We’ll address this up front—no, we are not giving you a 30-day meal plan. It’s not because we’re lazy, and it’s not because we couldn’t randomly slap 90 recipes into a calendar and call it your “meal plan.” We’re not, and we could have, and we are deliberately choosing not to.
The Whole30 is built on a foundation of tough love. All of the resources we give you in this book and on our website are the “love” part. We’ve done our best to give you all the information, guidance, support, and encouragement you’ll need to succeed.
But here’s the “tough” part:
You have to meet us halfway.
You’re all grown-ups, and you are all perfectly capable of deciding what to eat a week from next Wednesday. Not only that, you should be in charge of exactly what you eat and when. Your Whole30 success, and your ability to take these new, healthy habits you create on the program with you for the rest of your life, depends on your ability to figure out how to make this work in your own life. If you blindly eat exactly what we tell you to eat for the next 30 days, how will you learn to meal plan, food prep, handle “food emergencies,” and learn new cooking techniques? (Trick question—you won’t.)
We’ve got a teach-you-how-to-fish kind of mindset, but we’re not going to throw you out into the river with nothing but a rod and a lure. We’ll give you a meal plan to get you through your first week—that’s 21 opportunities for you to meal prep, cook, and figure out how to make this “cooking real food” thing work in your own life. We’ve included a good variety of protein options, vegetables, and added fats, flexibility with your fruit, and a number of simple cooking techniques to get you comfortable in the kitchen. We’re using Whole30 kitchen fundamentals and recipes for your first five days, then allowing you to freestyle a bit on the weekend.
And in a minute, we’re going to tell you exactly how we’d prep for your week, day by day.
Like we said, we would never just leave you out in the middle of the river.
We designed this meal plan to stretch your grocery store budget, minimize the time you spend in the kitchen, and convince your taste buds that this Whole30 thing is tasty and satisfying. Meal prep is done throughout the week, but you’ll have a little bit of a heavier load on Sundays, when most people take an hour or two to get ready for the week.
Many lunches and breakfasts involve leftovers. If you’re cooking for one, you can just follow our recipes exactly as outlined, as they all serve two. If you’re cooking for two (or more), make sure you double or adjust our ingredient quantities so you’ve got dinner and enough left over for the next day.
As we’ll explain in the Recipes section, make sure you read through this entire plan before you head to the grocery store. It’s important that you know what meals you’ll be eating again the next day, which nights require the most prep time, and which mornings you’ll be cooking breakfast versus just reheating breakfast.
Finally, we haven’t built in any snacks, but especially in the first week, you’ll want to make sure you have some extra food on hand should you find yourself hungry between meals. (It’s common for your appetite to take a week or two to regulate—if you need a snack during this transition, no big deal.) Hard-boil a dozen eggs, stock up on some Whole30 Approved on-the-go foods, and make sure you always have some “emergency food” in your car, your gym bag, your purse, and your desk at work, just in case.
As we may have mentioned a few times already, when it comes to the Whole30, planning and preparation are key.
You’re in meal-prep mode! First, take an egg out of the fridge and put it in a glass of hot water, as you’ll need it for your mayonnaise soon. Then, start your tomato sauce and roast your spaghetti squash—both take an hour of pretty hands-off time. While those are cooking, take 5 minutes to prepare a batch of Basic Mayo. Use that to make a batch of Ranch Dressing, and to add to your Protein Salad. Finally, start making your Frittata about 5 minutes before your spaghetti squash timer goes off. When you pull the squash out of the oven, turn the heat to broil, pop in your frittata, and let it finish cooking. Finally, pack up a portion of protein salad, some baby spinach, and a small container of Ranch Dressing for tomorrow’s lunch.
Whew. That wasn’t so bad, was it? You’ll be happy you took the time tomorrow!
Reheat your frittata for breakfast and walk out your front door with lunch in hand. When you get home for dinner, all you have to do is brown the ground beef and reheat the tomato sauce and spaghetti squash—dinner in under 15 minutes on a Monday night is way worth some extra prep on a lazy Sunday. After dinner, get used to setting aside a half hour or so to prep for the next day. Make it part of your nightly routine, before you sit down to watch a movie, read a book, or play a game.
Monday night, your job is to pack the rest of the protein salad, a hollowed-out pepper, and some carrot, celery, and apple slices with the rest of the ranch dressing for lunch. You’ll also want to make the Roasted Red Pepper Sauce and use some of it to prepare tomorrow night’s mayo variation.
