Cutting down your carbohydrate intake is a great way to lose weight, but many people find themselves stumped when it comes to the practical side of low-carb dieting.
How do you plan for meals, build your shopping list, and sustain yourself without relying on carbohydrates like bread and pasta?
Here’s an easy starting point for building your low-carb grocery list – once you’ve stocked up on these ingredients, you can plan low-carb meals more easily, and maintain a low-carb diet without feeling like you’re suffering for it.
You’ll soon learn that a low-carb diet doesn’t necessarily mean no indulgences – unlike many fad diets, the low-carb diet is relatively friendly to “newbies” and veterans alike, and has a basis in nutritional science(1).
Before you start shopping, it’s important to remember to always check the labels of foods – look at their carbohydrate content, but also their sugar and nitrate contents as well. The lower the better on all three counts.
Meat And Protein
- Lean meats like poultry and lean ground beef
- Fish and shellfish
- Tofu
- Beans
Veggies
- Green beans
- Cauliflower
- Artichokes
- Broccoli
- Spinach
- Jicama
- Asparagus
- Zucchini
- Yellow squash
- Spaghetti squash
- Okra
- Bell peppers (red, yellow, and green
- Cucumbers
- Brussles sprouts
- Bean sprouts
- Mushrooms
- Radishes
- Lettuce
- Celery
- Bok Choy
- Cabbage
- Tomatoes
- Leafy greens like kale
- Leeks
- Turnips
- Snow peas
- Eggplant
Fruits
- Raspberries
- Blueberries
- Strawberries
- Blackberries
- Cantaloupe
- Lemons and limes
- Rhubarb
- Passionfruit
- Coconut
- Cranberries
The following fruit have relatively high sugar content, so it’s best to consume them in moderation:
- Oranges
- Grapefruit
- Apples
- Pears
- Peaches
- Nectarines
Dairy Products
- Sour cream
- Cottage cheese
- Unsweetened yogurt, including Greek yogurt
- Hard and soft cheeses
- Ricotta cheese
- Eggs
- Cream Cheese
- Butter
Grains
- Quinoa
- Oats
- Wild rice
Herbs And Other Seasoning
- Garlic
- Onions
- Jalapeno and other spicy peppers
- Basil
- Oregano
- Thyme
- Rosemary
- Turmeric
- Mustard seed
- Mint
- Curry powder
- Cinnamon
- Fennel
Other Staples
- Balsamic vinegar
- Olive oil
- Coconut oil
- Lemon juice
- Nut flours or other gluten-free flour
- grass-fed butter
- nuts and seeds
Snacks and Drinks
- Coffee
- Tea
- Flax seed
- Nuts and seeds
- Beef jerky
- Peanut butter
- Almond butter
- Dill pickles
Use these lists as a building block for developing your own approach to low-carb dining – you can add or subtract based on what’s readily available at your local grocery store.
The idea is to eat foods that are high in protein, fibre, and other nutrients, while maintaining a low-carb approach to eating. It might be a challenge at first, but the results will be well worth the struggle!
[mks_toggle title=”sources” state=”close “]- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3530364/