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I buy fresh vegetables, fruit, meat, eggs, fish, tins of tomatoes and fish and I cook. I shop at my local market veg stall, the butchers and the supermarkets in my little town (booths and aldi) and I cook everything we eat. I honestly think that it is that simple and complicating it with labels and special ingredients bumps up the cost massively.

We drink refrigerated tap water with lime or lemon wedges and herbs such as mint and I buy tea and fruit/herb infusions.

When not on a whole30 I also eat cream and cheese and usually have honey in the cupboard for my 7 year old

But real food and cook it ;)

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Yep, I'm with Britishgal. I buy all my meat, eggs, & veg from a local farm shop (where, as a regular, I get great deals plus free bones & beet greens amongst other things - it really does pay to shop local!!), and my fish (when it isn't tinned) from a local fishmonger. I tend to avoid anything in a packet and make everything from scratch.

 

As for tinned fish, tinned tomatoes, herbal teas, etc it would appear to be MUCH easier to find these foods without the added nasties in the UK than it is anywhere else in the world - even the vast majority of supermarket bacon is sulphite & sugar free here, although obviously if you buy from a farm shop you know the exact source. Most supermarkets also do a naked rotisserie chicken for around £4.50, although again I prefer to pay the extra 50p and buy a large uncooked one and do with it as I please. 

Anything like coconut oil (& other fancy oils), coconut aminos etc are widely available on the UK Amazon site, but they do bump up the cost of eating this way.

Blue Dragon is the most commonly found coconut milk in the supermarkets without sulphites, although there are a few other (cheaper) options again available on UK Amazon.

I've found that shopping in the foreign food aisles of the Supermarket for the likes of ghee (East End brand), nuts (Asaani Brand - on the rare occasion I buy them), Sauerkraut, Pickles, Spices (again Asaani Brand) can help save some pennies which are better spent on good quality meats.

I don't eat them personally but I've seen mention of Nakd bars on the forum, but any of the ones I've looked at for reference purposes have contained some off plan ingredient or other (generally rice bran oil). There are, however, new bars - suitable for emergency use only ;) - made by Primal Pantry which are all gluten, grain, sulphite, refined sugar, soya, dairy, GMO & vegetable oil free. These are widely available in Sainsburys & Tesco from what I've seen although I'm not sure of the cost.

There are also a number of local (to me, in Ireland anyways) companies delivering prepped Paleo meals - you buy into a week/months worth at a time & can select specific food plans allowing for pre & postWO meals on the days that you train - but whilst convenient they are pricey, and you'd need to check for complete compliance as some dishes are likely sweetened with honey (they are all refined sugar free, gluten, dairy free).

Personally I bypass the pre-packaged stuff & just buy, cook & eat real food.



 

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When I first started whole30 I was convinced from reading that I had to have coconut oil and other things. And you don't really. My jar of coconut oil is now used for my face because I never liked using it to cook. I have always cooked with olive oil and butter so clarifying butter and carrying on with my oil made more sense.

Look at what you cook now and base your cooking on those with whole30 twists. It'll be simpler, cheaper and as you know you like those types of foods you are far more likely to stick to it

Oh and I second jmcbn on the no prepackaging...I am slightly obsessed with reducing waste so it kills two birds with one stone ;)

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Thanks for your responses so far.  I think people are looking for two things:

 

1. Emergency food. We have a huge list of widely available jerky/meat stick brands available in the US for late nights at the office or travel days. People are looking for similar resources in the UK. (For example, I know many Naked bar varieties are Whole30 compliant, and would be a good choice for those "keep it in my purse in case of serious emergency" times.)

 

2. Compliant lightly processed foods. What brands of Whole30 tomato sauce, canned tuna, bacon, etc. can you purchase?

 

Thanks again for your contributions.

 

Best,

Melissa

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Pret does a protein pot - so 2 boiled eggs and spinach - which help me in long work evenings. I head to whole foods for some specific whole30 ingredients. My brother got me an able and cole meat box for my birthday which was a great way to get week;y high welfare quality meat. Other than that I do most of my shopping in Lidl, Sainsbury and Waitrose. Waitrose and M&S are usually the best bet for more processed compliant food. Pretty much all canned tuna I have found in waitrose and the main brands is compliant, the same with tomato sauces, although i have to go to Whole Foods to get compliant pesto.

 

Morrison does sugar free smoked salmon.

 

I have never found a compliant jerky option but i haven't looked to hard.

 

This is the chorizo i buy http://www.waitrose.com/shop/DisplayProductFlyout?productId=332880

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Tuna, I buy John West in Spring Water - they usually have their pack of x4 160g tins on offer every so often so I buy in bulk.

