Paleo Shopping Guide

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Here’s our paleo shopping guide, we have tried to highlight what kind of produce you should be looking for and where you can buy it.

 

For a printable version of this shopping guide please click here.

 

In an ideal world we would all eat lots of organ meats, your meat choice would be grass-fed (and finished), organic and free-range/pastured. Eggs would be organic and free-range/pastured. Seafood would be wild and sustainably caught.

 

Protein

  • Organ Meats
    Best choice: 100% grass-fed or free-range/pastured + organic
    Abel & Cole www.abelandcole.co.uk, Green Pasture Farms www.greenpasturefarms.co.uk and Eversfield Organic www.eversfieldorganic.co.uk all sell organ meats
    We would not recommend organ meats from animals that have not been fed their natural diet
  • Seafood
    Best choice: wild-caught + sustainably fished (Visit www.msc.org for details)
    For salmon look for wild-caught Alaskan MSC-certified salmon
    For tinned fish we love the Fish 4 Ever brand www.fish4ever.co.uk
    Middle choice: wild-caught and/or sustainable
    OK choice: organic farmed
    For organic farmed fish we would probably go for the Duchy from Waitrose organic brand
  • Meat (beef, lamb, pork, venison, wild boar etc.)
    Best choice: 100% grass-fed + organic (choose cheap cuts if budget is an issue)
    Eversfield Organic www.eversfieldorganic.co.uk produce 100% organic grass-fed and finished beef and lamb
    Middle choice: grass-fed and/or organic
    OK choice: Lean with fat trimmed or drained
  • Poultry (chicken, turkey, duck, pheasant etc.)
    Best choice: free-range + organic (all organic chickens will be free-range by default)
    Abel & Cole www.abelandcole.co.uk sell both organic and free-range chicken
    Green Pasture Farms www.greenpasturefarms.co.uk sell truly free-range (what is called pastured in the US) chicken and pork
    Middle choice: free-range
    OK choice: supermarket/butcher/farm shop bought,  if not free-range remove skin
  • Eggs
    Best choice: free-range + organic (all organic eggs will be from free-range birds by default)
    We like Abel & Cole www.abelandcole.co.uk/dairy-eggs/eggs for truly free-range and delicious eggs
    Middle choice: free-range and/or omega-3 enriched
    All Waitrose eggs are free-range. Clarence Court (sold in various supermarkets) www.clarencecourt.co.uk produce duck & quail eggs as well as chicken and the eggs come from heritage breeds that are free-range
    We do not recommend eggs that are not at least free-range as free-range eggs are readily available in all UK supermarkets
  • Processed Meat (bacon, sausages, ham, salami, Parma ham etc.)
    Best choice: free-range + organic, look for gluten-free and no added sugar
    Devon Rose www.devonrose.com produce nitrate-free bacon and gluten-free sausages
    Peelham Farm www.peelham.co.uk produce organic free-range ham and bacon plus gluten-free sausages and bacon
    Abel & Cole www.abelandcole.co.uk sell organic nitrate free bacon, gluten-free sausages and organic sugar-free ham
    Middle choice: free-range
    Ocado www.ocado.com have a good selection of free-range bacon and sell Duchy from Waitrose organic ham (which isn’t sugar-free) as well as organic deli meats (Parma ham etc.)
    OK choice: gluten-free
    M&S produce 97% pork gluten-free sausages but not from free-range pigs

 

Vegetables – choose seasonal, local + organic where possible

Green vegetables – all types of vegetables are great to include in your diet, the below selection are particularly nutritious

  • Asparagus
  • Broccoli
  • Brussels sprouts
  • Cabbage – all types
  • Chard
  • Courgettes
  • Kale
  • Leeks
  • Lettuce – all types
  • Pea shoots
  • Rocket
  • Spinach
  • Spring greens
  • Watercress

