Whole30 food list

Exactly what you can and can't eat on Whole30, sorted so you can shop without reading every label, plus the sneaky off-program ingredients that catch everyone. Use it alongside the Whole30 recipes pillar before your 30 days begin.

1. 01

   In: all meat, seafood, and eggs

   Beef, pork, chicken, turkey, lamb, all fish and shellfish, and eggs. Check labels on sausage, bacon, and deli meat, sugar and additives sneak in. Look for compliant brands (Applegate No Sugar bacon, Whole30-approved sausages). This is the protein base of the breakfast hash and the chili.

2. 02

   In: all vegetables, including white potatoes

   Every vegetable is in, and yes, white potatoes too (they were un-banned in 2014). Sweet potato, squash, peppers, greens, cauliflower, zucchini. Roast a sheet pan at the start of the week. Green beans, snow peas, and sugar snaps are in despite being technically legumes, the edible-pod exception.

3. 03

   In: fruit, nuts (not peanuts), and natural fats

   Fruit in moderation, all tree nuts and seeds except peanuts, and natural fats, olive oil, avocado and avocado oil, coconut, ghee, clarified butter. These fats are how you cook everything for 30 days. Almond butter is in; peanut butter is out.

4. 04

   Out: all added sugar, real and artificial

   No cane sugar, honey, maple syrup, agave, coconut sugar, stevia, Splenda, monk fruit, nothing sweetening-related. This is the rule that catches people, because added sugar is in ketchup, bacon, almost every sauce, and most packaged foods. Read every label.

5. 05

   Out: grains and dairy

   No wheat, rice, corn, oats, quinoa, or any grain or pseudo-grain. No cow, goat, or sheep dairy, milk, cheese, yogurt, butter (ghee is the exception). This is why breakfast is the hard meal, no cereal, toast, or yogurt. Build it around eggs and vegetables instead.

6. 06

   Out: legumes (beans, peanuts, soy) and alcohol

   No beans, lentils, chickpeas, peanuts, or soy in any form (including soy sauce, tofu, edamame). No alcohol, not even in cooking. Coconut aminos replace soy sauce. Green beans and pea pods are the only legume exception.

7. 07

   Out: the sneaky additives, carrageenan, MSG, sulfites

   Carrageenan, MSG, and added sulfites are off-program, which rules out a lot of packaged broths, nut milks, and dried fruit. Read the full ingredient list, not just the front of the box. Compliant broths exist (some Kettle & Fire varieties), check the label.

8. 08

   The grey zone: what's technically allowed but discouraged

   Compliant 'treats' (Paleo pancakes, Whole30 'ice cream') are technically allowed by ingredient but against the spirit, the program asks you not to recreate junk food. Fruit juice is allowed as a sweetener in recipes. Salt is in (most table salt has a trace of sugar in the anti-caking agent, and that's fine).