Quote:
Originally Posted by leasmom
I have to make out a grocery list. I was vegeterian twice in my life and I ate way too many carbs and actually gained 16 lbs. I want to do this right because I can't eat meat because of gout. I can eat chicken, some seafood-(some creates gout symptoms and I hate the taste, I'm not even a fan of shrimp which is on the no-no list for gout)-turkey and veal on occasion. I can't eat certain vegetables but on occasion because of gout as well. I haven't been vegeterian in years and I followed the Atkins diet for 3 yrs which is why I developed the extreme sensitivity I did to meats. I want to lose weight, eat well and be full and satisfied, and eat healthy.
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Well...no idea who or how many you're feeding, or for how long, but this is my typical shopping basket. I shop for just me, in local chain supermarkets in the northeast (Wegmans, Price Chopper, P&C), and in a chain bag-your-own store called Aldi. I shop two or three times a week because I like to get fresh veggies and buy dairy in small quantities to keep it fresh (walking through the store is also part of my exercise plan...) I don't go to all of the stores available to me every week; this month I've mainly used Wegmans because I have to fill my chemo prescriptions there every week. But I read the stores' ads and since they're all in my neighborhood or on my way to work or home, I will stop for just one thing if it's on sale at a great price. I don't shop on the 'net for the things I use every day; occasionally I go to the Asian grocery store or the large natural foods store near work if I need something special or that's less expensive or fresher there.
Proteins
- fresh nuts, seeds, and nut/seed butters (snacks and nut butter wraps and sauces), a cup or so of each. You won't need to buy these every week.
- fresh hummus, about a cup a week
- soybeans in whatever form looks good that week (about a pound of tofu, tempeh, edamame). If you like them, you could also include soybean burgers, soymilk and cheeses made from soymilk if you don't do dairy.
- full fat dairy if you can tolerate dairy:
-- full fat ricotta, a pound per week (shakes, puddings, baked ricotta)
-- hard cheeses (swiss, smoked gouda, cheddar cheese curds, parmesan)
-- 2 quarts of plain, unsweetened kefir
-- a pint of half and half (a quart if I'm going to make a custard)
You could also pick up dry curd cottage cheese, plain unsweetened yogurt, cottage cheese, anything else in the dairy case that is unsweetened and catches your fancy.
- eggs, usually a half-dozen a week (more if I'm making a custard or pancakes)
- one to two lbs. of fish per week, in half-pound amounts of three or four different kinds (scallops, clams, mussels, oysters, tilapia, salmon, and sometimes salt cod or smoked herring)
- if you are eating chicken, I'd get around a pound or two per week per person; you're not going to get all your protein from chicken, but if a particular piece (chicken breasts) was on sale at an unbeatable price, I'd stock up and freeze at least half.
Figure that you're going to need at least a pound of fresh protein of some sort, per person, per day, to get 80-100g of protein (just a guess at your minimum protein requirement--it could be higher but likely won't be much lower than 80 grams.)
Fresh Fruits/vegetables
- some type of fresh dark leafy greens to last at least 3-4 days, usually about a pound (spinach, chard, kale, collards)
- cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes which are fresh year round; larger tomatoes in summer when they're local and fresh
- mushrooms, about a half pound of crimini, Italian brown or basic white (for salads, omelets, gravies, soups)
Then I look to see what else is good--avocados, cabbage, zucchini, spaghetti squash, melons, winter squash, cauliflower. If you can eat asparagus, broccoli, green or wax beans--go for it! In the winter (right now, CNY is in winter) I will buy frozen veggies and frozen bags of either unsweetened strawberries, mixed berries or melon pieces to use with ricotta for snacks, in shakes, for sauces, etc.) I will also buy ruby red grapefruits, lemons, limes and oranges at this time of year for sauces, and to snack on the grapefruit (one grapefruit = about 4 servings). But I keep greens, tomatoes, mushrooms and lemons in the house all the time. I also pick up garlic, onions (green, red and yellow), a sweet potato and a couple small red or yellow potatoes every couple weeks or as needed. However, I'm in maintenance/slow weight loss at the moment--if potatoes are a trigger food for you, skip them.
Always in the pantry
- unsweetened, low carb vanilla whey protein powder
- Isopure low carb chocolate whey protein powder
- extra virgin olive oil
- butter
- coconut oil
- small quantities of whole lentils, black-eyed peas, garbanzo beans
- dry or canned black soybeans (cook the dried ones in a crockpot, and freeze them if you can't get the Eden Organic canned ones in your area)
- almond flour (for muffins, biscuits, pancakes)
- good spices: choose the things you like, and make sure they're fresh
- vital wheat gluten
- whole rolled oats
- whole wheat pasta (remember, I'm in maintenance--mainly, I use spaghetti squash or cooked greens as my vehicles for sauces.
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- some type of low carb wrap or pita bread, usually whole wheat and always under 7g ECC per serving
- canned seafoods (tuna, salmon, mussels, oysters, clams)
- seafood in pouches (tuna, salmon)
- organic unsweetened peanut butter
- organic unsweetened jam or fruit puree (something that's 6g ECC per tablespoon)
I thought I'd put a basic vegetarian low carbing shopping list somewhere here, but can't find it. I'll see if I've got it in my files. Happy shopping!