies, some kind of salad). I'll do a round-up post of my favorite go-to-lunches soon!
- Hard boil 10-12 eggs to have for the week, then peel them and store them in a container or zip lock bag. I eat two every day for breakfast along with a piece of fruit usually. They are also great for snacks and to add to salads.
- Make little baggies of baby carrots or other veggies for snacks.
- Make a batch of homemade ranch! THIS IS A MUST DO. Here is my go-to recipe. If you don't have an immersion blender, get one. Oil and vin gets old FAST.
- I usually only do 1 or 2 of these:
- Make up some side salads to have with dinners through the week.
- Roast some kind of veggies (green beans, broccoli, brussels sprouts) that you can use as sides during the week.
- Roast some kind of potatoes (red skins, russet, sweet potatoes) to add to salads, use in breakfast for dinner, etc.
- Prep 2 meals to have as dinners (or at least plan it out, do anything in advance that you can). Since I have a huge stock of freezer meals (see below), I don't usually do dinner prep on Sundays.
You can use this handy Google Docs template for meal planning! Just click the link to make a copy of my Google Doc and you will have an editable version of the meal planner that you can use for your own Whole30!
5// START FREEZER COOKING
Freezer cooking can be intimidating, but you don't have to do this HUGE freezer cooking day for it to be "worth it." You can find some of my freezer cooking recipes on the Whole30 blog, and I'll be posting some new ones here on Maria Makes in the coming weeks. Here's an idea for a mini-freezer-cooking-day. Pick a hamburger recipe and a meatball recipe to make and freeze. Also bake some boneless skinless chicken breasts that you can shred and freeze. That way you are SET for countless meals during your Whole30, like...
- Thaw hamburgers overnight then just throw them in a skillet for dinner. Microwave a freezer bag of veggies, throw a salad on the side, and dinner is served in under 10 minutes. Or chop up the burgers and use them to make meat sauce, or taco meat, or stir fry!
- Thaw meatballs overnight, spiralize and sauté some zucchini, throw sauce of your choice on top, and dinner is served in under 10 minutes.
- Thaw chicken overnight, then use it to top salads, make chicken salad (I have some bomb recipes which I've listed below), add it to eggs, drench it in buffalo sauce, etc.
- Chicken Salad Recipes:
6// HOW TO DEAL WITH A NON-WHOLE30 HUSBAND (or BF, FIANCE, FRIEND, CHILD, etc.)
My husband isn't on the Whole30 train, but I do most of the cooking in our house -- so the challenge is, how do avoid cooking two separate meals!? Here's how I handle it. I usually cook us both the same thing, then I add non-compliant items to round out the hub's meals. Until I convert him to the dark side, this will have to do. For example...
- If I make stir fry, I eat mine plain, and he gets a microwave steam-bag of Bird's Eye brown rice.
- If we are having burgers and oven fries, I eat mine on lettuce, he eats a bun.
- If I made carnitas - I'll do a salad, he might do tacos.
- If we have breakfast for dinner, he eats toast, I don't.
- OR if we have something like lasagna or ravioli in the freezer, I just make enough so that he can eat that for a few days and I'll do my own thing!
One final thought on this topic... if he doesn't want to eat what I cook, he can cook his own damn dinner :)
7// #UGLYMEALSOFWHOLE30
With all of the Insta feeds dedicated to Whole30 recipe ideas, and all of the blogs out there making and shooting BEAUTIFUL food, it's easy to get caught up in trying new recipes and making everything look good. But when it comes down to it, all that matters is that it tastes good and that it is nourishing your body. I have several go-to meals that I come back to time and time again because they are easy to throw together, and they get the job done. I have these red bowls with handles that I use specifically for this type of meal! They might look ugly dumped in a bowl, but IDGAF :) I think we should start a hashtag -- "#uglymealsofwhole30" anyone? Some of my favorites are:
- Roasted veggies topped with meat sauce (broccoli and zucchini shown below).
- Cabbage & red pepper stir fry with whatever leftover protein I have on hand.
- Roasted veggies & whatever protein I have on hand topped with dippy eggs (broccoli, garlic, & carnitas shown below).
8// INDULGE IN A HEALTHY WAY
The key to not feeling hungry all the time, and not feeling like you are on a diet, is to EAT GOOD FOOD. When you are nourishing your body with unprocessed, whole foods, you don't need to also cut out all potatoes or eat only veggies. Trust me, all veggie salads day in and day out can get pretty old. So the final tip I will leave you with is... "indulge" in a way that is healthy. Add roasted potatoes and homemade ranch to a salad. That combo is OUT OF THIS WORLD. Treat yourself to some sweet potato oven fries along with that bun-less burger and veggies. If you're feeling crazy, drizzle them with truffle oil. Add healthy fats to meals without feeling guilty! This is what will make you feel satiated and keep your stomach from growling in between meals.
