Specific "Cooking Gum" questions

[JillC]

Hi, I'm new to Whole30 and very excited. A couple questions: at Whole foods I bought Almond Milk made at a local farm here in California. Here are the ingredients: California spring water, organic almonds, Organic Acacia gum (from the acacia tree...also known as arabic gum), sea salt.

 

I also bought (just in case above isn't allowed) a half coconut cream and half almond milk. both of these are for our coffee. This has: water, almonds, coconut cream, sunflower lecithin, sea salt, Locust bean gum, gellan gum. What about those ingredients? Locust beans aren't beans, they are derived from the seeds of a carob tree. Similar to Guar Gum.  So not sure where this ingredient falls on the list of allowed. 

 

I know you said Guar Gum was okay. What about the above types?

 

And coconuts and peanuts are not allowed correct? 

 

Lastly I bought Organic tart Cherry butter. The ingredient is just "organic Montmorency Tart Cherries." It's just that they are mashed. Is that okay? There is no added sugar--at least according to the label.

 

Many thanks! 

[SugarcubeOD]

The gums you listed are fine... we do recommend you try and find a product that doesn't have the additives in it, but in the case that you can't, these are suitable.

Coconut in any form IS allowed.  Peanuts in any form are NOT allowed.

 

The cherry butter is technically compliant but what are you planning on doing with it?

[LucieB]

That half and half cream is a chemistry experiment. And a jar of mashed cherries over real whole ones? Seriously folks, step away from the processed foods. You and your body deserve better.

[JillC]

Hi to the moderator who so nicely answered my questions: I was going to do cashew butter on apple slices and maybe with a tiny bit of the cherry on top. To the snarky person: I don't have a cherry orchard in my backyard. Nor do I have time, with two small kids, to go pick cherrys and take out the pits and then mash them. Nor do I have the tart cherries in my area. Wow, my first time posting on this forum and it makes me certainly not want to again. 

[ShannonM816]

Hi to the moderator who so nicely answered my questions: I was going to do cashew butter on apple slices and maybe with a tiny bit of the cherry on top. To the snarky person: I don't have a cherry orchard in my backyard. Nor do I have time, with two small kids, to go pick cherrys and take out the pits and then mash them. Nor do I have the tart cherries in my area. Wow, my first time posting on this forum and it makes me certainly not want to again. 

 

Be careful with fruit & nut/nut butter combos -- they're often food without brakes for people, meaning that once they start eating them, they find it difficult to stop, making it easy to overeat them. They can also keep cravings for sweet things going strong. If you have that combo occasionally in the context of a template-based meal, it's not so bad, but if you find yourself having it instead of a meal, or having it when you're not really hungry but bored or angry or stressed out or tired, you might want to rethink it. Many people find that they really have to limit the nut butters, many won't even buy any during a Whole30 because they're prone to overeating them.

 

As for the cherry butter, it's probably not just mashed up fresh cherries. It's probably cooked (like an apple butter or pumpkin butter), which concentrates the sweetness of the fruit, even if they don't add sugar. If you haven't opened it yet, I'd probably just set it aside until after your Whole30. There are just not many contexts within Whole30 where it's going to be a good option. If you were going to use it, it would probably be best as an ingredient in a sauce or salad dressing that could use a little bit of sweetness -- something like a barbecue sauce maybe. 

[LucieB]

Hi to the moderator who so nicely answered my questions: I was going to do cashew butter on apple slices and maybe with a tiny bit of the cherry on top. To the snarky person: I don't have a cherry orchard in my backyard. Nor do I have time, with two small kids, to go pick cherrys and take out the pits and then mash them. Nor do I have the tart cherries in my area. Wow, my first time posting on this forum and it makes me certainly not want to again. 

 

Mod Edit to remove unnecessary snark

 

Yup that was a snarky response. And a second one above probably is too. But my point stands -- this is an "eat real food" program. If you need to be deciphering labels, you're kinda missing the point. And you're buying foods like the cherries for the convenience factor, it's 'convenience foods' that got us to where we are today -- needing to do elimination diets to figure out what's making us sick in our packaged foods. 

 

Those gums are emulsifiers added for various reasons - to keep things in solution, as bulking agents, to improve mouth feel, to make things taste better. IMO, when multiple gums and additives are needed to make something 'consumable', I don't take it as a good sign. Also these additives in some individuals cause gut problems like bloating and gas. We're trying to heal our bodies and guts, not perpetuate the problem.

Just something to think about. 

 

Snarky and I Know It, 

lucie

[SugarcubeOD]

Mod Edit to remove unnecessary snark

 

Yup that was a snarky response. And a second one above probably is too. But my point stands -- this is an "eat real food" program. If you need to be deciphering labels, you're kinda missing the point. And you're buying foods like the cherries for the convenience factor, it's 'convenience foods' that got us to where we are today -- needing to do elimination diets to figure out what's making us sick in our packaged foods. 

