Whole 30 Staples for Life Changing Results – A Comprehensive List

Our Whole 30 staples come down to every day love flavors. Creamy, salty, vinegary, and spicy come together in this list. The staples you use off of Whole 30 are really the ones you need on it, just with a twist. After finishing five rounds I know the items I need to survive a round of Whole30 without begging for cupcakes halfway though.

The Whole30 can be an exploration of flavor and a learning experience in how delicious food is. After finishing 5 rounds I can taste the sweetness in a tomato and sweet potatoes like never before. As you eat less sugar and crave less sweetness fruit becomes even more satisfying and is way cheaper than cake too. Even veggies will start to taste sweet as your senses heighten and the subtleties of flavor are easier to perceive.

While I still love to eat mac and cheese and a cupcake now and again Whole30 has changed my life to where I have no fear of food like I did when dieting(keto/paleo style). Besides being free of food fear I can eat a cupcake without needing to eat 5 boxes of them. The cravings stop and I feel fully satisfied. For advice on how to survive and thrive during Whole30 check out my Top 12 Tips for Thriving on Whole30. And now, drumroll please, let’s get to our Whole 30 staples that we hope you’ll love as much as we do.

The Most Essential Whole 30 staples:

When I say top Whole 30 staples I mean these are the ones I could not do a Whole 30 without. These are used weekly if not daily and you’ll find them in so many Whole 30 recipes out there. Becaue they’re using natural foods without additives the flavors are enhanced and you might find a flavor on Whole30 you’ll use for years to come.

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Storage:

At Home Containers

Whole 30 staples definitely involve food and fats and delicious flavors, but before we get to that bit I think the most important bit is containers. If you’re about to go from rarely cooking at home to making all of your meals then having storage is key.

If you take to storing leftovers instead of discarding them you’ll save loads of time and money. The storage containers can be used long after the Whole 30 as well. We are only two people and have about 30 storage containers that are constantly used. We store dressings in them, sauces, leftover chicken, veggies, and broth. Many dishes even taste better the next day. Snapware is my favorite to use because it airlocks the container so everything keeps longer. The glass ones can be used to heat up food in the oven (remove the lid first) and are better for the freezer. The plastic ones are BPA Free and great for the fridge. With Snapware you can also write on the lids so you’ll know when your meal was stored and what it is.

To-Go Container

Whole30 can change your work life or leaving the house routine. Instead of going to a restaurant and wondering if you can find a Whole30 meal, bring your meal out with you. You can even bring an extra few bites for friends so they can taste how delicious Whole30 is. When it comes to Whole 30 staples to-go containers are a must so you can be blissfully full wherever you go.

I really enjoy collapsible containers that have a space for silverware because they are easy to store when you finish and the silverware stays clean. If you don’t have silverware attached try this portable bamboo silverware. I don’t have a set myself but a friend and I used it on a Colorado road trip for all our meals and it’s so easy! Just bring a towel and once you finish lick the silverware then wipe it off and pop it back in. If I didn’t have the silverware in my to-go box I’d have grabbed one.

Honestly, you could easily use the snapware above. The plastic would be the lighter choice. If you’re having salad just use two separate containers.

The to-go container looks like it’s been updated since I bought it to have three compartments. Feel free to look into other options. I tried out the stackable containers and do not recommend them. They were not stable and the liquid went everywhere. The bento collapsible ones are the most air-tight to-go containers I’ve found.

Salad Dressing To-Go Containers

Below I also list Whole30 to-go salad dressings from Tessemae’s. They have this variety pack with buffalo ranch, classic ranch, and cilantro-lime ranch dressings. I prefer their mayo ranch for creaminess, but their classic ranch is less dense so it’s easier to spread over salad. I haven’t tried the buffalo or cilantro-lime ranch so if you have tasted them let us know in the comments what you think!

Beeswax

Along the lines of storing food, beeswax imitates the skin of fruit and veggies. It’s beautiful for combatting food waste as it keeps food fresh for longer and frees you from purchasing plastic baggies. Here is an article on how to store various foods.

For this image notice how the wrap goes from stiff to easily wrapped. I just used my hand to warm the wrap and then twisted it to fully secure the pear.

A note on organic: Even though Whole30 is about whole foods and getting back to basics you don’t need to get everything organic. Even though most approved brands do fit that label it’s more to do with no additives or fillers. Whole30 is meant to be affordable and involves doing whatever works for you. For some items I love, I know the company and even though they aren’t certified organic they have other certifications I care more about. These Whole 30 staples can fit into any lifestyle.

Walmart now has Whole30 meals. Melissa spent years working with them to make this a reality. Many of the brands recommended are organic because that’s where Alllll of my budget goes is food. Also, I get my food delivered for cheaper by using Imperfect Foods. Do what works for you and feel blissful doing it.

Fats:

Fats are what we use to stay full and add loads of flavor to food. We fry food with these delicious oils and we whisk them into mayo. The Whole30 website recommends having one to two thumb-sized amounts of fat to each meal for cooking and then 1-2 more added after cooking. Fats are the most needed out of all the Whole 30 staples since you not only cook with them, you add them to every meal.

Oils to Avoid on Whole30

Oils that are not Whole 30, according to the Whole30 website:

“So, we ban the seed oils specifically off-limits according to the Whole30 “no grains, no legumes” rules (corn oil, rice bran oil, soybean oil, and peanut oil), and encourage you to limit your use of the others (like safflower, sunflower, canola, grapeseed, or sesame) at home, while not specifically excluding them on the program.”

The oils that are Whole 30 compliant include high oleic sunflower or safflower oil, olive oil, avocado oil, coconut oil, and animal fat oils. Animal fat oils are epic as you can cook with duck fat or pork lard, which is basically rendered bacon fat. Fats are the most important Whole 30 essentials because we use fat to cook and to dress our meals in deliciousness.

Easily Added to Meals Fats:

Fats that are used for finishing foods go into this deliciously fatty list. There are fats you cook with that have high smoke points and there are fats you add at the end. These are the fats to add at the end as dipping sauces or dressings.

Protip:: You can take an extra flavor step and infuse oils with lemon peels or herbs by adding them to your slow cooker for 10 hours or the window sill for a few days.

Mayonnaise

Not the mayonnaise you find at ball game hot dog stands that’s been sitting there for a year. The mayonnaise I love I make myself and it is like being transported to Europe where everything is made by hand and you never wish to leave.

Mayo is something we use on lettuce-wrapped sandwiches and dip our meat and any veggies into. Mayo can be used to make secret sauces and add a creaminess to any dish. You can add extra lemon juice or lemon zest to jazz up the flavor. You can even add 1/4 a teaspoon of lavender to a jar for floral bliss. Mayo is very versatile, very delicious, and easily adds fat to your meals.

Fat is what allows you to feel full and is a more sustainable energy than sugar. I could link a study but think about it for yourself. How hungry are you after eating candy and how hungry are you after eating a steak? You can also go more natural and think of fruit then steak. 😉

Making your own mayo is the most delicious way to go. You get the flavor of fresh lemon and because you choose the oil you can go neutral or use a heavier tasting oil. Having homemade mayo that uses fresh eggs and lemon juice and oil is such a treat you’ll realize why the French are snobs about it.

Whole 30 Store Bought Mayo

If you’re not into making your own mayo then a few store-bought ones we love are the Primal Kitchen chipotle lime mayo, Tesseman’s habanero mayo, and Tesseman’s regular mayo.

Check out the first time we tasted these mayo, and how we rank them in this video:

Check out the full Whole 30 store-bought mayo tasting article here.

Tessemae’s Classic Mayo: Out of all the Whole30 mayo we tried Tessemae’s was the most delicious. They use high oleic sunflower oil so you get a more neutral flavor and the acidity is deliciously balanced. This is the closest tasting to homemade mayo I’ve tried when it comes levels of deliciousness. They use all organic ingredients. This is a Whole30 approved mayo.

Primal Kitchen Chipotle Lime Mayo: Primal Kitchen is a paleo brand and they use avocado oil in all of the things. The chipotle lime mayo is epic as a dipping sauce. There’s a kick of spice that makes me go oooh la la. If you want to dilute the spice just mix in some regular mayo. They also use all organic ingredients. All Primal Kitchen mayos are Whole30 approved mayo.

Virgin or Extra Virgin Olive Oil:

Olive oil is delicious swirled into lemon juice for a salad or as an added fat to chicken after it is cooked. Olive oil has a low smoke point so view it as an add-on that’s used after a meal is finished.

We use Imperfect Foods virgin olive oil. It’s not extra virgin olive oil because some of the olives had slight bruising from an extra frost. Because of this, the oil did not qualify as extra virgin. We’ve been using Imperfect Foods for about three years and have saved 1,071 pounds of food 42,840 gallons of water and 3,652 pounds of CO2 (they calculate for you on your account).

