Real Food & Seed Oil Free Grocery Shopping Guide

Cutting out seed oils and artificial ingredients can be overwhelming at first! We’re here to help. This real food, “seed oil free” shopping guide will help you navigate your grocery shopping with ease. Nearly all products found in grocery stores in the USA, aside from whole foods contain industrial seed oils (which are very inflammatory and harmful for our health). This goes to show that most “food” in the grocery store isn’t actually real food at all.

To learn more about seed oils and why they’re bad for our health, visit this blog post. The good news is, so many people are seeing significant health benefits from removing these inflammatory oils from their diet.

As a rule of thumb, sticking to one ingredient, whole foods when grocery shopping is going to be the best way to avoid seed oils. But we’re aware that most people want to have some convenient snack foods, condiments, dressings, seasonings, etc on hand. Thankfully, there are options under most categories of food that are seed oil free!

First its important to understand what ingredients to look out for when shopping. Unfortunately, seed oils go under a lot of different names. Much more than just canola or vegetable oil.

Here’s a list of ingredients to watch out for & avoid wherever possible:

  • Canola oil
  • Vegetable oil
  • Soybean oil
  • Corn oil
  • Rapeseed oil
  • Soy oil
  • Sunflower oil
  • Safflower oil
  • Grapeseed oil
  • Palm kernel oil
  • Ricebran oil
  • Vegetable glycerin
  • Sunflower lechitin
  • Soy lechitin
  • Any refined oils

This list might seem long and difficult to remember, but in time you will be able to spot seed oils on an ingredient list in seconds! The shorter and more simple the list of ingredients in a food, the better. If you don’t recognize the ingredients, its probably best not to buy that product.

Here’s a breakdown of how to navigate different food groups when shopping seed oil free. Please keep in mind some of these brands may not be organic or may contain sugar. Always make sure to look at the ingredients and decide for yourself if it’s a healthy choice for you!

*Please note that some of the links in this page are affiliate links. This means if you purchase something through our link, we may receive a small commission. This helps us to continue creating free content! Thank you for your support. A portion of the proceeds from our website are donated to the Weston A. Price Foundation.

Meats

Almost all plain, raw meats are going to be seed oil free. Look out for marinated/seasoned meats, as they often will use seed oils in these scenarios. Any sort of breaded meats are likely going to have seed oils in them. Grocery store rotisserie chickens often have seed oils, sugars, and other unwanted ingredients.

Eat the best quality meat you can afford. Even conventional meats are going to be much healthier than processed foods, and many are able to see health benefits eating it. That being said, pasture-raised meat and eggs are going to be best for your health and the environment.

If you can’t find a good local source for pasture-raised beef, chicken, pork, etc, we have a great compilation here of regenerative farms that will ship their pastured meats to your doorstep.

Seafood

Almost all plain, raw seafood will be seed oil free. Check the packaging just in case. Pre-seasoned seafood and sushi are likely to have seed oils in them.

Eat the best quality seafood you can afford. Wild caught seafood is always better than farmed. Many grocery stores offer wild caught seafood, but local fish markets or farmers markets will likely have the best options. If you can’t find a good local source, we have a list here of companies that ship their wild-caught seafood.

Dairy

Most dairy products are seed oil free. Look out for plant-based dairy replacement products such as: margarine, vegan cheese, soy milk, oak milk, almond milk, etc (as those products typically do have seed oils). Most spreadable butters have seed oils in them.

Eat the best quality dairy you can afford. Raw dairy is best if you have access to it. Read this blog post for tips on finding raw diary in the USA. Raw dairy laws vary from state to state. When it comes to dairy products in the grocery store, look out for A2/A2, non-homogenized, and low-temperature pasteurized (or VAT pasteurized).

Fruits, Vegetables, and Herbs

Raw fruits and vegetables should always be seed oil free. Wherever possible, shop organic and local/seasonal. If you have a farmer’s market, that’s a great place to look for produce. Or better yet, you could grow your own!

