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Whole30 Just Launched Its First Restaurant Concept to Give People a Break From Meal Prep

Emily Laurence

August 22, 2019

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If you've ever tried the Whole30 diet, you know that unless you meal prep everything yourself, figuring what to eat can be tricky. Obviously most restaurants and takeout joints don't make their menus with the specific needs of the eating plan in mind, which often means people have to get creative and piece together a meal for themselves, like ordering a turkey burger without the bun...or any condiments. Not exactly optimal.

Hopefully, this won't be the case for long, because now there's a restaurant specifically designed for Whole30 eaters in mind. That's right: Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises (a restaurant group) and Grubhub announced Wednesday that they partnered to open the first Whole30 restaurant concept, Whole30 Delivered. It's a delivery-only eatery in Chicago where literally everything on the menu is approved for the eating plan—by Whole30 founder Melissa Hartwig Urban, no less.

A sampling the menu: Thai curry coconut soup, spaghetti and meatballs (made with spaghetti squash), roasted lamb tikka masala, and chimichurri beef tenderloin skewers. Yum. And prices are pretty comparable to what you'd get from regular restaurant delivery—the Thai curry coconut soup is $14, for example, while the roasted lamb tikka masala is $20. The Grubhub menu also includes the option to bulk-order meals so that you have dinner for tonight and tomorrow delivered at once, which aims to keep people on track with the eating plan.

The concept restaurant is currently only available in Chicago, but Hartwig Urban hopes to expand it to other areas. "I'd love this concept to be available in every city across the country, and my DMs are full of 'bring this to my city!' requests," she tells Well+Good. "For now, we're testing and refining it in Chicago, but if all goes well, we'd love to bring Whole30 Delivered to other areas." To her, partnering with Grubhub was a no-brainer because she already uses the delivery service all the time when she's traveling.

Hartwig Urban has released several cookbooks, providing a wealth of potential dishes to include on the menu. She says she left it up to the Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises team to decide what made the final cut. "They have the most talented chefs, and I trusted their team to represent the creativity, rich flavors, and vegetable-forward nature of Whole30 meals," Hartwig Urban says. "Their dishes exceeded my expectations, and adding my favorite Buffalo chicken salad to the menu was such a fun touch; it's already a community favorite."

Hartwig Urban says her hope is that the delivery service makes healthy eating a bit more accessible—whether you're following the Whole30 eating plan or not. "For busy working parents or students, those who travel or work night shift, or business travelers to Chicago, Whole30 Delivered is a lifesaver, whether you're doing the Whole30 or just looking for a gluten-free, low-sugar, whole food fast and easy option," she says.

Here's seven Whole30 meals you can make using your Instant Pot. This food list will come in handy when planning your meals, too.

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