Pompeian Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil: I love Pompeian extra light olive oil and they are certified as using full olive oil (some brands will mix in other oils). Check to make sure there’s nothing on the bottle like “contains soy” when checking out olive oils.

Extra Light Olive Oil

When making mayo we go for the olive oil from Costco. I’m one of those people that drinks olive oil straight from the bottle. It’s blissing delicious. There are gourmet stores that teach you to taste olive oil like wine that are springing up everywhere. Olive oil can have complexity and depth and different notes of flavor just like wine. You can taste the region where they came from. You swirl the oil, smell it then sip it. I highly recommend finding an oil store around and trying it. The adventure would make for an excellent self night or date night.

Most people find just olive oil too strong so an alternative to straight-shooting it is going with extra light olive oil. A possibility with olive oil is that it gets mixed with soy so check to see if on the bottle it says contains soy.

Pompeian Extra Light Olive Oil. We love to use this brand in mayo. They’re very clear about how it’s made and are NON-GMO verified and NAODA certified in quality. They mix olive oil with refined olive oil so you still get nutrients from the oil without the strong flavor.

High Oleic Sunflower or Safflower Oil

Recently I discovered that if the sunflower is high-oleic it can be as healthy as olive oil. It is also Whole30 approved according to this post by Melissa (the founder of Whole30). The taste is neutral and so it is delicious in mayo or in any dressing. High oleic sunflower and safflower oil have a smoke point of 400 degrees so it’s also great for frying.

Baja Precious: This is the brand we use and its slightly nutty and beautifully neutral-tasting

Cooking Fats

Cooking fats have higher smoke points and maintain their composition when heated. There are so many types of fat to cook with. The most neutral fat is avocado oil. Cooking with both ghee and coconut oil imparts a little bit of flavor that isn’t very noticeable in fried foods but can give you a coconut or buttery flavor. I prefer ghee for that buttery bliss. Using animal fats for frying is epic, healthy, and pork lard tastes like frying food in bacon.

Ghee

Ghee is found in so many Whole 30 recipes it might as well be the state oil if Whole 30 was a state. Ghee is so popular because it is nutty and is very very similar to butter. At this stage, we use it off Whole 30 because it tastes better and causes fewer tummy rumbles than butter. Also because it’s delicious and has a more caramelized flavor than butter. Consider ghee a Whole 30 staple for a lot of recipes you’ll find on your journey as well. Many bloggers have discovered how delicious it is and how much flavor it can add so it’s in a lot of the recipes you’ll find.

We tasted 12 ghee brands to discover which tasted the most delicious. We ranked them by caramelized flavor, nutty flavor, strength of cow flavor, the texture and overall epic level.

Check out the video where we tasted the best ghee brands:

Pure Indian Foods Cultured Ghee: This ghee amazed us. Check out the video in the article to watch our faces fall in love. The flavor complexity changed from beginning to end which is a major sign of quality to me. It’s like when you taste a summer berry from the vine rather than getting berries from a store in winter. The flavor goes from caramelized butter to flowery. You can also go to the Pure Indian Foods website to order it directly and even get their variety pack with herbal ghees and coffee ghee.

Amber & Gold Ghee: A really delicious affordable option that we love. The flavor is nutty and caramelized in a beautiful way. They use grade A milk. This was one of our favorite ghee brands and they’re based in Texas.

Gold Nugget Goat’s Milk Ghee: Goat’s milk ghee has a very silky texture and a delicious goat’s milk flavor. If you like the flavor of goat’s cheese you may love goat’s ghee. The texture is similar to lard with a little more silky weaved in.

Avocado Oil

Avocado oil has epic health properties that make it stand out. Avocado oil has a high smoke point of 520 degrees F. The flavor is fairly neutral so you can cook veggies, chicken, and even steak with it. I’ve never noticed the flavor whenever we cook. Avocado oil is amazing for air frying as well.

Primal Kitchen Avocado Oil: Has a really clean flavor and is our go-to avocado oil. It is Whole30 approved and Paleo certified. You can also purchase avocado oil from the Primal Kitchen website and get 10% off with the code Bliss Full (one word).

Animal Fats

Animal fats are so freaking delicious to cook with. They pair especially well with meat dishes and stir-fries. Add these to your Whole 30 staples then make them forever staples. You will get some of the animal flavor listed. Duck fat fries are ah-mazing! Use an air fryer and toss them in animal fat rather than spending a blisston to fill up a pan with animal fat.

Epic Pork Tallow: Epic has delicious products and they are local to Austin, where we live, so I love to go far a jar of their goods. They also have duck, beef, bison, and chicken fat. Epic sources 100% grass-fed animals for their fat. Learn more from their website.

Fatworks Leaf Lard: Fatworks is Whole30 approved and uses fat from 100% free-range animals. Their goal is to reestablish that the old way of fats is healthy and delicious. I have not yet tried them. They have rave reviews so feel free to try them out and let us know in the comments what you think.

Protip: An easy way to get your own animal fat is to save your leftover bacon grease. We use mason jars or smaller containers to store ours. Drain the fat through a sieve once cooled to catch any of the bacony bits and then store in a container, preferably glass, ceramic, or metal as plastic can warp from hot grease. We use repurposed jars or mason jars. Read more about how to store bacon grease here. You can do this when cooking chicken or any meat.

Coconut Oil

Coconut oil has boomed in the past few years from being barely talked about to being in nearly every paleo recipe. Coconut oil is also beautiful for massaging and lubricating the skin. Coconut has a very silky texture, is stable at room temperature, and has a high smoke point of 350 degrees. In refined coconut oil you get no coconut flavor. With regular coconut oil, there is a coconut flavor that is difficult to hide if you’re not a fan. If you love coconut then cooking with it can be a whole new way to taste it.

Kirkland Coconut Oil: We love the Costco brand coconut oil because it comes in bulk and is high quality. We use coconut oil to make face products and use it as a body oil to so we know we’ll use up the whole thing.

Nutiva Coconut Oil: I really love the Nutiva brand because it’s light in flavor and texture. They also have a steam refined coconut oil if you don’t want that coconut flavor but still want the high smoke point. I didn’t have any when writing this article but have tried it many times before.

Whole 30 Drinks

Whole 30 drinks are such a vital part of the Whole 30 staples it is close to being top of the list. Having flavor without having to eat it is such a treat. Especially when you’re trying to eliminate snacking, as the Whole30 recommends, having a drink between meals can help stave that desire for flavor. Luckily there’s plenty of on-the-go options from sparkling fruit water to vanilla coffee. The market keeps expanding so check your local stores for drinks without any sweetener or artificial flavors added.

Coffee

Coffee and tea are fully, lovingly compliant. As long as you aren’t adding any sugar or dairy to your coffee or tea then all of it fits into the world of whole and delicious. Sometimes I’ll cut caffeine on Whole 30 and other times I don’t. If you want to do a full reset then cutting out caffeine can lead to more energy and you’ll wind up detoxing it out with everything else. Coffee can affect your adrenal glands and create stomach acid buildup (all of which I’ve felt). If you want to see how coffee affects you the Whole 30 is the perfect time to go off it, then add it back in to see how it feels. If you change your mind three days in then that works too 😉

If you want to kick a coffee habit then going with herbal tea is a beautiful switch. You can still get that ritual of boiling water and pouring it over leaves. It turns out the ritual of making coffee can be deeply set so redirecting it can help. When making coffee you can go further than black and add spices to your brew for more flavor. If you dislike black coffee, try using better coffee and grinding the beans yourself.

Coffee and tea are Whole30 drinks that are fully, deliciously compliant. As long as you aren’t adding any sugar or dairy to your coffee or tea then all of it fits into the world of whole and delicious. For store-bought teas and coffee check for honey and sugar and milk.

Lifeboost Coffee: I discovered Lifeboost Coffee a month ago and I have had no other coffee since. I’m actually worried about drinking coffee from a shop because I’ve had no indigestion or stomach acid buildup since switching, and it was getting crazy painful before Lifeboost to the point I was going to give up coffee.

About Lifeboost Coffee

From their Website:

• Single Origin – One high-quality source, no blends.
• Mountain Shade Grown – No pesticides used and bird-friendly for our environment.
• Sun Dried and Spring Water Washed – No chemicals or harmful processes ruining the purity and health properties of the coffee.
• 3rd party tested for mycotoxins, heavy metals, pesticides + 400 other toxins!
• USDA Organic
• Fairly Traded

Exclusive, Natural Source in Central America

The mountains of Nicaragua is where only the highest varieties of Arábica beans are grown. Our coffee is grown in the shade high in the mountains without pesticides or chemicals. The certified beans are hand-selected for purity, hand-washed, and sun-dried to remove harmful moisture content.

