You may be wondering what exactly we ate on the Whole30. Many bloggers write up their whole menu every day for the whole 30 days. While this can be helpful, and it gives you a lot of ideas, you may feel a bit overwhelmed by seeing so many different foods and recipes. It is OK (and I recommend) that you find some good recipes and repeat them several times during the month, or even once a week. This way some of the pressure is taken off of you thinking that you have to come up with 90 recipes to get you through the month! I am going to share with you a few of our favorite recipes. All of these are on Pinterest and if you would like me to send you the pin with my notes added onto it, just let me know!
I think the hardest thing for me during the Whole30 was meal planning, and finding good recipes that we were able to eat. Please let other people do a lot of the work for you by using the recipes they have already tried out and don't eat the same thing every day, or you will go crazy!
Tuna/Salmon cakes-
These are delicious on top of a salad, and can be served hot or cold. You can make a Whole30 approved mayo or get a dressing (I had a lemon garlic dressing) that I put on top of the cakes. Just make sure to get them good and brown in the pan, to give them a little texture and extra yumminess. For the Whole30 use almond flour instead of bread crumbs. If they are a little juicy as you are shaping the cakes just squeeze them out a little bit.
Spaghetti-
Spaghetti squash is your new friend if you have never tried it. Pick one up from the store and poke a few holes in it. Place it on a cookie sheet and bake at 350○ for 20 minutes and flip it over (so it doesn't get too brown on the side touching the pan) and cook it another 20 minutes. If you have a big squash you may need to cook it a little longer. Just keep checking it by poking it with a fork. The skin is tough but the fork should go in pretty easily. You can press on it (wearing the oven mitt of course) and it should feel a little soft but not mushy. Take it out and let it cool a little bit before cutting it. You are going to cook it again in a pan, so its better to undercook it a little bit than to over cook it.
While the squash cools, get a pound of grassfed beef and fry it in a pan with one minced onion and 2 cloves minced garlic. Once your meat is brown, add in some Italian spices and pour in a jar of spaghetti sauce (make sure it doesn't have sugar in it!) Turn the heat down to medium-low and let it simmer while you get the squash ready. You want the sauce to thicken a little because the squash has more moisture than regular noodles and you don't want it to be soggy.
Now time to cut the squash! It's probably still hot so hold it with an oven mitt and cut it in half with a large, sharp knife. Scoop out the seeds with a spoon and throw them away or save them for roasting later. Now get a fork and scrape the inside of the squash, which will be stringy like spaghetti. If it is overcooked it will be mushy and not as stringy, so you know for next time not to cook it so long. Heat up a large frying pan to medium and add a little coconut oil or ghee (clarified butter), put in 2 minced garlic cloves. Once they are slightly brown, add in all the squash and stir it around. Add a little salt, pepper and Italian spices. Now serve it up with the sauce, some fresh basil and broccoli!
Frittata-
A frittata is an egg casserole, similar to a quiche with no crust. They are a wonderful breakfast, especially if you are cooking for a lot of people or want to make it the night before, you can have it all ready to go at night and then just bake it in the morning. This particular recipe is amazing, and we actually served it at my bridesmaids brunch! Everyone who has eaten this has loved it.
It is delicious just as is, but I discovered these fresh Andouille sausages from the meat counter at Whole Foods and thought I would try it with them. I didn't think the original recipe could get any better, but it did! The sausage is SO flavorful, so you don't have to add in any of the spices, jalapeno or salsa that the recipe calls for. Just get 4 of the sausages, cut open the casing and fry up the ground sausage meat in the pan, like you would ground beef. Fry it up with the onion just like the recipe says. I also add in one grated carrot, and some chopped spinach once the meat is brown.
You can also make a avocado cream sauce, which is similar to guacamole. I used avocado, cilantro and lime juice, with a little salt, pepper and garlic powder. Just add stuff in a little at a time til you like the taste because everyone likes a little less or more cilantro (or none at all). You can mash it all up with a fork or blend it (I used my immersion blender to get it really creamy). Or, just serve it with a slice of avocado.
Two more of my favorite Whole30 recipes are:
Use Coconut Aminos (a Paleo alternative to Soy Sauce, found at Whole Foods by the Chinese foods, or order online) and use freshly squeezed orange juice instead of the honey. These are one of our favorites, and have made them many times. You can serve them with cauliflower, broccoli and sugar snap peas, or pretty much any other vegetable. Baking them is easier, but you get them more brown in a pan, just flip them all around until they are brown all over and not really smushy anymore. (probably about 8 minutes in a pan on medium) (always cut into one of the biggest ones and make sure it's not pink if you are using ground chicken or turkey so you don't give anyone food poisoning :)
This is one of the simplest dishes you can make that is packed full of flavor. Use boneless skinless chicken thighs (they have them at Whole Foods), or you can use the ones with bones if you can't find them. Marinade them overnight if you can, or at least for a few hours, so you get a lot of that flavor to stay in the chicken as they cook. You can cook them in a frying pan, or on a grill or George Forman type indoor grill. I haven't cooked took much curry yet, but this is really easy, and you can get the green curry paste in a little jar in the Chinese/Thai food section at the store, and also the coconut milk in a can in that same section.
I recommend planning to make extra every meal so you have leftovers. All of these things keep well for a 2-3 days in the fridge. It is SO important to have things ready to eat so when you get hungry you can just eat, and not be tempted to order a pizza or make a Taco Bell run. And this way you also can take leftovers to work with you. Please let me know if you have any questions or comments!
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