When Lulie Salix decided to try Whole30, she didn’t expect to drag her whole family along for the ride. But as a mother of two picky eaters and one meat-and-potatoes husband, she knew it wouldn’t work unless everyone was eating the same dinner.
“At first, they looked at me like I was about to ruin their lives,” she laughs. “Especially when I said no bread or cheese for thirty days.”
Lulie didn’t want the experience to be about restriction or punishment. So instead of trying to mimic “perfect” Whole30 recipes from the internet, she focused on what her family already loved—and just gave it a cleaner spin.
Roast chicken became the centerpiece, with mashed cauliflower and oven-roasted carrots instead of potatoes and butter. Spaghetti squash took the place of pasta, dressed up with ground turkey and a homemade marinara free from added sugars.
She kept the dinners simple, colorful, and fun to plate. “I found that the more hands-on I let the kids be—building their own bowls or picking the veggies—the less they noticed what was missing,” she says.
By week two, the grumbling stopped. Her husband admitted he felt lighter after meals, and her kids were sleeping better. Lulie was stunned at how quickly everyone adapted once the flavors were right and the dinner table stayed relaxed.
“It wasn’t about following the rules perfectly,” she says. “It was about making the meals feel like home.”
