It may not seem like it quite yet, but spring is right around the corner—and before you know it, swimsuit season will be here. Now is the perfect time to spring clean your kitchen—purge your pantry and your refrigerator of any high-carb packaged foods and stock up on all the low-carb foods you need to stay on track with your weight loss goals. Start by creating a meal plan and a shopping list for the next week or so. Next, follow our “toss” or “keep/buy” guidelines (remember that you can donate any high-carb shelf-stable food to your local food pantry):
PANTRY
TOSS:
Canned soups (most are high carb)
Canned fruits
Pasta
Rice
Packaged crackers, cookies, cereals or snacks
Anything with added sugars—Look for terms such as brown syrup, evaporated cane juice, glucose, dextrose, honey and corn syrup
KEEP OR BUY:
Canned seafood (tuna, salmon, crab)
Sardines
Canned tomatoes
Salsas (make sure they have no added sugar)
Pasta sauce or tomato sauce with no added sugars
Canned green chilies
Tomato paste
Pumpkin
Roasted red peppers (make sure they have no added sugars)
Sun-dried tomatoes in oil
Chicken/beef/vegetable stock
Pesto
Dill pickles
Anchovies
Nut butters (natural and unsweetened—only after Induction)
Coconut milk (unsweetened)
Caffeinated or decaffeinated coffee
Caffeinated or decaffeinated tea
Herb tea (without barley or fruit sugars)
Atkins bars and shakes
CONDIMENTS
TOSS:
Regular ketchup with added sugar
Tomato-based chili sauce and cocktail sauce (unless no-added sugars)
Salad dressings with sugar added
Tartar sauce
Plum, sweet and sour sauce, oyster sauce
Teriyaki sauce
Honey mustard
Steak sauce and barbecue sauce
Jams, jellies, preserves (unless low carb and no added sugar)
KEEP OR BUY:
Mustard (yellow and Dijon)
Mayo (full-fat, no added sugars)
Cider and wine vinegars
Bottled hot sauces
Salsas
Tamari soy sauce (we recommend tamari because it is not made with wheat)
Tahini
Black bean sauce (without added sugar)
No added sugar salad dressings (or you can make your own)
Capers
Horseradish sauce
Pesto
Herbs and spices (watch for added sugars)
Extracts (vanilla, lemon, almond)
Broth or bouillon
Low-carb ketchup
Balsamic vinegar (check label for sugar content)
Rice wine vinegar (check label for sugar content)
Worcestershire sauce (check label for sugar content)
REFRIGERATOR/FREEZER
TOSS:
Fruits and juices (unless appropriate for your Phase of Atkins)
High-carb frozen foods such as pizza, pasta, dessert and waffles
Any other high-carb dairy products such as ice cream and sweetened yogurt
KEEP OR BUY:
Vegetables appropriate for your Phase (fresh and frozen)
Fruits appropriate for your Phase
Meats (frozen and fresh)
Eggs
Dairy—hard cheeses, cream, sour cream, butter and other appropriate dairy products for your Phase
Unsweetened, unflavored soy or almond milk
Club soda
Diet soda sweetened with non-caloric sweeteners
Plain or essence-flavored seltzer (must say “no calories”)
Water (tap, spring, filtered or mineral)
Tofu
Nuts (almonds, hazelnuts, pecans, walnuts, peanuts—you can keep them in the freezer)
Seeds (sunflower and pumpkin—you can keep them in the freezer)
Lemon or lime juice
Extra veggies for snacking—cucumber, jicama, bell peppers, green beans, etc.—keep a clear plastic container of washed, cut-up veggies so you always have a quick snack at your fingertips
Bags of greens for quick and easy salads
Lettuce for wraps and roll-ups
Shirataki noodles
Frozen berries
Atkins frozen meals
