Paleo Grocery Shopping 101

Here is  a breakdown of what I buy to stock my pantry and fridge when I start Paleo and where I find it all. I also gave an example of what I typically eat for meals.  The first thing you should do is browse Paleo friendly websites, blogs or cookbooks for some really good dinner recipes.  I typically try a new recipe 3-4 times a week for dinner.  Then I make sure to have leftovers for lunches or for the following night's dinner.  Remember, Paleo is an investment not only of your time, but of your pocket book as well.  Starting Paleo is expensive because you most likely need to clear out your pantry and fridge and start fresh with preservative free items. But, as I said before, it is an expense worth investing in because I promise you that you will feel a thousand times better after following Paleo strictly for a week.  If you are trying Paleo to lose weight, make sure that you take note of the limitations I listed on food quantities.  Also, a major cheat, like pizza, could completely destroy all the progress you've made and cause you to gain weight.  Cheat with a few extra chocolate chips or bake a Paleo friendly cake if you are feeling deprived or like you want to be "bad." My other advice is to avoid attempting to replicate something you love, like pizza, by using a Paleo recipe.  Paleo is wonderful, but a Paleo pizza will NEVER come close to tasting like a "real" pizza so do not set yourself up for failure or disappointment. 

So without further adieu here are all my lists:

Costco

• Stretch Island Fruit Chews(my Costco sells these, but I have heard they are hard to find. Jewel sells them too, but in smaller quantities.)
• Nitrate free bacon(it is cheapest here if you eat a lot of bacon. if you don't, Oscar Mayer makes nitrate free bacon that is sold in most grocery stores)
• Frozen fruit
• Unsalted Nuts(cashews, almonds)
• Dried fruits(cherries, craisins, pineapple)
• Cage Free Eggs
• Dole Banana Dippers

Produce Market(Caputos, Tony's, Cermak, Joespeh's)

• Boar's Head lunchmeat but the seasoned(Cajun, chipotle, etc) varieties are not nitrate free
• Good EVOO
• Good plain balsamic vinegar
• All fresh fruits and veggies

Grocery store

• Chicken Stock/broth(Imagine brand located in the organic/health food aisle)
• All meats(grass fed, cage free, free range, and/or organic are best)
• All beef Nitrate free hot dogs(Applegate Farms or Oscar Mayer)
• pickles
• whole grain mustard(Dietz and Watson)
• Coconut oil(spectrum brand)
• Plain, Vanilla or Chocolate Almond Milk(Blue Diamond or Silk Brand)
• grass fed butter(if you can't find it buy Challenge brand full fat butter)
• Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate Chips
• Alexia simple recipe frozen fries(limit to a small portion once a week)
• Heinz Simply Ketchup
• Grade B Maple syrup(if you plan to bake or make pancakes)

Common Spices used in Paleo Cooking:

• cumin
• cayenne pepper
• Thyme
• rosemary
• onion powder
• Kosher or sea salt
• cinnamon
• ginger
• dill
• basil
• Fresh herbs are always best, but they go bad quickly. If you will not use the whole package of fresh herbs within 4-5 days then just use dried herbs instead.

My Weekly Menu Options:

Breakfast:

• Eggs with grass fed butter(scrambled, over easy, over medium)
• Omelet with veggies or ham or bacon or a combo of all three. NO CHEESE.
• bacon or nitrate free sausage(must contain only natural ingredients)
• Fruit(banana, apple, pear, orange,etc)
• Smoothie(1 cup frozen fruit, almond milk to desired thickness, 1 cup raw baby spinach, and a banana)
• Coffee

Lunch:

• Lunch meat rolls with toppers(avocado, lettuce, pickles, mustard, tomato, onion, etc)
• Citrus salad(craisins, green apples, oranges, cashews, avocado)
• Cobb salad(lunch meat, egg, avocado, veggies)
• House Salad(veggies, olives)
•  I add leftover steak, chicken, or shrimp from previous meals to any of the above salads for some extra protein.
• I make my own balsamic vinaigrette or use straight balsamic vinegar.  There are Paleo recipes for Caesar, Greek and Italian dressings as well.
• Apple with almond butter
• Leftovers from previous meals
• Tuna fish with a tab of mayo, relish, and egg wrapped in romaine leaves with a little spicy mustard(you can substitute the mayo for avocado to be 100% Paleo)
• Eggs and bacon
• Nitrate free hot dog or sausage(Gilberts or Aidell's Brand. Choose a flavor without cheese) boiled or grilled with Whole Grain Dijon and Simply Heinz ketchup
• Homemade guacamole with carrots, celery and jicama as dippers

