Never be enough? Keto Staples

[Pangeyangey]

Since starting the keto diet, I have spent a lot of money trying to gather the right ingredients to cook keto recipes to provide a varied choice in what I can eat. Just wondering if any more experienced people in their keto journey can give any advice on staple ingredients please? Thanks in advance.

[PaulL]

Butter, bacon grease, lard, tallow, and coconut oil are what I cook with. The olive oil goes on the salads. We buy bacon in quantity, so that there are always three or four pounds in the freezer and a pound or two in the fridge. Likewise, we buy eggs in eighteens, not measly little dozens, and it is not unusual to have three dozen on hand. I keep frozen ground beef patties on hand and buy Italian sausages in bulk and freeze in threes or fours—these are great for quick meals when you don’t feel like cooking.

Since I do Fathead pizza fairly often, I keep almond flour, cream cheese, mozarella, and pepperoni on hand, as well as bell peppers for when we have Dad make sausage and peppers. The usual range of spices (I wouldn’t eliminate spices even if I were to go zero-carb, though most people do), plus onions, cauliflower, broccoli, salad greens, and cherry tomatoes to round out a meal. It’s probably not the greatest idea but I do use a teaspoon of cornstarch every time I make gravy or cheese sauce. (I justify it by claiming that a teaspoonful spread through a pint of sauce gravy isn’t really all that awful. I simply haven’t found anything that thickens as well.)

You might want to keep a non-caloric sweetener on hand, but some people feel it’s better to avoid sweeteners altogether. That’s something you’re going to have to work out for yourself.

P.S.–Heavy cream and whole-milk yoghurt are nice to have around, as well. Try heavy cream in your scrambled eggs and in your coffee. Dreamy!

[kib]

Have you ever tried psyllium husk powder for thickening? it works. Really well. really, really really well. Like, Really well. Like … glue if you’re not careful.

I always have frozen riced cauliflower in the freezer. A little butter and cream and it is just soooo tasty. Also shiritaki noodles, which, once you get used to them, are a pretty reasonable substitute for pasta. I also like almond flour, good for a quiche crust or keto rolls.

[Anniegirl9]

I have a book called something like “5 Ingredient Keto meals.”

Now the 5 ingredients are in addition to a list of common pantry items that should be a staple for any Ketonean, but it’s not an unreasonable list. Things like coconut oil and sea salt for example.
I recommend it.

Avoid Leanne Vogal’s stuff unless you like spending massive amounts of $ on ingredients you can only find online and like spending hours in the kitchen.

[Jo_O]

Add to everyone else’s list:
Ghee (I make it from butter)
Cream cheese
Sour cream
Nuts
Pork rind (I grind and freeze leftovers).
Frozen spinach
If you bake: coconut flour, almond flour & xanthum gum.

And yes, there’s a lot of stuff languishing in the pantry from when we first starting Keto. (The kinds of recipes out there have improved greatly in the last year. Early ones I won’t eat anymore.) But I need to start using them up. Things like protein powder, boxed bone broth, & arrowroot.

[rhltechie]

While I’m the first one in line for ribeye, I always keep bone in, skin on chicken thighs. 20 minutes you have crispy chicken skins. Yumo. Also avocado oil. Mild flavor and a smoke point of 520 make it my preferred oil. I buy heavy cream, cream cheese and kerrygold butter in multiples. Apple cider vinegar. Dijon Mustard. Bags of frozen spinach.