top of page

Meal Planning with Keto: Keto-Approved Shopping Lists and Meal Prepping

The foundation of any diet or nutrition plan starts with meal planning and knowing what to avoid.

jazmin-quaynor-18mUXUS8ksI-unsplash.jpg

If you don’t plan out your meals, you are setting yourself up for failure. The average person’s body sends signals to the brain telling them they are hungry. They typical then head for the kitchen, cafeteria, or vending machine for the quickest fix. If you have a plan when you get there, you stand a better fighting chance of choosing the right foods.

How to Meal Plan

You most likely don’t realize, but you probably eat the same 5-10 things every week. Take a moment and try to write down 10-15 different meals you ate this month……..it’s likely harder than you thought. That being said, let’s take the meals in your rotation and make them keto friendly. Before you know it, you’ll be buying keto friendly food at the grocery store and making keto friendly meals out of habit.

The Grocery List

The grocery list is extremely important. If you convince yourself to stick to the list, you shouldn’t have any issues. Go at it without a list, and you will likely become overwhelmed, lazy, and end up buying the wrong foods in a pinch.

Some basic guidelines based off of different food groups:

Produce

  • Lettuce

  • Greens (kale, spinach, chard, etc.)

  • Asparagus

  • Avocados

  • Bok Choy

  • Mushrooms

  • Eggplant

  • Radishes

  • Zucchini

  • Tomatoes

  • Califlower

  • Brocolli

Meats and Fish (Organic grass-fed meats and wild-caught fish are your best bets.)

  • Beef

  • Chicken

  • Lamb

  • Pork

  • Bacon

  • Salmon

  • Halibut

  • Rock Fish

  • Crab, Shrimp, and Lobster

  • Mussles, Oysters, and Scallops

casey-deviese-697368-unsplash.jpg

The Deli Counter (Many of this food type is processed and high in salt content, but if you must…)

  • Sliced Chicken

  • Corned Beef

  • Ham

  • Roast Beef

  • Turkey

  • Sliced Cheese

Dairy

  • Butter and Ghee

  • Cheese (Check the label to ensure nothing added but most all are safe.)

  • Eggs (Watch your protein intake as eggs have a lot of it.)

  • Heavy Cream

  • Almond Milk

  • Sour Cream

Condiments (Be careful and check for sugar, and artificial sweeteners.)

  • Avocado Oil

  • Olive Oil

  • Olive Oil based mayonnaise

  • Unsweetened (Sugar Free) Ketchup and Mustard

  • Oil Based Dressings

  • Mayonaise

  • Hot Sauces

  • Aoili's

  • Creamy Dressings (Ranch, Blue Cheese, and Cesar for example.)

Snacks (Be careful for sugar alcohols often found in snacks promoted as low net carbs but negatively impact your blood glucose levels and can kick you out of ketosis.)

  • Parmesean Crisps

  • "Moon Cheese" (freeze dried cheese)

  • Some Nuts (Pecans, Brazil Nuts, Macadamia and others in moderation.)

  • Slim Fast brand Keto Bombs

  • Low-Carb Peanut Butter

  • Meats and Cheeses (typical charcuterie style offerings)

  • Celery Sticks

How to Meal Prep

Meal prepping is the next most important step in establishing a solid meal plan.

ella-olsson-1184057-unsplash.jpg

Like most people, you are probably busy and constantly on the move. You may have multiple jobs, kids, a dog or cat, and a spouse that needs your attention. You might not have 2-4 hours to cook each day. This is where meal prepping comes in. Instead of spending a couple hours each day, set aside a block of time to prepare most of your meals and ingredients for the week. The average American finds Sunday to be the best time for this.

  • Veggies – Wash all vegetables, chop and sort them, weigh, and set aside portions so you know what’s what.

  • Fruit – Wash, slice, and sort.

  • Meats – Wash, slice, marinate, cook, and set aside portions. This can be in preparation for a meal, or as meals to grab and go.

  • Snacks – Always have some emergency snacks laying around the office or house just in case. Nuts are a great go-to, as well as fruits and veggies. If you do find a low carb cracker, make sure you are watching your portion, as you want your carb intake to be within the 5%-10% range.

Pro Tips:

Get yourself a large and diverse set of Tupperware containers! This will make prepping so much easier, and it will help you keep all your prepping from going bad.

1.

Get a good food scale. Many of the measuring of fats, proteins, and carbs needed in the keto diet will involve weighing your food. Best to get it right and not leave guessing up to chance.

2.

Food chopper or slicer. These are great for bulk chopping of vegetables and fruits. It can be the difference between 5 minutes and 25 minutes.

3.

Recipes:

Check out these great resources for a wide variety of keto-friendly meals that you can start making today!

​

Zero2Keto.com/recipes

bottom of page