WordPress get posts by date without query_posts

Yes, simple add a filter before you call it and remove it after you do

function filter_where_wpa89154($where="") {
    //posts in the last 30 days
    $where .= " AND post_date > '" . date('Y-m-d', strtotime('-30 days')) . "'";
    return $where;
}

add_filter('posts_where', 'filter_where_wpa89154');
$args = array(
    'posts_per_page'  => 5,
    'post_type'       => 'post',
    'post_status'     => 'publish',
    'suppress_filters' => false
); 
$posts = get_posts($args);
remove_filter('posts_where', 'filter_where_wpa89154');

notice the 'suppress_filters' => false which is what makes this happen with get_posts