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My Dinner at Zoe's


Eklutna

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So I am happily into what I plan to be a "Whole90," and I'm glad to be, because I was a pretty sick puppy.  I've been almost completely compliant for 50+ days so far, my only problems being when eating out, which I'm fortunate enough to have to do very seldom.  We live in a very rural area, though, and the other night, my husband and I stopped off for a quick dinner at Zoe's Kitchen.  I'd heard that they are very supportive of the Whole30, and I asked at the counter for information about what they can provide.  The person behind the counter scrabbled around endlessly and announced she just couldn't find that information, so I did my best:  chicken kabobs, cauliflower rice bowl and green salad with tahini dressing.  Sounds pretty good, right?  Yet by the time we were headed home, I was starting to ache all over, my nose was running copiously, and I began to sneeze violently.  I went to bed in this condition, and it was a miserable night.  About one in the morning, I got up and looked at the list of allergens on the Zoe's site, and....sure enough:  both the kabobs and the cauliflower rice were listed as containing dairy.  WHAT?!  But Middle Eastern food is often marinated in yogurt, and who knows why the cauliflower rice (which was raw and completely tasteless) had dairy.  I resent this, and made it known to them, after which I received a HUGE list of questions to be answered.  

I belong to the Whole30 "After 50" group on Facebook, and someone pointed out that Zoe's chicken kabobs are listed as being compliant with the program.  So there is some discrepancy here that needs to be noted and, hopefully, corrected1685252016_ScreenShot2020-02-27at11_27_50AM.thumb.png.17d4bef9f4fcffc9cebdf0f744b73e48.png

Eklutna1022533053_ScreenShot2020-02-27at11_28_57AM.thumb.png.e40276805f6dbdbc91c357e237cf9639.png

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  • 2 months later...

Hm, they used to have a dedicated Whole30 menu that you can't access now on their site (https://zoeskitchen.com/livemed) -- I heard that it was being updated by one of the managers from my local store, but I would be really sad if the chicken was actually marinated with dairy (beyond ghee) because I've had lots of kabob platters with chicken, salmon, and shrimp -- I don't like cauliflower rice, so I've never ordered it, but I've gotten both their grilled and cold potato salads, grilled veggies, and Greek salad without cheese or pita and a few of the sauces that used to be listed. I will be more careful when I order to clarify no butter/dairy/sugar but usually when I asked once I get sick of going through the whole run down every time... thanks for the post! :)

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On 5/7/2020 at 2:19 PM, mazzystarslight said:

Hm, they used to have a dedicated Whole30 menu that you can't access now on their site (https://zoeskitchen.com/livemed) -- I heard that it was being updated by one of the managers from my local store, but I would be really sad if the chicken was actually marinated with dairy (beyond ghee) because I've had lots of kabob platters with chicken, salmon, and shrimp -- I don't like cauliflower rice, so I've never ordered it, but I've gotten both their grilled and cold potato salads, grilled veggies, and Greek salad without cheese or pita and a few of the sauces that used to be listed. I will be more careful when I order to clarify no butter/dairy/sugar but usually when I asked once I get sick of going through the whole run down every time... thanks for the post! :)

Apparently they were bought out and slowly rolled back their Whole30 menu as they changed suppliers across the line :(

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I went today and used their app, which has little Whole30 icons all over it now! Some things changed (like the salsa verde is not compliant anymore- yikes, but there is a new lemon herb tahini!) and you still have to be careful (the avocado smash, which had a $2 off promo, was listed as Whole30 if you replace the pita with cucumbers -- unfortunately, it also had feta cheese I had to scoop off :angry:)... still, very tasty!

00100dPORTRAIT_00100_BURST20200529183153720_COVER.jpg

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  • 7 months later...

Funny I find this forum because I just sent an email out to Zoe’s about what they are listing as whole 30 approved. They said potato chips that are cooked in sunflower oil are whole 30 approved as part of a box lunch. Their response was a snippet saying that because sunflower oil was recommended in small doses but not band that potato chips were acceptable for the plan! I really think someone from whole 30 needs to contact Zoe’s. They’re advertising some meals as whole 30 when in theory I don’t think they are.

