Nov 1st---Start date and questions

[shannongev]

Hello,

I'm excited to start on November 1st.

 

I have a few questions that I can't find answers to.  Maybe you can help?

 

Bacon:  What brands are approved?

Turkey Breast (Deli):  Is BoarsHead acceptable?  If not, what brands are approved?

What brand of coconut milk is approved?  Aside from drinking my coffee black (yikes), what else can I use?  Anything??

 

If you've done this before, can you give me your top two tips aside from meal planning?  Any go-to meals that are quick and easy? I have a 6yr old and a 2yr old and would like to make meals that are easy, if possible. 

 

Thanks!

[Tom Denham]

We have a policy of never recommending brands. There are several reasons for this. One is that vendors change their ingredients from time to time and something that was compliant becomes non-compliant. A second issue is that vendors may sell a compliant product in one region and not in another. A third reason is that you have to get in the habit of reading ingredient lists of foods you are going to eat. You cannot outsource this work to anyone, especially not to a responder on an internet forum.  

 

Finding compliant deli meat is hard. You should give up now and plan your meals with real meat, chicken, etc. 

[ShannonM816]

For any packaged food, you'll need to read the package and determine if it is compliant for yourself. We hesitate to recommend brands because companies can change recipes over time, or they can even vary from region to region. If you google Whole30 bacon, you'll be able to find past discussions where you may find some brands to give you a place to start, but again, read the labels, because even if someone else found it to be compliant, it may not be.

 

For bacon, the big no-no tends to be sugar/sweetener. Even if the package says it contains less than 2% sugar, it would not be compliant. For deli meats, many have sweeteners, many have carrageenan, and they can also contain soy. It's actually hard to find a compliant version, and they tend to be expensive for what you get. Try roasting your own meats and slicing them to use in other dishes.

 

When you're looking for coconut milk, the canned versions are more likely to be compliant, but even then, check them for sulfites and carrageenan and other off-plan ingredients. Try to find ones that only contain coconut and water, or coconut, water, and guar gum.

 

For your coffee, the coconut milk, or almond or cashew or other nut milk would work -- you may have to make your own nut milks, here's a recipe for almond milk, but I understand the process is similar for any nuts.

 

I like to do a weekly cookup -- it means finding time on the weekend to spend in the kitchen, but saves time later in the week when you just pull various prepped ingredients out and combine them into tasty meals. If the weekly cookup doesn't work for you, at least try to always make extra when you cook, so you get a few meals where you don't have to do anything. If you're roasting vegetables for one meal, put in as many as you can fit in the oven. Grilling chicken or burgers? Grill as many as you can fit on the grill. Hard boil eggs a dozen at a time. And keep in mind that you don't need a bunch of fancy recipes, just stick to protein, vegetables, and healthy fats.

[shannongev]

Thanks so much for the info.  I suppose it would be best to shop with the ingredient cheat sheet from the book as I first begin.

Thanks again!