Bonus: Make the cabbage slaw for tomorrow night’s dinner—it tastes better if the flavors meld in the fridge overnight.
Once again, breakfast is leftovers, and lunch is packed. When it’s time for dinner, make the chicken, and roast your potatoes. A few potato tips: first, make extra! You’ll eat the leftovers later. Because the chicken and potatoes both use the oven, start your spuds roasting at 425°F about 20 minutes before you start the chicken, then turn temp down to 350°F and finish baking them together.
Tuesday night, your post-dinner prep includes making a batch of Pesto, preparing your Mexican Tuna Boats, and peeling and chopping your butternut squash for the morning. Look—no cooking required! Pack up your lunch (the tuna, a few romaine leaves, your side of fruit, and any leftover slaw) and stash the squash in the fridge overnight.
Get up 15 minutes earlier so you can brown the brisket and get the slow cooker set up for dinner. (You can handle that, as breakfast is leftovers and lunch is packed). Wednesday at dinnertime, make a garden salad (pick any ingredients you want—lettuce, cucumber, peppers, onions, tomatoes, mushrooms, shredded carrots, olives, etc.) and prepare the dressing for the Greek Salad—in fact, double the dressing, because you’ll use it again on Friday. You’ll be sitting down to a hot slow-cooked meal and a fresh, crisp salad in under 15 minutes.
Wednesday night, you’re off! No food prep for tomorrow, just pack up your leftovers, some pesto, and a side of fruit for Thursday’s lunch.
Thursday morning, you actually do have to make breakfast, but don’t worry—it’ll only take about 10 minutes. As always, lunch is packed, giving you something delicious to look forward to at noon. (Are your co-workers noticing your amazing meals yet?) At dinner, cook the salmon and vegetable side, topping your veggies with the leftover roasted red pepper sauce.
Thursday night, make your Butternut Squash Soup and Greek Salad, hard-boil half a dozen eggs, and pack up your lunch. (Don’t forget the leftover Greek dressing you made yesterday!)
Breakfast is leftovers and the soup you made last night, lunch is packed, and it’s Friday! Friday night after work, make your Pork Chops with Spiced Applesauce. (Oh, but double the applesauce recipe—everything from the onion to the nutmeg—as you’ll be eating more of that for breakfast tomorrow.)
Now, take the rest of the night off. It’s the weekend!
Your breakfast is pork chop leftovers and freshly wilted greens scrambled into some eggs, topped with leftover applesauce. You’ll either start your slow-cooker Pulled Pork Carnitas now, or wait and cook it in the oven mid-afternoon—your choice.
At lunchtime, make your No-Fuss Salmon Cakes and Green Beans with Onions, Mushrooms, and Peppers, and reheat the rest of the butternut squash soup. Sometime during the day, make a batch of basic mayonnaise and use some of it to prepare your Avocado Mayo for dinner.
Start your sweet potatoes roasting an hour before dinnertime, and pull them out when the carnitas are done. Saturday night, you can either make your Sunshine Sauce, or take the night off.
Your Sunday breakfast is fun and easy—plantains add a sweet and festive side to your carnitas and eggs. (Look for them in your local Mexican market. Buy them very ripe and soft, not green. Slice them in ¼-inch rounds, melt some ghee in a skillet, and fry them on medium heat in batches, letting them brown on one side before flipping them once.)
Lunch is leftover salmon cakes, but first, prepare your Cold Thai Salad and (if you skipped it last night) Sunshine Sauce. (Note: if you can’t find sunflower seed butter, prep our Asian Vinaigrette or the Cilantro-Lime Mayo instead).
Dinner is “brinner” (breakfast for dinner), taking our Spinach Frittata recipe and adding your own variations. If you can’t find compliant chicken sausage, substitute a half-portion of cooked Perfect Ground Meat, or prepare a double-batch of our Perfect Sausage, use two patties in your frittata, and save the rest for Monday’s breakfast, lunch, or dinner. You’ll also make a Cauliflower Mash—we’d recommend doubling the recipe. (We see a delicious breakfast of frittata and cauliflower mash in your Monday future.)
Congratulations! You made it through your first week of the Whole30 eating a wide variety of nutrient-dense foods, cooking simple but delicious meals, and not feeling chained to your cutting boards or dishwasher. We’re confident you can take it from here. Now let’s get to the recipes!
Download our shopping list template at www.whole30.com/pdf-downloads to make shopping for this 7-day meal plan easier.