Dinner:

• Any lean protein(chicken, fish, pork, lean cuts of beef) on the grill simply seasoned with salt and pepper or marinated in a Paleo friendly marinade.  Served with roasted or steamed veggies and 1/2 sweet potato with real butter and cinnamon. NO sugar.
• Any Paleo dinner recipes I find appealing
•  Taco salad with lean ground beef and homemade taco seasoning served on romaine with salsa, guacamole, olives and black beans.
• Roasted whole chicken(Greek, lemon, Garlic) with 1/2 russet baked potato
• Limit potatoes to 2 total per week for weight loss
• Mom's spaghetti sauce over roasted veggies or chicken. If you are feeling adventurous try spaghetti squash.  I personally do not care for it but know lots of people who love it!

Snacks/Sweets:

• Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate Chips( no more than 10 a day)
• Stretch Island Fruit Snacks(1 package a day)
• Dried fruits and nuts(limit to 1/4 cup a day)
• Fresh fruit with organic heavy whipping cream(whipped of course and add vanilla for more sweetness)
• Natural popcorn(limit to once a week)
• Dole Banana Dippers(1 package a day)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

Beverages:

• Coffee. No SUGAR. Should be black, but we all know how I follow that rule. Limit to 2-3 cups a day
• Tea(Iced or Hot) unlimited amount. Sweetened with honey or agave only
• WATER
• Sparkling water-Unlimited
• 100% fruit juice. Limit to 4oz a day to see weight loss. 
• Almond milk. Limit to 1-8oz glass a day to see weight loss

Baked Goods:

• Use Almond, Coconut or Arrowroot flour for baking. I use Bob's Red Mill brand
• Maple Syrup(Grade B is best, but Grade A is good too) and honey to replace sugar
• Coconut oil or real butter to replace Canola or Vegetable oil
• Only dark chocolate
• Limit baking to once every two weeks unless others will be helping you eat it!!!

Weekly Must Haves on My Grocery List: I buy these every week in addition to any ingredients needed for recipes.

• Romaine
• Spring Mix Lettuce
• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Asparagus
• fresh green beans
• baby carrots
• celery
• Garlic
• yellow onion
• shallot
• sweet potatoes
• russet potatoes
• grape tomatoes
• avocados
• apples(Granny Smith and Fuji)
• pears
• clementines
• grapes
• grapefruit
• craisins
• Boar's Head lunchmeat
• pickles
• tuna fish(in water and white albacore)
• olives(ant variety)
• chicken(breasts, whole, thighs)
• 93/7 ground beef(organic)
• Beef(flank steak, filet mignon, or skirt steak)
• 100% juice
• Almond Milk
• eggs
• bacon
• fresh herbs

I really hope this helps some of you who are thinking about starting to follow a Paleo lifestyle.  I am certainly no expert, but I do feel like I have a handle on the do's and don'ts of eating on Paleo.  Keep in mind though, that I am following the 80/20 lifestyle which allows me to integrate potatoes, chocolate, baked goods and the occasional high fat, organic dairy into my diet in moderation.  If you want to do a cleanse you would have to eliminate far more from your daily diet.  I have done a full cleanse in the past and was successful, but I had a hard time maintaining that lifestyle.  I would like to create good habits that I know I can keep forever which is why I chose the 80/20 plan. 

Please let me know if you have any questions about any of these lists or products.  Tomorrow I will be baking those chocolate chip cookies. The day just got away from us today, but tomorrow we will have plenty of time to bake and cook!!  Today was just leftovers for all three meals. The pulled pork was Ah-mazing reheated!!  It was hard for me not to eat it for both lunch and dinner, but I refrained because I wanted some leftover so I can have it tomorrow too!

XOXO