You’re ready to start a ketogenic diet! Woohoo! Then … you open your pantry and SCREAM!
If you’re like us, containers of white sugar, flour, confectioner’s sugar, brown sugar, crackers, chips, cookies, cereals, canned soups, beans, rice, and pasta fill the shelves of your pantry. What to do with all those carbs?
My brother, Stephen, decided to eat his way through his pantry before beginning a new keto diet. Once completed, he went full-on keto and never looked back (or better). I donated my carb-laden stash and replaced the staples with low-carb substitutes.
This process can be painful, which is why I had to get rid of it all at once.
In addition to the foods listed under “The Keto Diet Food List,” here’s a short list of keto pantry essentials I can’t live without:
Almond Flour
Baking Powder
Baking Soda
Beef Broth or Stock
Chia Seeds
Chicken Broth or Stock
Coconut Flour
Extracts (Vanilla, Almond, etc.)
Flaxseeds
Low Carb Pizza Sauce
Low Carb Spaghetti Sauce (Try Rao’s)
Low Carb Tortillas (Mission Carb Balance)
MCT Oil
No Sugar Added Ketchup
No Sugar Added Peanut Butter
Palmini Hearts of Palm Angel Hair (canned)
Psyllium Husk Powder
78% Cocoa Dark Chocolate (Lindt Excellence)
Soy Sauce
Stevia Glycerite Liquid Sweetener
Sugar Free Syrup
Swerve Sugar Replacements (Granulated, Confectioners, Brown)
Truvia Nectar
Truvia Sugar Replacements (Granulated, Confectioners, Brown)
Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
Vinegars (All types)
Xanthan Gum
I have always disliked the taste of any artificial sweeteners so don’t use them. As my husband and I want to start keto,I’m curious as to what we should try. For my husband, what’s best to replace the sugar in his coffee
Hi, Shirl! We like Truvia, because it combines both erythritol and Stevia leaf extract. For us, it taste more like the real deal. Swerve works well for me in baked goods, too. It comes down to your personal flavor preference. Hope that helps! Thank you for visiting us and stay well.
I want to start keto and my question is do I have to count carbs and sugar each day, and what is a portion? What sides with what entre?
Thanks
SheilaHoward
Hi, Sheila, and welcome! A keto diet keeps track of net carbs, which is the total carbohydrates in the ingredients MINUS any fiber. Sugars are indeed carbohydrates, so you’d have to include their carbs (and they’re high) into your daily count, which is why we use sugar substitutes in our cooking. Each recipe has a portion count, either by weight, volume, or the percentage of the total recipe, that counts as one portion. For instance a portion size may be 1/6th of the total amount. The nutritional facts are all per portion. You get to choose what sides you’d like to pair the entrée!,