Low Acid, Delicious Coffee

The pH of water is 7. The pH of some coffee available in stores and popular coffee shops is 4.85 or lower.

Most coffee is so acidic it can cause stomach issues, teeth decaying, and other high-acid related problems.

We’ve personally tested the pH level of this coffee and it’s 6 or higher, which is why customers who thought they could never drink coffee again love Lifeboost.

Lifeboost Whole30 Flavored Coffee

Lifeboost flavored coffee uses flavor extracts and essential oils to favor their beans and it has 0 calories and 0 grams of sugar! It took a long time to find flavored coffee that had no artificial flavors or sweeteners added and this coffee is so amazingly delicious it’s my forever coffee now.

The smoky butterscotch is so amazing it brought back the memory of going to grandma’s house and sticking my hands into sticky toffee. She told me it was burnt caramel and I had this ick feeling cross my mind that there’s no way burnt anything tastes good. Then I went for it because bliss it I was a kid and the flavor of burnt butter melted into sugar and turned into this sticky heaven filled my mouth. That’s what smoky butterscotch took me back to.

After falling in physical and mouth love with Lifeboost I asked to become an affiliate for them and got in! I’m super blissed out over the partnership and because of the partnership you get perks too! Get 50% off your first order by using my link below. The company is ah-mazing and super passionate.

Add FLAVORs To Your Coffee!

You can easily add compliant flavors to your coffee! This is how flavored coffee you see at stores do it, by adding spices or natural flavors. Just add the spice to your grounds then brew it like normal. Some great options:

• Vanilla Bean Powder
• Cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon per 1/2 cup of grounds
• Nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp per 1/2 cup ground
  • You can also grate a touch of fresh nutmeg over your drinks for an extra fall flavor. Start with just a little as it is intense
• Pumpkin Spice
  • 1/2 tsp per 1/2 cup grounds
• Raw Cacao
  • 1 tsp per 1/2 cup of grounds
• Lavender
  • 1/4 tsp per 1/2 cup of grounds (for a subtle flavor, try 1/2 a teaspoon if you like strong floral flavors)

Cold Brew Coffee

Check out our cold brew coffee tutorial so you can make your own.

Cold brew coffee is convenient and delicious. It packs more of a caffeinated wave and also lasts longer. The coffee flavor is smoother and stronger because the beans weren’t touched by hot water. You can make cold brew coffee concentrate by doubling the recipe and using it multiple times throughout the week.

You can also freeze the coffee cubes and make a smoothie like my hangover smoothie. The smoothie is also delicious when you aren’t hungover. Use coconut cream and don’t add any sweetener to keep it Whole30.

Nitro Coffee

I first found nitro coffee at a coffee shop during Mardi Gras. This was years ago before nitro was everywhere besides just in Guinness. Carbonation tends to upset my body, so the idea of smooth coffee bubbles intrigued every part of me. After one sip it felt like living in a magical word. The bubbles are so smooth and soft it’s like having a latte without the milk. Go for the straight black ones as others tend to have sugar or oats. Trust me, you’ll feel like there’s milk when it comes to texture.

RISE Nitro Coffee: We freaking love RISE coffee. Every time we get it there are strong nitro bubbles (with some brands you’ll get flat ones). Their coffee is organic and sustainably sourced and you can taste it. The flavor is bold and incredible and undeniably rich in full coffee flavors. They use purified water, their coffee is less acidic than others and there is nothing artificial about it.

Sparkling Drinks

Sparkling drinks bursting with herbaceous or fruity flavors is better than soda, once you get used to it. We have several of these around at all times and they are a highlight of our Whole 30 staples.

Waterloo Sparkling Water: Waterloo is another Austin brand we love. I feel like I watched them grow up. Waterloo uses fruit to get their sparkling flavors and all of them taste strongly of that fruit in an incredible way. The watermelon is my favorites. They are Whole30 approved and use a BPA free lining in their cans. Waterloo has no sugar, sweeteners, or additives added, and according to their website: “Waterloo’s natural flavors are derived from the named fruit used in each of our different varieties. By using the natural extracted fruit essences and oils, we create true-to-fruit flavors unlike anything else. This is how Waterloo is able to pack so much flavor and be Non-GMO Project Verified.” Flavors range from grapefruit, blueberry, peach, and mango to lemon-lime and watermelon.

Rambler’s Sparkling Water: Rambler’s is located in Austin and is limestone-filtered. This is the closest American sparkling water I’ve tasted to Topo Chico and it’s on a level of its own. You can taste the minerals in a truly delicious way. Their water is sustainably sourced and they have a partnership with Texas Parks & Wildlife Foundation to help protect Texas’ natural areas for generations, one can at a time. Learn more here. They now have lemon-lime too.

La Croix: La Croix is that brand we all know, the classic of the flavored sparkling water. I love La Croix with a dash of gin, but I save that until after Whole30 is complete.

RISHI Sparkling Botanicals: These delicious drinks are undeniably herb centered. There are flavors you may have never heard of and they really know how to balance them. There are dandelion ginger, schisandra berry and even black lemon flavors. Order from their website (as of this article they’re doing free shipping on all orders). We found them at our local store.

Sparkling Coconut and Coconut Water

Kalena sparkling coconut water: This bubblicious coconut water is full with flavor and super hydrating. I really liked the hint of pineapple. Overall this tastes like a pina colada mocktail. The link goes to the original flavor and you can also choose between pineapple, lemon-lime, blood orange and mango.

C2O Coconut Water: The addition of turmeric, ginger, and lime was so relaxing and full of flavor. You can really taste all the herbs and citrus and the healing that comes with them.

Tea Time

When it comes to tea there are nearly endless possibilities. You can taste flowers in herbal tea with hibiscus and lavender or have green tea for a grassy feel. When I was a kid I smelled grass and wondered how it would taste boiled. It was amazing. Embrace the grass 😉 Black tea is a fan favorite and probably a tea you’ve had as it’s part of Chai tea and what you normally get if you ask for tea at a restaurant. We mostly drink herbal teas just because we get our caffeine from coffee and tea is for non-caffeine days. Some herbs we use are one of those Whole 30 staples that can be used in both tea and cooking for herbs like lavender and mint.

Buy Herbs in Bulk

Instead of buying individual tea bags I buy herbs in bulk and make tea individually. Not only is this cheaper but it means you control the quality of the herbs. We put them in air-tight containers because you want your herbs kept air-tight to preserve the quality. Also, keep them in a cabinet so it stays dark. I leave smaller containers on our shelves so I remember they exist and store the rest in larger containers in the closet.

Oggi Airtight Canister Sets: I love these containers because they come with a spoon and are easy to open and close. We’ve had them for a year and use them constantly and they still act new.

Mint Leaves: You can make straight mint tea by using one teaspoon of mint leaves per 8oz of water. You can also add a couple of hibiscus leaves (they’re strong so just one or two). Mint tea is perfect for soothing the stomach and aiding digestion. We used Davidson’s Organic and the flavor is pure and wonderful.

Hibiscus Leaves: Hibiscus tea is bold, delicious, and tastes like flower juice. If you think of cranberry juice but with hibiscus flavor that’s what the tea tastes like. I love to drink hibiscus tea in the morning for a delicious start. We used Dualspice because their leaves are from Egypt. The flavor is strong and incredible.

Chamomile Leaves: Chamomile is beautifully soothing and a night-time sleepy tea. Chamomile is in most sleepy time tea blends because of its lovely effects. The taste is also amazing in a light flowery way. We used Starwest Botanicals and it’s great quality.

Lavender Buds: Lavender is a robust flavor so you just want to add a pinch of lavender to your tea blends. Take a deep smell of lavender every time you can for a deep calm feeling. Lavender is used in pillow sprays and even baths (toss some in yours). Have lavender before sleep for more peaceful dreams. You can also use lavender in food like these lavender pork chops. We used Earthwise and it has a strong aromatic scent and flavor.

Mountain Rose Herbs is a great place to go for a trusted herb source. They have a high shipping price unless you get a lot, but their quality is so high most professionals use them.

Tea Steepers: You can pop these into a large teapot or just place them over your cup. I love the long handles on these because short ones tend to get hot. Loose-leaf teas have more flavor just like cooking herbs and coffee are more flavorful if you grind them fresh. Herbs are the same way and keeping them whole keeps more flavor in them. The rainbow tea steepers are currently unavailable but I’ll let you know if they come back. I did find a rainbow teapot that looks beautiful.

Bagged Teas

For convenient tea time go with some bags. I look for bags that are still loose leaf and aren’t ground up teas. This way you get more of the herb flavor and less of the aged flavor. Check for any added sweetener like honey, stevia sugar, or any artificial flavorings.

