Whole30 Approved Snacks: Safe Snackin’

Today we’re exploring Whole30-approved snacks and why snacking should generally be avoided on Whole30 (outside of emergencies and dire situations).

Snacking on Whole30: Not Totally Allowed, But Sometimes Necessary

The general philosophy of Whole30 is against snacking, but sometimes it’s a necessary evil.

Whole30 is all about doing a complete reset on your relationship with food, and oftentimes snacking is a bad habit we get into that’s largely unnecessary. Instead, on Whole30, we’re asked to eat whole, complete meals that will fill us up and eliminate the need for snacking entirely.

Unfortunately, we all know life throws us curve balls sometimes. While snacking should generally be avoided on Whole30, sometimes you may find yourself in a pickle. Maybe you didn’t bring a large enough lunch to work and now find your stomach grumbling. Or maybe you didn’t prep ahead of time before dinner, your meal is still cooking at 7pm and you’re starving.

Regardless of why, there’s nothing wrong with stocking up on a few Whole30-compliant snacks to have on hand in case of an emergency. Just do your best to plan ahead and avoid snacking situations when they aren’t truly necessary.

As always, check the ingredients yourself! While these vendors provide Whole30 approved snacks, they may also provide a few offerings that are not compliant, so as always, make sure to double-check your labels to be safe before ordering! These items should all be compliant, but ingredients change from time to time, so investigate yourself to be safe.

Whole30 Compliant Snacks For On-The-Go Emergencies

Whole30 Snack Pick #1: Jerky & Meat Sticks

Whole30-friendly beef jerky and beef sticks can provide substantial and satisfying snacks when you’re on the move! The dried meat sticks below are officially Whole30 approved and will keep you compliant.

1. Chomps

Chomp are grass-fed beef snack sticks that are an official Whole30 approved snack for on-the-go.

Chomps offers beef jerky sticks with 100% grass-fed beef and no gluten, soy, hormones, or antibiotics. They also don’t contain any dairy, MSG, synthetic preservatives, or sugar (this is unheard of when it comes to normal beef jerky sticks).

These paleo-powering beef sticks are a tasty way to stay fueled on your Whole30 program, perfect for any jerky lovers. They come in several flavors, all of which are Whole30 compliant:

• Original Beef
• Sea Salt Beef
• Italian Style Beef
• Cranberry Habanero Beef
• Original Turkey
• Jalapeno Turkey
• Salt & Pepper Venison

Life Health HQ Special: We’ve partnered with Chomps to give you $5 off your Chomps snack sticks – just use this link to get your discount!

Where to Buy: You can buy Chomp Whole30 beef sticks on Amazon (we suggest the Chomps Trial Pack to try all the flavors) or the Chomps website.

2. Nick’s Sticks

Nick’s Sticks is another officially Whole30 approved snack great for meat lovers!

Nick’s Sticks are clean-ingredient meat sticks made without any MSG, antibiotics, sugar, gluten, nitrates, hormones, or artificial colors. Nick’s Sticks are made with 100% grass-fed beef and free-range turkey.

Nick’s Sticks is available in stick form and jerky form (which is more akin to shredded meat pieces). Note that while the stick forms are compliant, the jerky is NOT compliant, as it contains brown sugar.

