This first part of our resources section includes websites, cookbooks, and social-media feeds we really like, from people with whom we have developed a close personal and professional relationship. They’re smart, talented people who are Whole30 experts in their own rights. They’ve done the program, offer specific resources for your Whole30 success, and really get the spirit and intention of the Whole30.
Not everything in their website, cookbook, or social media feed is Whole30-compliant, but you already knew that, right? They don’t eat Whole30 all the time, and neither will you. This isn’t a criticism—in fact, it’s great to see! All of our friends featured here keep it real, and exemplify what “life after your Whole30” should look like: mostly healthy, Whole30 foods; indulgences when, where, and how often they’ve decided is “worth it”; with foods they’ve identified as “worth it” for them, thanks to their Whole30 experience.
We’re just pointing this out because you have to read your website content, recipes, and social-media hashtags just as carefully as you have to read your labels.
Anyone on the internet can say a meal or ingredient is “Whole30 Approved” or “Whole30-compliant.” They can, and they do, in fact—we’ve seen horrifically sugary, salty, fatty desserts; processed whey-based protein shakes; and even fat-burning supplements labeled “#Whole30” on Instagram. The moral of the story?
Use your own judgment as to whether something is really “Whole30.”
Unless it’s coming from us (our website, this book, or our social-media feeds), don’t take any label of “Whole30-compliant” at face value. Use your critical thinking skills, read your labels/ingredients/recipes carefully, and decide for yourself whether the item in question fits into our Whole30 program.
The good news is that you can trust everyone we have listed here to tell you with 100 percent accuracy whether something on their website, in their cookbook, or on their social media feed is Whole30-compliant. (They’re experts, we told you.) So use our site, this book, and the folks we have listed here as your primary resources during your program, and supplement with things you find in the blog-o-sphere on your own . . . just proceed to Pinterest with caution.
The official home of the Whole30 program. This is where you’ll find our Whole30 Forum, all of our free downloads, Whole30 Approved products and affiliates, and more Whole30-related articles than you could possibly hope to read in 30 days. Spend lots of time exploring here before, during, and after your Whole30—this is the very heart of our community.
Facebook: whole30
Instagram: @whole30, @whole30recipes
Twitter: @whole30
Pinterest: whole30
Whole9 is the health and lifestyle community from which the Whole30 program was born. The “9” comes from the nine factors we believe come together to bring you to optimal health: nutrition, sleep, healthy movement, stress management, socialization, natural environment, personal growth, fun and play, and temperance. Use our articles and resources to help you navigate life after your Whole30, and use all that self-efficacy you built during your program to help you take on the other health initiatives we recommend.
Facebook: whole9
Instagram: @whole9life
Twitter: @whole9life
Pinterest: whole9
Not only is Melissa Joulwan the author of two Whole30 Approved cookbooks (Well Fed and Well Fed 2), she’s also a brilliant food, fitness, health, and lifestyle blogger with hundreds of Whole30-friendly recipes, meal plans, and resources freely available on her site.
Facebook: theclothesmakethegirl
Instagram: @meljoulwan
Twitter: @meljoulwan
Pinterest: melissa-joulwan-the-clothes-make-the-girl
Nom Nom Paleo is the creation of mom, foodie, and self-described “culinary nerd” Michelle Tam. Since 2010, she has been religiously taking pictures of her Whole30 meals and sharing her Whole30 meal plans and recipes. She also penned the New York Times best-selling book Nom Nom Paleo: Food For Humans, featuring a large number of Whole30-friendly meals.
Facebook: nomnompaleo
Instagram: @nomnompaleo
Twitter: @nomnompaleo
Pinterest: nomnompaleo
Ciarra Hannah is on a mission to promote wellness through whole foods centered around meat, vegetables, fruits, and healthy fats. Her site is full of everyday meals, most of which are Whole30-compliant and appropriate for those following an autoimmune or chronic pain/fatigue protocol.
Facebook: popularpaleo
Instagram: @popular_paleo
Twitter: @popularpaleo
Pinterest: popularpaleo
Arsy Vartanian’s experience healing her own body with a paleo-style diet led her to pursue her passions and interests: a love of cooking, shopping for fresh, organic, grass-fed ingredients, and creating delicious meals for her family and blog readers.
Facebook: rubiesandradishes
Instagram: @rubiesandradishes
Twitter: @rubies_radishes
Pinterest: arsy
Stephanie Gaudreau is a talented chef, teacher, and athlete. Her delicious meals, sauces, dressings, and sides are simple enough for even budding chefs to re-create flawlessly, and her Performance Paleo books are a must-read for athletes and exercisers looking to begin a Whole30 or implement a general Paleo framework.
