Whole30 with Kids: A Success

The Whole30 is eating whole foods including proteins, vegetables and fruit for 30 days.  There are no grains, dairy, sugar, and alcohol in this program.  When my family decided to do this with me this fall, my biggest fear was that the kids would go hungry.  Not really, but I worried about them not having enough calories overall, and not having options for snacks throughout the day.  We all did great, found some new foods we love and overall didn’t feel tortured.  Below is a list of some of our favorite meals.

The Whole30 is eating whole foods including proteins, vegetables and fruit for 30 days.  There are no grains, dairy, sugar, and alcohol in this program.  When my family decided to do this with me this fall, my biggest fear was that the kids would go hungry.  Not really, but I worried about them not having enough calories overall, and not having options for snacks throughout the day.  We all did great, found some new foods we love and overall didn’t feel tortured.  Below is a list of some of our favorite meals.

Breakfast

It’s easy to have an egg scramble or over easy egg as the fast and easy breakfast, which we all enjoy.  On the weekends we would add bacon, sausage, and potato or sweet potato hash.  Here are some of our other favorites recipes.

Cinnamon Apple Grain-Free Breakfast Porridge

My Youngest daughter LOVES oatmeal, would happily eat it every day for years.  Finding another option for her was really important.  This recipe was just right.

CLICK HERE for recipe and details

Grain Free Granola

Here is another nut focused breakfast that offered a break from all of the egg centered breakfast meals.  It taste great with almond or coconut milk.

CLICK HERE for recipe and details

Lunch

This ended up being primarily left overs or dinner-like meals.  The girls had an amazing packed lunch every day for school with much love and lots of options for snacks. Highlights included

-grilled chicken with snap peas

-brats and carrots

-meatballs and broccoli

-chicken and bacon

-tuna lettuce wraps

Snacks

Some of our new snack highlights include

·      Banana almond milk shake

·      Had boiled eggs

·      Avocado

·      Artichokes

·      Frozen blueberries

·      Larabar

Dinner

This was an exciting month for dinners, but I have to admit it took a lot of time for meal preparation.  We worked to be more efficient at this, but it was easily twice the amount of time it usually takes us to make our homemade from scratch meals. 

Last week was a showcase of the Whole30 recipes from the book for one pot meals.  We made

·      Chicken chowder

·      Classic chilli

·      Shepards Pie

·      Thai coconut soup

Other recipes we like from the Whole30 book include

·      Baby back ribs

·      Butternut squash soup, grilled shrimp, broccoli and carrots

·      Stir fry with steak

·      Teriyaki chicken with cauliflower rice and asparagus

·      Grilled salmon with avocado sauce

·      Kalua pork with cabbage

·      Beef cabbage and tomato stew

·      Kale flank salad

·       

Overall, this was a great experiment for our family. We learned a lot and curbed our sugar cravings. While this way of eating may be too difficult from here on out, we will incorporate many of these ideas on a regular bases.