Shopping can be a little intimidating when starting a low-carb, ketogenic diet. A once-familiar supermarket can suddenly become an alien place, full of ‘out-of-bounds-foods’ and temptation.

To ease this process, I’ve put together a shopping-list to cover all the main areas; fresh-produce, meat, dairy & store-cupboard. This list is also applicable to diabetics and those on a gluten-free diet.

For specific items which may not be on this list; remember to follow the golden-rule of net-carbs. I hyperlink this below for reference.

Further information on carb-content for specific vegetables can be found on the second link.

Calculating Net Carbs

List of Low-Carb Vegetables

Keto-GO-GO Shopping List:

Fruit & Vegetables
Aubergine
Avocado
Blackberries (few)
Blueberries (few)
Broccoli
Cabbage
Cauliflower
Celeriac
Celery
Chillies
Courgette
Cucumber
Garlic
Green Beans
Herbs
Leeks
Lemons
Lettuce (all sorts)
Limes
Mange Tout
Mushrooms
Onions
Peppers
Radishes
Raspberries (few)
Spinach
Sugar-Snap Peas
Watercress

Dairy
Butter – Salted & Unsalted
Cheese – Blue e.g. Stilton
Cheese – Hard e.g. Cheddar
Cheese – Hard Grating e.g. Parmesan
Cheese – Slicing e.g. Emmental
Cheese – Soft Salad e.g. Feta
Cheese – Soft Rinded e.g. Brie
Cheese – Spreading e.g. Philadelphia
Double Cream
Eggs

Meat
Bacon
Beef
Chicken
Cured Meats e.g. Salami (check label for carbs)
Duck
Game – e.g. Pheasant
Ham
Lamb
Pork
Sausages

Fish
Crab
Lobster
Mackerel
Mussels
Prawns / Crevettes
Salmon (Smoked & Fresh)
Scallops
Shrimp
Sole
Squid
Tuna (Fresh)

Store-Cupboard / Larder
Anchovies
Bicarb of Soda
Cocoa
Dried Herbs
Dried Spices – All e.g. Paprika
Flaked Almonds
Flaxseed
Ground Almonds
Maccadamia Nuts (few)
Mayonnaise
Mustard (Unsweetened)
Oil – Olive
Oil – Sesame or Stir-Fry Oil
Oil – Sunflower
Olives
Seasoning (Salt / Pepper)
Stock Cubes
Suet
Sweetener – Baking e.g. Xylitol
Sweetener – Table e.g. Splenda
Tinned Tuna
Vanilla Pods / Seed Powder

The list is by no means exhaustive, but it should serve as a fairly comprehensive guide to the basics. There’s no need to buy it all at once. That would bankrupt most of us! Especially for the store-cupboard section; if you don’t already have something, then stock up your larder week by week.

It all may seem a little expensive in comparison to the cheap, high-carb nasties. It’s worth keeping in mind however, that after a week or so, the volume of food you’re consuming will decrease rapidly. This is because saturates make you feel full on a smaller quantity and the ketogenic-diet is brilliant at suppressing hunger-pangs! After a month, it should all balance out nicely, as your food-cupboard & fridge gets fully stocked with the basics.

I hope this helps. Happy shopping and thanks for reading!

Adam
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