9 Grocery Items that Make Keto Easier

Don’t let anyone tell you that you need to spend a boatload of cash to start…and don’t wait until you have every Keto Product known to man to start your journey either. This only leads to procrastination.

Every Keto Diet blogger has a big long Keto Friendly Shopping list.

Get going while you are still excited!!!!

In light of the longer, colder nights and all of the holidays coming up you are going to want to stock up on a few essentials to get you through the cravings.

The list isn’t long but it’s important because we know that the biggest key to weight loss success is planning.

Be Reasonable with your Keto Friendly Groceries:

No matter what diet you are following, having the food you can and WILL eat can mean the difference between success and falling off of the wagon.

I have to stress ” what you WILL eat” here. I know that sometimes when people are planning a new healthy lifestyle they get over zealous at the store.

Meaning, confirmed kale haters will buy kale thinking that their tastes will change or that they can simply force themselves to eat it in the name of weight loss.

I hate to pee on anyone’s parade in saying this but I have to…your habits and tastes probably (definitely) will not change overnight.

Be reasonable in what you expect from yourself. This will take you further…I promise.

1. Healthy Fat

Since the Keto Lifestyle means that you will be getting 75-80% of you calories from healthy fat I thought this would be a good place to start.

Olive oil, avocado oil, coconut oil and butter are the main fats that we keep around here. You should steer clear of ANY hydrogenated oils, vegetable oils and peanut oil unless it’s cold pressed peanut oil.

Some people hate the “coconut” taste of the regular coconut oil. If this is you then check out this refined coconut oil.

We have a whole post about healthy fats if you want to see why you need to steer clear of some of the nastier oils. Our government lets food producers do some really weird shi….stuff with food.

I mean weird. When I say “weird” I mean things like putting perfumes and dye in veggie oil to make it less disgusting. Stay away from margarine too. It’s no bueno.

This should be number one on your Keto Friendly Shopping List since you will be eating a lot of  healthy fat.

2. Full Fat Dairy

Think full fat cheese, cream cheese and heavy whipping cream.

If you don’t do dairy anyway then cool. But if you do make sure you buy full fat everything. Not milk, because milk isn’t Keto Friendly anyway (it’s full of sugar/lactose).

3. Low Carb Condiments

Mayonnaise, mustard and hot sauces that you love are an essential.

Make sure to read labels because you can bet that there are sugars in some of these products. Anything labeled “sweet & spicy” is going to have a lot of carbohydrates in it.

Barbecue sauce is a major offender here. You can get the lower carb stuff (1 gram of carbs per tbsp) but it’s kind of expensive. If you have time you should try making your own…but I get it if you don’t.

We talk about food all day long and we don’t even have time to make everything from scratch all of the time. 

4. Flours

PAY ATTENTION TO THIS ONE!!!! When the cravings start kicking in and your local store in the sticks is out of almond flour you are going to wish you had some on hand.

Almond flour, coconut flour, psyllium husk and flax meal  are the four flours and powders that we always always have on hand. Whether you want to make low carb bread, cookies, cakes or waffles you’ll need these. And, you can even make your own flax milk.

Our local grocery store has started carrying some of these products but they charge an arm and half a leg for them. And, since low carb lifestyles have become a “thing”, they are frequently out of stock.

If you hate coconut flavor then just buy almond flour. No need to choke down food you don’t like on Keto. There is plenty of good food to choose from.

5. Nuts & Seeds

So I am just going to say it…a lot of the food on the Keto Diet is soft.

One of the biggest complaints that we have heard over the last couple of years from readers and friends alike is that they miss the crunch of crisps, crackers and chips.

Whether you like them raw or roasted nuts and seeds are going to be a staple in your new lifestyle.

The word on the Keto Block says that Macadamia nuts are the new favorite because of the high fat and low carb-i-ness.

But walnuts, pecans, almond peanuts and cashews are all good snacks in moderation.

6. Low Carb Sweeteners

Most local grocery stores have a small selection of zero calorie sweeteners. Sweeteners this product has come along way since you last saw your grandma add “Sweet N Low” to her iced tea.

There are a handful of pretty good low carb sweeteners like Monkfruit, Erythritol and Stevia (in small amounts).

We actually recommend Allulose because it’s is actually sugar – a rare sugar – that occurs naturally, and taste exactly like sugar without the aftertaste of the others.