• Beef Sticks (Ingredients: Grass-fed beef, water, Redmond Seasoned Salt (sea salt, spices [including coriander, black pepper, celery, mustard, parsley, paprika, turmeric], garlic, onion), encapsulated lactic acid, cultured celery powder (celery powder, sea salt).
• Spicy Beef Sticks (Ingredients: Grass-fed beef, water, jalapeño pepper, Redmond Seasoned Salt (sea salt, spices [including coriander, black pepper, celery, mustard, parsley, paprika, turmeric], garlic, onion), encapsulated lactic acid, cultured celery powder (celery powder, sea salt)
• Turkey Sticks (Ingredients: Free-range turkey, water, Redmond Seasoned Salt (sea salt, spices [including coriander, black pepper, celery, mustard, parsley, paprika, turmeric], garlic, onion), encapsulated lactic acid, cultured celery powder (celery powder, sea salt), in beef collagen casing)
• Spicy Turkey Sticks (Ingredients: Free-range turkey, water, jalapeño pepper, Redmond Seasoned Salt (sea salt, spices [including coriander, black pepper, celery, mustard, parsley, paprika, turmeric], garlic, onion), encapsulated lactic acid, cultured celery powder (celery powder, sea salt), in beef collagen casing)
• Chicken Sticks (Ingredients: Free-range chicken, water, Redmond Seasoned Salt (sea salt, spices [including coriander, mustard, celery seed, black pepper, paprika, turmeric, parsley], garlic, onion), encapsulated lactic acid, cultured celery powder (celery powder, sea salt), in beef collagen casing.
• Spicy Chicken Sticks (Ingredients: Free-range chicken, water, Redmond Seasoned Salt (sea salt, spices [including coriander, mustard, celery seed, black pepper, paprika, turmeric, parsley], garlic, onion), encapsulated lactic acid, red pepper, cultured celery powder (celery powder, sea salt), black pepper, ground jalapeno pepper, in beef collagen casing.

Sophia’s Survival Jerky comes in 4 flavors: original, mild, spicy, and chipotle raisin.

Where to Get It: You can grab Sophia’s Survival Jerky on their website. 

3. Brooklyn Biltong

Brooklyn Biltong is another Whole30 approved source for compliant dried beef. Biltong is a bag of steak bites that can be used either as a protein-packed snack or to top dishes like salads, pizzas, etc.

MSG, gluten, and nitrate-free, these tasty steak snacks are perfect for when you’re on the go and need a protein boost.

Biltong is an all-natural bite of steak in a bag that can be used as a post-workout meal or a protein-filled snack. It functions as a versatile beef supplement for numerous dishes like salads, pizzas, and sandwiches. Compliment a party platter or take it on the go!

Where To Get It: Brooklyn Biltong beef bites are available in a few limited locations in NYC and are also available online.

Whole30 Snack Pick #2: Dried Seaweed Slices

1. Seasnax Seaweed Snacks

If you’ve never tried dried seaweed before, there’s a decent chance you’re feeling a bit perplexed. Seaweed? To eat? It’s true, and yes, it’s quite tasty despite what you might think!

Seasnax provides seaweed snack and seaweed chips that are perfect for some Whole30-approved snacking, and they’re another official Whole30 partner.

These roasted seaweed snacks are vegan, gluten-free, and non-GMO. These snacks are real whole foods, made from sustainably-grown seaweed, extra virgin olive oil, and a dash of sea salt – that’s it!

Choose from classic, toasty onion, or chipotle & wasabi for some fun flavors!

Where to Buy: You can chomp on Seasnax by ordering them from the Seasnax website or ordering Seasnax on Amazon.

Whole30 Snack Pick #3: Protein Bars

There are a number of Whole30 compliant protein bars that can make great snacks when you need something to eat on the go.

Official Whole30-Endorsed Protein Bars

• Primal Pacs. Jerky, protein bars, and other Whole30-approved meat snacks.
• Epic Bars. Protein bars, jerky, and meat “bites”  that are Whole30-friendly (Note: most Epic Bars are compliant, but a few contain brown sugar. Avoid the Bison Bacon Cranberry and the Wild Boar Bacon.)
• Wild Zorra Bars. Meat and veggie protein bars with fun flavors like “curry masala turkey with spinach and dates.”

Unofficial Whole30 Compliant Bars

• RxBars. These sweet & simple protein bars never contain more than 7 ingredients, which are listed right on the packaging. Using dried egg whites for a major source of protein, these bars taste great while keeping you full.
• Yawp Bars. These nutrient-dense protein bars use whole, unprocessed ingredients and boast fun flavors like Coconut Chai!
• Larabars. Larabars are a very popular Whole30 snack due to their wide array of flavors and availability at many grocery stores. These fruit and nut bars pack a great taste while staying complaint.

