For most people, keto is a major lifestyle change and it can be quite confusing and overwhelming. Figuring out what to buy, can take quite some time. A lot of us who have been on this low carb way of eating for a while will probably recall those early days where we were stood in the supermarket reading packet after packeting, sighing and putting it back on the shelf as we realised it wasn’t keto-friendly.
To help you avoid having to suffer going through that, I have put together a beginner shopping list to make the transition from a high carb lifestyle to a low carb one even easier.
Keto Vegetables
Spinach
Asparagus
Eggplant/Aubergine
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Brussel Sprouts
Bell Peppers
Green Beans
Bok Choy
Cabbage
Celery
Kale
Swiss Chard
Romaine Lettuce
Cos Lettuce
Rapini / Broccoli Raab
Radishes
Celeriac
Jicama
Konjac
Daikon Radish
Okra
Mushrooms
Butternut Squash
Swede/Rutabaga
Turnip
Keto Fruits
Avocado
Tomato
Strawberries
Blackberries
Blueberries
Raspberries
Lemon
Keto Meat & Fish, and eggs
Any meat and fish that is plain, is keto-friendly. But if living in a country that feeds animal hormones, such as the USA, if you can afford to do so then buy organic. If you live in an EU country, you do not need to worry about this. But if you can afford to do so, buy grass fed.
You’ll also want to make sure your meat has a higher fat content, or add fat into it through keto-friendly oil and butter when cooking. Do not buy lean versions of meat products. This is actually great for your wallet, as lean versions are normally more expensive.
If buying burgers, look for 100% beef burger – check the ingredients. You do not want any additives such as potato starch, rice flour, maize flour, oat flour, or any sugar.
If buying sausages, you’d want 97%+. If you are in the UK, or a country with an M&S food chain look out for their 97% Pork Sausages as these only contain keto-friendly ingredients! They also taste pretty good. Avoid anything with additives like potato starch, rice flour, maize flour, sugars etc.
The above for burgers & sausages applies for every meat product except those that have been cured. Curing is done using sugar, but this sugar doesn’t really have any effect on your blood sugar as it is really minimal. Just check the nutritional values to make sure there isn’t any sugar content shown, and you’re all good!
Examples of products that get cured: bacon, prosciutto, jamon, salami, chorizo, coppa, culatello and other deli meat.
Eggs are a great way of getting in some protein, fat and essential vitamins such as Vitamin D (which a lot of people lack).
Keto Cooking Ingredients
You might want to get into creating alternatives to the carb-loaded baked goods. You can find tons of recipes on my site to help you get into it. Here’s a list of ingredients I always keep stocked in my cupboard for things like baking, making chia pudding, battering food etc :
Almond flour/ground almonds (Almond flour is preferred, but ground almonds are a lot cheaper and easier to find)
Coconut flour
Ground Psyllium husks
Ground Linseed/Flaxseed
Keto friendly sweeteners such as erythritol, stevia, monk fruit, or xylitol (Do not use xylitol if you have a dog).
Gluten-free baking powder
Xanthum Gum (found in the gluten-free section)
Unflavoured Liquid Stevia, and the flavoured versions if want
Apple cider vinegar with the mother – I use this for cookin things like tortilla wraps, some people drink it
Miso – for soup stock
Herbs and spices – make sure they’re not mixes which contain sugar.
Sesame seeds
Peanut flour (for dusting baked goods, on chocolate, adding to Asian dishes)
Keto Oils
Coconut oil (preferably extra virgin)
Avocado Oil
Extra virgin olive oil
Sesame oil & Toasted sesame oil
MCT Oil – For bulletproof coffee but also for baking and cooking
MCT Oil Powder – alternative to the oil for bulletproof coffee
Butter
Keto Dairy, and dairy alternatives
Remember to always check any dairy alternative milk products for maltodextrin. Some supermarkets, such as Aldi and Sainsbury’s add maltodextrin to their own brand milk!
Double/heavy cream
Coconut cream (If dairy free, this is the alternative to double/heavy cream)
Butter
Unsweetened almond milk
Unsweetened coconut milk
Full fat coconut milk (normally tinned, used for cooking)
Unsweetened macadamia milk
Unsweetened hemp milk
Unsweetened cashew milk
Keto nut butter
On keto, you can enjoy peanut or almond butter that is made from 100% peanuts/almonds – or virtually 100% with only some added seasoning like salt. Crunchy versions have fewer carbs that smooth versions, so if you like crunchy then use that over smooth. Below are some brands I recommend
UK Keto Nut, Peanut and Almond Butter’s
Pip & Nut Almond Butter
Meridian Smooth Almond Butter
Bulk Powders Smooth Almond Butter
Nutural World Smooth Almond butter
My Protein Almond Butter Crunchy
Biona Organic Almond Butter Smooth
Bulk Powders Natural Roasted Peanut Butter Crunchy
Meridian Natural Crunchy Peanut Butter with salt
Meridian Natural Crunchy Peanut Butter without salt
Pip & Nut Smooth Peanut Butter
Pip & Nut Crunchy Peanut Butter
Whole Earth Original Peanut Butter Crunchy (my favourite)
USA Keto Nut, Peanut and Almond Butter’s
Whole Foods 365 Organic Almond Butter
Classic Almond Butter by Justin’s,
365 Everyday Value, Cashew Butter Creamy
365 Everyday Value, Peanut Butter Crunchy,
365 Everyday Value, Organic Creamy Peanut Butter
Fix & Frogg Gourmet Smooth peanut butter
Spread The Love NAKED Organic Peanut Butter
Keto Chocolate
Being on keto doesn’t mean you cannot have chocolate. Below are some keto-friendly chocolate.
In the US, most people use Lily’s (As pictured below), plus some other brands are good like Lindt and Montezuma. In the UK, we have access to brands like Montezuma, Lindt, M&S own brand.
Montezuma’s Absolute Black Dark Chocolate
Eating Evolved Primal Chocolate No Added Sugar
Lindt 90% Dark Chocolate (My favourite)
And that’s it! While this list is quite long, you don’t need to buy everything. Start out with the meat, veg, and fruit and go from there. If you’re on a limited budget, I recommend not bothering with keto-versions of baked goods, as they’re not cheap to make. Stick with meat, fish, veg, fruit (especially avocado) and you’ll see your health improve.
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