Possibly a nerdy, but allulose has the the same chemical formula as glucose and fructose (C6 H12 O6) but because of the way the molecule is put together, you body can’t absorb it so it has no effect on insulin.

Some zero calorie sweeteners are a dumpster fire of chemicals and can be really dangerous.

Please do yourself a huge favor by checking out this post on Keto Sweeteners…we have done the research and now you can make some informed decisions on which ones you choose to put in your body.

Amazon is where we get all of our Keto Sweeteners because of the prices. Costco is a great choice too. Local grocery stores will do in a pinch but you will be paying premium prices no matter where you live.

7. Eggs & Veggies

These are together because they have eggs as well as a good selection of Veggies at most grocery stores and it is convenient to get them there.

Eggs are a Keto Staple even if you don’t dig eggs. You’ll need them to bind almost any kind of bread or treat that you make.

We hear a lot of complaints about “egginess” of certain Keto Bread recipes. And, it’s true that some are “eggy-er” than others.

If you don’t like the eggy taste of bread or get sick of it quickly there are two things that you can do.

1. Use two egg whites in place of one egg in a recipe. (However, egg yolks contain a lot of nutrients and you’ll be missing out on those).
2. Choose recipes for bread that contain gluten, psyllium husk or cheese as the base of the bread. Mozzarella has a very mild taste and these “fathead” types of recipes will add fat to your diet.

We have a ton of bread recipes here. 

The Yeast bread recipe is super popular with people who miss real bread. But it does take some effort because you will be “rising” the dough like traditional bread.

Not every beginning chef gets it on the first try. The best burger buns are a sure thing every single time if you want an easy, cheese based bread.

Low carb veggies are a must. You can see the list here but keep in mind that not all vegetables are super low carb.

Above ground vegetables with a green hue are best. And, leafy and cruciferous plants get extra points here.

Items like carrots, onions and even garlic have a lot more carbs than you think. They are still important sources of nutrients and should be eaten in moderation.

But don’t make the same mistake that I did when we started. I didn’t even count onions…which come in at a whopping 12-17 grams of carbs per cup depending on the type.

Who would eat a whole cup of onions? Probably not many people. But they add up in the total carb count of stir fry’s and soups.

Opt for green onions instead and check out the shopping list for ideas. Remember the realistic bit from before? Don’t over buy fresh veggies. Only buy what you PLAN to eat.

8. Low Carb Drinks

When you start Keto or any big change in diet you’ll need to bump up your water intake. Dehydration and painful constipation are something that just goes with the Keto Diet in the first stages.

There are scientific reasons as to why this happens but that is a whole other post.

Coffee, tea, club soda with a twist and plain old water with lemon or lime should take the place of soda or sweetened anything.

If you drink alcohol than there are some options but beer and sugary mixers are out.

In fact, alcohol should be avoided in the beginning but if you want to know more about Keto and Booze check out this post.

Or this page for some drink recipes that won’t kick you out of Ketosis.

9. Low Carb Snacks

In the beginning my husband started Keto Before I did. He has a lot more will power when it comes to this stuff and he started with virtually NO snacks.

I tried to follow suit and got exactly 18 minutes into my Keto Journey when I discovered that this was not going to work.

I was NOT going to munch on celery sticks and be happy. I know myself better than that.

We keep Spicy Pork Skins and nuts on hand to satisfy the crunchy, salty cravings. And sometimes I do eat celery dipped in low carb dressing. (I like them if they are not the only choice LOL)

This list should keep you busy. And, just about anyone can find something here.

Now that you know what to buy you can get started right away.

Shopping for Keto Friendly groceries isn’t difficult. Most people just need to adjust their strategy a little bit.

Only buy what you KNOW that you  will eat and you’ll save yourself a lot of time and a ton of money.

Cheers for Now!!!

Brandy

Easy Keto Recipes to Love:

• 11 Easy Keto Ice Cream Recipes
• Keto Almond Butter Cookies
• Low Carb Lemon Tartlets
• Keto Green Apple Crumble
• Easy Keto Tortilla Chips
• Keto Hot Cereal

More Keto & Cooking Tips to Love:

• The Benefits of Fasting on Keto
• Mindful Eating on the Keto Diet
• Calories Matter on Keto
• Apple Cider Health Benefits
• The Successful Keto Mindset
• Lose Ten Pounds in 7 Days without Starving
• Cheat on Keto the Right Way
• How many ounces in a cup?