To understand more about the difference between officially endorsed Whole30 protein bars vs. unofficial, but still compliant, bars, read our complete guide to Whole30 protein bars.

Whole30 Snack Pick #4: Portable Emergency Meals

1. Wild Zorra

Wild Zora’s Paleo Meals To Go offer freeze-dried paleo meals that are compact, lightweight, super portable, and can be easily thrown in a backpack or purse to have on hand for emergency eating situations.

All you need to do is add water to the dehydrated meal pack, and you’re good to go! We talk a lot about Wild Zorra in our article about the best Whole30 meal delivery services, but Wild Zorra meals to go work as emergency snacks as well!

Life Health HQ Special: We’ve partnered with Wild Zorra to give you 15% off your Wild Zorra orders – hurrah (discount automatically will be applied at checkout – or use code LIFEHEALTHHQ15)!

Here are a couple of our favorite Whole30-compliant Wild Zora Paleo Meals To Go:

• Summit Savory Chicken: Free-Range Chicken, Organic Spinach, Carrots, Broccoli, Sweet Potato, Onion, Mushrooms, Lemon, Green Onion, Parsley, Cilantro, Turmeric, Garlic, Sea Salt.
• Caldera Chicken Curry: Free-Range Chicken, Organic Spinach, Pineapple, Coconut, Red Bell Pepper, Sweet Potato, Onion, Green Onion. Turmeric, Cayenne Chili Pepper, Spices, Sea Salt, Garlic.
• Mountain Beef Stew: Grass-Fed Beef, Organic Carrots, Sweet Potato, Onion, Broccoli, Mushrooms, Celery, Green Onion, Sea Salt, Marjoram, Thyme, Garlic, Parsley.
• Cliffside Coconut Berry: Organic Flaxseed Meal, Almond Flour, Strawberries, Pecans, Walnuts, Shredded Coconut, Coconut Chips, Blueberries, Apple, Mango, Sea Salt, Vanilla Bean.
• Butte Cacao Banana: Organic Flaxseed Meal, Almonds, Banana, Almond Flour, Strawberries, Mango, Cacao Nibs, Banana Powder, Sea Salt, Cinnamon, Vanilla Bean.

Another Option: Whole30 Snack Packs

If you want to quickly stock up on Whole30-friendly snacks, some companies now offer pre-made packs of Whole30 snacks, taking the guesswork and label-reading out of the equation for you. A few of our favorites include:

1. Barefoot Provisions

Barefoot Provisions provides tons of paleo snacks and goodies, with special selections just for Whole30 folks!

Snack safe knowing you’re eating all Whole30 compliant snacks – choose from snack packs selected by Barefoot Provisions that are promised to be Whole30 friendly.

Choose from the:

• Whole30 Mega Kit with 20 snacks
• Whole30 Classic Kit with 13 snacks
• Whole30 Mini Kit with 7 snacks
• Whole30 Healthy Mamma Happy Baby Kit with 18 snacks

In addition to these snack packs, Barefoot Provisions also has a huge selection of individual Whole30-approved snacks, such as hickory bacon bits or chicken sesame BBQ bites!

Whole30 Snack Ideas to Make at Home

Not into buying snacks and want to make your own? Here are a few ideas!

• Baby carrots & compliant guacamole
• Apple slices & Whole30 compliant almond butter
• Roasted plantain chips
• Dried apple, mango, or pineapple slices with no added sugar (like those recommended in our Trader Joe’s Shopping List)
• Air-Fried Kale Chips (see our Whole30 Work Snacks article for the recipe)
• Raw nut mixes

Whole30 Snacks FAQ

Do you have any favorite Whole30 snacks you want to share? Tell us in the comments!