Has LCHF/diabetes changed where/how you shop?

[Gezzabelle]

I still shop at supermarkets but only buy fresh produce now....no convenience stuff at all. I cook up large batches of meals and freeze them to cut back on having to cook separate meals for me and my other half. It's strange how we adapt and avoid or walk by the ''junk foods'' when we don't have much choice and can't eat them anymore. I used to stand and almost weep at the sight of cake and chocolate but now I hardly even notice them. I find smaller outlets are better for better choice and quality of veg and the local butchers meat is far superior to supermarkets and better value overall. My version of ''ready meals'' is now my own homemade ones .....and oddly enough they still smell delicious when I heat them up....unlike the ready meals my hubby buys for himself that have a distinct odour of pet food to me lol. I can honestly say I have never eaten more healthy than I do now so maybe diabetes was a huge wake up call and it did me a favour in helping me shed loads of weight and gave me my fitness back. Okay I can't eat choccy and cake now but I'll trade that for all I have gained health wise

 

[Scimama]

There is a slight difference to before and after diagnosis (or more accurately LCH) shopping. Sill use our local big supermarket for most things, but also now use lidl for their full fat yogurt (lowest carb content I can find and a great price) and the high protein rolls of course and Holland and Barrett for flax seeds.

 

[ickihun]

I have to admit I now rarely use Iceland now. We used to just buy ready meals and potato frozen foods due to financial restraint. Ironically I eat more now. Lchf diet has refreshed my shopping habits.
I use Lidl, morrisons, Asda and £1shop for pork scratchings and unsalted nuts.
I might occasionally top-up with frozen veg and frozen cod from Iceland monthly but no ready meals.

 

[Lamont D]

Unfortunately, I have a couple of relations that work for Tesco, and I have a staff loyalty card. Which means I get a decent discount and points later.
Because of our lack of funding, that has more to do with how than where!
Also intermittent fasting is saving me a few bucks, hope to get the other half on a better range of goodies, because she deserves it!
It all helps! (Not an advertisement!)

 

[Prem51]

but oh boy I think I'm going to need a bigger freezer....

That's what I'm thinking too. I only have a small freezer section on my fridge freezer. Now that I'm getting into cooking more from scratch I need more space to freeze individual portions. My fridge freezer is 17 years old, so I think I will be replacing it with one that has a bigger freezer section soon.

 

[Deleted member 43917]

So far I've still been supermarket shopping but much more healthily than I used to - almost no ready meals - just have occasional soup or pre-packed salads. Am aiming for low carb high fat as a type 2 but still get occasional carb cravings so try to have things like Dr Karg crackers although I have slipped up with the odd biscuit etc. Have begun using a nutri-bullet for green smoothies so get a lot of green veg, and planning to get out slow cooker from cupboard.

 

[Rosbif]

It may help if you e- mail lidl and suggest that they sell.the high protein roll You never know ! Where are you by the way ?
CAROL

I'm in France. Yes, it might be worth my while e-mailing them!

 

[Rosbif]

I don't get any real choice as to where I shop as my husband chooses to shop online with Tesco. Becoming diabetic meant that initially I had to do a lot of pre shopping research, but Tesco have nutritional info available for most of their products on their website. It was time consuming initially though. The only difference now is that I have to pay extra over my share of the food bill to obtain more specialist items that I can't get from Tesco, and have to use other online sources such as Amazon for these.

But overall I'm now able to insist on a much healthier diet than I was obliged to eat previously!

Robbity

A hidden silver lining is getting superior nutrition ;-)

 

[Rosbif]

I'm buying frozen cauliflower by the kilo as I'm having caulirice or cauli-fauxtato to accompany most evening meals - it's certainly no trouble to get hold of, but oh boy I think I'm going to need a bigger freezer....

The freezer fills up pretty fast! Will have to give cauliflower cheese a whirl. Haven't had it in ages!

 

[Rosbif]

I still mainly shop with Asda (weekly home delivery), a monthly shop at Lidl and the occasional forgotten thing from our local Sainsbury. It WAS reasonably okay. I stopped buying some things and started buying others but it pretty much equalled out.

Then my husband decided he wanted to follow a Paleo way of eating and that is when it got very expensive.

My husband is capable of eating piles of meat in one sitting. I don't know how he does it - that sort of thing is really filling.

 

[Rosbif]

I find trolley road rage (mine) unpleasant, so we have internet shopped for years now.

About once a month I scuttle in, scoot around, blink wildly at all the processed packaged rubbish on sale, and leave again.

The only local shops that are worth the effort are a FANTASTIC butchers, that we use all the time and a HORRIFICALLY good deli, that I try never to enter, for fear of cream cakes, artisan cheesecakes and profiterole gateaux spontaneously falling into my bag. All the other local shops have gone the £1 shop/card shop/corner shop route, and that isn't helpful for finding unprocessed food.

Sometimes I get very impatient in the supermarket - it really depends on the day. I do like to go myself and take my time looking at everything (it's not a huge store). We have a great poultry shop not too far away, but it can get pretty pricy although worth it for a special occasion. Also a very nice Italian deli. There's also loads of junk food places. The best place is a supermarket-sized store selling mostly fresh produce, meat, fish, dairy and some dried goods. Difficult to go mad on rubbish there and the quality of the fruit and veg actually makes me want to eat it ;-)

 

[Rosbif]

Our local butcher suddenly changed recently. He used to sell reasonably priced, good quality, everyday meat, poultry, ham, cheese and home made pies. He now sells (in addition to the normal mince and chops) 'wild' meats, free range and other more unusual stuff and also does internet sales. In the process of this metamorphosis he started charging almost double for the normal stuff. He also then put in a planning objection when Lidl wanted to build a store in the next village. We don't shop there any more.

