Hi there! Planning on doing a January Whole30? As a Dietitian and Certified Whole30 Coach whose helped tons of people, I’d like to share a few tips to make your journey to a better relationship with food a success:
SIMPLIFY: I always suggest that folks just start their first week or two with the same type of day: Veggie omelette for breakfast, big salad for lunch with 4-6 oz animal protein and 1/4 avocado, and a 4-6oz animal protein for dinner with a sweet potato or baked potato and a boat-load of sautéed veggies. Keeping your choices limited in the beginning can make it a lot easier to stick to the plan. It’s easy to get overwhelmed with fancy recipes with that have too many ingredients. I often see people give up because they felt it was too “complicated.” Once you get bored of this, branch out and try new recipes.
PLAN: This means, you can’t just show up at the airport with no food in your bag hoping you’ll find something to eat. One great tool to help you in meal planning is Real Plans. This site is amazing – it’s so much more than a static PDF with recipes, and it’s a huge value at $6 per month for a yearly subscription. You enter your dietary preferences, how many you’re cooking for, how often you cook and even where you shop, and it generates a custom weekly plan with recipes and a shopping list catered specifically to your tastes. You can even buy extra recipe packages from your favorite bloggers like Nom Nom Paleo (my personal favorite blogger, and not just because she’s one of my best friends!)
OUTSOURCE: If you’re busy like me, it may be a lot easier to just get ready-to-eat meals shipped to you. The Good Kitchen has delicious, portioned, fresh meals – many are Whole30 Compliant, and all are sourced from pasture-based and organic farms. I use them every week for my office lunches and my nutrition clients LOVE them! Plus, the owners are super nice. Use this link and code: SUSTAINABLE for 15% off your order.
PRE-MADE CONDIMENTS: Yes, you can make your own mayo and salad dressings but I personally found that making these condiments from scratch was subconsciously holding me back from eating more salads. Primal Kitchen mayo and dressings are REALLY tasty and easy!
BULK ORDER: Get yourself a membership to Thrive Market and make a bulk order of Whole30 compliant staples and snacks. I go online a few times a year and make a big order to make sure I’ve got those harder-to-find products, unlikely to be on my local grocer’s shelves.
PRESSURE COOK IT: If you don’t already have an Instant Pot, you need one. End of story! You can make beef stew in under and hour, plus broth, pulled pork, and fall-off-the-bone ribs in no time. I use mine several times a week. If you’re busy and want to eat real food, this is a must have.
READ UP: Get yourself the Whole30 Book, Cookbook, Day By Day, Fast & Easy or my book, Paleo Lunches and Breakfasts on the Go (nearly recipes are Whole30 compliant).
WRITE NOTES: Leave yourself little notes around the house, in your purse, in your car… reminding yourself why you’re doing the Whole30 and help to keep yourself inspired to do it – EVERY DAY.
REACH OUT: Join an online group, follow the Whole30 Instagram account, find a Whole30 Coach (like me!) If you run into trouble, or need a pep talk, there are resources available for you!
KEEP IT POSITIVE: YOU CAN DO THIS. It’s not that hard. Reward yourself with non-food gifts like a massage, a soak in a float tank, a facial, extra yoga classes, or even a weekend retreat.
And if your family or friends are giving you a hard time, telling you how you should be following the DASH diet or some other “healthy” plan, check out this post I wrote illustrating how wrong they are!
