Whole30 Resources: The Mega Post

Since 2009, I’ve completed a handful of Whole30 months, usually when I was (a) trying to get a grip on what was happening with my health (see “thyroid removal complications“), or (b) trying to clean up my act after a big adventure, like a vacation or particularly stressful work project.

I realized the other day that because I’ve been doing this Whole30 schtick for so long, I’ve amassed a lot of helpful resources from my blog and others. So this page is a collection of links to information that I hope will help make the Whole30 more manageable for you, whether it’s your first or your fourth (or fourteenth).

If you need a reminder of why you’re doing this in the first place…

30 Reasons to Whole30
My list of the reasons I think the Whole30 is the greatest thing since Sunbutter.

If you fully fleshed-out meal plans…

My free food plans include delicious Well Fed recipes, step-by-step instructions for how to do a big ol’ cookup that should give you enough food to get through a week, give or take. And each one also includes a shopping list and links to other helpful resources.

Whole30 Food Plan: Week 1
Whole30 Food Plan: Week 2
Whole30 Food Plan: Week 3
Whole30 Food Plan: Week 4

I also wholeheartedly endorse Real Plans, an incredibly powerful, flexible meal planning service that offers real food recipes served up with shopping lists and helpful how-to tips to make getting meals on the table faster and easier than you thought was possible. Their offerings include more than 200 Well Fed recipes (all officially Whole30 approved), as well as Whole30 recipes. Learn more about that awesomeness right here!

If you need easy meal ideas that don’t require a recipe…

Great Ingredients: No Recipe Required
Tips for meal ideas that literally require no recipe, just some chopping and plating.

10 Paleo Flavor Boosters
A spritz here and a mince there and bang! you’ve got delicious food instead of just ingredients

Stuff to Put on Eggs
11 Whole30 approved eggcellent ideas. (sorry.)

Stuff to Put on Broccoli
11 Whole30 approved broccoli toppers.

Stuff to Put on Burgers
11 Whole30 approved ways to dress up a burger patty.

Steam-Sauté Veggies
The easiest way I know to cook lots of veggies and make ’em taste good.

If you need recipe ideas…

My Whole30 Recipe Collection
My recipe index is filled with Whole30 approved recipes!

30 Whole30-Friendly Recipes
A collection of recipes from my favorite bloggers.

My cookbooks
Together, Well Fed Weeknights, Well Fed and Well Fed 2 provide almost than 500 Whole30-friendly recipes and meal ideas, plus tips on organizing weekly cookups, cooking quickly, shopping lists, and much more.

Well Fed Weeknights: Complete Paleo Meals in 45 Minutes or Less: My latest release! More than 125 complete paleo meals on your table in 45 minutes or less. My love of food and adventure is baked into this collection of recipes inspired by takeout classics, food trucks, and cuisines from around the world—all free of grains, dairy, legumes, and soy (Whole30 compliant!). Includes recipes like Korean Beef with Kimchi Salsa, Dirty Rice, Fried Chicken Meatballs, Pizza Noodles, Sticky Orange Sunflower Chicken, Italian Hoagie Salad, Mexican Mole Meatballs, Loaded Baked Fries, and and so many more.

Well Fed: Paleo Recipes For People Who Love To Eat: The original that started it all! With 115+ original recipes and variations—and detailed instructions on how to do a weekly cookup—this book will help you see that paleo eating, too often defined by what you give up, is really about what you’ll gain: health, vitality, a light heart, and memorable meals to be shared with the people you love. All but one dessert recipe is officially Whole30 approved. Includes recipes like Chocolate Chili, The Best Chicken You’ll Ever Eat, Scotch Eggs, Homemade Mayo, Velvety Butternut Squash, Pad Thai, Coconut Almond Green Beans, and many more.

Well Fed 2: More Paleo Recipes For People Who Love To Eat: The delicious follow-up! Well Fed 2 includes 110 original recipes, plus 45 of my popular “You Know How You Could Do That?” variations. You’ll also find 44 Quick Meal ideas (no recipe required!) and tips for turning individual dishes into multi-course meals. All but two recipes are officially Whole30 approved. Recipes include 15 meatball varieties, Oven-Fried Salmon Cakes, Thai Tod Mun Chicken Cakes, Pizza Veggies, Savory Granola, Slow Cooker Italian Pork Roast, BBQ Beef, and many more.

Whole30 books: I’m proud to have contributed delicious recipes to The Whole30 Cookbook. And I also recommend the other Whole30-related books for feeding your brain: It Starts With Food, Food Freedom Forever, and The Whole30.

If you need help shopping & prepping…

Paleo Kitchen: Stocking Up
An outline of how I shop for our household with tips on how you can adapt what I do to what you need.

Paleo Kitchen: The Method Behind My Madness
A plan for making Hot Plates based on pre-cooked ingredients – saves time, never gets boring!

If you need tips for making your Whole30 a success…

20 Ways to Make Paleo Easier & More Fun
A post crammed with tips, tricks, and advice to win at paleo

How to be a Paleo Social Butterfly
Tips for keeping a social life while you’re Whole30-ing — without feeling deprived or killing anyone.

True Hunger vs. Emotional Appetite
Tips for distinguishing between the two so you can eat happily and healthily.

The Whole30 Daily
This email service is worth every penny of the $14.95 cost. Daily email every day of your Whole30 with science, entertainment, tips, tricks, ideas, recipes, and more. It’s like personal coaching every day of your Whole30. (Full disclosure: My husband Dave and I worked on this project with Whole9 and we’re partners in the business.)

If you just need to know it’s do-able…

My Whole30/autoimmune protocol experiment (November 2012)
Just to see if I felt any differently, I did the autoimmune protocol (AIP). It was… interesting.

Daily recaps of my Whole30/autoimmune protocol experiment (November 2012)
List of every meal I ate, plus sleep and mood, during my AIP Whole30.