Low Carb Shopping List

[Shadow]

Margaret's PPBBS Shopping List

Wondering what to shop for to get started on this way of eating? The following list is a compilation of food stuffs that can be found in almost all Protein Power People kitchens.

I think we can all agree that a well stocked kitchen is by far the best tool to maintain this way of eating

This list is broken down into sections so that you can print it off and take it with you to the grocery store. Bon Appetit. Many thanks to all of you who helped put this list together. Margaret


DAIRY SECTION

--Cheese (slices and string)

--Whole milk yogurt

--Cottage cheese (the full-fat kind)

--Eggs

--Cream cheese (flavoured on not, but not lite)

--half and half- for shakes

--ricotta cheese- for shakes

--Parmesan cheese, (real, not powdered)

--sour cream--to thicken pan juices or a shake, or to make a dip

--Cheese cubes

--Whipping Cream (unsweetened)


GROCERY AISLES

--Nuts (almonds, peanuts and/or pistachios, macadamia nuts)

--Chicken broth (great for poaching chicken or making sauces)

--Spices: cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, dry mustard, chile powder, cumin

--herbs (dried): oregano, basil, bay leaf, dill weed, tarragon

--mayonnaise, like Hellman's

--dry Ranch dressing mix

--Olives

--Capers

--Mustard

--dill pickles

--green olives (indispensable for deviled eggs!)

--real bacon bits (for the salad)

--Splenda

--variety of vinegars (balsamic, raspberry, red or white wine, sushi vinegar)

--canned coconut milk
Make these into cubes by freezing in ice cube tray for SweetiePie's Mounds Bar Smoothie.

--artificial flavorings

----hazelnut

----chocolate

----almond

----vanilla

--instant coffee (for shakes)

--frozen, pre-made quiche mix

--Olive or canola oil

--pumpkin (canned, unsweetened)
Make these into cubes by freezing in ice cube tray for SweetiePie's Pumpkin Pie Smoothie.

--peanut butter (unsweetened)

--low-carb salad dressing (check the label!)

--good quality Worcestershire sauce

--Asian Sesame Oil, Olive Oil

--home made or store bought "dry rubs"

--course salt & gourmet peppercorns

--Dijon mustard

--hot sauce (gotta have my wings!)

--low-carb tea (My fav is "gentle orange")

--Diet Rite w/Splenda (I don't drink it a lot, but it's nice occasionally.)

--Diet Clearly Canadian w/Splenda

--Unsweetened baking chocolate (the hard kind)

--Equal brand sweetener

--Cocoa powder (baking cocoa, unsweetened)

--Soy Flour

--Gluten Flour (vital wheat gluten)

--Oat Flour

--Flax Seed (refrigerate at home)

--Nut flours (refrigerate at home)

--Cinnamon

--Crystal light - all flavours (great in the fruit smoothie shakes)

--Pizza Quick sauce or other tomato sauce for lc tortilla "pizzas"

--Pork Rinds

--SF jello and pudding mixes


WHEAT PRODUCTS - yes Wheat!

--Wasa crisp rye crackers

--Low-carb bread (check 'light' or 'diet' breads that have less than 40 calories/slice)

--Low Carb crackers (Stonewall Kitchens, Nut Thins)

--Low-carb tortillas (La Tortilla Factory tortillas)

--High Fibre whole wheat melba toast

--Whole Wheat Pita Bread (Joseph's reduced carb pitas with oat bran and wheat protein isolate)


MEAT & FISH DEPARTMENTS

--Any fresh meat (if on sale buy more and freeze)

--Any fresh fish (if on sale, by more and freeze)

--Beef Jerky

--real bacon bits (for the salad - repeat, but worth it)

--Buddig Meats

--Bacon

--Sausage

--Steaks

--bag of frozen salad shrimp

--cans of chicken and tuna

--boneless, skinless chicken breasts & steaks (in freezer for quick cook up)

--summer sausage

--Pepperoni

--Snack foods


FRUITS & VEGGIES

--Cucumbers - (a great crunchy snack if you cut in slices
and top with cream cheese and smoked salmon or caviar)

--Frozen *UNSWEETENED* berries or melon chunks, to put in shakes, make sorbet

--fresh melon

--fresh berries

--Peaches

--celery

--carrots (the baby size, pre packaged)

--frozen chopped spinach or other frozen greens (many recipes call for this)

--bagged pre-washed salad greens (makes having salads so much easier!)