Snacks

Most snacks found in the grocery store are going to have seed oils in them. Thankfully there are a lot of great seed oil free snack options and brands! Always make sure to check the ingredients yourself, as companies can change their practices/ingredients at any time. These are some of the brands of snacks we’ve found to be seed oil free.

Meat Snacks

Most meat snacks you’ll find in the grocery store will have seed oils, added sugars, or artificial ingredients. These are some great brands with clean ingredients.

Fruit Snacks

Chips

When it comes to potato chips and tortilla chips, 99.9% of brands will be made with seed oils. It’s always best to make your own, but there are a few brands that offer seed oil free chips!

  • MASA organic corn tortilla chips (code: RACH) we love these because they are cooked in grass-fed beef tallow
  • Gilly Loco brand corn tortilla chips (made with coconut oil, but not organic so they may contain glyphosate)
  • Boulder canyon potato chips (make sure to check the ingredients on these because some contain seed oils and others don’t…they have a line made with avocado oil and olive oil)
  • Jackson’s brand sweet potato chips (make sure to check the ingredients on these because some contain seed oils and others don’t…they have a line made with avocado oil and coconut oil)
  • Siete brand (most are made with avocado oil and are grain free)

Popcorn

It’s best to make your own popcorn at home with coconut oil or animal fats like beef tallow (using organic corn)! But if you really want to buy something at the grocery store, try the Lesser Evil brand. They use coconut oil and are USDA organic.

Nuts

MANY brands of nuts have seed oils in them, unfortunately. This is something most people wouldn’t expect, but nuts are often roasted in canola or vegetable oil. Make sure to always check the label when buying nuts!

Look out for raw and dry roasted nuts, as many will be seed oil free. These shouldn’t be too hard to find. Lark Ellen brand has organic sprouted nuts (sprouting nuts makes them much easier to digest).

Cereal

Most cereals in the grocery store are full of artificial ingredients, sugar, synthetic vitamins, glyphosate, and seed oils. Personally, I’d rather steak and eggs for breakfast than cereal any day. But if you REALLY having a craving for cereal, there are a few brands that have clean ingredients (but you’re going to pay for it). Eating them with some pasture-raised eggs and raw milk would make for a good breakfast.

Snack Bars

We always prefer to have meat snacks & jerky as opposed to other types of snack and protein bars, as most of these types of bars are highly processed with poor ingredients. But there are several brands that offer seed oil & artificial ingredient free snack bars. Be aware that some of these may not be organic.

Crackers

It’s really tough to find seed oil free crackers. Hopefully more companies will start to make them soon! Here are some the brands we’ve found:

Granola

Cookies

Again, it’s always best to make your own! But when it comes to store-bought cookies, these are going to be the cleanest brands. Not all of these brands are organic.

Pork Rinds

These brands are likely to not use corn & soy free pork. But they do claim to be pasture-raised, and are fried in pork fat (not seed oils). They are a much better option than most snacks at the grocery store.

Cooking Fats & Oils

Above we’ve listed inflammatory seed oils to avoid. You’ll save a lot of money rendering your own animal fats for cooking, but there are plenty of good brands to choose from if you’d rather buy it! Check out the cooking fats & oils section of our Real Food Directory here.

Here is a compilation of healthy cooking fats and oils:

  • Beef or bison tallow
  • Pasture-raised lard
  • Duck fat
  • Ghee
  • Butter
  • Extra-virgin unrefined olive oil
  • Unrefined avocado oil
  • Unrefined coconut oil
  • Unrefined palm oil

To render your own tallow or lard, ask your local farmer for beef suet or pork leaf fat (they’ll know what you mean). If you don’t have a good local source, you can order pre-rendered tallow/lard, beef suet, or pork leaf fat from these regenerative farms:

Animal fats are always going to be best to cook with. When it comes to buying cooking oils, make sure they are unrefined (ex. coconut oil, olive oil, avocado oil). Unfortunately, studies have found up to 80% of olive and avocado oils to be laced with seed oils, even when the packaging claims to be extra-virgin and unrefined. This is why I usually avoid using olive and avocado oil. If you can find a trusted source for these oils, they are great options!