It's a shame he alienated his existing clients like that!

 

[Rosbif]

So far I've still been supermarket shopping but much more healthily than I used to - almost no ready meals - just have occasional soup or pre-packed salads. Am aiming for low carb high fat as a type 2 but still get occasional carb cravings so try to have things like Dr Karg crackers although I have slipped up with the odd biscuit etc. Have begun using a nutri-bullet for green smoothies so get a lot of green veg, and planning to get out slow cooker from cupboard.

I'm a big fan of the pressure cooker but don't use it to its full potential. Mostly for beef in guinness...

 

[Rosbif]

I still shop at supermarkets but only buy fresh produce now....no convenience stuff at all. I cook up large batches of meals and freeze them to cut back on having to cook separate meals for me and my other half. It's strange how we adapt and avoid or walk by the ''junk foods'' when we don't have much choice and can't eat them anymore. I used to stand and almost weep at the sight of cake and chocolate but now I hardly even notice them. I find smaller outlets are better for better choice and quality of veg and the local butchers meat is far superior to supermarkets and better value overall. My version of ''ready meals'' is now my own homemade ones .....and oddly enough they still smell delicious when I heat them up....unlike the ready meals my hubby buys for himself that have a distinct odour of pet food to me lol. I can honestly say I have never eaten more healthy than I do now so maybe diabetes was a huge wake up call and it did me a favour in helping me shed loads of weight and gave me my fitness back. Okay I can't eat choccy and cake now but I'll trade that for all I have gained health wise

I'm trying to visualise the cake and choc as little timebombs or something. But it is hard to resist them sometimes. I'm really aware now that if I go a long time without eating, that's when I'm likely to crack (nothing new there, think most people are the same) because also I get too tired to cook something myself. Well done on regaining your health, it's very inspiring to read!

 

[Rosbif]

There is a slight difference to before and after diagnosis (or more accurately LCH) shopping. Sill use our local big supermarket for most things, but also now use lidl for their full fat yogurt (lowest carb content I can find and a great price) and the high protein rolls of course and Holland and Barrett for flax seeds.

Lidl and Holland and Barrett are great!

 

[Rosbif]

I have to admit I now rarely use Iceland now. We used to just buy ready meals and potato frozen foods due to financial restraint. Ironically I eat more now. Lchf diet has refreshed my shopping habits.
I use Lidl, morrisons, Asda and £1shop for pork scratchings and unsalted nuts.
I might occasionally top-up with frozen veg and frozen cod from Iceland monthly but no ready meals.

I used to binge on Iceland's cheeseburgers ;-) Frozen veg is great especially stir-fry veg mixes.

 

[Rosbif]

Unfortunately, I have a couple of relations that work for Tesco, and I have a staff loyalty card. Which means I get a decent discount and points later.
Because of our lack of funding, that has more to do with how than where!
Also intermittent fasting is saving me a few bucks, hope to get the other half on a better range of goodies, because she deserves it!
It all helps! (Not an advertisement!)

You sound like you've got it sorted!

 

[Kyi]

I'm trying to visualise the cake and choc as little timebombs or something. But it is hard to resist them sometimes. I'm really aware now that if I go a long time without eating, that's when I'm likely to crack (nothing new there, think most people are the same) because also I get too tired to cook something myself. Well done on regaining your health, it's very inspiring to read!

I visualize the fat and sugar content and imagine eating the sugar and fat. Soon puts you off it, I wouldnt eat 22 spoons of sugar and I wouldnt eat a block of lard.

 

[Rosbif]

I visualize the fat and sugar content and imagine eating the sugar and fat. Soon puts you off it, I wouldnt eat 22 spoons of sugar and I wouldnt eat a block of lard.

That's a good way of approaching it! Some of the shop-bought cakes are far too sweet. A few years ago I bought a "caterpillar" chocolate cake from one of the big supermarkets and it was digustingly sweet, not enjoyable at all.

 

[Gezzabelle]

I'm trying to visualise the cake and choc as little timebombs or something. But it is hard to resist them sometimes. I'm really aware now that if I go a long time without eating, that's when I'm likely to crack (nothing new there, think most people are the same) because also I get too tired to cook something myself. Well done on regaining your health, it's very inspiring to read!

I am in the same boat as you having been diagnosed as pre diabetic and at high risk of developing type 2 etc. I occasionally allow myself a treat and find it doesn't affect my bg half as much as I thought it would but the outstanding thing I notice is that even though I think I am desperate for something like maybe an ice cream or cake, ...when I actually eat it, it is a huge disappointment and doesn't ''hit the spot'' like I thought they would. There are so many things I used to love but now wouldn't even bother buying as a rare treat. A lot of the longings and cravings are more in the mind than actually needed or really wanted. Even though I am 'prediabetic' I eat pretty much LCHF and am delighted with the results of that. I get what you say about being ''too tired to cook''...that's where cooking up one big batch and freezing it comes into it's own....doesn't take long to cook and is so easy to take out of the freezer ready to eat later in the week