First of all, thank you so much for all of the comments and questions about Whole30. Obviously, that kind of post is a bit different from the normal content you find here on The DIY Playbook, and that can make it kinda scary to hit “publish.” But you guys were all so sweet and encouraging…thank you!

Because there was so much to chat about in that post, I didn’t get to include all of our tips and the things we learned when completing the Whole30 program. Since I did a lot of internet stalking before starting our 30 days, I figured I should contribute some of our newfound knowledge and share it with all of you!

Our Whole30 Shopping List

During the month of May, you would most likely find my husband and I either…

• At the Grocery Store
• In the Kitchen

Seriously…I feel like that’s all we did! The first trip to the grocery store to prepare our pantry and fridge was incredibly intimidating. And I’m not gonna lie…we were there probably 3x longer than a normal trip to the grocery store. We had to read the back of every single package to make sure it was Whole30 approved, and that took quite a bit of time. (Plus…we weren’t exactly feeling our best after our last night out on the town for tacos & cocktails. Yeeesh. Not the best idea before starting the plan!)

Luckily, things got quite a bit easier over the next few weeks and we turned into grocery store pros. We hit up Costco twice over the 30 days, Trader Joe’s a handful of times, and then mostly our local grocery store (Mariano’s.) Here’s our Whole30 shopping list.

Costco

Costco really came in handy for us because we went through so much produce every single week.  Before Whole30, we would never buy produce or eggs from Costco because it would go bad by the time we got through it all. But on Whole30 we continuously went through produce and eggs so buying in bulk was well worth it!

We also stocked up on a lot of cooking staples on our first trip to Costco. The prices of avocado oil, ghee, mayo, marinara, and salsa made it an easy choice! Plus they lasted throughout the entire 30 days (& beyond!).

Costco Shopping List

• Sweet Potatoes
• Berries
• Cauliflower Rice
• Red Potatoes
• Tomatoes
• Avocados
• Wholly Guacamole Packs (our favorite thing to buy. We would each have 1-2 a day with meals!)
• Aidell’s Chicken & Apple Sausage
• Frozen Tilapia
• Frozen Chicken Breasts
• Frozen Broccoli
• Mateo’s Gourmet Salsa
• Avocado Oil Mayo
• Avocado Oil
• Rao’s Homemade Marinara Sauce
• La Croix
• Ghee
• Eggs (3 dozen)
• Pistachios
• Canned Tuna
• Canned Salmon

Trader Joe’s

We love Trader Joe’s, but don’t have one near us so we don’t hit it up as often as we’d like. But I did stop in once to get some grocery staples.

• Almond Butter
• Lara Bars (no peanut butter or chocolate ones!)
• Coconut Milk
• Coconut Cream
• Raw Almonds
• Coconut Oil
• Kalamata Olives

Mariano’s

I was at the grocery store every weekend, and then would stop in about 1x during the work week to grab even more produce. We would get recipe specific items here and other produce that we didn’t need to buy in bulk.

• Mushrooms
• Herbs
• Cantaloupe
• Watermelon
• Bananas
• Onions
• Green Onion
• Lemons
• Garlic
• Baby Spinach
• Brussel Sprouts
• Red & Green Peppers
• GTS Kombucha (literally our favorite drink. We tried just about every flavor!)
• Steak
• Ground Turkey
• Fresh Chicken Breasts
• Tessemae’s Dressings (love their ranch!)
• Coconut Aminos

Food Prep

We spent most of the day on Sundays making our breakfasts and lunches for the week. Picture a crazy messy kitchen, chopping vegetables, and the oven continuously in use!

Here’s what we would typically get ready for the week…

• Chopped Fruit: Berries, watermelon, cantaloupe
• Roasted Sweet Potatoes
• Roasted Red Potatoes
• Roasted Broccoli
• Ground Turkey with Peppers & Onions
• Grilled Chicken Breasts
• Grilled Steak
• Baked Tilapia
• Cauliflower Rice
• Breakfast Frittata (more info below)
• Wash all veggies
• Dozen hard-boiled eggs

Favorite Recipes

Before shopping for the week, we would sit down and chat about our schedule and which nights we wanted to try to make new recipes. We typically had the same thing for breakfasts and lunches, and then would try new things for dinner. I turned to Pinterest and blogs to find things that looked delicious, and was never disappointed! Here are a few recipes we tried throughout our Whole30.

• Breakfast Frittata: Made this every week for breakfast, and would change-up what we put into it! We added more veggies than the recipe called for, and used the Aidell’s chicken sausage and it always turned out great! We will probably keep making this for breakfast even after Whole30.
• Coconut Chicken Curry
• Jalapeno Turkey Burgers
• Chicken Lettuce Wraps
• Spinach Artichoke Baked Potatoes
• Salmon Cakes

I hope this list helps you out if you’re tackling your own Whole30. And even if you’re not doing the program, hopefully it helps you add some new foods & recipes to your cooking repertoire!

Casey