Mackerel, I buy Tesco's own in EVOO - it's cheap as chips as we say here, portable & really tasty. I also buy Tesco's own smoked mackerel fillets in black peppercorns.

Sardines, I buy Prince's regular sardines or boneless fillets in EVOO or tomato paste.

I've yet to find a compliant jerky, and believe me I've looked.

Fruit/nut bar wise the best option I've seen for ingredients are the new ones from Primal Pantry - available at Tesco & Sainsburys - various flavours.

Crespo do little pouches of pitted olives which are handy to have for emergencies. Their jars of olives are also good, and better value to have at home.

Sainsbury's rotisserie chickens are naked - in my local branch at least - when I checked with customer services they told me to ask at the deli counter - I asked three separate people on three separate occasions just to see if I'd catch anyone out before buying!

Sainsburys also do sugar free smoked salmon.

Brands of bacon & lightly processed meats (burger patties etc) tend to vary from region to region as these will be sourced & packaged locally so it's always best to ask at the meat counter - or buy straight from the source.

Tinned tomatoes I buy East End (again, cheap as chips but good flavour) or Napolina when they're on offer.

Tomato paste again I buy Napolina.

Best value I've seen for nuts as I mentioned before is the Asaani brand at Tesco, although a friend who eats Paleo says the Lidl packs are much the same price/quality.

Holland & Barrett sell all varieties of Meridien nut butters with no added nasties - they quite often have offers on too - best to go for the 1kg tub @ £13 which lasts an eternity if you're like me...

That's about all I can think of for now.
 

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Aldi does sugar free compliant smoked salmon (their cheap brand not their premium oddly) as well as bacon. The coop does compliant frozen burgers which I buy occasionally for a small boy treat ;)

I've never found a non compliant tin of chopped tomatoes or tuna (unless in sunflower oil) to be fair...I buy both from aldi and they are fab. Also Aldi passata and tomato paste. Same with other tinned fish.

Coconut milk I don't tend to buy often as I cannot source a non rubbish filled nice tasting version near me! there is a brand called Thai taste which has compliant pouches (not cans oddly...they have different ingredients) but I can't get it anymore so you'd need to check as they could have changed. Their green curry paste is fine and yummy,

Tesco everyday value pickled beetroot is compliant and haywards pickled red cabbage

I used to buy ghee from booths (an Indian brand in a huge tin with cows on it) and coconut oil (Lucy Bee organic raw) but now I buy butter to clarify and Aldi light olive oil.

I'm not very knowledgable about emergency food...Ive never felt the need to carry any or indeed had need of any. We do have naked bars but they taste horrid so I'd rather not bother...surely though if you felt you needed to you could keep a tin of tuna or an apple in your bag as easily as a dried fruit bar?

I have never even seen jerky (in any form) but I have never looked for it either ;)

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A good one for anyone in Northern Ireland to check out is a company called Boxa.

They started out just delivering grass fed, ethically raised organic meat ( a boxa this or a boxa that... get it?) but have since widened their horizons and now as well as their regular deliveries they have a collection point at Ballylagan Organic Farm (a day out in itself) on a Saturday where it's like a Farmer's Market style set up and you can buy all sorts of fab products like fermented foods, organic veg, and homemade sourdough breads & raw milk for those not on a Whole30. They also recently set up a partnership with Ke Nako Biltong offering a 12% discount to all Boxa customers on their Biltong made fresh each month from Culmore Organic Beef.

You can contact Rita through their FB page (Boxa), or via twitter (@boxaboxa) to get added to their mailing list so you can place orders for delivery/collection.

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Rather than the milk, I buy the solid blocks of  100% coconut (there are a few different brands, think the one I have now is Island Sun). Then, for the easy option, just throw a chunk of it in your curry along with some water. Or you can also reconstitute it into coconut milk by dissolving in hot water, the texture is bitty but if you then put it throught a fine sieve that makes a nice smooth coconut milk/cream.

 

Noticed the other week that Planet Organic now have coconut aminos.

 

I think we're lucky in the UK that many lightly processed foods (especially canned ones) are compliant. I couldn't live without my tinned sardines, and they are available in every supermarket. I also rely on frozen whole-leaf spinach (Tesco) to go with my eggs at breakfast.

 

Laverstoke Park do compliant pork sausages, if you can get hold of them. Ocado used to have them but last time I looked they didn't.

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  • 2 weeks later...

The trickiest thing I've struggled to find compliant here is mustard, especially dijon. The Co-op do a compliant dijon and wholegrain mustard but they are the only ones I've found.