Sips By: Instead of searching for different tea brands, I get a customized tea box. It’s only $15 a month and you get 15+ cups of tea from it. I’ve been using them for about 3 years and have only disliked about five of the teas. You can take a quiz on the Sipsby website and tell them what herbs you like or dislike and if you want any caffeine. You can even let them know your allergies and what you want to avoid. If you’re in the US you also get free shipping. They’re an Austin based company too 😉 Use my link to get $5 off your first box.

They also give you a tea card in the box with each tea and its steep time. If you rate the teas you get points to go towards your next box once they add up.

Request no sugar when setting up your profile to keep it Whole30. You can re-take the quiz after Whole30 to add it back if you wish.

Organic India Tulsi Lemon Ginger Tea – So soothing. So calming. The basil leaves, lemon, and ginger are so harmonious in this tea. I love to drink this right before sleep.

Pinky Up Chamomile Tea – Loose leaf chamomile tea with just the right amount of fruity and citrusy flavors. There’s orange, rose, mint, hibiscus, and lemongrass. This tea is very calming and wonderful.

Bone Broth

When you think of drinks the first thought might not be bone broth. Bone broth is freaking delicious. Think of chicken noodle soup and drinking the broth at the end, or slurping ramen down to its last drop. Bone broth is the most essential part of stews and if you’ve never drunk it straight then now is your chance. Bone broth goes into those Whole 30 staples that you can easily make yourself as well by using leftover kitchen scraps and bones, and there are great store bought broths as well. .

Besides drinking bone broth straight you can fry up some veggies then pour in the broth and let it simmer for ten minutes for a quick soup. If you’re feeling egg drop soup then whisk the egg, bring the soup to a simmer and create a whirlpool then slowly pour in the egg. Once the egg turns to ribbons remove it from the heat and consume joyously. Usually, you’ll use chicken broth for egg drop soup but I also like to use beef broth.

Zoup Bone Broth: Zoup is so freaking delicious that the first time I took a sip I downed the rest of the bottle in about ten minutes. The flavor is not overly strong like you get in some other broths. Their balance of flavor is like drinking fairytale chicken soup. I love love love this broth. Check out their site to learn more.

Epic Bone Broth: Epic is slightly stronger than Zoup and is a hearty option. When winter arrives this is the broth you drink by the fire while reading your favorite book. The complexity is nice and rich. The broth contains a little apple cider vinegar so you get a nice tang. All their beef, bison, and lamb are 100% grass-fed and they are Whole30 approved. Check out their website to learn more.

Kettle and Fire Bone Broth: Kettle and Fire has the highest protein content and is Whole30 approved. Kettle and Fire’s entire company is based on bone broth and bringing bone broth to the world. Their broths are simmered 20+ hours. Their broth is 100% grass-fed and finished. There are no additives, preservatives, or funny stuff. Check out their website to learn more.

Bare Bones Bone Broth: Bare Bones beef broth has a delicious onion flavor in the middle with a peppery finish. The flavor is not overpowering at all. They use 100% grass-finished animals and use a 24+ hour simmer method. They also have an instant broth powder that I haven’t tried yet but sounds nifty. If you try it let us know in the comments what it tastes like. I’m super curious. Check out their website if you want to learn more.

Apple Cider and Pear Cider

Apple cider and pear cider both use natural fruits and you can make them yourself. Look out for any added sugar in the ciders if going with store bought. Any fruit juice is going to have a lot of sugar from the fruit itself, so cider is something to be careful with and to see if triggers your sugar dragon.

Add Flavor to Your Water with Alcohol-Free Extracts

Most extracts use alcohol for the extraction process, but I have found a few that are alcohol free and linked them below. Feel free to use these off Whole30 for baking experiments.

When living in Gatesville, Texas I ran across water that changed my flavor life. It was a bottle of chocolate mint water. Next to it was a bottle of chocolate water. This was ten years ago when flavored water wasn’t really a thing but for LaCroix and that was for fancy people. I was so mind rainbowed I grabbed a bottle and took it home. It was magical. I mean magical to the point I felt I was in a fantasy land. I was tasting chocolate and mint so strongly and it was all coming from water.

I searched for this water in other places besides HEB and couldn’t find it. In Lubbock, there was no HEB so I went without. When I started keto I learned how to use extracts in baking to get maple flavor without maple syrup. I remembered the water and added maple extract to my water. IT WAS AMAZING! I DID IT MYSELF! I don’t usually use caps but that’s how excited I get over extract water. I plan to make a company using extract waters someday.

To make maple water, lemon water, or even chocolate water all you do is add a drop of extract to your water. If you want maple orange water add a drop of each. Besides being one of our Whole 30 staples that will help calm any cravings for waffles, I swear it, this is an all the time essential. There’s something wondrous about tasting maple and orange in water. It helps separate maple as being just in syrup and sweet and lets you taste the full flavor. I have not yet found an alcohol-free chocolate flavor, but hopefully, it’s in the works. Try it off Whole30 and enjoy maple water until then.

Simply Organics Lemon Flavor: This lemon flavor is on point and adds a silkiness to water. Although this might sound weird when you first try it, it’s a wonderful experience. I love lemon water and sometimes use fresh lemon and add a drop of this for layers of lemon time.

Frontier Alcohol Free Mint Flavor: Mint is so wonderfully refreshing that most people know its flavor. You can dress salads with fresh mint leaves and use extract in frosting or almond joys. Having mint in water is not uncommon and mint tea is a delicious morning or night soother. Add a drop of mint and then two if you’re feeling more.

Frontier Alcohol Free Maple Flavor: Maple water is my favorite water. Mint and lemon have their place, but you can have mint and lemon water without extract. Maple is so magical because you only get it from syrup usually. Having maple water is such an experience I recommend that it be on your bucket list. This is not just a Whole30 essential but it another life essential.

Frontier Alcohol Free Maple Flavor: Maple water is my favorite water. Mint and lemon have their place, but you can have mint and lemon water without extract. Maple is so magical because you only get it from syrup usually. Having maple water is such an experience I recommend that it be on your bucket list. This is not just a Whole30 essential but it another life essential.

You can also get maple water by clicking here. I’ve tried maple water a few times and it is very refreshing and is like the coconut water of maple trees. Maple trees pull water from the ground and naturally filter it. According to the University of North Texas maple water hydrates twice as fast as regular water.

Extract water is also awesome to travel with because the flavor maintains itself the whole way.

Whole 30 Creamer Substitutions:

From the Whole30 official rules: “Coffee: Yes. Yes, you can have your coffee. You’re welcome. You can drink it black, add unsweetened compliant Nutpods, coconut milk, almond milk, or add cinnamon or vanilla beans to the brew.  But remember, Whole30 guidelines exclude milk, cream, non-compliant milk substitutes, and added sweeteners—including stevia (more on that below).

Tip: Regarding “Paleo” coffee creamer… sigh. We know there’s a recipe out there where eggs, coconut milk, dates, and some voodoo magic are combined with prayers to create a thick, creamy concoction that can take the place of your cream and sugar (or Coffeemate) and once again transform your undrinkable black coffee into sweet, dreamy caffeine. We REALLY don’t like this, and would encourage you to take a look at why you need this at all. Do you really like coffee, or are you drinking it for the hit of sugary flavor?” (source)

If you’re wanting that creaminess in your coffee or tea then substituting out dairy is easy to do. So many people love cream and coffee that companies are structured around dairy-free substitutes. When it comes to Whole 30 staples you’ll want a creamy substitute around to stave off those creamy cravings.

Nutpods: Nutpods were the first thing I heard about when I heard about Whole30. The two go together well because the combination of the nuts creates a creaminess you just don’t get from any other dairy-free creamer. It froths really well and you can use it to replace cream in recipes. All their flavors are delicious so I recommend checking out the variety pack with French vanilla, hazelnut, caramel and original to discover your favorite. They also have a holiday collection of peppermint, nog and pumpkin spice. Nutpods are the only Whole30 approved creamer at the moment.

Milkadamia Unsweetened Macadamia Milk: I’m so blissing blissed out that this macadamia milk is now Whole30 compliant. There is pea protein in the ingredients and peas are now Whole30. Macadamia milk is super creamy because they have a higher fat content than other nuts like almonds, walnuts, and even cashews. It’s the delicious good for you fat too. Milkadamia macadamia milk is super creamy, delicious, and can be a switch from coconut milk if you’re tired of that coconut flavor.

Milkadamia Unsweetened Macadamia Creamer: The macadamia creamer is similar to the milk with some added coconut creamer. The texture is a little thicker so it makes the perfect non-dairy Whole30 creamer.