Starchy vegetables and root veg

  • Beetroot
  • Butternut squash, spaghetti squash and all other types of squash
    Abel and Cole www.abelandcole.co.uk sell organic spaghetti squash in season
  • Carrots
  • Parsnips
  • Pumpkin
  • Swede
  • Sweet potatoes
  • Turnips
  • White potatoes (limit due to high carbohydrate content if you are watching your weight)

 

Other vegetables – all vegetables are great but here is a selection found readily in most supermarkets and farm shops

  • Aubergines
  • Cauliflower
  • Celery
  • Chillies
  • Cucumber
  • Garlic
  • Mushrooms – all types
  • Onions
  • Peppers – all types
  • Shallots
  • Tomatoes – all types

 

 

Herbs, Spices, Condiments, Tins

 

  • Fresh herbs – all types
  • Dried herbs – all types
  • Fresh ginger
  • Fresh horseradish
  • Stock cubes – making your own stock from bones is far better than using stock cubes if you can find the time but we understand that everyone doesn’t always have fresh stock to hand, or the time to make it. The best stock cubes we have found are Marigold Organic Swiss Vegetable Bouillon Cubes – they come in a red box and are gluten and lactose-free, the only ingredients are sea salt, yeast extract, palm oil, vegetables (onion, carrot, celery, parsley), turmeric and mace.
  • Spices – all types
  • Salt – Choose unrefined salt such as Himalayan pink salt or Celtic sea salt
  • Mustard – Dijon, English or wholegrain etc.
  • Vinegar – cider, white wine, red wine, balsamic, sherry etc.
  • Pickles – onions, beetroot, gherkins etc.
  • Coconut aminos (as a soy sauce replacement)
  • Tinned tomatoes
  • Tomato puree

 

Fats

Cooking fats

  • Animal fats such as duck fat, goose fat, lard – free-range + organic
    Green Pasture Farms www.greenpasturefarms.co.uk sell free-range/pastured pork lard
    Abel & Cole www.abelandcole.co.uk sell free-range goose fat from British geese
  • Ghee (or clarified butter) – grass-fed + organic
    Best choice for ghee is from Hook and Son www.hookandson.co.uk their ghee is made from raw butter from grass-fed cows
    Abel & Cole www.abelandcole.co.uk sell the Pukka brand, which is made from butter from grass-fed cows.
    Fushi produce an organic ghee www.fushi.co.uk from cows fed grass between March and October and organic feed the rest of the year.
  • Coconut oil – Ocado www.ocado.com have the best selection of coconut oils. Sainsburys sell the Lucy Bee brand, which is extra-virgin and organic. Waitrose sell Groovy Foods organic virgin coconut oil.
  • Olive oil 

 

Eating fats

  • Grass-fed butter
    Best choice: raw, grass-fed + organic
    Hook and Son www.hookandsonfarmshop.co.uk sell raw butter, both unsalted and salted but you can only buy it alongside their milk and other products
    Waitrose and Ocado www.ocado.com sell Isigny Sainte-Mere raw butter, both unsalted and salted
    Kerrygold is probably the most readily available grass-fed butter (it’s not raw); it is stocked in most UK supermarkets. Cows are grass-fed for up to 312 days per year.
    Middle choice: Yeo Valley do organic unsalted and salted butters, available in most supermarkets. The cows are only grass-fed for part of the year.
  • Extra-virgin olive oil
  • Olives
  • Avocados
  • Avocado oil – The Olivado brand is organic, cold-pressed and extra virgin www.olivado.com and Ocado stock it www.ocado.com
  • Coconut – fresh, flakes etc.
  • Coconut milk
  • Coconut butter
  • Macadamia nuts
  • Macadamia nut oil
  • Macadamia nut butter – Carley’s Organic Foods www.carleys.co.uk produce organic raw macadamia nut butter

 

Nuts other than macadamias – eat only a couple of times a week

  • Cashews & cashew butter
  • Almonds & almond butter
  • Brazil nuts & brazil nut butter
  • Pecans & pecan nut butter
  • Pistachios
  • Carley’s Organic Foods www.carleys.co.uk do a range of raw, organic nut butters

 

