The Whole30 diet is appealing because it’s only 30 days long. If you’re in the middle of a Whole30 plan or preparing to start, you might wonder what happens after day 30.
In this article, we’ll cover everything you need to know about eating after Whole30 and provide tips and recipes for reintroducing gluten, beans, dairy, and more.
What is the Whole30 Reintroduction?
Whole30 is a 30-day food elimination diet that eliminates the following food groups:
- Dairy: Cow’s milk, yogurt, cream cheese, and ice cream
- Sugar and Sweeteners: Table sugar, brown sugar, honey, maple syrup, agave, sugar substitutes, and stevia
- Grains: Wheat, oats, barley, rye, corn, rice, and quinoa
- Legumes: Beans, lentils, soybeans, soy products, and peanuts
These foods are believed to contribute to digestive trouble, inflammation, fatigue, and brain fog.
The plan also eliminates processed foods and ingredients and all baked goods and “junk” food. Even if a food is made with allowed ingredients, like a gluten-free cake made from almond and coconut flours or sweet potato fries, it’s off-limits for 30 days.
Whole30 is often used to jumpstart weight loss, discover potential food intolerances, and improve overall health.
The Whole30 Reintroduction, which starts on day 31, is a systematic approach to eating the foods you cut out and noting how they make you feel.
Benefits of the Whole30 Reintroduction
Whole30 promises you’ll feel physically, mentally, and emotionally better when you remove the above mentioned food groups. However, most people don’t need to avoid every food on that list forever.
Everyone is different. Some people may find their bodies don’t respond well to dairy, while others may not like how they feel after eating gluten-containing grains.
The only way to pinpoint exactly which foods work and don’t work for you is to reintroduce them one at a time. That’s the purpose of the Whole30 Reintroduction.
Everyone who completes Whole30 should plan to do the reintroduction phase. Reintroducing foods one at a time allows you to observe how your body reacts to them and ultimately know whether you want or need to include or eliminate them long-term.
After not having those foods for a month, it’s easier to notice how they may affect your energy, digestion, mood, sleep, and more.
How to Begin a Whole30 Reintroduction
Below are some tips to help you plan how to reintroduce foods after Whole30.
1. Take it slowly.
This is the most important thing to keep in mind when starting your Whole30 Reintroduction. You should plan to reintroduce one food group at a time.
If you reintroduce more than one food group at a time (think: a slice of traditional pizza with a soda or beer), you won't be able to pinpoint which food group is responsible for any changes you may feel.
2. Continue Whole30.
Other than the reintroduced foods, the rest of your meals should still be Whole30-compatible. This means you’ll primarily be eating eggs, meat, poultry, fish, fruit, vegetables, nuts, and seeds.
Again, this helps to single out any foods that may be problematic for you. The reintroduced foods can be added on to Whole30 meals.
Don’t forget to continue including Whole30 snacks to help keep hunger and cravings in check between meals. Chomps meat sticks are a healthy and convenient snack to keep on hand during Whole30. Did you know Chomps was the first Whole30-approved jerky? Each full-size Chomps jerky provides 10 to 12 grams of protein to help you feel satisfied and contains zero sugar.
3. Space out your reintroduced food groups.
Take a break between each reintroduced food. It’s recommended to eat Whole30-compatible meals and snacks for at least two days between each reintroduced food.
4. Keep a journal.
After each food reintroduction, jot down how you’re feeling.
Pay attention to:
- Digestion
- Food cravings
- Sleep quality
- Energy level
- Mood
- Focus/concentration
- Headaches
- Skin changes
- Signs of allergy
5. Skip foods you don’t 100% miss.
You don’t have to reintroduce every food group if you don’t want to. If you didn’t drink much alcohol before Whole30, there might not be much reason to reintroduce it. The same goes for any foods you don’t care for.
Sample Whole30 Reintroduction Schedule
Whole30 recommends reintroducing food groups in order from least to most likely to be problematic.
