One of my favorite discoveries about the Whole30 was discovering that eating clean doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice enjoying food.
7 Delicious Go-To Whole30 Meals
In fact, that is quite the opposite. Sure… there is no replacing cheese. But I have found the use of avocados a great alternative. All these recipes are or CAN be egg free. A recent blood test revealed eggs are no friend of mine. I didn’t know this the first few times I did the Whole30 (and I’m glad). I’m not sure I could have survived an eggless first Whole30. But I have learned so much and weeded out a lot of bad habits, so I am totally capable now.
But I still miss my eggs.
But the meals. These are 7 of my GO-TO meals when I am Whole30-ing. They are my FAVORITES and they are my backbone. They might even be my *splurge* foods… in that I love these meals so much… they make the case that eating clean is as delicious as all the cheese in the world. They are not all quick dishes, but worth the effort.
Taco Salad
The trick to keeping taco salad Whole30 compliant is in preparing the meat. Here is a recipe for Whole30 compliant taco meat.
I like to LOAD up my salad with chopped veggies… I like texture. Sometimes I use green onions, sometimes red onions, assorted bell peppers, olives, tomatoes, blanched broccoli chopped up into little pieces… I love to add home-made guacamole (I mash avocados, and mix in compliant salsa) or sliced avocados. And then I top with a bit of salsa AND this compliant ranch dressing from *Well Fed.
Tuna Waldorf Salad
Another *Well Fed find. I LOVE this version of tuna (recipe and photo source here). I sometimes eat it with plantain chips… or jicama sticks… or apple slices. Or a pickle spear. This is my go-to meal for travel. I’ve taken it to the fair, Mariners game, field trips… just make sure you keep it with an ice pack. It is so satiating. Which, if you love to snack when on the go, you’ll know packing something that satiates is key in one’s battle against the traveling snack monster.
Jicama Tabbouleh
I LOVE THIS SO MUCH YOU GUYS. It contains jicama, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, mint, parsley… It is not a stand-alone meal… but add pieces of roasted chicken, or a few salami slices, perhaps an Applegate all beef hot dog, or an Aidells chicken apple sausage… And BOOM. Or add some olives. You can find the recipe (and photo credit) here. It’s a lot of chopping, but it’s a grain-free game changer.
Chorizo Sweet Potato Hash
I could eat this every day. EVERY one of them. I can’t add egg anymore, so I add half an avocado. You can find the recipe here.
You’ll need to track down compliant chorizo (a local natural food store here has it), but if you can’t find any – use ground turkey or pork, and up the spice by adding more cayenne or paprika.
I make a HUGE batch and end up freezing a dozen-or-so individual servings. Then I have an EASY breakfast. And a GOOD one. To this recipe I often add a bunch of steamed zucchini, bell peppers, asparagus, and spinach to up the veggie content. I mix the veggies together with the hash and freeze, or if I’m off my game I steam the extra veggies separately in the morning. I pull out my chopped veggies, steam them, and add the hash I pulled from the freezer and heat it up with the cooked veggies. This is a most excellent way to start the day.
Cinnamon Beef Stew
Yet another recipe from *Well Fed. Sure you can get the recipe here (and photo credit), but I tell ya, if you are serious about good, clean food… you just need to get that book. Mine is falling apart. SUCH a good resource. There’s this brined chicken… The Best Chicken You Will Eat. Ever. My ENTIRE family LOVES that chicken. That’s another go-to recipe.
But this Cinnamon Beef Stew. YOU GUYS. This is a fine-dining level experience. I serve this on a bed of cauliflower rice and top with her Cumin Roasted Carrots. This meal is a labor of love, but it’s full-on umami. And what do I do with the leftovers? I eat them for breakfast. Call me crazy, but this is even better for breakfast. Speaking of breakfast…
*Updated: the author of Well Fed and Well Fed 2 (Melissa Joulwan) has just recently recently released *Well Fed Weeknights. She sent me a copy and I am OVER-THE-MOON. You MUST check-it out. All meals are created to be made in 45 minutes. It’s a dream book!
Warm Pumpkin Breakfast Bowl/Porridge
You can find the recipe here. Since I shouldn’t have eggs, I omit the eggs and it is still delicious. I like to make double batch of this and freeze some. I love it on cold mornings, or mornings I wish I could have Cream of Wheat, or oatmeal. I used to like to top it with almonds, but I can’t have those either, so I like to add pecans and some coconut sprinkles. I don’t think dried cranberries are compliant, but when not on the Whole30, I like to add a sprinkling of dried cranberries too.
Have you done the *Whole30? If you have, what have been your go-to, life-saving foods and meals? I have created a Whole30 Pinterest board that has been my online “cookbook”. I also started a separate Instagram account (@thewholeavocado) where I share my clean-food meals, and only follow accounts that feature Whole30 or Paleo food. I will often scroll through my feed to find inspiration when I’m in a rut or need to be reminded that eating clean doesn’t mean I’m missing out on good food.
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*Originally published August 2016
