65 Delicious Whole30 Recipes for the New Year (2024)

FAQs

What is the one bite rule on Whole30? ›

And on the Whole30 that is a big no-no. The rules state that if you take even one bite of an outlawed food, you have to start all over again.

–Jess, Missouri Dear Jess, First, remember that our “three meals a day” recommendation is just that—a recommendation, based on most people's general needs and fitting into most people's regularly scheduled lives.

The Whole30 diet is a strict 30-day elimination diet that many people turn to for weight loss or help with digestive concerns. The program encourages you to cut out alcohol, sugar, grains, legumes, dairy, and additives from your diet for 30 days. It is advertised as a total lifestyle change, rather than a simple diet.

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.

Cravings for the foods or drinks you've eliminated can also make you cranky, fidgety, and easily irritated. (Food dreams are common here, too.) You may also experience bloating, constipation, or loose stools as your gut adjusts and learns to process these new foods more effectively.

What can you eat on Whole30? Eat real food. As defined by Whole30, that includes meat, seafood, eggs, vegetables, fruit, healthy fats (like olive and coconut oils, and ghee), herbs, spices, and seasonings.

If you follow the Whole30 mood calendars, like the above from Whole30.com, you know that days 10-11 are considered the hardest to get through. In fact, a high percentage of people quit during these next couple of days. But not us and not you!

Our meal template recommends around two servings of fruit per day, eaten with your meals (and not on their own as “dessert” or a snack). However, that's just a starting point, not a hard and fast mandate. We're really not concerned with the amount of sugar in whole foods, in the context of your Whole30 meals.

Step Two: Reintroduction

The reintroduction period is perhaps the most important Whole30 stage. This is where you really learn how the foods you used to eat (and eliminated for the last 30 days) affect how you look, feel, and live.

What foods should I avoid on Whole30? ›

The 30-30-30 diet involves eating 30g of protein within 30 minutes of waking up, and then completing 30 minutes of low intensity exercise. This method first appeared in Tim Ferriss' book The 4-Hour Body in 2010 but was recently popularized by nutritionist and wellness podcaster Gary Brecka.

Potatoes of all varieties are in, but fries and chips are not. (This should not be a surprise. Fries and chips are about as Whole30 as Paleo Pop-Tarts.)

Basically, all fruits and veggies are acceptable on Whole30, so your favorite apples, bananas, berries, and the like are fair game. The same can't be said for your green breakfast smoothie, however.

Understanding Whole30 “Cheese”

Although traditional, dairy-derived cheese is a no-go during a Whole30, there's a world of dairy-free cheesy elements that's compatible. These include: Almond-based “ricotta” or “cream cheeses,” like select varieties from Kite Hill.

Many people use the one-bite rule. They insist that a child put one bite of food on his plate. Then, the child must take at least one bite of that food before he can leave the table, or have a second helping of a preferred food. Think about the dynamics of requiring children to eat a specific food.

Ghee or clarified butter.

These are the only source of dairy allowed during your Whole30. Plain old butter is NOT allowed, as the milk proteins found in non-clarified butter could impact the results of your program.

However, it is possible to eat too much fat on a Whole30, and that can negatively affect your hunger levels, energy, and digestion. We see this most often when people mindlessly snack on nuts and seeds.

That said, sometimes you just need or want a frosty, frothy tall one—and when you do, you can build a Whole30 smoothie that avoids the program's Don'ts: No cow's milk, oats, protein powders with off-limits ingredients, sweeteners (that includes those added to plant milks, as well as maple syrup, honey, agave, stevia, ...