For high-heat cooking and searing, use a fat with a high smoke point, such as ghee or tallow. Butter and lard have lower smoke points.

Quick note: Unrefined palm oil is safe to use and is made from the fruit of the plant. Palm kernel oil is made from the seed and considered to be an inflammatory seed oil. This isn’t a common ingredient but good to be aware of.

Condiments & Dressings

If you don’t have time to make your own dressings & condiments, look out for these brands.

Salts & Seasonings

Did you know that table salt is generally ultra-processed, iodized, and stripped of natural minerals? Read more about why iodized and heavily processed salt isn’t good for our health here.

We’d recommend:

  • Redmond Real Salt (code: RIBEYERACH) This is pure, unprocessed sea salt from an ancient mine in Utah. The taste is amazing in comparison to iodized table salt.
  • Celtic Sea Salt
  • Himalayan Pink Salt (keep in mind many sea salts are still heavily process)

Many seasonings found in the grocery store may contain seed oils or other unwanted fillers. It’s hard to believe that seasonings could have seed oils in them, but they often do! Soy lecithin is a very common ingredient. Always make sure to check before buying.

Here are some seasoning brands with clean ingredients:

  • Redmond Real Salt Seasoning (code: RIBEYERACH) We love their organic garlic pepper, smoked salts, and organic garlic salt. They also have new steak seasoning, BBQ seasoning, and taco seasoning.
  • Noble Made Seasonings (code: RIBEYERACH) Their steak seasoning is amazing! They also use organic ingredients.

Note: Costco has excellent deals on organic spices, better than I’ve seen anywhere.

Bone Broth

Personally, I love making homemade bone broth. But not everyone has the time to do this. Here are some brands that have great quality bone broth.

  • Kettle & Fire Grass-fed Bone Broth (code: RIBEYERACH) I use this when we run out of homemade broth and for making organic white rice. It’s shelf stable! They have both beef and chicken broth.
  • Northstar Bison bone broth (code: RIBEYERACH) They have regeneratively raised bison, beef, and chicken broth. It’s very concentrated and comes frozen. When defrosted, it has that “wiggle” that true gelatinous bone broth has. They recommend diluting it with equal parts water. They even have a “liver-infused” broth option. This is not shelf stable.
  • Paleovalley Bone Broth Powder (use this link for a discount) They have unflavored, vanilla, and chocolate available. I like the unflavored. It’s very minimally processed and sourced from regenerative farms in the USA. I sometimes use this when I run out of homemade or for some added protein after a workout. It’s also great for traveling to get in the nutrients of bone broth on the go.
  • Perfect Supplements Chicken Bone Broth Powder (code: RIBEYERACH) I love that this brand labels glyphosate free.

Protein Powder

I don’t often use protein powder and supplements, because I get so much protein from my diet. But I know many people want to have a clean protein powder source! These are the best brands I’ve found:

Baking & Desserts

When it comes to baking flours, it’s important to buy organic wherever possible, as that means it will be glyphosate free (or much lower in glyphosate). Lard can often be used for baking, in the place of vegetable shortening or crisco.

If you’re looking for seed oil free chocolate chips, here are a few good brands:

Candy

Most candy found in the grocery store will have lots of artificial ingredients, refined sugars, and dyes. It’s lots of fun to make homemade candy and treats, and that will be much healthier. While we don’t recommend eating lots of sugar and sweets, here are a few brands that have better ingredients than most.

Most chocolate has seed oils in the form of “soy lecithin”, but all of these brands do not. Keep in mind that some of these chocolate brands may have tested for higher levels of lead than is deemed to be safe. We just included brands that have clean ingredients. Do your own research and decide what you feel is best.

