One of the secrets to maintaining a healthy low-fat diet is having the right ingredients on hand to make interesting and tasty meals. If you still all the wrong sort of foods in your cupboard, fridge, and freezer, it is much easier to turn to those if you don’t have all the ingredients for the latest recipe you’ve chosen from this site.
By being smart in your shopping you can ensure that you can make main meals as required but also have healthy snacks and treats on hand ready for the times when you need them or want to indulge. Being able to eat a nice healthy snack from one of your shelves or something you quickly knock up yourself is far better than reaching for that bag of crisps which will only ruin your diet.
Here’s a list of suggested foods that you should be aiming to have.
Canned and bottled foods:
- Beans – Red kidney beans/borlotti/Cannellini/Pinto
- Chickpeas
- Lentils
- Mushrooms
- Roasted red peppers
- Sundried tomatoes
- Tuna in brine
- Salmon in brine
- Black olives
- Capers
- Fruit in natural juice – Pears/peaches/pineapple/mangoes
Dried goods:
- Dried mushrooms – porcini/shitake
- Lentils
- Quinoa
- Dried beans
- Dried fruit – apricots/cherries/figs/raisins/sultanas
Tomato products:
- Canned whole and chopped tomatoes
- Canned chopped tomatoes with added herbs/garlic/chilli
- Passata
- Tomato purée (paste)
- Salsa
Flavours and Seasonings:
- Assorted mustard
- Grated horseradish
- Red chilli paste
- Sweet chilli sauce
- Chinese black bean sauce
- Hoisin sauce
- Tabasco sauce
- Worcestershire sauce
- Thai fish sauce
- Ketchup
- Balsamic vinegar
- Mango chutney
- Garlic
- Chillies
- Lemon Juice
- Lime juice
- Vanilla extract
- Good selection of herbs and spices
Sugars and sweeteners:
- Honey
- Marmalade
- Reduced sugar jam
- Assorted sugars
Carbohydrate basics:
- Quick cook polenta
- Couscous
- Bulgar wheat
- Assorted rice – white/brown/risotto/wild
- Dried pasta
- Flour
Dairy products:
- Skimmed milk
- Skimmed milk powder
- Very low-fat fromage frais
- Very low-fat yoghurt
- Quark
- Light mozzarella
- Medium fat goats cheese
- Reduced fat cheddar
- Ricotta
- Very low-fat soft cheese
- Eggs
Freezer:
- Frozen fruits
- Frozen vegetables
- Microwave rice
- Skinless chicken breasts
- Salmon steaks or fillets
- White fish fillets