Vital Proteins Collagen Creamer: Want to add some collagen to your morning life? These creamers add body to your coffee and 10g of collagen. I always feel better after adding collagen to my life. It might be a placebo effect, but either way, I’m sticking with it. In general, I get my collagen from fish skin, chicken skin, or even turkey skin with these air fryer turkey thighs. Having some in backup creamer form helps for those weeks I haven’t gotten it in with food. Vanilla, coconut, and mocha are all Whole 30 approved creamers.

Personally, I don’t enjoy either flavor of the Vital Proteins creamers, and they didn’t add any creaminess to the coffee. They take a while to stir in as well. If you really want collagen then I’d go with their collagen peptides which have no flavor. This is a new product in 2020 so hopefully, it improves.

Make Your Own Whole 30 Creamer

Coconut and Nut Milk Combo for Half & Half: Coconut milk can be used as a replacement for cream so adding about a teaspoon to your coffee tastes delicious if you’re a coconut fan. You can also mix the coconut cream with almond milk to create a half and half texture. The coconut cream is the thickest part of what you get in the canned coconut milk. To get the cream to rise to the top pop it in the fridge overnight and spoon the cream off in the morning. Mix the coconut cream and nut milk at a 1:1 ratio.

Thai Kitchen Coconut Milk: Thai Kitchen always has fluffy coconut cream at the top, often without even refrigerating it. The flavor is super pure-tasting and beautiful in that coconuty way. Some brands will have hard cream tops, which can be annoying to remove from the can, so I go with a brand I trust. You can also get straight coconut cream from Thai Kitchen, click here to purchase, and then you can avoid having to wait at all.

Make your own coconut milk with our tutorial.

Milkadamia Nut Milk: As stated above this is my favorite nut milk of all. Any nut milk will work here and so would hemp milk.

Whole30 Tea Latte

You probably have heard of a coffee latte, but have you made a tea one? Tea with cream is common and that’s all you need for a latte vibe. You can use any of the creamers above just as easily in tea as you would coffee. Try our Whole30 cocomilk chai latte to get started.

Add Fat to Coffee

You can use ghee without needing any other milk and it makes a delicious frothy creamy drink. Butter comes from milk so when it melts into coffee it creates a similar, even creamier drink than just milk and coffee.

Adding fat to coffee is something I learned about during keto and it has forever stayed. The caffeine lasts longer because it binds to fat, and it helps out the adrenal glands too. Because you’ve added fat the coffee is more satisfying and takes longer to drink so you drink less. Read more about it here. This is one of my favorite life staples besides just Whole 30 staples. I feel full for a long time and I don’t have that crazy midday crash.

To make buttery/ghee coffee just add a tablespoon of ghee to 1 cup of coffee and blend or shake until smooth. If you don’t have a blender try using a blender bottle or put it in a mason jar and shake for 30 seconds. For work, I use the blender bottle because after a while you need to shake it again. We use the Aerdisc attachment for the Vitamix for a latte at home treat. I got it right before the pandemic as a treat myself thing and it’s made living at home more enjoyable. It also makes sauces, mousse and mojitos.

Ghee in Coffee as a Whole 30 Creamer

Protip: If using refrigerated or even room temp ghee make sure the coffee is hot and drink it quickly to avoid any separation. If separation occurs reheat the whole thing and re-blend or reshake it.

Ancient Organics Ghee: We love this ghee. It’s ranked 4th in our top ghee post because of its caramelized nutty flavor. In coffee, these flavors are so delicious. It easily emulsifies and creates an epic creamy finish that brings out the roasted flavor in coffee. They use purely grass-fed ghee that’s also grass-finished and are 100% organic certified. They were founded in 2003 by two Ayurvedic practitioners. Learn more about them here.

Pure Indian Foods Cultured Ghee: This ghee is beautiful in a buttery flower way. There are so many layers of flavor and the cultured flavor comes through. This was our first pick in the ranked ghee post for so many reasons.

Pure Indian Foods Paleo Butter Coffee Creamer: The creamer ghee has MCT oil which adds to the steady energy flow that comes from buttered coffee. The flavor is delicious and creamy. I recommend leaving this in the fridge so it remains super solid.

Hint: Pure Indian Foods has a variety pack of ghees where you can try smaller versions of several flavors. There’s even a Whole30 pack.

4th & Heart Vanilla Bean Ghee: I love 4th & Heart and use their turmeric ghee for this fish recipe. I haven’t tried their vanilla bean ghee but I’m sure it’s a whole new world of delicious and adding vanilla to coffee is a real treat. I’ll try it soon and let you know how it goes.

Whole30 Condiments / Flavor Enhancers:

Whole30 condiments are the Whole 30 staples that easily add the most flavor to your meals. You can fry green beans or your favorite veggie plain and eat them 10 different ways by just switching up the sauce. Whole 30 compliant condiments have no sugar, sweetener, soy, corn, or additives that are not Whole30 approved. For a list of Whole30 approved additives check out this chart. Extracts, certain gums, and ascorbic acids are some of the additives found in dressings and condiments that are totally fine on Whole30. For our full list of Whole30 condiments check out our full Whole30 condiments post.

Coconut Aminos

Coconut aminos are like the sweeter alternative to soy sauce. This is alternative music with a delicious spot that you just want to try over and over again.

We use coconut aminos in BBQ sauce for our Whole 30 BBQ chicken in the air fryer or in the oven. Coconut aminos are in so many Whole 30 recipes that you’ll get it at some point if you want to follow along. Even when not on Whole 30 I reach for these because you get an added sweetness without sugar and I prefer to avoid soy.

Big Tree Coconut Aminos: I find most coconut aminos taste the same so choose your favorite. Coconut aminos are slightly sweet, umami filled and are so delicious. While soy sauce is a little more salty coconut aminos are a little sweet. Adjust recipes accordingly by adding a little more salt if using aminos. Try the dish first to see if there’s already enough salt coming through as umami can naturally enhance salty flavors.

Sweetener Free Whole30 Ketchup

Whole 30 ketchup is the component of so many delicious recipes. Slather it onto lettuce leaves and wrap them around a hot dog. We also use ketchup in our BBQ chicken recipes. Ketchup can be used at a 1:1 ratio with mayo and some garlic powder and onion powder to create a secret sauce. You can also splash in coconut aminos or fish sauce if your umami love is off the charts. Well the American charts, your chart could easily dance with Japan.

Use secret sauce as a dipping sauce for veggies and meat to make every meal delicious. With Whole 30 you want to add at least 2 tablespoons of fat to every meal and this is the easiest way to do it. Usually, I just use mayonnaise by itself but when bored I’ll make it special.

Best Whole30 Ketchup Brands:

Primal Kitchen Ketchup: Has a nice bright flavor and is super delicious. We use this in BBQ chicken and for special sauce and sweet potato fry dipping. This is the main Whole 30 ketchup we use.

Thrive Market Sweetener Free Ketchup: Another delicious and cheaper option. This ketchup has grape must added to it so the flavor is more savory and like sun-dried tomatoes rather than fresh ones.

You can also make my slow cooker pumpkin spice ketchup for a delicious twist (most ketchup uses the spices found in pumpkin spice which is why I created the recipe for awareness 😉 ).

Fish Sauce

You know when you go to a restaurant and everything tastes phenomenal in a way you can’t recreate at home? That’s probably because you aren’t using the secret restaurant sauce. Fish sauce. Fish sauce is fermented fish, usually anchovies. Although this might sound gross if you don’t know you’ve had it all your life, this is a very common ingredient in sauces. I’m to the point that fermented fish sounds amazing, and so does the fermentation of most things.

Red Boat Fish Sauce: is the oldest known maker of fish sauce and they stick to the old ways. According to their website: “Cuong partnered with expert fishermen and continued a centuries-old fermentation tradition. Today, the Red Boat brand is stronger than ever. In an era where transparency, traceability, and sustainability reign supreme, Red Boat is just as committed to quality ingredients and its time-honored fermentation tradition as the day it was founded. That means no additives, no preservatives, and no flavor enhancers. Just the purest fish sauce on earth.” You can really taste the beauty of this sauce.

Fish sauce is used in most restaurants for marinades, salad dressings and even as an extra splash to meat dishes. Once you start using this ingredient you’ll find it sneaking into so many recipes. BBQ sauces and ramen are great ways to use it.

Protip: Fish sauce is very, very strong, and is something you want to start slowly and minimally with. A teaspoon or less is all you usually need for a recipe. If you want more go about a 1/2 teaspoon at a time and then taste. You can always add more but you can’t go back once you’ve added too much. If you do double the recipe in another bowl and stir in the extra sauced one.

Alcohol Free Mustard

Did you know mustard commonly uses wine? I had no idea, nor did I really care, until finding the Whole 30. Unfortunately, the Whole 30 does avoid alcohol and for a good reason. Have you ever told yourself no to a cupcake when tipsy?

When looking for a mustard just check the ingredients for no added sugar and no wine.