Here’s a sample Whole30 food reintroduction chart:
- Day 31: Reintroduce sugar by adding table sugar or honey to your morning coffee or tea
- Day 32-33: Whole30-compatible foods
- Day 34: Reintroduce alcohol by having 4 ounces white or red wine with dinner
- Day 35-36: Whole30-compatible foods
- Day 37: Reintroduce legumes by adding black beans to a hash made with sweet potato, veggies, and Chomps Turkey Jerky. (Recipe below)
- Day 38-39: Whole30-compatible foods
- Day 40: Reintroduce grains by rolling scrambled eggs and Jalapeno Beef Chomps into corn tortillas for breakfast tacos. (Recipe below)
- Day 41-42: Whole30-compatible foods
- Day 43: Reintroduce dairy by having a ½-cup serving of plain Greek yogurt or cottage cheese with a Whole30 breakfast
- Day 44-45: Whole30-compatible foods
- Day 46: Reintroduce gluten by serving tomato and Italian Beef Chomps sauce over whole wheat pasta. (Recipe below)
- Day 47-48: Whole30-compatible foods
The Whole30 Reintroduction offers you a chance to learn exactly which foods work and don’t work with your body so you can customize the best diet for you.
Planning to reintroduce foods slowly and alongside Whole30 compatible foods makes the process easier. Keep Chomps on hand for convenient snacks and to save you time in the kitchen during your reintroduction.
Whole30 Reintroduction Recipes
Sweet Potato Hash with Chomps Jerky and Black Beans
Yield: 4 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1-inch pieces
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 red bell peppers, seeded and chopped
4 Chomps Turkey meat sticks, sliced into small rounds
1 teaspoon chili powder
¼ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cup canned black beans, drained
2 green onions, ends removed and sliced
Instructions
- Place chopped sweet potatoes in a saucepan and fill with water to cover the sweet potatoes. Set the pan over medium-high heat and bring to boil. Lower the heat to medium and simmer for 5 minutes or until sweet potatoes can be pierced with the tip of a knife. Drain the potatoes and set aside.
- Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large skillet set over medium-high heat. Add onion and bell peppers and saute until softened, about 4 minutes.
- Add Chomps Turkey meat sticks and cook for about 4 minutes more until they begin to turn crisp and browned.
- Add the cooked and drained sweet potatoes to the skillet. Season with chili powder, salt, and ground black pepper. Cook until the potatoes just begin to brown, about 5 to 7 minutes.
- Add black beans and cook for 1 or 2 minutes more to warm through.
- Remove the hash from the heat and top with green onions. Serve with eggs, if desired.
“Bacon” and Egg Breakfast Tacos
Yield: 2 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 to 15 minutes
Total Time: 20 to 25 minutes
Ingredients
3 teaspoons ghee, divided
2 Jalapeno Beef Chomps meat sticks, chopped into small pieces
¼ cup red bell pepper, chopped small
½ cup baby spinach, roughly chopped
3 large eggs, beaten
4 100% corn tortillas
½ avocado, sliced
2 tablespoons salsa
Instructions
- Melt 1 teaspoon of ghee in a skillet set over medium-high heat. Add the Jalapeno Beef Chomps and cook until the edges of the meat pieces begin to darken and turn crispy, about 5 to 8 minutes. Remove the Chomps from the skillet and set aside.
- Return the skillet to the heat and melt the remaining 2 teaspoons of ghee. Add the bell pepper and spinach and saute for 2 to 3 minutes until the pepper begins to soften and the spinach wilts.
- Add the eggs to the pan and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook until eggs are soft-scrambled.
- Divide the egg and vegetable mixture between the corn tortillas. Top each breakfast taco with the Chomps “bacon”, avocado slices, and salsa.
Note: 1 serving = 2 tacos
Baked Fusilli with Tomatoes, Onions, and Chomps Jerky
Yield: 4 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Ingredients
½ pound whole wheat fusilli
1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 roma tomatoes, chopped
4 Italian Beef Chomps meat sticks, chopped into small pieces
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Dried Italian seasoning
1 16-ounce jar Whole30-compliant marinara sauce
Instructions
- Cook fusilli in boiling water according to package directions.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Spread the onion, garlic, and Italian Beef Chomps in the bottom of a quart casserole dish. Toss with the olive oil and Italian seasoning.
- Stir in the diced tomatoes, marinara sauce, and cooked pasta.
- Bake for 25 minutes until bubbly.
Ready to start a Whole30 Reintroduction? Chomps meat sticks are a great addition because they don’t fall into any of the categories to avoid, are full of nutrition and flavor, and are super convenient. Don’t forget to head over to the Chomps store to pick out which flavors you want to include in your diet plan.
