Being on a new diet is intimidating, you do not know where to start from and lack the knowledge on how to listen to your body while researching for ways to improve your health. Having a shopping list of your own makes it easier in settling into your new diet plan. These are the bare essentials for a beginner in Keto. This keto shopping list provides a general idea for what to look for in the store so you can get started with keto.
You’ve probably been hearing a lot of buzz around the keto diet and wondering if transitioning into this diet is worth all the troubles involved. Like any other diet, keto requires discipline and dedication, but it also has very specific requirements of being low-carb, moderate-protein, and high-fat.
A new diet is a disruption in your normal, everyday activities, but if you keep thinking of your new routine as an “issue,” then your new lifestyle will also feel like one.
[wpsm_box type=”green” float=”none” text_align=”undefined”] Related: [/wpsm_box]Your Keto Shopping List
Putting together a keto diet shopping list for beginners is similar to making any other grocery list, the main difference is the food items you’ll add. Here are a few steps that you can take to starting your keto shopping list:
Take a Stock Inventory of Your Kitchen
First step is to take stock of the items in your kitchen. Most people have several keto foods already on-hand. See what you have stored in your fridge and cupboards before you head to the store.
Have Recipe Inspiration
Use these keto recipes as inspiration for using up the ingredients you already have. Or, you could use a customizable keto meal plan to give ideas for the whole week in minutes.
Build Meals Around What You Have On-hand
If you have keto proteins, veggies, and fats on-hand, you already have the basic components of a keto meal and plan the meal around them.
Complement Your List with Missing Items
Add every other item missing to your keto shopping list. Jot down what’s missing from the recipes you want to make this week, and just like that — you have your keto food item shopping list as desired.
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Forms of keto Diet
- Standard ketogenic diet: this is a very low carb, moderate protein and high fat diet. It typically contains 70% fat, 20% protein, and only 10% carbs
- Cyclical ketogenic diet: this diet involves periods of higher carb diets, there are days you take high carbs meals. That is, most days for keto dieting and few days for high carb feeding
- Targeted ketogenic diet: this diet allows you to add carbs around workouts
- High protein ketogenic diet: this is similar to a standard ketogenic diet, but includes more protein. The ratio is often 60% fat, 35% protein, and 5% carbs.
Remember that if you are on the train of trying to lose weight, you would need to eat fewer than 2,000 calories per day. For the best plan that would benefit you completely, you should consult your nutritionist for advice.
For this article, we will be focusing on the standard ketogenic diet as it’s the common form of keto dieting. Now that you know the general process involved in creating a grocery shopping list, let’s move into what things you should put on your beginner’s keto grocery list. Keto dieting does not have a rule for fresh food items only, this means you can get canned goods that would last you for a long period The list has been divided into sections.
1. Fresh Food:
fresh food including keto fruit and vegetables, is essential for a good beginner keto shopping list. Produce is packed with nutrients that will keep your diet balanced, and can even help you avoid keto flu.
- Leafy greens:
- Lettuce
- Kale
- Spinach
- Bok choy
- Cabbage
- Non-Starchy Vegetables: a good rule of thumb is most veggies that grow above ground are okay, but there are some exceptions, below is the lists of vegetables that are good to have on your keto diet groceries list:
- Asparagus
- Bell Peppers
- Broccoli
- Brussels Sprouts
- Cauliflower
- Cucumbers
- Eggplant
- Garlic
- Green Beans
- Mushrooms
- Onions
- Radishes
- Spaghetti Squash
- Zucchini
- Low-Sugar Fruits:
- Avocado
- Blackberries
- Blueberries
- Lemons
- Limes
- Olives
- Raspberries
- Strawberries
- Tomatoes
2. Fresh Herbs:
To make your food flavored and pleasant to the smell sense while still adding to your nutritional value, you should add some fresh herbs. Here are some ideas to get:
- Basil
- Chives
- Dill
- Mint
- Oregano
- Parsley
- Rosemary
- Sage
- Thyme
3. Dried Herbs & Spices:
Most are keto if you avoid fillers. Avoid anything with sugar or starch in the ingredient list.
- Salt
- Pepper
- Cinnamon
- Ground ginger
- Onion powder
- Paprika
4. Pantry Ingredients: Keto isn’t all focused on fresh food as stated above, lots of canned ingredients will fit on a keto diet shopping list for beginners.
5. Flours: almond and coconut flours are some of the best low carb options. You can also get keto baking mixes online, like keto bread mix or pancake mix.
6. Sweeteners: get monk fruit, allulose, or erythritol. They’re totally keto and taste great.
7. Condiments: use condiments that are low in carbs such as vinegar, high-fat dressings, mayonnaise, mustard, and salsa.
8. Coffee & Tea: as long as you avoid adding sugar and fillers, tea and coffee are low carb!
9. Protein Powders: use collagen for smoothies and/or baking, and gelatin for thickening and special keto desserts.
10. Broth, Bone Broth & Soup: use broth & soup from trusted sources. Any type of broth is naturally low carb, but vegetable broth will be higher in carbs than chicken or beef.
11. Cocoa Powder & Sugar-Free Chocolate Chips: use unsweetened cocoa powder and milk, white, or dark chips for all your keto baking.
