FranniePantz: Dear Frannie Friday--Favorite Whole 30 Meals

August 28, 2015

Dear Frannie Friday--Favorite Whole 30 Meals

So something that I haven't talked too much about on my blog but something that I am certainly proud of is that this week I finished my first Whole 30!!!! It has been one of the BEST decisions that I have ever made for myself and absolutely worth all of the criticism, lack of sugar and the challenge of finding recipes, special ingredients and pricey items that don't contain added weird ingredients.

I plan to talk about my actual Whole 30 experience at another time, but in the meantime, I am going to gush over the yummy food that I've made for myself and my family. If you are thinking about doing the Whole 30, currently on your Whole 30 and/or just want something really yummy and incredibly healthy to eat, here are some of my top Whole 30 recipes. All photos are by me and some of them have appeared on my Instagram.

Spinach Frittata

I actually used the recipe from the Whole 30 book, but this recipe is pretty similar although I did not use beef and did use fresh spinach. This was by far my favorite thing to make for breakfasts although it was not the quickest thing to make. I would make them on the weekends and munch on it all the way through breakfast and lunch. With some hot sauce (Whole 30 approved, natch), it was HEAVEN.

Scrambled Eggs with Avocado and Salsa

One thing that made me nervous about doing the Whole 30 was how much extra time I was going to be taking cooking everything. I already cooked dinner every night for my family without fail so that was no problem--but breakfast and lunch too???? Sure, let's add that to my schedule shall we? But you would be surprised how quickly and easily it is to just simply scramble an egg (nothing else--just egg and salt and pepper) in coconut oil (by the way, if you have a Costco membership, coconut oil is stupid cheap), slice some avocado and add some salsa (just be sure it is natural salsa--it's ridiculous how many salsas add sugar). Easy and SUPER yummy! This is one that I continue to use for my breakfasts.

Gazpacho

I also used the recipe for this from the Whole 30 book. I am not a huge fan of cold soups, but it was super easy to make this and heat it up for lunches (or just eat it cold!). I added this amazing hot sauce that I have become obsessed with from the Farmer's Market and it was sooooo good. The process for the soup is pretty labor intensive but worth it if you get it right. And, like I said, it can carry over from part of a meal to lunches and snacks between.

Baked Sweet Potato

Really super easy and I cannot believe that I never really did it before. Because I did my first Whole 30 in the summer, I actually used the grill to make these but I made them all the time for lunches. Simply wrap a sweet potato in foil, puncture it with a knife and put it on a heated grill for thirty minutes. Turn it over every ten minutes. After 30 minutes, remove the foil and grill it for another 15 minutes. I could eat it plain like this but you can also add ghee/clarified butter and/or cinnamon for extra flavor.

Spaghetti with Zoodles

Confession: I have become OBSESSED with zoodles since starting my Whole 30. The trick, though, is to heat them in the microwave for 2 minutes after prepping them so that they are softer and not crunchy. If you do this--I swear that you will have perfect zoodles that taste just like pasta. I used this recipe for the spaghetti sauce and I will NEVER use another bottled pasta sauce again. So good and so full of flavor. Just know that you will have to let this simmer for 45 minutes and it does take a bit for the chopping and meat browning so this is definitely a dinner for when you have a bit more time.

Bunless Burgers

Not gonna lie--I did miss some of the aspects of summer food on my Whole 30--namely BBQ and ice cream. But I became quite fond of "bun replacements", if you will. On more than one occasion, we would grill burgers--just seasoned with Whole 30 approved spices--and use bib lettuce (cue additional new obsession) for the buns and top them with fresh veggies (sauteed in coconut oil). DELISH.

Stuffed Peppers

Again, I used the Whole 30 book for this recipe as well, but this recipe is pretty similar. I use recipes like I use outfit inspiration--I have to really love it to make it more than once. And this recipe, I made more than once. It was so effing good. Even Patrick, who hates bell peppers (I KNOW!!!) thoroughly enjoyed this meal. It also was a really quick recipe to make that, presentation-wise, looks more complicated than it is. I for sure recommend doubling this recipe to use the leftovers for lunches. Amazing leftover potential folks.

Chicken Bacon Ranch Wraps

One of the most annoying and economically frustrating (in so many ways) parts of the Whole 30 is finding Whole 30 approved ingredients. Bacon--for one. All bacon comes made with sugar unless you want to spend $8 for 6 pieces at the one natural food store in your town or $9/lb at the Farmer's Market. Ranch--for another. I found NO ranch that was made without buttermilk, canola oil and/or sugar. The only recourse is to make it yourself--which is surprisingly easy . . . if you have Whole 30 approved mayo. The downfall to that? You either have to make the mayo (extremely frustrating--I tried 4 times and ended up actually succeeding with one cup after four bottles of light olive oil, one thrown lemonade-y looking blenderful, four eggs and insurmountable amounts of tears later) or buy the super expensive avocado oil mayo at $9 per jar.

But if you have leftover chicken, Whole 30 approved bacon, bib lettuce, Whole 30 ranch dressing, tomatoes and avocados--you can easily assemble these yummy little wraps. I can eat lettuce wraps by the dozen at this point.

Paleo Potsticker Meatballs, Cauliflower Rice and Green Beans with Ghee

I used this recipe to down to the letter--even the serving suggestion of adding cauliflower "rice" and steamed green beans. It was amazingly delicious. I used it for dinner and also for lunch. And let me tell you this you cauliflower nay-sayers--I used to be one of you. There was NO WAY I would believe that cauliflower could taste like rice or be as easy to make. But it does taste like rice--better in fact. And it is easy to make--even easier in fact. So try it. NOW.