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2 hours ago, Jennro77 said:

Funny I find this forum because I just sent an email out to Zoe’s about what they are listing as whole 30 approved. They said potato chips that are cooked in sunflower oil are whole 30 approved as part of a box lunch. Their response was a snippet saying that because sunflower oil was recommended in small doses but not band that potato chips were acceptable for the plan! I really think someone from whole 30 needs to contact Zoe’s. They’re advertising some meals as whole 30 when in theory I don’t think they are.

You're correct that this wouldn't be Whole30 compatible, because no commercially prepared chips are allowed on Whole30. I'm not sure if Whole30 is working with Zoe's now or if this is something they're doing on their own, but it is a reminder to always check everything for yourself rather than depending on someone else's information. 

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On 5/30/2020 at 12:14 AM, mazzystarslight said:

I went today and used their app, which has little Whole30 icons all over it now! Some things changed (like the salsa verde is not compliant anymore- yikes, but there is a new lemon herb tahini!) and you still have to be careful (the avocado smash, which had a $2 off promo, was listed as Whole30 if you replace the pita with cucumbers -- unfortunately, it also had feta cheese I had to scoop off :angry:)... still, very tasty!

00100dPORTRAIT_00100_BURST20200529183153720_COVER.jpg

Thanks for the heads up about the sauces. It’s hard to find information on exactly wWhat is in the food. They do a great job of sharing the allergens

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On 1/19/2021 at 4:01 PM, Jennro77 said:

Funny I find this forum because I just sent an email out to Zoe’s about what they are listing as whole 30 approved. They said potato chips that are cooked in sunflower oil are whole 30 approved as part of a box lunch. Their response was a snippet saying that because sunflower oil was recommended in small doses but not band that potato chips were acceptable for the plan! I really think someone from whole 30 needs to contact Zoe’s. They’re advertising some meals as whole 30 when in theory I don’t think they are.

Honestly, not only Zoe's... But also we don't think about it at all, hearing is believing

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  • 1 month later...
On 5/30/2020 at 12:14 AM, mazzystarslight said:

I went today and used their app, which has little Whole30 icons all over it now! Some things changed (like the salsa verde is not compliant anymore- yikes, but there is a new lemon herb tahini!) and you still have to be careful (the avocado smash, which had a $2 off promo, was listed as Whole30 if you replace the pita with cucumbers -- unfortunately, it also had feta cheese I had to scoop off :angry:)... still, very tasty!

00100dPORTRAIT_00100_BURST20200529183153720_COVER.jpg

Wait why isn’t salsa verde compliant? I went in today and told them I’m doing Whole30 (Day 16). I had looked a little online before I came and told them no sugars, dairy, etc. They were kind of confused and didn’t seem to know what was Whole30 and what wasn’t. Then my meal came out with salsa verde - so I went to the counter and asked what it was. The manager looked at the ingredient list and told me no added sugar and no dairy. Now I downloaded their app and see it says the salsa verde isn’t compliant, but it doesn’t have any allergens like dairy. So it must have added sugar even though the manager told me it doesn’t?!? I didn’t eat much of it. But still, that’s frustrating.

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4 hours ago, StephaniC said:

but it doesn’t have any allergens like dairy. So it must have added sugar

Ya unfortunately there's a few things that cause an item to be incompatible with the program that wouldn't be listed on the allergens sheet... could be sugar, could be a sugar substitute like stevia other sneaky sugars,  could be added sulphites or carageenan or something like that - it's always best to ask to see the ingredient label yourself - usually places will bring that up to the front of take a pic for you to see.

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8 hours ago, Healthgrab said:

I used stevia as my sweetener. It gives the perfect amount of sweetness without the heavy feeling that can linger with sugar usage.

As you know since you've been around the forum and program for a while, stevia is not compatible with the program.

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