 

The Waitrose Cook's ingredients coconut milk (with a blue label) is the best flavoured of all the compliant coconut milks (some are compliant but have the carboxy methyl cellulose in which I think tastes icky). Morrisons also do compliant coconut milk pouches - own brand. 

 

I buy coconut aminos on Amazon.

 

I do most of my shopping in Lidl and get compliant smoked salmon and bacon there - just the basic stuff. They also do a proscuitto style ham which is compliant. Fruit/ veg/ raw meats are all great and as others have said compliant tinned tomatoes, passata, puree as well as fish -  tuna, salmon, sardines etc are very easy to find anywhere. 

 

Tesco do some compliant cornichons/ gherkins. Olives are easy to find.

 

Mattheson's smoked pork sausage is compliant. I was astounded by this as it's always been seen as emergency/ camping/ barely food. But it is compliant, if not exactly the most organic grass reared protein source on earth. It is also shelf stable and doesn't need to be refrigerated. It's filling protein and good in a pinch.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...

Hi I am on my first Whole30 on day 22 and loving it!

I work in London so am lucky to have several on the go options - Pret and Marks & Spencer sell small portions of nuts. Also Chop'd do amazing salads, choose your own veg, protein and dressing with loads of compliant options! Vital Ingredient also do choose your own salad too.

M&S do compliant chicken, veg & beef stocks, handy for mid week dinners. Oh and chopped frozen onions from Sainsburys have saved many tears

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  • 2 weeks later...

John West Infusions are great for on the go. I keep a couple in the car with a fork for emergencies

 

Sainsburys often have a sugar free jerky but it makes my jaw ache chewing it. 

 

I refuse to pay £10+ for an 8 fl.oz bottle of soy sauce substitute which doesn't have much flavour apart from salty. Sorry Amazon - rip offs don't work with me. 

 

Other than that it's hard boiled eggs which I source from a friend's farm about a mile away from home. 

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  • 1 month later...

All sounds brilliant! Does anyone know of compliant sausages in the UK?

 

What about these?  Not sure about the sulphites.

 

Ingredients:

Pork (97%), Salt, Water, Coriander, White Balsamic Vinegar [Wine Vinegar, Grape Must, Preservative:Sulphur Dioxide], White Pepper, Pimento, Preservative: Sodium Sulphite, Chilli, Filled into Natural Pork Casings

 

 

I make my own from just mince and seasonings using Carluccio's poaching method

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The Debbie & Andrew ones aren't compliant, sulphites are strictly disallowed in the whole 30 rules.

I too make my own just with minced meat and various seasonings (no casing) but you can buy compliant ones from Abel and Cole online.

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What about these?  Not sure about the sulphites.

 

Ingredients:

Pork (97%), Salt, Water, Coriander, White Balsamic Vinegar [Wine Vinegar, Grape Must, Preservative:Sulphur Dioxide], White Pepper, Pimento, Preservative: Sodium Sulphite, Chilli, Filled into Natural Pork Casings

 

 

I make my own from just mince and seasonings using Carluccio's poaching method

Sulphites are out.

I read in an old post that there's a compliant Laverstoke Park Cumberland sausages from Ocado - not cheap, but compliant - although after a quick Google I see they're unavailable even to check the ingredients.

There was also a link posted to an Abel & Cole sausage, but on second checking they contain pea flakes which would make those out too.

If you don't mind it not being encased you could always make your own.

 

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The Debbie & Andrew ones aren't compliant, sulphites are strictly disallowed in the whole 30 rules.

I too make my own just with minced meat and various seasonings (no casing) but you can buy compliant ones from Abel and Cole online.

I thought sulphites were out. So my poaching method wins for me. Pork mince with smoked paprika makes a pretty good chorizo substitute 

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I get my bacon from Tesco - their unsmoked bacon contains the following, which I'm reading as compliant?

Pork (87%), water, salt, Preservatives (Sodium Nitrite, Potassium Nitrite)

I never buy smoked, it's usually got the dreaded sugar in it, same with most smoked salmon over here - anyone know of any with no sugar in it??

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thanks for the news about the smoked salmon :)  great stuff, I'll have to go looking.   Thought the bacon would be OK, I've got pretty good at reading labels for sugar and gluten - just upping my game to look for sulphites, MSG etc now.   Soon becomes a way of life, do it without thinking.

 

I used to love the Fragata tinned lemon olives (supermarkets sell them) but have noticed they've got MSG in them :P  have changed to the "Everyday" olives in little plastic pots at Tesco, not much in them but Olive :D

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