Seeds & Walnuts – limit consumption, eat only occasionally as these are high in omega-6

  • Walnuts
  • Flax seeds
  • Chia seeds
  • Pine nuts
  • Pumpkin seeds
  • Sesame seeds
  • Sunflower seeds & sunflower seed butter

 

Fruit – choose seasonal, local + organic where possible

14 Day Summer Revitalise Plan

Fruits – lower sugar varieties

  • Best are berries such as blackberries, blueberries, cherries, raspberries and strawberries
  • Apricots
  • Grapefruit
  • Kiwi fruit
  • Melon
  • Plums
  • Lemons
  • Limes

Fruits – higher sugar varieties

  • Apples – all types
  • Bananas
  • Fresh dates and figs
  • Grapes – all types
  • Mango
  • Nectarines
  • Oranges
  • Papaya
  • Peaches
  • Pears – all types
  • Pineapple
  • Pomegranate
  • Satsumas/tangerines
  • Watermelon

 

Dried fruit – limit consumption, eat only occasionally as it is high in sugar

  • Dates
  • Apricots
  • Figs
  • Prunes
  • Raisins, sultanas, currants
  • Blueberries, cherries, cranberries

 

Fermented foods & drinks

 

Snacks

  1. Our favourite place for a great selection of paleo snacks is Perfectly Paleo www.perfectlypaleo.co.uk
  2. Crackers – RAW Health www.rawhealthuk.com produce a range of crackers that are ok for a paleo diet
  3. Snack bars
    The Primal Kitchen www.theprimalkitchen.co.uk produce paleo-friendly bars all containing less than 5 ingredients
    Some of the Nakd bar range are ok but some contain grains so check ingredients www.naturalbalancefoods.co.uk/nakd
  4. Jerky – Big T’s Jerky www.bigtsjerky.bigcartel.com

 

Raw dairy

For those of you who want to include dairy in your diet, we recommend full-fat, organic, raw dairy from grass-fed cows.

Here is a list of online suppliers

  1. Hook and Son www.hookandson.co.uk and www.hookandsonfarmshop.co.uk raw milk, butter, ghee, cream, yogurt 100% grass-fed
  2. Green Pasture Farms www.greenpasturefarms.co.uk  raw milk (supplied by Gazegill Organics) 100% grass-fed and organic
  3. Gazegill Organics www.gazegillorganics.co.uk raw milk and cream 100% grass-fed and organic
  4. John’s Jerseys www.johnsjerseys.co.uk raw milk, cream and cheese from Jersey cows. The cows are only grass-fed for part of the year and the milk is not organic.
  5. High Weald Dairy www.highwealddairy.co.uk sell raw frozen goat’s milk from Ellie’s Dairy www.elliesdairy.blogspot.co.uk  who also produce raw goat’s cheese

 

We do not recommend consuming pasteurized milk but if you do want to include milk in your diet (maybe you just have it in tea for example) and you don’t want to buy raw milk in bulk online, then Abel and Cole www.abelandcole.co.uk sell an un-homogenized organic, full-fat milk as do Waitrose & Ocado (Duchy from Waitrose Organic Full Cream Ayrshire Milk – this milk is un-homogenized and organic, full-fat and from grass-fed cows.)

 

Raw kefir

If you live in West Sussex or nearby (like we do J) then Plawhatch Farm www.tablehurstandplawhatch.co.uk do fantastic raw milk kefir. They are a Demeter-certified biodynamic and organic farm. They also sell raw milk, cream and cheese from the farm shop.

Chuckling Goat www.chucklinggoat.co.uk sell raw goat’s milk kefir online.

You can also buy the grains to make your own kefir and coconut milk can be used as a base if you don’t avoid dairy.

 

Raw cheese

Neal’s Yard Dairy www.nealsyarddairy.co.uk have a good selection of unpasteurized (raw) cheeses as do Cheese on the Green www.cheeseonthegreen.com

 

For my complete Step-by-Step System to Boost Energy & Transform your Health, using paleo recipes click here.