--frozen green beans

--yellow squash and zucchini

--spaghetti squash

--fresh and frozen veggies, generally including:
fresh broccoli florets
Oranges
Avocados
salad fixings (fresh greens, mushrooms, tomatoes, cukes)
lemons and limes
herbs & chilies

--Red Cabbage (great for salads and wraps)

--Garlic

--onions (green, red, sweet and cooking)


MISCELLANEOUS (order from the web or specialty stores)

--Protein Powder (also try GNC or local health stores)

--Protein Bars

--Protein Crunch cereal (Hi-Lo and others)

--Vitamins (also try GNC, health food stores, Wal-Mart)And last but not least, lots of bottles of dry red and white wine!!!

And last but not least, dry red and white wines and a good bottle of vermouth!

[Gaelen]

Like many, I started my grocery shopping with Margaret's shopping list...but my pantry has evolved a lot since I first started low carbing, and so has my list.

I prefer to get most of my groceries locally, although I've been known to bring home a canned or jarred condiment from a trip (like peach salsa from Hilton Head...yum!) I grocery shop at one of two major northeast US supermarket chains (Wegmans and Price Chopper), as well as a smaller chain called P&C, the local Aldi, and the year-round farmer's market, along with the local Asian grocery store--I am definitely not a one-stop, one-trip, load up the cart and be done with it shopper. I cherry pick, getting the best that store has to offer and usually hitting at least two of my favorite choices every week. I would always prefer to get my groceries locally; I don't order food online unless I'm sending someone a gift. ;)

I try to stick to seasonally available produce and proteins, because things in season are usually cheaper. I avoid transfats and high fructose corn syrup in any packaged/prepared foods that I buy, but I do use soy. I also prefer to use very small quantities of dark natural sugars and stevia leaf rather than artificial sweeteners, and I avoid sugar alcohols as much as possible. When possible, I buy packaged foods that are organic, or certified kosher...generally because the ingredient list is more controlled and I can pronounce everything listed. When I can get organic vegetabile and dairy products and their price is reasonable, I choose them, but I can't always get them for a reasonable price.

So here is my version of the 2006 shopping list. My approach is 'supermarket low carb'--you should be able to find most of these things for a reasonable price on the shelves of your local grocery store, in the natural foods aisles and/or at the local health food store, farmers market or food coop. I'll be updating this list periodically. Enjoy!

BEVERAGES

coffee: whole beans or ground, caffeinated or decaf, and one small jar of instant
juices: V-8, Diet V-8 Splash, Crystal Light mixes
soymilk: if not fresh from the Asian grocery, then WestSoy plain unsweetened soymilk, or SoySlender (chocolate, vanilla or cappucino, sweetened with Splenda (R) )
teas: green tea; herb (peppermint, ginger); Constant Comment; Earl Grey; English Breakfast


CONDIMENTS

anchovies (preferably packed in salt, not oil)
barbeque sauce: Dinosaur Barbeque Sauce, Dinosaur Mojito Sauce, Stubb's Moppin Sauce
capers
hot sauce, chile sauce
ketchup
mayonnaise
mustards: Dijon, grainy
oils (extra virgin, unrefined): coconut, olive, peanut, sesame
olives
pickles
vinegars: apple cider, balsamic, distilled (white), red wine, rice wine (mirin) and flavored vinegars


DAIRY CASE (eggs, butter, cheeses, dairy products, tofu)

butter (unsalted)
Cheeses (always buy full fat cheeses)
[INDENT] hard cheeses: blocks, shredded or grated
soft cheese: cream cheese, string cheese, brie and curd cheeses (ricotta, cottage and farmers cheese)
low sodium favorite: any variety of Emmentaler or swiss cheese!
always in the house: swiss, gouda, cheddar, parmesan, mozzarella, ricotta cheese, dry curd or farmer's cheese, parmesan cheese rinds (to flavor soup)
eggs
half and half
kefir (plain, full fat)
sour cream
tofu
whipping cream (unsweetened)
yogurt (plain, full fat or homemade from half and half)


FROZEN FOODS

berries (unsweetened, separate varieties or mixed)
broccoli
cauliflower
Dr. Praeger's Spinach Pancakes (latkes)
fish filets, individual portions (tilapia, orange roughy, salmon)
chopped greens, any kind (spinach, kale, collards)
potatoes (yes--potatoes--shredded like hash browns for portion control!)
phyllo dough sheets
Tabatchnick frozen soups (one portion per bag, for portable lunches)
tempeh
tofu (all available at an Asian grocery store): tofu shred (spaghetti style noodles), tofu skin (cut into your own lasagne-style noodle), fried tofu shapes
vegetable mixes (Green Giant, Birds Eye and store brands, with sauces if the sauce doesn't contain HFCS or trans fats)


