The Whole30 diet excludes many foods and drinks that appear often in a typical Western diet. Grains, dairy, sweeteners, alcohol, and caffeine are all avoided on Whole30. You CAN have most meats and vegetables (among other allowed foods), but can you season them with herbs and spices?
All PLAIN herbs and spices are Whole30-approved! Notice the emphasis on the plain part, though. Some seasoning blends containing herbs and spices can have added ingredients that are NOT Whole30, such as added sugars and cornstarch.
We’ll explain how to spot seasonings that might be hiding sneaky non-Whole30 ingredients or additives and more in this article!
Whole 30 basics
Whole30 is one of the more restrictive diets out there, so we’ll review a bit about the diet really quickly before we jump into herbs and spices that are Whole30.
Whole30 is an elimination diet that’s meant to be followed for 30 days. The goal of Whole30 is to identify any foods or additives that might be interfering with your health.
Some of the foods & ingredients avoided on Whole30 are:
- Added sugars and sweeteners, both “real” and artificial. Table sugar, honey, coconut sugar, Splenda, and anything used to add sweetness to your foods and drinks aren’t Whole30-approved.
- Alcohol in all forms.
- Grains in all forms, including gluten-free grains and pseudo-grains like quinoa.
- Legumes such as peanuts, soy, lentils, etc.
- Dairy (except for clarified butter/ghee).
- Desserts & baked goods made with Whole30-approved ingredients.
- Carrageenan or sulfites (types of food additives).
Which herbs and spices are Whole30?
One of the positive aspects of Whole30 is that you’ll probably be cooking more meals at home and relying less on processed and convenience foods. When you reach for the spice cabinet to flavor your Whole30 recipes, are there any you need to avoid?
The good news is that virtually all plain herbs and spices are Whole30 compliant! That includes some of the most popular herbs and spices like basil, oregano, cinnamon, black pepper, and thyme – but also includes any other plain herb or spice!
However, certain herb and spice blends (seasoning mixes) might not be Whole30 because they can contain sugar and other additives that aren’t Whole30-approved, like corn starch.
While it’s not common in herb and spice blends, you’ll need to make sure they don’t contain any other food additives that aren’t Whole30, like carrageenan and sulfites. (These additives are more common in foods like deli meats and plant-based milk, not spice mixes.)
Herbs and spices that might not be Whole30
Some examples of seasoning mixes that are more likely to have added sugar or other ingredients that exclude them from being Whole30 include:
- Taco seasoning (often contains corn starch and added sugar)
- Seasoning salt
- Jerk seasoning
- Garlic salt (Lawry’s brand contains sugar and cornstarch, which are both avoided on Whole30)
This isn’t a definitive list by any means, so you’ll need to check the ingredients list on seasoning blends to ensure there aren’t any hidden ingredients that aren’t Whole30-approved. Also, many seasoning blends ARE Whole30 compliant, so don’t automatically assume all herb and spice blends aren’t Whole30!
Ingredients in seasoning blends that aren’t Whole30
- Sugar in all forms (sugar, sucrose, honey, high-fructose corn syrup, etc.)
- Corn starch or other grain-based ingredients
Making Whole30-approved seasoning
Bummed out that your favorite taco seasoning isn’t Whole30? The good news is that it’s super easy to make your own seasoning blends at home using Whole30-approved ingredients. You can simply omit the non-Whole30 ingredient from packaged taco seasoning (like sugar or corn starch) or find a DIY recipe to follow! After all, seasoning blends get most of their flavor from the herbs and spices – you can often get away without the extra stuff like sugar and cornstarch.
FAQs:
Paprika is perfectly fine on a Whole30 diet, even hot and smoked paprika. If your paprika is “sweet paprika”, don’t worry–it doesn’t contain added sugar. Sweet paprika is just “regular” paprika (Capsicum annuum).
Garlic powder (granulated garlic) is Whole30 compliant. Be on the lookout for some types of garlic salt, which can contain ingredients that aren’t Whole30 like added sugar and cornstarch (corn is considered a grain and not Whole30-approved).
No-salt seasonings typically are allowed on Whole30. They might contain potassium chloride (a salt substitute), but that ingredient is okay on Whole30.
Be on the lookout for any added ingredients in no-salt seasonings like cornstarch or sugar, which aren’t Whole30 compliant.
Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is a flavor enhancer used in some processed and fast foods. MSG used to not be allowed on Whole30, but as of a 2021 update to the Whole30 website, MSG is allowed on the diet.
Leave a Comment