When you’re on Whole30, serving guests is tricky. Here are 3 “normal,” frugal meal ideas that are Whole30 approved and that guests will love!

We’ve had several dinner guests while on our frugal Whole30.

Normally when we serve guests, I make a big pot of soup and a loaf of homemade bread. It’s inexpensive, and the homemade bread makes it a little special. However, the days are getting warmer, and soup without bread or crackers makes me sad.

Also, when you’re on Whole30, you’re painfully aware of being weird. Your food is weird, your conversations are weird (“How’s that detox going? Do you still feel bloated?”), and the last thing you want to do is serve your guests a plate of Meatza: “It’s like pizza, only I took away the dough, the cheese, and replaced the pepperoni with broccoli. It’s delicious – did I mention I haven’t had bread in 3 weeks?”

The other problem is cost. If you’re on a tight budget you want to feed your guests well without breaking the bank.

Our go-to dinner menu for guests while on Whole30

When we served guests, I wanted to find something that used an inexpensive cut of meat, was fairly normal, and was made exclusively of Whole30 choices. Because I don’t trust my will-power in the presence of tortilla chips or crackers and cheese.

I’m not one for making seasoning blends myself. Most of the time, if a recipe calls for one, I look up a copycat and eyeball the amounts. #worksforme . BUT…. I make an exception for this Greek Seasoning. Tastes great on: chicken, beef, potatoes, pasta, and DIY salad dressing 👌. Also it’s saving our #cheapskatewhole30 . •••• Recipe on my blog. Just search “Greek seasoning”. Or look up our favorite pasta recipe: Parmesan pasta & veggies (with a dairy-free version!) and enjoy it for us as we eat more whole30 chicken and broccoli. 🥦 ••••• Do you mix up your own seasoning blends?

A post shared by Steph Jenkins • Save 💵 • Eat 🍎 (@cheapskatecook) on Apr 22, 2018 at 8:24am PDT

This is what we served:

• Spatchcock Chicken with this seasoning or this one
• Salad made with romaine lettuce, shredded carrots, and cucumbers
• Homemade Greek Dressing (recipe coming!)
• The Best Baked Sweet Potatoes (recipe coming!) or Crispy Baked Home Fries
• Dill pickle spears and olives from Aldi (most of them are cheap and Whole30-compliant!)
• Seasonal fruit for dessert

When guests asked what they could bring, we usually suggested fruit, because it’s easy and they don’t have to worry about whether the salad dressing has cheese or the potatoes were roasted in butter, etc.

Here are a few more ideas:

Some of these require more will-power, but they’re fairly inexpensive and normal for non-Whole30 guests.

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Serve this instead of homefries or sweet potatoes in the meal above.

Chop 2 pounds of potatoes into quarters (peel if you like). Boil them in water and a little salt until they are soft. Drain. Dump them into a heat-proof bowl (I like these Pyrex mixing bowls because they have lids for easy leftover storage – affiliate link). Mash with olive oil, almond or coconut milk, salt, pepper, and 1 small head of roasted garlic (1/2 teaspoon garlic powder also works, but it’s not as delicious).

Spaghetti & Salad

Spaghetti squash or zucchini noodles for the Whole30 People. Regular pasta for the normal ones. Aldi has a great sugar-free marinara sauce. Brown ground turkey (usually cheaper than beef) and add it to the sauce. If you prefer meatballs, Well Fed 2 (affiliate link) has the easiest, most flavorful, inexpensive paleo meatball recipe I’ve found. Serve with a big salad and Greek dressing.

Taco Salad

Serve this like a make-your-own burrito bowl buffet. That way you can offer frugal, non-Whole30 compliant foods for all the normal people.

• • The Only Beef You Need to Make
  • Shredded lettuce
  • Avocado or this easy Guacamole
  • Salsa (Aldi has cheap Whole30-approved salsa)
  • Shredded cheese
  • Taco Dressing – mix equal parts salsa and mayonnaise, sour cream, or plain yogurt
  • Easy Cumin beans, Slow Cooker Lentils & Rice, refried beans, or black beans
  • Other fun toppings: diced red onion, cilantro, banana peppers, sliced black olives, pickled jalapenos, etc.
  • Tortilla chips

Serving guests while you’re on a special diet AND a tight budget feels like a crisis. However, these meals work really well for normal people and health nuts alike.

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