12. Extracts: all are naturally low carb (vanilla, fruit, mint, and the likes), they are often used to impart a sugary fruit flavor into desserts, like apple pie for keto diet. Also add chocolate, nuts, and pork rinds to your keto beginner shopping list.
13. Meat, Poultry & Seafood: meat is a necessity on a keto diet grocery list, it naturally contains zero carbs, and helps meet your daily protein needs in a delicious way.
- Chicken: chicken breast is the most versatile, but dark chicken meat, like chicken thighs or drumsticks, has higher fat content for keto.
- Beef: any cut of beef can be keto-friendly. However, fattier cuts will keep you satisfied for longer.
- Pork: bacon, chops, roasts, and more, pork is a great meat choice for a keto friendly grocery list.
- Fish: much like beef and chicken, the most keto-friendly fish has more fat. Salmon (fresh or smoked) and shrimp are great choices, but you can fit any fish into a keto diet.
- Seafood: besides fish, other seafood is considered keto as well, including scallops, lobster, crab, and the likes.
14. Snacks: not everyone considers adding snacks to their personal grocery list, but adding it to your beginner shopping list for keto diet can make this new lifestyle easier. Move with natural options that have no white flour or sugar and fewer (or no) fillers if you are adding snacks to your list. The options for your keto snacks include:
- Keto Bar: choose low carb bars with clean ingredients.
- Meat Snacks: air-dried jerky, meat sticks, and pork rinds all capturing meaty flavor with low carbs.
- Nuts & Seeds: include almonds, pecans, walnuts (and other nuts that are keto friendly), sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, hemp seeds, and chia seeds.
- Nut Butters: try a portable variety for easier portion control. If you buy it at the store, watch for sugar in the ingredients, and enjoy it on keto bread.
15. Cereal: go for cereal brands that are keto friendly
- Chocolate: you should choose sugar-free varieties that use keto friendly sweeteners.
16. Eggs & Dairy: if you are looking for ways to make a cheap keto shopping list, eggs are the perfect way to supplement your meat intake. The right kind of dairy, including keto milk and cheese, add delicious fat, protein, and flavor to meals.
- Eggs: pastured eggs are the best, but any kind will do.
- Cheese: most cheese is keto, but prioritize hard, whole milk cheeses because they contain fewer carbs. (Cream cheese is also a good option as it is low in carb).
- Heavy Cream: this is one of the best keto milk swaps because it has a higher fat content.
- Almond Milk: a neutral-flavored milk that works perfectly in recipes. Get an unsweetened variety.
- Coconut Milk: another great keto milk alternative. Get it canned or in a carton, unsweetened.
- Sour Cream: sour cream is great for a topping on its own, or in sweet or savory recipes.
- You can also use keto butter and oils used in recipes for your meal plan.
17. Fats & Oils: Keto requires a higher fat intake than most diets. On keto, fat helps you feel full and makes every dish delicious, so it’s essential for every keto shopping list to contain fatty grocery items.
- Butter or Cheese: ideally from grass-fed cows.
- Coconut Oil: refined or unrefined works. High in fat.
- Avocado Oil: has a natural flavor and high smoke point, which makes it ideal for sautéing.
- MCT Oil: you can add this to your coffee and smoothies.
- Olive Oil: delicious on its own or used as dressing.
Related:
Now that you have seen some of the items to add to your keto shopping list for beginners, there are also some items that you should never buy for your keto diet meal plan recipe and they are:
- Regular Dairy Milk: due to the lactose (which is a form of sugar) in it, milk is not keto. But, you can still enjoy keto friendly milk like cream, almond and coconut milk.
- Anything with Added Sugar: go through the label attached to the item you want to buy and avoid any item with sugar listed in its ingredients.
- Candy and Sweets: these are sugary items you want to avoid when on keto. You can make your own candy and sweets using keto sweeteners.
- Processed Ingredients: Keto is not just about macros, it’s also about eating cleaner, real food. Be on the lookout for artificial preservatives, or just avoid ingredients with names you cannot pronounce as a thumb rule.
- Most Fruit: unless it’s a low carb fruit like berries, it is not okay. Most fruits are too high in carbs for a keto diet.
- Grains: exclude anything with wheat, rice, oats, white flour, and all other grains. Be on the lookout for flour and other starches added to many dry pantry items and even canned goods.
- Starchy Vegetable: this includes corn, potatoes, most root vegetables, and legumes (like beans, except green beans).
- Bread and Baked Goods: These will contain wheat, white flour, sugar, or two of these ingredients. Except it is sugarless and not made with wheat or white flour.
Conclusion
Although getting started on the ketogenic diet can be daunting, there are several tips and tricks on how you can make the journey easier on you. You can eat from a large variety of tasty and nutritious meals on a ketogenic diet. It’s not all proteins and fats. Vegetables are also an important part of the diet and there are keto friendly snacks that you can turn to in times of emergency.
Basically, to build a keto shopping list for beginners after you have researched on the type of keto you are basing on, you should go through the food item in your store, note the keto friendly ones and dispose of the items that are not keto friendly, make a list of the items your store lacks based on the list above and plan your meals to avoid unnecessary repetition of recipes. You can always get recipes online on how to go about preparing delicious and nutritious keto meals. If your local store lacks some of the listed items, you can order online. And remember, while Keto is not against canned products, it is against processed and sugary products.