We mostly use mustard in lettuce-wrapped sandwiches which we have about four of a week. They’re super quick to make, as quick as a regular sandwich.

Organicville Sone ground Dijon Mustard: I love using this mustard in making mayo as well as just on sandwiches. The only ingredients are water, organic vinegar, organic mustard seeds, salt, and organic spices.

French’s Mustard: French’s is a classic choice, it’s a beautiful price, and it has no sugar or alcohol in it.

Vinegar

Vinegar isn’t something that needs to change in your life at all. Nearly all vinegar, even rice vinegar is Whole30 approved. Malt vinegar is the exception since it comes from barley. Wine vinegar is compliant since it changes chemical composition. or any additives like “caramel color” or sulfites when shopping for vinegar—many types of vinegar contain these added ingredients and neither are allowed. Vinegar is one of those Whole 30 pantry staples that does not need to be refrigerated.

Lemons and Limes: I’m more of a fresh acid kinda gal (/androgynous being). When making mayo or salads I’ll squeeze in lemon juice and I’ll add it to my water in the mornings. I use more acid in limes and lemons during and off Whole30 than I do any other vinegar choice.

Apple Cider Vinegar: Acv is delicious in stews, dressings, and even as a daily gut shot. Braggs if organic and unfiltered and the flavor is tangy and sharp in all the right ways. I also

Balsamic Vinegar: If you’re missing wine just pour balsamic vinegar onto your veggies or add it to a salad dressing. The flavor of balsamic is deeply rich with a hint of sweetness. I love to toss it with broccoli and air fry it. We got ours in bulk at Costco. If you don’t have a membership or don’t feel like going it’s available on Amazon in the link.

Rice Vinegar: Rice vinegar is a staple in Asian cooking and is used in many Whole30 recipes.

Whole30 Spices

Spice is what can change meditteranean chicken to spicy chicken. Herbs and dried herbs are the most important part of any cuisine and is what differentiates national cuisine from others. If you want a spicier meal up the pepper or the cayenne. If you want a floral meal throw in some fresh thyme, rosemary and top the dish with edible flowers.

Whole30 spices are ones without any fillers or additives that don’t fit the Whole30 standards. There are no added sweeteners. The spices don’t have to be organic or wild foraged (which can add volumes of flavor but isn’t necessary), which is something I appreciate about Whole30.

Whole30 Seasoning Blends

Seasoning blends are a quick way to add loads of balanced flavor to meals. You can use Italian seasoning for those Italy styled dishes. You can sprinkle it onto protein or veggies, roast them and consider it a meal. Everything seasoning, even everything but the bagel, are epic in eggs and also on proteins and veggies. Seasoning blends are a great way to keep things epic and tasty.

To avoid on Whole30: Look for any artificial preservatives or flavors and any added sweeteners.

Pretty Thai Green Curry Seasoning Blend: Pretty Thai started at a farmer’s market here in Austin and that’s where I met them. This mom and pop team is on a mission of flavor awareness. Thai seasoning is spicy and full of aromatics. Use this to make a green curry sauce for burgers, chicken and so much more. We consider this an everything blend and use it on eggs, in stir-fries, and even top rice with it, after Whole30. All of their spices have no preservatives and this one is gluten-free.

Ingredients: This blend has a bland of all-natural fresh green Thai chilies, coriander seeds, white pepper seed, freshly minced dried lemongrass, and turmeric powder.

Seasoning for All of the Things: We use Imperfect Food’s blend but feel free to find your own favorite. I enjoy the orange peel and pepper in theirs. This type of seasoning blend really can be used for all of the things, just like the other blends mentioned. Where the Thai blend uses white pepper and chilies, seasoning of all the things usually is less spicy and relies on pepper, some garlic powder, and onion powder. From there you’ll find herbs like rosemary, thyme, and parsley.

Imperfect Foods Everything Blend Ingredients: Salt, garlic, onion, brown mustard seed, black pepper, carrots, red bell pepper, orange peel, parsley, rosemary, Chile pepper, basil, marjoram, oregano, thyme, safflower oil.

Trader Joe’s 21 Seasoning Salute: If you have never tried this then put it on the bucket list of before I pass on I’ll eat this. This seasoning blend changed my life in college because I went from just adding salt to things to giving a bliss about seasoning. This is a true celebration of spices and how well 21 of them can come together to have a party with your taste buds.

Italian Seasoning: We all know and love Italian Seasoning. Where the other two spice blends rely on spice to carry flavor Italian Seasoning is all about the herbs. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a blend with hot spices added. I mostly use Italian Seasoning, even in stir-fries because I’m not a huge pepper fan. When I want a unique fire in my mouth other blends are delicious and Aun loves them most. For me, I’ll take herb spice blends and some edible flowers any day. Most Italian seasoning blends you find will be compliant.

Simply Organic Italian Seasoning Blend: My favorite brand due to the potency and freshness of the herbs. We ran out when I took the pic. Their ingredients are: organic oregano, organic marjoram, organic thyme, organic basil, organic rosemary, and organic sage

Imperfect Foods Italian Seasoning Blend : Also delicious and so well priced. While Simply Organic has strong oregano IF has strong basil. Ingredients: Basil, rosemary, marjoram, thyme, sage, oregano

Taco Time

Tacos are my favorite food. I think they always will be no matter how much food I go through in time. On both keto and paleo, the only “diets” I ever did tacos were the first thing I figured out how to make compliant. Taco salads, cheese taco shells, and even egg white burritos were all mastered…ish so I could continue on. At some point I really just did salads. For after Whole30 I do recommend Siete’s taco shells. They hold up really well. Thrive also has some corn-free ones that hold up well once toasted. Be sure to toast either.

Siete Mild Taco Seasoning Packet: These are so freaking delicious. Siete adds tomato powder and nutritional yeast for a cheesy tomatoey flavor you just don’t get from the other blends. Siete is a family business that I know and love here in Austin. They’re authentic people and it comes out in everything they make. One time I asked to quote them on health insurance when I was doing insurance while bedridden(never ever again). They said they already had health insurance but sent me a full box of Siete chips and salsa because I was bedridden. Not a baby box but a four-foot all-around size box.

Siete Spicy Taco Seasoning: Where many Americans rely on pepper Mexican flavors rely on chilis. Cayenne is what makes taco seasoning range from mild to medium to spicy. If you want a spicy blend then go for this version.

Primal Palate Organic Taco Seasoning Blend: Oh my smoky mouthbliss I love this blend. The chipotle is smoky and adds a depth of flavor that enhances all the others. The spice is perfectly blended to where you feel the heat but you can still taste the flavors of chipotle, paprika, cumin, and garlic. The ingredients are minimal so they all stand out. There’s chipotle, chili powder, pink Himalayan salt, paprika, black pepper, cumin, and garlic. The quality is very apparent with Primal Palate. Use two tablespoons in your meat then add 1/3 cup of water, stir, and let simmer for 2-3 minutes. You can also use 1/2 a cup of tomato sauce instead of water to make it even more delicious.

Riega Taco Seasoning: This blend was really enjoyable and aromatic. There’s a delicious balance of chile and they use just a few ingredients so all of them stand out. There’s just Chili peppers, cumin, sea salt, onion, garlic, and oregano and they’re all organic.

Sidenote: Simply Organic taco seasoning is not organic. There’s a touch of sugar in it. I found this out too late but now you can know early 😉

Make Your Own Taco Seasoning

As mentioned above you can range the cayenne or Chile powder in your own seasoning to make it more or less spicy. The nutritional yeast adds natural cheesiness and it’s Whole30. Our blend of spices creates a smoky, cuminy and herby blend that’s incredibly delicious. This recipe works for a pound of meat. Once the meat is browned simmer it for 2-3 minutes with 1/2 a cup of tomato sauce or 1/3 cup of water.

Make Your Own Seasoning:

1 Tablespoon Chile Powder

1/2 teaspoon Salt

1 teaspoon Paprika

1 teaspoon Cumin Powder

1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder

1/2 teaspoon Onion Powder

1/2 teaspoon Coriander Powder

1/2 teaspoon Dried Oregano

1 teaspoon Nutritional Yeast (optional)

When it comes to single ingredient spices we get them from the bulk spice section at our local co-op. A lot of stores have these so call yours to see if they have a bulk spice section available.

Glass Spice Jars with Labels: If you plan to buy spices in bulk then make the investment up front for spice jars. When you buy spices in jars you’re mostly paying for the jar. We can get 3 jars worth of paprika in bulk for the price one prepackaging jar of it. Bulk spices tend to be fresh too because they’re constantly being refilled. If you’re making a recipe with a spice you’ll only use once you can just buy as much as you need and save money that way too.

Most spices that are just one ingredient are compliant, just look for any caking agents or added fillers. We use turmeric all the time so we bought it in bulk at Costco.

Salt

Salt is that spice you can add to the least flavorful dish and suddenly it tastes amazing. Salt enhances flavor and the more you use salt the more you want of it. If you’ve been doing a low sodium lifestyle then suddenly having recipes with a lot of salt can be overwhelming. Whole 30 and paleo lifestyles tend to embrace salt, so if you’re not used to it try slowly adding salt to recipes until you learn to really love it.

Different types of salt can be used for recipes and most commonly recipes are talking about Kosher salt. A common salt in Whole 30 and paleo cooking tends to use Himalayan sea salt and sea salts in general. Sea salt can have a stronger flavor so if you find the recipes too salty feel free to cut it in half.

Fleur de Sel / French salt – This salt has had a resurgence in the last few years and I love it. Fleur de sel sounds fancy but it’s truly simple and beautiful. Fleur de Sel is the thin and delicate crust that forms on seawater as it evaporates leaving a flower-like petal of salt. Flor de sal is the French phrase for flower of salt. Use Fleur de Sel to finish foods to get a salty, but delicate burst of flavor.

Ground Sea Salt – You can purchase large granules of salt at Costco or online and then use a grinder to choose how fine you want the grain on the salt. This option gives you the most control and allows you to have a nice bite of salty in brownies or on top of steak or veggies

Finely Ground Himalayan Sea Salt – We use this for everyday cooking and get it in bulk at Costco because we have salt with every meal.

Kosher Salt – Kosher salt is most commonly used by chefs and if you’ve eaten at a restaurant you’ve most likely had this salt.

Make Life Even More Delicious Whole 30 staples

Honestly, I think you can get through a Whole 30 easily with the staples above. I personally love to cook and make every meal, and totally understand that not everyone has a love for being in the kitchen. If I don’t feel like cooking, making a lettuce-wrapped sandwich takes about a minute. There are times when I’m on the road and need things like seaweed snacks, macadamia butter, and canned tuna though. Even though these are not the most essential Whole 30 staples they definitely make Whole30 easier and are Whole 30 staples to many of us.

After finishing five Whole 30s I also like to spruce things up. 😉

Whole 30 Dressings

Oh, my bliss I love using dressings. Add them to salads, pour them over meat and dip veggies into them for epic mouth times. For these Whole 30 staples, I’ve done my research by trying a few dressings that were not that delicious. The Primal Kitchen vegan Ceaser dressing is not so creamy and neither is Tessemae’s bottled ranch. At the same time, Tessemae’s ranch dressing with mayo as the base is so freaking fantastic I haven’t told Aun yet because I secretly want all of it. I still might tell him….yeah. Maybe. All of the dressings below are Whole30 approved salad dressings.

Epic Store Bought Whole 30 Salad Dressings

Tessemae’s Ranch Mayo: You know how ranch is meant to be so creamy that it’s thick enough to cling to lettuce leaves or wings? This is the only Whole30 ranch we’ve found that fits this creamy dream. The dill is strong in an epic way and there’s a hit of onion that’s delicious. To get Tessemae’s ranch mayo on Amazon click this link. They only carry the ranch mayo with the habanero mayo. We ranked the habanero mayo as tied for second in our mayo tasting post. Use the first link to get it from Thrive Market solo style. Tessemae’s has tons of epic Whole30 salad dressings and could be considered the Whole30 salad dressing brand with how many they have.

• Best for wings and dipping veggies into
• Great for salads
• For an adventure spread it onto a lettuce-wrapped sandwich (it’s basically the same ingredients as a salad with ranch and now it’s portable)

Whole30 Brand Buffalo Vinaigrette: Melissa is on a mission with this buffalo vinaigrette. She basically says to pour this over salad and you’ll find a new land of delicious. I was skeptical but love trying new things so I went for it. Oh, my freaking bliss times this dressing has changed my life. The flavor is spicy and buttery and tomatoey all at the same time. Everything you love about buffalo sauce with wings comes through in SALAD. Who would have thought? Yeah. I’m converted forever. Aun tried this and said we have to always have it in the fridge and to add it to every Thrive box, (not on Amazon juuuuuust yet).

Tip: We tried this as a marinade and it was nowhere near as delicious as on salad. This dressing is definitely more designed for salad as the extra vinegar causes it to slide off the meat. To use enough marinade to get the flavor you would have to use the whole bottle.

Whole30 House Ranch: This is close to the creamiest Whole 30 ranch ever but is slightly runnier. The slightly runnier texture really works for salads while the thickest one works best for wings and dipping veggies into. The vinegar flavor is slightly stronger in this ranch but works well. Whole30 brand’s ranch is delicious and is the second-best dairy-free ranch we’ve tried. The texture is similar to store-bought ranch.

• Best for salads and also great for wings

Slightly Less Epic Whole30 Dressings

While these dressings still work they did not impress us too much. I love both brands but, for now, they missed the mark, (I’m hoping they’ll see these and step up their Whole30 dressings game 😉 )

Tessemae’s Classic Ranch: This ranch is the opposite of creamy and is much more like the consistency of a vinaigrette. As a vinaigrette, it’s super delicious and heavy on the dill. I just wouldn’t call it mayo in a blind taste test.

Primal Kitchen Vegan Ranch: Yet again this ranch is not very creamy. Admittedly, this is their vegan ranch and that’s just hard to do. When we mix it with mayo it’s super delicious. If you’ve tried their classic ranch, non-vegan style, let us know in the comments if that one hits the flavor mark.

Best Whole30 Store Bought Ranch Recap:

As a quick recap, the best Whole30 store-bought ranch dressings are as follows.

1. Tessemae’s mayo ranch is the creamiest and thickest ranch with a strong dill flavor and is close to thick store-bought ranch in texture. The flavor is wayyy better than any other ranch I’ve tried.
2. Whole30 brand ranch dressing is delicious and dill flavored with the second creamiest texture and is closest to the texture of a thinner store-bought ranch.
3. Tessemae’s ranch dressing (without the mayo) is slightly creamy but is more of an herb heavy dressing than a creamy one. The herbs are delicious, just don’t expect ranch creaminess when you get it.
4. Tessemae’s avocado ranch is the same texture and taste as the classic ranch.

To-Go Whole30 Salad Dressings

I found these little packets at Whole Foods Market. If you want to try a sample size before committing to a bottle then check out your specialty stores to see if they have the packets. Tessemae’s also has a variety pack of to-go cups with creamy ranch, buffalo ranch, and cilantro-lime ranch. I haven’t tried the buffalo or cilantro-lime one just yet so if you have let us know in the comments what you think.

If you have a jar of dressing and want to make it to-go try out these salad dressings containers that you can pop into a to-go container.

Tessemae’s Caesar Dressing: This is the best Caesar dressing I have ever had. All the flavor is balanced and creamy and there is just the right amount of pepper and lemon with a hint of onion. There’s a beautiful hint of umami with the coconut aminos too. To get this bliss in bottle form click here. (You can get just one bottle rather than tons of packets to just try it first).

Tessemae’s Avocado Ranch: Delicious dressing, but tastes more like Italian dressing than Ranch. There isn’t any dill so to me if there isn’t dill I’m not tasting ranch. The dressing is still really delicious and the avocado creates a creamy texture.

Whole30 BBQ Sauce and Whole30 Buffalo Sauce

If you’re craving BBQ sauce and Buffalo sauce for your chicken life then you don’t have to go without on Whole30.

New Primal BBQ Sauce: Sweet, tomato filled, and vinegary. This is the perfect BBQ sauce. They use apple juice for sweetness and it comes out beautifully in this sauce. Use this BBQ sauce for your Whole30 air fryer BBQ chicken or oven-baked Whole30 BBQ chicken.

New Primal Smoky BBQ Sauce: Deliciously smoky and tangy in all the right ways. New Primal has the balance of flavors on point.

If you want to personally add smoke flavors to your food without fire then try using liquid smoke. Just use a couple of drops. The flavor is very strong. We use then when making our own BBQ sauce and in general for meat sauces and even veggies. You can add a drop to your dipping sauce too.

New Primal Buffalo Sauce: This buffalo sauce is freaking delicious. There’s just enough heat and butteriness to it. There’s also a balance of flavor to this sauce from the vinegar, olive oil, and cayenne. For thickening, they use tapioca starch and xantham gum. Amazon sells this sauce as a 4-pack. To get the buffalo sauce solo try using Thrive Market. They also have a mild version.

Primal Kitchen BBQ Sauce: Honestly this sauce was more peppery than sweet and I didn’t like the balance of flavors. They used balsamic vinegar for sweetness and it was easily overpowered by the spices.