Marshmallows

Pretty much all store-bought marshmallows will not have clean ingredients. I’d recommend making your own! But if you REALLY want to buy marshmallows, I did find a brand that uses clean ingredients and grass-fed gelatin. They aren’t cheap!

Grains

Personally I believe one of the biggest problems with modern grains is glyphosate (round-up). This is why its important to buy organic grains, as they will be glyphosate free (or much lower in glyphosate). Unfortunately, the organic industry is corrupt, and some levels of glyphosate may still be getting in organic products, but it will be less than conventional. Many brands are now starting to label “glyphosate free” which is something to look out for.

For those that are sensitive to gluten or looking for really high quality wheat, you may want to try einkhorn flour. It’s produced from the grains of ancient species, and it much less modified than modern wheat.

Another reason grains have become such a big problem in our modern world is because they typically aren’t being prepared properly. When grains are properly fermented, sprouted, or soaked, they become much easier to digest (and the nutrients become more bioavailable).

If you’re eating grains or foods higher in carbohydrates, be sure to pair them with adequate protein to help stabilize your blood sugar.

Rice

When preparing rice, make sure to soak it in filtered water for several hours prior to cooking. Put your rice in a bowl, then cover it with water and let it sit for a few hours or overnight. This will reduce the phytic acid and improve the digestibility of the rice. Most people will find white rice easier to digest. After soaking, cook with bone broth and butter/lard to add additional nutrients.

Corn

You can make your own organic corn tortillas using these flours:

  • Bob’s Red Mill Organic Masa Flour
  • King Arthur Organic Masa Flour
  • Any other organic masa flour

My husband makes these often and uses lard, tallow, or butter to make them. This will be much better than store-bought varieties. You can even make homemade corn tortilla chips using beef tallow!

Store-bought tortillas options:

  • Food For Life: Organic Sprouted Corn Tortillas (sprouted makes it easier to digest)
  • Organic corn tortillas (just make sure to check the ingredients)

Bread

Homemade sourdough is the best way to go! Most breads in the grocery store will contain seed oils, artificial ingredients, and enriched flours.

But many health food stores will have breads from local bakeries that have better ingredients. Food For Life & Ezekial brand breads are sprouted and seed oil free.

Sweeteners

Personally, I avoid refined sugars such as cane sugar, corn syrup, and high fructose corn syrup. These can be very inflammatory.

Here are some natural sweeteners that are very good options:

These are still sugar, but naturally occurring. It’s best to use them in moderation and make sure to pair with plenty of protein to regulate blood sugar (wherever possible).

If you’re looking for low carb sweeteners, here are a few options:

  • Stevia
  • Monkfruit

Personally, I’m not a huge fan of these zero calorie sweeteners, as I feel they still taste “fake” and often still go through lots of processing. You can always experiment with them to see how you like them and how they make you feel.

In Summary

We hope this guide makes your transition to eating real food & seed oil free much easier! Keep in mind, its not necessary to go 100% seed oil free overnight. Go at your own pace! The body doesn’t need perfection to be healthy, but every effort you make to prioritize real, nourishing food will make a difference. Food is both fuel and medicine.

Always make sure to do your own research on products, as companies can changing their practices, ingredients, etc at any time. If you see anything on our website that needs to be updated, please let us know! We’d love to hear from you.

This page contains affiliate links—which means if you purchase something after clicking on a link, we may receive a small commission. This helps us to continue creating free content & resources! A portion of the proceeds from our website is donated to the Weston A. Price Foundation (as we really believe in their mission and message). Thank you so much for visiting our website. 

Please share the Real Food Project with your family and friends to help them find real, nourishing foods and other holistic health tools.

Sign In

Don't have an account yet? Register

Forgot password?

Register

Reset Password

Please enter your username or email address, you will receive a link to create a new password via email.