Facebook: stupideasypaleo
Instagram: @stupideasypaleo
Twitter: @stupideasypaleo
Pinterest: stupideasypaleo
Whole30 team member Tom Denham is both an expert facilitator of our program and the creator of more than 300 delicious, easy, often one-pot recipes offered for free on his website. The best part? One hundred percent of his recipes are Whole30 Approved! Start here if you’re new to the Whole30 and want to make absolutely sure the recipes you choose are perfect for our program.
There is only one book where 100 percent of the recipes featured are Whole30 Approved. You’re reading it right now.
However, there are dozens of cookbooks that feature delicious Whole30-compliant recipes, or recipes that could easily be adapted for our program. In fact, once you gain experience with the program, you’ll be able to take just about any cookbook and make it Whole30-friendly!
As always, however, watch carefully for non-compliant ingredients, learn to swap or eliminate ingredients that don’t fit the bill, and save the dessert or “treat” section for life after your Whole30.
Nom Nom Paleo features more than 100 recipes by award-winning food blogger Michelle Tam, and photography and illustrations by her husband, Henry Fong. We love their kid-friendly approach to cooking, and step-by-step photographs.
The Mayfields are two talented chefs with an immense joy for growing, cooking, and eating fantastic food. In their Paleo Comfort Foods series, they’ve brought their southern roots into your Whole30 kitchen, proving that heathy food can both nourish and nurture.
Melissa Joulwan’s best-selling cookbooks include more than 300 mouthwatering recipes and meal ideas from every corner of the world, but more importantly, her meal prep and cooking tutorials are what make this series indispensable for every Whole30er.
This cookbook features nearly 100 recipes, and combines great taste with a practical approach. Utilizing tried-and-true cooking methods known for bringing out the best in meat and vegetables, the recipes are both Whole30-friendly and easy on your budget.
Stephanie’s specialized book delivers 100 delicious, nutrient-packed recipes specifically designed to deliver a better performance in your sport or the gym, highlighting carb-dense, nutrient-boosting meals.
Diana Rodgers, a nutritional therapist and Paleo-community activist, created 100 delicious packable meals without bread: perfect portables that are as healthy and easy to make as they are gourmet.
Featuring nearly 250 healthy everyday meals, these cookbooks feature delicious, creative dishes using a wide range of ingredients, with plenty of grocery shopping and cooking tips for the budding real-food chef.
More than 100 recipes perfect for those following and egg- and nightshade-free Whole30, or a Paleo AIP.
Our Whole30 Approved label is designed to let you know a product is 100 percent compliant with the rules of our Whole30 program. In addition, it lets you know this product, and the company who stands behind it, have been vetted personally by the Whole30 team. We have a personal relationship with every Whole30 Approved producer, and feel confident that not only their products, but their core values and mission, are in line with ours and that of our readers.
This is just a sample of our Whole30 Approved vendors—for the full list, visit www.whole30.com/whole30-approved.
Pre-Made Paleo was founded by Chef Richard Bradford, the Culinary Institute of America-trained chef who designed the recipes in The Whole30! Chef Richard creates, packages, and delivers delicious Whole30 Approved meals just like those featured here straight to your door, with both nutrition and convenience in mind. Order complete meals (with protein and vegetable sides), breakfast skillets, or a 5-meal “Whole30 Emergency Pack” for those nights when you come home late, hungry, and too tired to cook.
Four flavors of Whole30 Approved egg white protein bars, perfect for on-the-go snacks, travel meal replacements, or endurance athletics like hiking and biking. Available online. Use the discount code “whole30” to get 10 percent off any order of $20 or more.
Whole30 Approved, 100 percent grass-fed, organic jerky, sourced responsibly and produced with integrity. Perfect for on-the-go meals; order the complete snack kit or just the jerky. Available online.
One hundred percent grass-fed beef snack sticks that are gluten, soy, hormone, and antibiotic free. The perfect on-the-go protein with a tender texture and no additives. Available online.
Toasted nori sheets in a variety of flavors. An excellent source of micronutrients (including iodine) unique to sea vegetables. Available online and in many health food stores.
One hundred percent grass-fed organic ghee made using ancient Indian traditions. Available online.
www.tinstarfoods.com/tin-star-ghee
Seasonally produced pastured, organic ghee and cultured ghee. Available online.
Small-batch pastured, organic ghee and cultured ghee. Available online.
A family-run company featuring a line of olive-oil based dressings, sauces, marinades and condiments. Available online and in health food stores.
A Colorado-based company featuring Whole30 Approved hot sauces ranging from mild to seriously spicy. Available online and in health food stores.
An all-natural, first press, “extra virgin” Vietnamese fish sauce with no added water, preservatives, or MSG. Available online and in health food stores.
More than 100 high quality spices, salts, and blends sourced locally and from around the world. (All salts and spices and 20 offered spice blends are Whole30-compliant.) Available online and at various markets in San Francisco, CA.