GROCERIES: BAKING SUPPLIES, BULK FOODS, CANNED GOODS, PREPARED FOODS

broths and stocks: beef, chicken, vegetable (Pacific Organics, lowered sodium)
canned fish: clams, crab, oysters, salmon, tuna (the stuff in the foil packets is good, too)
chocolate: Hershey's Baking Cocoa (dry); unsweetened baking chocolate squares; Lindt 70% or 85% cocoa chocolate bars, Ghirardelli 60% semi-sweet baking chips
coconut: dried unsweetened organic coconut
coconut milk (canned, full fat)
flavorings and extracts: vanilla, almond, peppermint
flours: almond meal, besan (chickpea), oat, soy (Premium Harvest), whole wheat (stoneground), Wondra, vital wheat gluten
fruits (canned/jarred, packed in juice w/o HFCS): grapefruit sections, peaches
herbs and spices (dried, ground): basil, bay leaf, cayenne, chili powder, cinnamon, cloves, cumin, curry powder, dill, ginger, nutmeg, dry mustard, Mrs. Dash spice blend, oregano, pepper, poultry seasoning, pumpkin pie spice, sage, tarragon, thyme
crackers/breads: crackers (Dr. Kracker organic pumpkin cheese and three-seed), crepes (Melissa's), english muffins (Thomas' whole grain Lite), nut thins (Diamond), pappadums, pita bread (Joseph's Reduced Carb Oat Bran pitas)
lentils (brown, red and white)
nuts: almonds, cashews, macadamias, peanuts, pecans, pistachios, walnuts
nut butters (unsweetened): peanut, almond, macadamia nut
pastas: dried whole wheat (Hodgson Mill, DeCecco), dried lentil flour, and dried cheese tortellini (Barilla)
saki ika (squid jerky--check the Asian foods section)
seeds: flax (whole-grind at home), pumpkin, sesame, sunflower
sweeteners: Brownulated brown sugar, confectioners sugar, grade B (dark) honey, grade B maple syrup, molasses, granular Splenda (R)
vegetables (canned): cannellini beans, diced chiles, chipotle peppers, garbanzo beans, mushrooms, pumpkin, black soybeans (Eden), diced/whole tomatoes in juice
yuba (dried soymilk 'skin' that has a pasta-like consistency when cooked)


MEAT & FISH DEPARTMENTS -- any protein available at a reasonable price

PRODUCE DEPARTMENT

acorn squash
apples
avocados
bagged and pre-washed salad greens, baby spinach, soup vegetables, etc.
berries
bok choy
broccoli
cabbages, all types
carrots (the baby size, pre packaged)
cauliflower
celery
cucumbers
daikon radish
garlic
greens, any type
leeks
melon
onions, all types
parsnips
peaches
peppers (sweet, hot, chile, bell, etc.)
radishes
rutabaga
shallots
spaghetti squash
turnip
zucchini/summer squashes


MISCELLANEOUS

protein powder (I usually get mine from GNC)
vitamins (also try GNC, health food stores, Wal-Mart)


And last but not least, a bottle of sherry and a bottle of dry vermouth are always in my cupboard.

Depending on your approach to the plan, these items may also be helpful:
--jerky: beef, turkey, salmon
--frozen, pre-made quiche mix
--salad dressing (organic, no high fructose corn syrup or transfats--check the label!)
--pork rinds
--SF jello and pudding mixes
--Wasa crisp rye crackers
--light or 'diet' breads--check any variety with a 'light' or 'diet' label that has less than 40 calories/slice--should run under 7g ECC per slice. Some varieties include Beefsteak Rye Light, Pepperidge Farm and Sara Lee 'Light' and Arnold/Orowheat carb-counting whole wheat bread
--Low-carb tortillas (La Tortilla Factory)
--High Fibre whole wheat melba toast

[trigger]

I really was happy to find these lists. They will help me when I go to the market. I was just wondering why you both said to but baby carrots. I have been getting some Newman organic carrots and they are the whole long ones. I usually put one of them in my slaw. Is there a difference in the carbs?

[LisaS]

I think this is just the person's personal shopping list and s/he finds baby carrots a convenient package and sizing/portion control choice. YMMV
carrots are carrots. You need to weigh your average carrot, look up the carbs and evaluate for yourself if it is OK.