If you’ve done a Whole30, you know the food is really good. We have page after page of delicious, compatible dishes that are amazing for your 30-day elimination. They’re so good you may even miss your Whole30 favorites when you’re living your food freedom. We’re here to help you learn to put a twist on a Whole30 dish and turn it into a new favorite food freedom recipe.
One thing before we start dishing out the goods: Everybody’s food freedom is different, and that’s awesome. In fact, that’s the point. Finding what works best for your unique body is why you do the Whole30—elimination and reintroduction—and develop your Food Freedom plan.
So we aren’t telling you exactly what makes the best food freedom recipes for you. Instead, you’ll read tips you can apply generally, then you can customize with the knowledge of your specific Food Freedom plan. But we will use some Whole30 favorites as examples of easy modifications you could make.
How to turn your Whole30 favorites into food freedom recipes
The easiest way to build a new food freedom recipe from a Whole30 favorite is to do what you did in reintroduction. You made small tweaks or added specific ingredients from reintroduction groups.
That could have meant:
- sprinkling on your favorite cheese
- using butter instead of ghee
- opting for brown rice
- serving over a bed of noodles
- using a sauce with some sugar
- adding beans or lentils
- coating in Panko
- drizzling on a healthy ribbon of honey
The purpose of reintroduction was to test your body’s reaction to those food groupings. In your food freedom, you understand what’s worth it to add and what’s not. Maybe getting your Italian-food fix works best when you to stick to spaghetti squash, but the sauce can have a little bit of sugar and be heaped up with as much parmesan cheese as you want.
It really is up to you because you’re the only one who can say whether a modification is worth it or not.
Below, we’ve used that philosophy with popular Whole30 recipes. Since there’s seven, go ahead and steal this for your next week of food freedom eating if you want. We don’t mind!
A Post-Whole30 Egg Roll in a Bowl
Recipe author: Autumn Michaelis
This is the most popular recipe on our site for a reason. It’s easy, but packs a big flavor punch. It’s also a great canvas to express your food freedom, but keep the basics of this tasty favorite in the foreground.
Some of our favorite ideas for making it a food freedom recipe are:
- Swapping out coconut aminos with soy sauce if you’re looking to add soy back into your food freedom
- Adding a mayo or hot sauce that may contain sugar—as long as you know sugar doesn’t bother you
- Topping your bowl with crispy wonton strips for extra crunch
- Amping up the umami with miso paste
- Serving over the rice that works best for you
Hamburger Soup, but make it a food freedom recipe
A hamburger may be part of your food freedom. But this soup is so good, you’ll still want it in the rotation. If dairy is worth it for you, add cheddar cheese or a dollop of sour cream. And if bread works for you, we can think of nothing better than dipping a hunk of your favorite sourdough or pretzel loaf in this Whole30 favorite.
Photo: Brian Kavanagh | Recipe: Shannon Canaday
How to change up the Whole30 Asian-Inspired Crispy Chicken Stir Fry
Recipe & photos by: Jessica Sussman
This recipe may have gotten you through when you really really wanted your favorite takeout. Making it at home is still easy and allows you to include the food-freedom swaps that work for you. Some of our favorite options include:
- Eat over a bed of white or brown rice instead of cauliflower rice
- Substitute cornstarch for tapioca starch
- Pair with edamame as an appetizer
Chicken Chopped Mango Salad made for your food freedom
Recipe & photos by Jean Choi of What Great Grandma Ate
A new love and appreciation for a good salad might have been a non-scale-victories (NSVs) on your Whole30. This chopped salad can be tweaked to make a new food freedom recipe perfect for lunch or dinner. You can start your alterations with the dressing—opting for a food freedom favorite instead. Black beans add fiber and a creamy texture, and some tortilla-chip strips could be a crunchy addition.
How you could modify your Easy Instant Pot Whole30 Beef Stew
Recipe author: Autumn Michaelis
This easy path to a hearty meal is a popular recipe that’s brought coziness to many people’s Whole30s. If flour is worth it, you can swap out the thickener and serve with a big slice of bread for sopping purposes. A cup of good, dark beer could also replace a cup of broth and provide an interesting depth of flavor.
Find comfort in a food-freedom Dairy-Free Cheeseburger Casserole
Recipe Author: Autumn Michelis
Cheeseburgers are great as is, but you should also be enjoying this baking dish full of warm of comfort. The easiest option for those who want to do dairy is switching out the nutritional yeast for cheddar cheese and the coconut milk for heavy whipping cream. If your food freedom is dairy free, you can still substitute soy sauce for coconut aminos and top with some potato chips or French fried onions for crunch—if those work for you.
Simple Sheet Pan Steak Fajitas go food freedom
Recipe author: Autumn Michaelis
You know what we’re going to say first—eat it with corn or flour tortillas. As long as they’re worth it for you, the traditional steak-and-pepper delivery system is a good one. You could also make this the base of the food freedom fajita burrito bowl of your dreams with rice, beans, salsa, cheese, and avocado.
You can find more delicious dishes on our recipes page that work when you’re doing a Whole30 or can be adapted for your food freedom. You can also sign up for our Whole30 email list to get tasty recipes and much more delivered directly to your inbox.
--