Breading Substitutes / Flours

If you want to bread your chicken or zucchini fries try dipping them in a whisked egg and then almond flour. The flavor is delicious. Coconut flour is also great for breading and has a finer consistency so I use it more often. Check out these bang bang shrimp from 40 aprons for coconut flour breaded shrimp. We’ve made them twice and are in mouth love. An easy Whole 30 breadcrumb substitution is to use a 1:1 ratio of coconut flour to almond flour and add in some of your favorite spices. You can also use 2/3 cups of coconut flour and 1/3 cup of arrowroot flour (like in the bang bang shrimp).

Coconut Flour: Coconut flour takes up moisture fast. When baking you usually want to add more liquid or eggs. If using for breading you can just dip your meat or veggies in an egg wash first. We get it from Thrive because they have a small bag and a little goes a long way. (Not pictured because it’s in tall person’s land/ only where Aun can reach and he was gone when I took the pic). The brand pictured isn’t on Amazon and I haven’t tried others, but they’re all pretty similar. Almond flour is the only flour listed that ranges vastly in texture from brand to brand.

Arrowroot Flour: Arrowroot flour can be used for breading, like in the recipe above, or used to thicken sauces and soups. “To make a medium consistency sauce, start with 4 1/2 teaspoons arrowroot powder, combined with 3 tablespoons water to make a slurry, then add to 1 cup of hot liquid. You can use 3 tablespoons less hot liquid for a thicker sauce.” according to Jessica Gavin. We use Thrive Market but any brand works.

Almond Flour: Almond flour has a more oily consistency than regular flour, but is used the same way. I prefer coconut flour for breading because the almond consistency can taste like your chewing almonds if you use enough for a strong breading. We get almond flour from Costco, which is the Kirkland brand because it’s a great consistency, high quality, and well priced. Many Whole30 recipes call for it and after Whole30 you can make delicious baked goods with it. Thrive Market almond flour is also fine quality and comes in a smaller bag. The price is eggcellent for either one 😉

Because Costco almond flour comes in bulk we use these containers to put it and other flours in so they stay airtight.

Whole 30 Snacks

One of my favorite snacks is to have a baked egg. Oh yeah, you can bake eggs a dozen at a time. Check out our baked eggs tutorial here. I like to double spice them by doing paprika on one side and cinnamon on the other. Eggs are very filling so whenever you crave a snack, or even sweets, have a baked egg instead.

To add a little veggie to your protein snack, which is recommended on Whole30, try this broccoli and egg bake.

Whole30 Store-Bought Snacks

Whole 30 is not a super snack heavy 30 days. To get in your fullness having three meals a day with plenty of fat will keep you more full than nuts. The break between meals also gives your body time to digest and balance hormones.

Of course, there are times on the road or when you’ll break Whole30 if you don’t eat something right meow. For these moments try to get in some fat with your snack and preferably turn it into a mini-meal. For times on the road or when I just want it right now these are the snacks I turn to. To me, these are Whole30 staples when I’m traveling and airport food is both not delicious and crazy expensive.

SafeCatch Tuna: Tuna is so delicious to have around. You can easily make a tuna salad by stirring in a tablespoon or two of mayo and adding it all to a bed of lettuce. Squeeze in lime or lemon juice for an acid bump. Tuna is great to have around the office for some quick protein. You can also pear 😉 it with my favorite snack up next.

SeaSnax Lime Flavor: Oh my bliss these are so freaking good. It’s like salt and vinegar chips with a twist of lime juice. I love seaweed snacks so much that I would eat two or five packs a day if I could. I need to get more rich first, or just make a seaweed snacks company so my job is to forever taste them. There’s a slight crunch with seaweed snacks so if you’re craving chips jump in on these.

Sardines: You remember that fish you balked at as a kid but then learned was in Ceaser dressing? That was my experience then I tried sardines, scared on many mouth levels, and fell in love. Sardines are soooo delicious and so underrated at the moment. They have a delicious oil in the can and so there’s delicious fat.

Whole30 Approved Jerky

Chomps Jerky: As a Texan, I’ve tried blisstons of jerky. Maybe every state is into jerky, I’m not sure, it’s just everywhere here. Texans love meat. Chomps is my favorite jerky stick ever. The flavor is deliciously plump, moist, and nothing like the dried rubber you get from other jerky bars. My favorite is the turkey jerky but all the flavors are epic and they even have a jalapeno variety pack.

Nick’s Sticks: I looove the juiciness of this bar. Where the Chomps skin is firm and has a snap the Nick’s stick is softer. The flavor is really delicious and very meaty without being too strong in any flavor direction. Their beef, spicy beef, turkey, spicy turkey, chicken, and spicy chicken snack sticks are all Whole30 approved. The traditional beef jerky and traditional turkey jerky as well as prairie fire turkey and prairie fire beef are not Whole30 due to soy sauce and brown sugar.

Epic Meat Bars: What sets Epic apart is that it adds delicious flavors to the bars that compliment the meat. Their turkey bars have cranberries and they have beef jalapeno bars and chicken sriracha bars. Add more flavor to your life with these bars. Just like their cooking fat Epic meat bars are also sourced from 100% grass-fed animals (or the sustainable option for that animal). Check out all of their bar options on their website.

Whole30 Compliant Snack Bars

All of these bars just contain nuts, seeds and fruits. That’s all you really need to get the purest of flavor.

Lara Bars – Oh my bliss I love these bars. They taste exactly like what they claim. If the bar says banana bread prepare yourself for banana bread. I love that these redirect the mind from thinking banana bread even needs bread to get the flavors of warm banana goodness. The cherry pie is my favorite. The cherry is strong and delicious. Lara Bars are also cheap even though they use epic ingredients. Lara Bars have a fan following for a reason. I linked the variety pack so you can find your favorite.

Thunderbird Bars: Another Austin brand! So is the next Whole30 approved brand. I’m realizing through writing this article how many Whole30 brands were born right here and it’s beautiful. Thunderbird is a brand I see at so many events and I’ve tried every flavor so many times. All of them are delicious. Any of the ones with coffee are my favorite. The cashew carrot one is super carroty in all the right ways too.

The Texas Maple pecan bar linked above let’s you taste how delicious the pecans are here in Texas. We had a few pecan trees on the farm I grew up on and every year we’d go pick them with the whole family. Then we’d light a fire, tell stories, and roast marshmallow. For the rest of the year, we cracked the pecans and feasted.

Bearded Brothers: Based in Austin, Texas I’ve seen these bars at all the coffee shops here since I arrived 5 years ago. I feel like I watched them grow up. Their ingredients are organic and sourced from U.S. farms. All of their flavors are really delicious and you get the fruit coming through. The raspberry one is my favorite because raspberry is my favorite berry and the lemon gives it an extra fruity tang. I linked a variety pack so you can discover your favorite. You can use the same link to get a 12-pack of just one flavor too.

Time to Get Nutty

On Whole30 nuts are very compliant, except for peanuts. Otherwise, check for sugar in nut butter and nut mixes or any added sweeteners. There are plenty of butter brands without any additives and they’re sooo delicious on their own.

Just the Nuts

Thrive Market Macadamia Nuts: Macadamia nuts are my favorite nuts because they don’t need to be sprouted to be plump and full of life. Their flavor is so delicious and beautiful it takes me to Hawaii every time. Thrive Market has the cheapest ones for the highest quality but feel free to try any brand. I also love the roasted ones by Royal Hawaiian Orchards.

Brazilian Nuts: Brazilian nuts are fatty and brilliant. If you’ve never tried them now is the time. They have a slightly earthy flavor paired with a lot of creaminess. They turn to nut butter very quickly. Check out our Brazilian nut butter tutorial here.

Nut Butters

Justin’s Almond Butter: Until I found Justin’s I had no idea how smooth almond butter could taste. It’s so creamy and beautifully rich. You can usually find these at specialty stores near the other nut butter in single packs. These are great for the road because you get plenty of fat and it’s very satisfying. Avoid all of the flavored ones until after Whole30 because they contain some form of sugar.

RX Nut Butter: IF you want a little extra sweet with a dash of vanilla try RX Bars or their line of nut butter. They list their ingredients and keep ingredients minimal.

Imperfect Foods Almond Butter: At this stage, we just get our almond butter from Imperfect Foods because they’re what we use for all of our groceries. Honestly, I prefer Justin’s because nothing is creamier than their almond butter. For a convenient and well-priced option, I use Imperfect Foods because we rarely eat almond butter anyway. I much prefer making raw or roasted macadamia nut butter from the macadamia nuts linked above.

These are our Whole 30 staples but what are yours? Lettuce know in the comments!

Pin These Whole 30 Staples for Later!

Check out our Whole30 recipe index for delicious Whole 30 Recipes.

I hope you enjoyed our list of Whole 30 staples and let us know your Whole 30 staples you just can’t do without in the comments.

Have a bliss filled day!