 

Those gums are emulsifiers added for various reasons - to keep things in solution, as bulking agents, to improve mouth feel, to make things taste better. IMO, when multiple gums and additives are needed to make something 'consumable', I don't take it as a good sign. Also these additives in some individuals cause gut problems like bloating and gas. We're trying to heal our bodies and guts, not perpetuate the problem.

Just something to think about. 

 

Snarky and I Know It, 

lucie

LucieB - Some of the people who endeavor to do this program come from areas where they don't have a lot of choices for packaged products like alternative nut milks.  We make our recommendations but the fact of the matter is that if someone is following the rules, then they're doing a Whole30.  Are some preservatives less than wonderful?  Yes, but if they're not specifically disallowed then they're allowed.

Intentionally being snarky does not follow the general forum etiquette that we expect from our members.  

[LucieB]

I sincerely apologize. I do. To everyone. I read and re-read my post, edited it, and it needed more editing. I'm on the sarcastic side and don't always appreciate how I sound to others who don't know me in person.

 

Sometimes I post things I wish I would have known years ago when I first started my Whole30 journey. I relied heavily on processed foods to bridge my old way of eating and new way of eating, and it derailed my first Whole30 attempts in retrospect. I aim to keep others from doing the same, that's all.

 

Taking my snark offline,

lucie

[SugarcubeOD]

I sincerely apologize. I do. To everyone. I read and re-read my post, edited it, and it needed more editing. I'm on the sarcastic side and don't always appreciate how I sound to others who don't know me in person.

 

Sometimes I post things I wish I would have known years ago when I first started my Whole30 journey. I relied heavily on processed foods to bridge my old way of eating and new way of eating, and it derailed my first Whole30 attempts in retrospect. I aim to keep others from doing the same, that's all.

 

Taking my snark offline,

lucie

Thanks LucieB for your apology.

I totally get where you're coming from... I really do.  I think a lot of us have been there... relying on nut butters and dates to prop up sugar cravings... using processed foods that are compliant to get us through.  And that's okay.  Sometimes the change is so drastic from where people come from to this program that it's enough for them to just get through it...

A LOT of people end up staying here tho and they remove more and more preservatives, they make their own almond milk, they start thinking about things they're putting on their skin and hair etc... but it's definitely a journey.  

 

We really appreciate seasoned members that help out newbie questions and concerns... sometimes we just need to focus more on the 'love' and less on the 'tough'. 

[praxisproject]

I would use the cherry butter (just a bit) with some nice fat on a steak Having it with a meal helps to avoiding poking the sugar dragon.

I too love tart cherries, don't think we ever get them here fresh.

 

I'm okay with fruit and nut butter generally, but if I have them together on their own, it sets off cravings.

 

Using the template really helps when trying to figure out where/how to use a new ingredient.

[JillC]

Thanks everyone, and thanks Lucie. I hear what you are all saying. I think it would be great on a steak. Or even for my kids instead of jellies because it doesn't have added sugar. Appreciate the honesty and the apology Lucie. And where is this template you guys are talking about? Day 3 and I feel sluggish but in my daily newsletter from you guys it looks like that is normal. The only thing is I'm constantly hungry and I don't want to lose any weight...so I guess I just need to eat bigger meals. My body is so used to cereal for breakfast or toast and sandwiches for lunch I think it's just not feeling satisfied. But I'm hanging in there. 

[JillC]

PS one more question: vanilla extract isn't allowed because it has alcohol in it. But so does my organic Kombucha. I guess they never had to label it before because it was such a trace amount but now they have to...so I'm wondering if Kombucha, in light of the new labels, is okay? 

[Karen_Suep]

PS one more question: vanilla extract isn't allowed because it has alcohol in it. But so does my organic Kombucha. I guess they never had to label it before because it was such a trace amount but now they have to...so I'm wondering if Kombucha, in light of the new labels, is okay?

Kombucha without sugar added after the fermentation is allowed, but normally the alcohol is less than .5%. My vanilla extract is s lot more.

[SugarcubeOD]

Thanks everyone, and thanks Lucie. I hear what you are all saying. I think it would be great on a steak. Or even for my kids instead of jellies because it doesn't have added sugar. Appreciate the honesty and the apology Lucie. And where is this template you guys are talking about? Day 3 and I feel sluggish but in my daily newsletter from you guys it looks like that is normal. The only thing is I'm constantly hungry and I don't want to lose any weight...so I guess I just need to eat bigger meals. My body is so used to cereal for breakfast or toast and sandwiches for lunch I think it's just not feeling satisfied. But I'm hanging in there.

You can find the template linked in my signature below. Match your meals to the higher end of the template to start since you say you're hungry constantly... you're probably not eating enough, but before we suggest you give us a run down of what you have been eating, try a couple days with the template and see how you do,.

[SugarcubeOD]

PS one more question: vanilla extract isn't allowed because it has alcohol in it. But so does my organic Kombucha. I guess they never had to label it before because it was such a trace amount but now they have to...so I'm wondering if Kombucha, in light of the new labels, is okay?

The alcohol from kombucha is from fermentation and a natural biproduct of the process of fermenting. Extract is made by soaking the vanilla in very high concentrations of alcohol...