Full disclosure – I hate grocery shopping. I don’t find it fun, it’s expensive, and there are constant lines. However, I do enjoy eating, so it’s a necessary evil. We’ve found a few ways to make it a little less of a chore, so we decided to do a blog on shopping for keto groceries.
Expectations of Shopping for Keto Groceries
When we first started keto, I was sure it was going to mean more time in the grocery store. I imagined looking for obscure items and checking every nutrition label. Keto items are often throughout the store, so I was ready to look at every item on the shelf. It was not something I was looking forward to doing!
Experience Shopping for Keto Groceries
Okay, so the first couple of times out, we did have to check pretty much every label to make sure we were staying within our macros. It was quite a learning curve, and the information we got made it worth the time. Who knew that my vanilla Activia yogurt had 15 grams of carbs in it? Once we found a brand that fit in our keto lifestyle and we enjoyed, that just became our go-to brand, so it was much faster.
Remember the nutritionists saying that you should only shop in the outer edges of the grocery store? We realized what exactly that meant! Vegetables are usually where you first come in. Then the back wall is all the meats. The other side is dairy (including cream, cream cheese and cheese). That’s it. That’s all we need. The only aisle we regularly go down is the cat food aisle.
Checking Labels When Shopping for Keto Groceries
When we have time, we do take a look in the organics section to see if there are any new keto-friendly products. Look at the label and check the net grams of carbs. This is done by looking at the total carbs and take away the fiber and any sugar alcohols. There aren’t any set amounts that are good or bad, as long as you can keep your entire day under 20 grams of net carbs. We have an entire section on how to figure out net carbs from labels in our workbook.
It’s up to you to look at the product and decide if it’s worth it. For example, a small package of SmartSweets fruit gummies have 3 grams of sugar in them. We don’t like taking in any sugar, so they are not worth it for us. Now, a Lily’s chocolate bar has about 4 grams of net carbs in half of the bar, and we find that totally worth it! It’s all about your preference.
Tips for People who Hate Grocery Shopping
My number one tip is to make a list. That helps me get in, get what I need for the week (so I don’t have to come back) and get out. If you can go to the same store or two, you soon get to know where things are, and that makes it even faster.
Secondly, I think everyone knows the number one rule of not going shopping if you are hungry. You’ll find your way over to the Lily’s chocolate bars before you know it!
And finally, try to go to the store during off hours. I work all week, so I can’t get to the store until the weekend, but I hit Walmart at about 8:30 am on Saturday morning. You can see all of us who hate grocery shopping getting our stuff and getting out before the people who wander all the aisles get there!
Grocery shopping is not fun (for me) but keto has led me to plan more, which means faster and more efficient shopping. It can work for you with these few tips!
Wendy
