Shopping is a tricky business, what to buy, where to get it from, what version to pick, how much you need, and then, after all that, you've got to decide what to do with it.
The following lists are to help you select the foods that should account for 80-90% of your total food intake.
Protein Source:
Chicken
Turkey
Duck
Pork
Lamb
Beef
Venison
Wild Meats (Buffalo, Springbok, Ostrich, etc)
Salmon
Mackerel
Haddock
Cod
Plaice
Trout
Tuna
Hake
Eggs (these are good for small meals or adding to dishes to boost the protein content, but at 6g of protein per egg, not the most efficient choice)
Vegetable Sources:
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Spinach
Cabbage
Kale (be cautious with kale, as it has a very strong flavour and can easily overpower other ingredients)
Watercress
Rocket
Asparagus
Courgettes
Carrots
Sprouts
Great Beans
Peppers
Mange Tout
Tomatoes
Celery
Chicory / Endive
Butternut Squash
Onions
Legumes, Grains and Pulses:
Black-eyed Beans
Pinto Beans
Navy / Haricot Beans
Aduki Beans
Kidney Beans
Broad Beans
Cannellini Beans
Chick Peas
Garden Peas / Petit Pois
Lentils
Freekah *
Spelt*
Wheatberries *
Rice *
* These ingredients should account for no more than one of your five principal ingredients in a meal and should also not exceed 60g in any one serving.
Tips, Tricks and Good Practices:
Take the shopping list with you, don’t try and remember everything.
Go shopping directly after you’ve eaten a meal, you’ll be less likely to impulse buy and less concerned with seeing ?foods that aren’t on your plan.
If you're going to buy organic, save your money for foods where you eat the whole plant. If you're going to peel or discard the skin anyway, then the benefit of organic produce is largely negligible for most people.
Wash your food before eating it.
Buy enough to last you until your next shopping trip. If you go shopping twice a week, there's no sense in buying a weeks worth of food in one go, particularly foods with a short shelf life.
Remember, many of the foods listed come in different forms Broccoli for example comes in a standard form, tenderstem, purple sprouting and is also now available shredded into Broccoli 'Rice'. Choose the form that works best for you.
Most people will benefit from 25-45g of protein per meal. Most meats and fish give you 20-30g per 100g of cooked food.
Allow for 30-60g of each of the 3-4 vegetables in any one meal. This should give you a good balance of micronutrients and help manage appetite. If you're eating more than 240g of vegetables from the above lists and you still feel hungry then one of the following needs addressing: