The Keto Beginner Grocery List to Get You Started

24 Aug 2019

The keto diet has been buzzing around the nation for years now, but it's never too late to get started. If you're ready to jump on the ketogenic bandwagon, then get prepped for a tricky trip to the supermarket. Most processed foods (and even whole foods) are off-limits for the keto diet, making grocery shopping for keto beginners a strategic battle.

We're here to help make sure you win that battle. First, let's take a look at the nuances of the keto diet to make sure our grocery list follows all the rules.

The Keto Diet (In a Nutshell) for Beginners

The ketogenic diet (a.k.a. keto) is a high-fat, moderate-protein, low-carb diet. It helps consumers dramatically decrease their carb intake by replacing those carbs with healthy fats. The reduction in carbs puts the body in a metabolic state called ketosis, and this improves your body's fat-burning efficiency.

Keto diets have proven to

help with weight loss and lower risk factors for certain diseases. But, like with any diet, it's not all sunshine and rainbows. The keto diet has its fair share of risks—you shouldn't embrace it without talking to a doctor first. With great potential comes great risk. Remember, safety first.

Now, let's walk the long aisles of the grocery store and look at the food items you can and can't eat on the keto diet.

Your Keto Beginner Grocery List: Keto Diet Foods to Eat

It's always more fun to start with foods that you can eat, so let's start there. Here are the primary food components of the keto diet:

• Vegetables: Low-carb veggies are excellent sources of energy and essential vitamins. Think green veggies like kale, spinach, and broccoli. Tomatoes, peppers, and onions are also on the okay list.
• Avocados: One of the few fruits on the okay list because of it's high-fat nutrition profile. Most berries in moderation are okay, too.
• Nuts and Seeds: Flax seeds, walnuts, almonds, chia seeds, pumpkins seeds. Yummy stuff!
• Meat: Red meat is a primary source of protein on the keto diet. Steak, ham, bacon, sausage, chicken, and turkey are all great options, too. Fatty fish like tuna, salmon, and trout are excellent sources of keto-approved protein, as well.
• Eggs: Thank goodness eggs are allowed. Look for omega-3 whole or pastured eggs.
• Butter and Cream: Enough said. Yum!
• Cheese: Yes, cheese is okay, but look for unprocessed cheese like cheddar, goat, blue, or mozzarella.
• Oils: Stick with olive oil, coconut oil, and avocado oil.
• Condiments: Salt, pepper, and most spices are keto-approved.

There you have it! That's a nice long list of foods to stock up on at the grocery store. As you'll notice, most of these items don't store for very long, so you'll likely need to make more frequent trips to the grocery store.

Keto Diet Foods to Avoid

On this low-carb diet, you're going to be avoiding a lot of obvious unhealthy choices. However, you'd be surprised what seemingly good foods you'll be abstaining from, too:

• Fruit: Yes, fruit. Fruit is high in sugar, which is a big no-no on the keto diet.
• Grains and Starches: Rice, pasta, cereal, oats, and wheat-based products. No potatoes, either.
• High-Sugar Foods: Ice cream, candy, fruit juice, soda, smoothies, etc. Pretty much all discretionary calories.
• Beans and Legumes: Peas, beans, lentils, chickpeas, etc.
• Alcohol: Like soda, most alcoholic beverages are high in carbs, making it a no-go on the keto diet.
• Sugar-Free Foods: Sugar alcohols are also to be avoided on the keto diet, so even if you opt for a low-carb snack, it may be too processed to be keto-friendly.
• Bad Fats: Vegetable oils, mayonnaise, etc.
• Most Condiments and Sauces: These are loaded with sugar and high-fructose corn syrup.

Most of these foods you'll need to cut entirely from your diet, but some you can eat in reduced moderation (like berries). The keto diet is more of a diet than a  lifestyle, so indulging in rice or potatoes won't impact you morally. It just won't help you reach your low-carb goals.

There you have it—plenty of healthy, delicious foods for you to stock up on at the market. Make sure you create your keto grocery list before you go shopping. It's much easier to avoid temptation and stick strictly to your keto diet if you come to the store with a plan.

Want to take a break from the shopping, prepping, cooking, and cleaning? Give SareFood a try and see what keto-approved wonders our expert chefs can dish up. Choose your chef, select your meals, plan your days, and enjoy fresh, high-quality dishes. Consider this your guilt-free keto cheat meal.

Happy keto-ing!