If you follow me on Instagram, you may have noticed about a month ago I endeavored to try Whole 30. Let me tell you, 30 days later, I did not complete it. BUT I tried out several recipes and wanted to share my favorite and least favorite with you.
I really don’t know what started it. You always see people talking about it and recipes and products that are “Whole 30 approved” and I truthfully just wanted to see if I had the willpower to do it. And so, on a Sunday night I decided to take the plunge. I honestly didn’t know too much of what went into it, but I knew I wanted to eat more fruit and vegetables so I figured it couldn’t be that hard. BUT THEN I FOUND OUT BUTTER WASN’T ALLOWED. So that hit me hard. Regardless, I started.
My first recipe honestly was really good! Healthy Roasted Chicken and Veggies what’s not to love about that? I put some extra red pepper flakes on the dish and it made it extra spicy and it was fantastic! As a meal prep dish though, not so good. The veggies got soggy and the chicken got incredibly dry when re-heating. But good when its fresh!
When it came to breakfast, I knew that I was going to get sick of scrambled eggs every day and being someone who does not like eggs any other way than scrambled, I knew I needed to make a casserole to spice it up. So I made this casserole. Hashbrowns and sausage are always a good idea. I didn’t take a picture of this one, but believe me, I ate it for about 2 weeks straight and it was great everyday.
Okay, this next recipe was by far my favorite for lunch. Chicken Salad is normally not my go to, but I’m so glad I made this one. I honestly may make this in everyday life! It was perfect for lunches at work and went great over salad. What would make it even better is if you put this on a Hawaiian roll, def not Whole 30 approved but it would be great.
I was really hopefully about this next one: Bacon Ranch Chicken Poppers. It sounds like it would be great right??? They even look good! But there is just something that made it just not that good. I think maybe the 2 cups of carrots. And the fact that I had to make it in a blender because I don’t own a food processor and grinding up chicken is just not my favorite thing to do. Alas, I threw the leftovers away right off the bat. So sad.
Let’s get back to the good recipes! Like these Crispy, Garlic, Ranch, Roasted Potatoes they are unreal. I will also be making these again. And I may even use the Ghee instead of butter! Like, who even am I? I paired these with some Whole 30 approved sausage and broccoli and it made the perfect dinner for even a few nights!
Sticking with the sausage theme, I also made this dish that obviously was great because sausage, potatoes, and broccoli are my favorite things (that are good for you) and you can’t go wrong.
And finally, the last dish that I loved that I will definitely be making again: Instant Pot Stuffed Potatoes As I’m sure you guessed, if I don’t have a food processor I def don’t have an instant pot, but I’ve learned enough in my cooking days that I felt prepared enough to make everything in the frying pan and it turned out DELICIOUS! The potatoes on the other hand didn’t turn out so good without any butter on it, so I just ate the meat by itself and I still loved it. As a side note, this would taste DELECTABLE with some chili cheese Fritos over top, like a little walking taco. Just a thought. 🙂
So now, maybe you’re wondering, “Gee, Rachel, it sounds like you had a lot of recipes you loved, why in the world did you not last the whole 30 days?!” Well, friends, this is a safe space so I’m gonna tell you. In the industry I work in, it’s truthfully not possible. I know that sounds like an excuse, but it isn’t. I work in advertising and we get taken out to dinners or drinks or lunches all the time. At least one or twice a week. And while the websites all make it sound like you can do Whole30 at restaurants, it is very difficult. One article I read literally said to bring your own dressing for the salad at the restaurant. I was not about to do that during a lunch that I am the guest at and make it seem like I am some snob about my food and be rude to the people that are taking me out for business. Additionally, there were birthdays, going away parties, and my own promotion that I was celebrating over this time that I didn’t want to worry about Whole 30 at or not be able to have a celebratory drink at! I wanted to celebrate! So, I cheated a little and always came back on track. So I’d call it a Partial 30. It lasted about 3 weeks, so I guess I’m alright with that.
So, what did I learn?
- There are so many ingredients in the products I eat daily that I should be aware of. That was one of the biggest things I’ve now become aware of. In products that I thought were good for me or healthy are hidden pesticides and weird things that I don’t want in my body! This is definitely something I’m taking into consideration when buying processed foods going forward.
- I need to balance out my meals. Because I am so lazy when it comes to making dinners and lunches (living alone problems) my meals are very heavy sided. What I mean by that is I will sometimes just eat one item for dinner. Like potatoes. Or just a sausage. Or just chicken, rather than making chicken and broccoli and a little salad. And what that was doing was really un-evening my body. Aka I was not eating any vegetables, so I need to keep those in my diet and make more balanced meals.
- While on Whole 30, I was not bloated at all. That was the first thing I noticed. After every meal, I felt great and not stuffed and not sick to my stomach. I’m sure it’s tied directly to only eating raw ingredients, so I want to try and create recipes that leave me feeling the same way, because my pants loved that, and so did I.
Will I ever do it again? No, probably not. This is still an elimination diet and despite the positive benefits and results, any elimination diet will come to an end and when you reintroduce foods you weren’t having beforehand, the results typically go away as well because you’re not maintaining the same diet! It’s just logic. Diets, especially the elimination kind, are not my thing. I am the queen of guilty pleasure snacks and am always the girl to pressure you into eating another cookie. I have a jam-packed snack drawer at work and I let my co-workers down by having it empty the past month. At this point, my career and my lifestyle just aren’t conducive to Whole 30 and I’m perfectly fine with that!
So, that is it! That’s everything I loved, hated, and learned on my “Partial 30”. Have you tried Whole 30 before? What were your thoughts? Did you try the same recipes I did? Let me know in the comments below!