Nutritious, healing bone broth from naturally raised animals. Choose from chicken, beef, or seasonal turkey. Available online.
Made from 100 percent premium cacao (cocoa), beans roasted and ground to create a rich drink low in caffeine.
Made from 100 percent cacao (cocoa) beans, roasted to perfection, naturally low in caffeine, and brewed just like coffee.
Meat and seafood; Whole30 Approved sugar-free bacon; soup bones.
Beef, lamb, pork, and chicken (including organ meat); soup bones.
Bison meat, soup bones.
Whole30 Approved (no sugar added) bacon.
http://premadepaleo.com/products/bacon
Whole30 Approved (no sugar added) bacon.
Beef, pork, lamb, goat, and poultry.
Alaskan salmon.
Whole30 Approved pantry items and Emergency Food Kits.
www.eatwild.com and www.eatwild.com/products/canada.html
Resources for the U.S. and Canada.
Resources for the U.S. and Canada. (Global resources: www.eatwellguide.org/i.php?id=international)
Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs.
Annually updated lists of “clean” and “dirty” produce.
Note, these featured products are brands and supplements we like based on their ingredient list, and the fact that they are all available for purchase by the general public (without going through a medical professional). However, we always recommend that you speak with your health care practitioner before taking any new supplements, or changing supplement brands or dosage. For more information on how these supplements work in conjunction with our healthy eating plan and our general dosing recommendations, please refer to Chapter 22 in It Starts With Food.
Use the discount code “whole9” to save 10 percent off your order.
www.naturalvitality.com/natural-calm/
We spoke at length about how to find support at home in Step 2 of “Getting Started with the Whole30.” Still, it can’t hurt to have some support, motivation, and accountability back-up! Here are all the links you’ll need to find the help you’ll need online, with our community.
If you have a question, we can almost guarantee it’s been answered. Find those answers, solicit expert advice from our moderators, and get support from fellow Whole30ers on our free forum.
A subscription newsletter delivering a daily dose of Whole30 wisdom, support, and tough love straight to your inbox every morning. Designed to guide you through the program step-by-step, offer you additional resources to help you succeed, and provide you with the accountability to see it through.
Our free monthly newsletter filled with Whole30-related interviews, recipes, events, media, testimonials, discounts, resources, and more.
Find a host of helpful PDF downloads, including our shopping list, meal template, Guide to Sneaky Sugars, Seasonal Produce Guide, and more on our website.
Announce your commitment to the Whole30, brag about completing the program, and share our mission and mantras with your friends, family, and social media followers with a variety of free downloadable graphics!
www.facebook.com/OfficialWhole30Recipes
www.instagram.com/whole30recipes
We love seeing readers’ before-and-after photos, non-scale victories, and testimonial stories. Seriously—we live for this. There are a number of ways you can share your Whole30 story with us, and we promise if you send it to us privately, we’ll secure your express permission before sharing any piece of it. (And if you want us to keep it just between us, that’s okay, too! We want to hear about your experience either way.)
headquarters@whole30.com
Send us your Whole30 story (as short or as long as you’d like), along with your name, city/state, and any photographs you’d like us to see. We often turn these emails into features on our Whole30.com blog or our “A–Z” testimonial page, so feel free to be creative!
@whole30 and #whole30
We’ll be sure to see your before-and-after photo, non-scale victory, or other expression of your Whole30 success.
Share your story and/or photos on our Whole30 Facebook wall, or tag us @whole30 in your post.
Tweet at @whole30 with a link to your Whole30 success story—or keep it short and sweet and brag to us in 140 characters or less!
If you have a chronic health condition, are being treated for or take medication for a specific disease, or simply want to implement a comprehensive diet and lifestyle plan specific to your unique health history and goals, we highly recommend seeking the help of qualified functional medicine practitioner. But first, what the heck is “functional medicine?”
Functional medicine addresses the underlying causes of disease, using a systems-oriented approach and engaging both patient and practitioner in a therapeutic partnership. It is an evolution in the practice of medicine that better addresses the healthcare needs of the 21st century. By shifting the traditional disease-centered focus of medical practice to a more patient-centered approach, functional medicine addresses the whole person, not just an isolated set of symptoms.
Functional medicine practitioners spend time with their patients, listening to their histories, and looking at the interactions among genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors that can influence long-term health and complex, chronic disease. In this way, functional medicine supports the unique expression of health and vitality for each individual.
Here are three websites designed to help you find a practitioner in your local community, and provide you with helpful tips for choosing and working with your new health care provider.
www.integrativemedicineformentalhealth.com/registry.php
Here are a few websites to help you plan, prepare, and cook during your kids’ Whole30 journey.