When you’re new on a keto diet, you might be a bit clueless yet on what to buy, and how to stock up your kitchen. For a start, the ketogenic diet is a low-carb but high-fat diet. Its main purpose is for your body to get more calories from fat rather than carbohydrates. This way, your body will become more efficient at burning fat. It can also turn fat into ketones, which supply the brain with sufficient energy.
While the keto diet isn’t really recommended as a long-term lifestyle, it can still be an effective way to withdraw your body from unhealthy carbs and become more accustomed to good fats and whole food.
The list of keto-friendly foods below may be shorter than expected, but cooking keto recipes creatively allows you to meet your nutritional goals while having delicious meals. You can also keep track of your carb and fat intake with a keto macro calculator for easier weight monitoring.
Check out the following list of foods to stock up on while you’re on a keto diet.
1. Condiments
Luckily, most condiments are approved in a keto diet. Just make sure to read the food labels first to check that there’s no sugar added to it. Furthermore, you can check whether some of them have low-carb percentages to know how much you’re taking. Some of the welcomed condiments on a keto diet are the following: Mustard, Mayonnaise, Buffalo sauce, Full-fat salad dressings.
2. Nuts and Seeds
All nuts are a great source of healthy fats. Some of these are almonds, pecans, and macadamia nuts. But be aware of cashews as they are one of the highest carbohydrates count in nuts. Thus, cashews are not the best option for keto dieters.
Hemp seeds, flax seeds, Chia seeds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, and sunflower seeds are all great options to stock up in your keto kitchen. These are all helpful in bulking up your fiber content. However, be mindful about buying granola bars or bottled beverages that say they have chia seeds mixed in them; these things don’t have a place in your keto kitchen. Ensure that when you buy seeds, they’re just seeds.
3. Oils
Since the keto diet is focused on consuming lots of fats, be prepared for the idea of eating lots of oil. That being said, you must focus on heart-healthy oil like avocado oil, virgin olive oil, and almond oil. Not all fats in the various oils are equally created; the following are those that you should focus on:
Cooking oils – Some examples of the most recommended cooking oil are sunflower oil, avocado oil, and grapeseed oil. They are rich in smoke points, so they’re best used for roasting, and stir-frying. They can be used in baking due to their neutral flavor.
Non-cooking oils – These types of oils are not recommendable to be paired with heat since they break down too quickly and burn. Oils such as pistachio oil, walnut oil, and flaxseed oil are perfect for soups, salads, or sprinkled over avocado toast.
Coconut oil – Coconut oil is excellent to blend with your smoothie, coffee, or frying.
4. Olives
Another way to add more fats to your daily intake is through olives. Green and black olives alike are rich with heart-healthy fats and keto-friendly nutrients. You can easily add them to your salads, or simply eat them as snacks. That’s why some companies sell snack-size olive packs so that you can conveniently keep them in your bag wherever you go.
5. Prepared Snacks
Once you’re on a keto diet, you may feel like there’s nothing left for you to eat as a snack, especially when everything is loaded with carbs. Even so, if you look closely, there are actually plenty of keto-friendly choices that you can buy in the stores such as pili nuts, meat snacks, meat sticks, meat bars, pork rinds, and cheese crisps.
6. Keto Meat
Be very particular with your choice of meat as some can be high in saturated fat. It’s best to go for lean beef since it has low saturated fats and it contains conjugated linoleic acids (CLA). Another best option is lamb meat. Since all lambs are grass-fed, they are also a good source of CLA.
Even when they’re keto-friendly, they’re still high in protein so it’s best to take small amounts in order to not go over the restrictions.
7. Salt
When you’re a new keto-dieter, your body will have to adjust, causing you to have some electrolyte swings. You may find yourself urinating more frequently which means you’re losing more electrolytes than an average person. To ease this, salt is the solution. Keto dieters need to incorporate salt in some of their recipes.
8. Beverages
In stocking your kitchen with beverages, be mindful of your options and avoid drinks that are too sweet or full of sugar. Water is the safest bet, but don’t be too hard on yourself. The following are some keto-friendly beverage options to choose from: unsweetened iced tea, plain hot tea, almond milk, bone broth, and carbonated flavored water.
9. Dessert
Hard to get by without an occasional dessert? You can keep unsweetened cocoa and frozen raspberries in your fridge in case your sweet tooth gets strong. Raspberries are rich in fiber compared to other berries, and they’re one of the lowest in sugar content, so it’s two-thumbs up for your keto diet.
10. Spices
There’s not much to worry about in stocking spices in your kitchen since all spices and herbs are keto-friendly! To make it easier for you in organizing your kitchen, you can separately store them in jars and label them. Here are some spices which you mustn’t miss out on having in your kitchen: chili, garlic, onion powder, paprika, oregano, dried parsley, dried chives, kosher salt, and peppercorns.
Go the Keto Way
Before you decide to finally break up with your favorite carb-food, it’s best to make sure that your kitchen is ready to go. When switching up your style of eating, having the right food in-stock can go a long way in helping you to succeed.