Easy Whole30 Recipes - The BEST Whole30 Guide with a Shopping List (2024)

FAQs

What does a Whole30 meal plan look like? ›

On Whole30, you can eat meat, vegetables, fruit, tree nuts and seeds, and healthy fats. However, you must avoid sugar, grains, legumes, dairy, alcohol, and processed food additives. Although it would be difficult and very restrictive to maintain long term, the Whole30 is designed to be done only for 30 days.

Sign up for our FREE Whole30 Starter Kit, which includes a printable version of the Whole30 program rules, a meal-planning template, and 15 recipes from Melissa Urban's bestselling cookbooks. Shopping can eat up your time and budget.

The diet recommends you avoid grains, dairy, sugar, most legumes, and alcohol. The Whole30 diet is meant to jumpstart your body on a healthier path. The focus on fruits and vegetables has been linked to less obesity and heart disease.

Reintroduction basics

Follow our Original Whole30 reintroduction schedule. Or, choose your own adventure and reintroduce food groups in whatever order you like. Just make sure to reintroduce only one food group at a time, and return to your Whole30 elimination phase for 2-3 days between each reintroduction group.

The truth is, weight loss can be a natural byproduct of your Whole30, without tracking or purposefully restricting calories. You may lose weight naturally by eliminating alcohol, baked goods, soda, and other high-sugar foods.

The Whole30 diet is a 30-day elimination diet that people use to help identify the source of digestive concerns or to reach weight loss goals. It's more of a lifestyle change than a simple diet and focuses on eliminating certain foods that may negatively impact your health – such as sugar, alcohol, and dairy.

After an interesting experience at Blue Star Donut in Portland, I posted my “One Bite Rule” on Instagram. I encourage you to read the whole post (and the experience that prompted it), but I'll summarize it here: If you get one bite into a less healthy treat and realize it's not worth it, stop eating.

The Whole 30 and Paleo Diet are very similar. The Whole 30 is more restrictive than the paleo diet. For example, no sugar is allowed in the Whole 30 but only refined sugar is cut out of the Paleo diet. The Whole 30 is meant to be consumed for 30 days, whereas the Paleo diet is designed to be a long-term diet.

For 30 days, you will cut out all grains, legumes, soy, dairy, alcohol, added sugars, artificial sweeteners, and processed foods containing any of these ingredients; and load up on all sorts of vegetables, fruits, eggs, quality meats and fish, nuts, seeds, and healthy fats.

On Days 10 and 11, you are statistically the most likely to quit your Whole30. (That's why they're “the hardest days.”)

Is peanut butter okay on Whole30? ›

Though peanuts and peanut butter aren't allowed on the Whole30 program, other nuts and nut butters are. Cashew butter is loaded with nutrients like healthy fats, magnesium, manganese, and copper. Its smooth, sweet taste pairs well with apples ( 1 ).

Some downsides include Whole30 side effects like digestive problems, worsened food cravings, and reduced nutrient intake. The diet restricts certain foods and food groups, which, if followed long-term, can result in nutrient deficiencies.

Whole30 Eliminates All Legumes

The diet's creators argue that legumes, including beans, lentils, and peas, contain phytates that might block the absorption of some nutrients.

😴😴😴 Many Whole30'ers report that they feel unusually tired around Days Six and Seven of their reset. Your body is learning that it can't rely on all of those easy access energy sources it used to know and love (think: muffins, Frappuccinos, sodas and energy bars).

On the Whole30 program, you will eat three meals a day, avoid snacking and stop eating a few hours before you go to sleep.

Whole30 Rule #1: Eliminate alcohol, grains, dairy, and more!

By eliminating these common digestive irritants, many people report benefits like increased energy levels, better sleep, improved digestion, and fewer or less intense cravings.

Yes, you can eat potatoes of all colors under the new Whole30 guidelines, white varieties included. Mash 'em up, roast them, or throw them in the skillet to enjoy. Just don't eat them commercially deep-fried or in packaged chip form to stay Whole30-compliant.