This is your ultimate beginner keto grocery list. Now full disclaimer, not everything on this list you need to buy, you don’t need to go and spend $300 at the grocery store, but we are giving you a list and you can kind of pick and choose, or you can get all of it. And another thing to note, just because it is not on this list, doesn’t mean that you cannot have it. We can’t possibly list all the things you can have on keto, because keto is amazing and gives you a ton of variety and a ton of abundance when it comes down to things you can eat.
Vegetables
Veggies that you should get are broccoli, preferably baby broccoli. It’s going to be a little bit lower carb content, but also it’s going to have high and anti estrogen properties, so it’s going to help you fight water retention.
Cauliflower is in the same boat, it is also a cruciferous vegetable. Cauliflower is also in the clean 25, which means you don’t need to get it organic, because it’s already pretty clean, and doesn’t have a whole lot in the way of pesticides, but cauliflower rice, mashed cauliflower.
Spinach, preferably baby spinach. Again, lower carbohydrate content, higher nutrient density. Baby kale, do not get regular kale, unless you really like it. Baby kale gives you all the nutritional benefits plus a little bit more, and it’s easy to break down, mechanically digest,because it’s not stocky and rigid, it’s very soft.
Avocado, 100% do not skip the avocado, unless you hate it. Avocado is one of the most powerful things on keto, it’s not just good for guacamole, it has a genetic potential inside your body. It activates something that regulates how much body heat your body generates, therefore allowing you to burn more fat.
Artichokes, we need prebiotic fiber from artichokes, because that prebiotic fiber is going to grow the good bacteria. When you first start keto and you’re a beginner, you’re balancing your gut bacteria and you have a big influx of good bacteria that’s coming in from all the healthy fats. So what happens is if you have artichokes, you get the prebiotic fiber that’s going to act as sort of a fire fertilizer on that good bacteria. So if you like artichokes, go for it.
If you don’t, a good alternative is asparagus. You get very similar prebiotic fiber content, just a slightly different form, or you can have both. Another thing, you don’t necessarily have to get organic, it’s in the clean 25.
Berries, you can have a small amount of berries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries. That’s going to give you a small enough carbohydrate content that you can get away with having about 1/4 cup to a half a cup per day, without knocking you out of the ketogenic state.
Meats and proteins
The meats and proteins are going to be the big part. So get lean chicken, try not to go for the fatty cuts of chicken, because the leaner poultry is safer. The fat profile of chicken thigh, drumsticks, chicken skin is not as good as you would find in red meat. So if you’re trying to get meat for the fat content, you want red meat. If you’re trying to get meat for the protein content, you go leaner. Turkey, if you go for ground chicken or ground turkey, get the 93% or 96% lean stuff, not the 85.
Sockeye salmon, wild caught sockeye salmon. Sockeye is really deep red and it has a lesser radiation content and lesser mercury content. Shellfish, scallops, shrimp, oysters etc. Very high mineral content and very high vitamin D content, which is going to help mobilize fat and it’s good for health from a hormonal standpoint.
Grass fed, grass finished beef, usually by getting it ground you can get steak, but with ground beef you’re going to save a lot of money. It is so important that you go grass fed, grass finished on keto. You are all of a sudden adding a bunch of fats into your diet and less carbohydrates, which means your primary fuel source is fat, which means that your body puts a lot more stock into that fat, because now instead of fat making up 30% of your diet, fats making up 70, so it’s a lot better to invest in good fats.
When it comes to meats and proteins with fish, remember about sardines, mackerel, anchovies and salmon. These are all things you can get canned and canned fish believe it or not are healthy. Canned fish gives us that preservation and it doesn’t usually have all the toxins that people think it does, you’re getting the highest omega-3 content. Also don’t forget about eggs as they’re a great protein source and hemp, as a vegetarian option.
Fats and oils
You should get loads of coconut oil as it is a great option on keto. Avocado oil, which is tremendous to cook with, because that way you’re going to end up having a higher smoke point. Grass-fed butter and ghee. Ghee is a clarified butter, they take butter and extract just the fat. It is lactose free and a very low harmful dairy.
Olive oil, however you shouldn’t cook with it, instead add it to your veggies. MCT oil, which is a fast-acting fat, absorbs very quickly and gives quick energy for the brain and the body. Also you can get red palm oil and macadamia oil, if you want to.
Nuts and seeds
Pili nuts, which you can’t get in a lot of stores, but you can find in specialty stores. It’s the highest fat and lowest carb nut out there. Macadamia nuts, very low carb content, we’re talking about 3 to 4 grams of carbs per serving. It has low phytic acid content, which means they’re not chelating minerals.
Pecans, another very low carb nut. Walnuts that have the highest omega-3 content. Brazil nuts that are good for females that want to improve their thyroid function. Hemp seeds that are a great protein source, great omega-3 source. Flax and chia, a very good fiber source.
Also you can get some butters, like almond butters and macadamia butter.
Cheese and dairy
You can get Greek or Bulgarian yogurt, that is unsweetened, go for a higher fat content, don’t get the low fat one. Greek yogurt does add up in carbs and Bulgarian yogurt, even though it is not in all stores, but has a lower carb content, and is better for overall gut health and probiotics.
Cottage cheese, but you have to be very careful with it. Try to get the one with few ingredients, if it has carrageenan and a bunch of emulsifiers, be careful.
With regular cheeses you can get goat cheese, it is a different classification of cheese as it does not have the same negative inflammatory casein proteins that most cheeses do. It doesn’t have an immunoactive response in the body. It’s the cleanest cheese you can get.
Parmesan and Romano cheese, when it comes down to regular cow cheeses, those are the best, as they are aged their lactose content is much less. Aged white cheddar is another good choice, look for the grass-fed ones.
When it comes to creams, choose heavy cream, no half and half unless you absolutely need it. Heavy cream is going to have lower carb content than half and half, higher fat content and you won’t have the inflammatory effect from the milk. Half and half is half cream half milk. Milk has sugar in it and milk is inflammatory.