Grocery shopping list for weight loss: How I lost 100 pounds with diet food swaps

Do you want to lose weight? With obesity at 40% and growing, weight loss is the most common doctor-recommended health change. Here's how I lost 100 pounds with this grocery shopping list of keto diet food swaps. 

Bakery diet food swaps: Even if you don't have eat gluten free, it's a good diet to follow for weight loss. Cauliflower makes a great gluten free food swap!  Choose lowfat, sugarfree breads, no high fructose corn syrup, high omega fatty acids and high protein bread (also called keto diet bread) wraps like Flat-out or Joseph's flatbread. Swap whole grain light 35-calorie per slice oat bread. Cut down on grain, bread and starch for weight loss. Swap gluten free coconut flour for wheat flour and applesauce and milled flaxseed for eggs and oil in baking. 

Condiments for weight loss: I'm weirdly a dips and spreads addict and taming this addiction is part of how I lost 100 pounds. I cut down on condiments and make these diet food swaps--no transfat light yogurt butter spread and butter sticks, canola oil or olive oil light mayonnaise. I use Opa Greek yogurt/feta cheese salad dressing and Maple Grove Farms Sugarfree Raspberry Vinagrette salad dressing or make your own. 

Dairy diet food swaps: Substitute whole milk (seriously, it's better for you than non-fat) plain Greek yogurt and cottage cheese for cheese and milk. Swap cow's milk for high protein cashew or flax milk or use 1% cow's milk. Sub avocado for dairy in foods.  

Produce grocery shopping list for weight loss. Eat half your calories as fruit and vegetables. Best weight loss fruits are: apples, blueberries, grapefruit, strawberries, blackberries and raspberries. And don't forget tomatoes! There’s mixed thinking on whether bananas cause belly fat, but they do boost resistant starch which makes you feel fuller. 

Eat a rainbow of vegetables to lose weight: Eat four servings of green leafy vegetables like kale, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, broccoli, asparagus, spinach, collard greens, romaine lettuce, spring mix. Kale is a one of the best diet food swaps as it has twice as much vitamin A and C as spinach (next best leaf veggie). Eat two servings daily of pumpkin, carrots, summer squash and purple cabbage. Substitute mushrooms for meat. 

Meat and protein diet food swaps to put on your grocery shopping list: fresh or frozen fish: salmon, cod, whiting, Pollock, marlin, tuna, shrimp, scallops and surimi. Choose lean chicken, turkey and beef, lowfat ham lunchmeat. Make beef jerky for keto diet food swaps. 

Vegan protein alternatives to lose weight include tempeh, Portobello mushrooms, lentils, edamame, avocado, falafel, dried and canned beans, PB2 (natural peanut powder with 85 percent fewer calories than peanut butter), almonds, Make big pots of vegan chili and bean soup full of vegetables and reheat for light, filling meals. The vegan diet has been highly rated for weight loss. 

Grains, cereal, fiber for keto diet grocery shopping list: milled flaxseed, maca powder, Artichoke Vitae Plus, Cheerios, Special K protein, Kashi Go Lean Crunch, oatmeal and chia seeds. I love gluten free edamame and black bean pasta. 

Treats and salty snacks: Lowfat Cheez-Its, edamame, Calbee Snapea Crisps, Ideal or Monkfruit sweetener, dark chocolate (70 % cacao or higher), Skinny Cow ice cream bars, Weight Watchers desserts, lowfat pudding, dry red wine: Shiraz, Petit Sirah, Pinot Noir, Malbec, Carmenere. I make my own kale chips to for a great diet food swap to potato chips. 

Eating these diet food swaps is how I lost 100 pounds! 

How I lost 100 pounds eating pasta (pasta recipes for weight loss)

Okay I told you yesterday how I lost 100 pounds eating pasta. Now you can't just drop a promise like that and leave it. So I'll put my money where mouth is and dish out some pasta recipes for weight loss. 

The secret to diet friendly pasta dishes is protein-fat-carb-fiber balance. For weight loss, there should be more protein and fiber than sugar, starch and saturated fat. The problem with most noodles is that they are starch-sugar carbohydrate forward. They have some protein and fiber but not enough to compensate for the diet-unfriendly stuff. 

Barilla and some other brands make protein pasta but I can't eat that because it gets protein from eggs (albumin allergy). There are other brands made from cauliflower and zucchini which are better for weight loss, but still not much protein. Happily, I found Simply Nature edamame and black bean pasta at Aldi. 

Simply Nature pasta is made with edamame or black bean flour and nothing else. Zip. Nada. A 2oz serving (which is quite a lot) provides 24 grams of protein (48% RDA), 13 grams of fiber (52% RDA), 3 grams sugar (no added sugar), half gram of saturated fat and no sodium. 

I use these in alfredo, spaghetti, pho and soups (Recipes to follow). Note, these noodles may make you a little, oh, shall we say, gassy? That's the fiber. You can also make your own zucchini spirals or use spaghetti squash in string pasta dishes. Still haven't found alternative pasta shapes but I'm thinking you could make these using bean flour and a pasta maker. 

So you can have your noodles and weight loss too! Diet recipe swaps like this are how I lost 100 pounds! Bon Appetit! 

Fat-blasting fill-you-up vegan minestrone tomato soup recipe

I don't know about you, but I like to eat. Which is great except that I'm trying to lose weight and maintain weight loss.  And I have to agree with Kelly Osborne who says that she hates "diet food." That's because what we think of as diet food either tastes terrible, doesn't fill you up or both. My workaround is to create yummy, low calorie, diet versions of regular recipes. I demand a lot of my food--it must be satisfying, tasty, healthy, low sodium, low sugar, lowfat, fiber and carb balanced, high protein and ketogenic. I also require foods to be economical and use up leftovers if possible. Here's my tweaked version of

Fat-blasting Minestrone Tomato Soup

1 pound fresh peeled tomatoes, preferably tomatoes on the vine or beefsteak
1 diced yellow and/or orange pepper
1 small sliced zucchini
1 cup frozen edamame, hulled and/or 1 can fava beans
1 bunch sliced scallions or chopped vidala onion
2 ribs celery, sliced
Better-Than-Bouillon Chicken stock (or other MSG-free broth)
Spike salt-free seasoning (or Mrs. Dash or Costco Kirkland's brand)
water
non-stick pan spray

Optional:
mashed avocado
flaxseed
TVP (textured vegetable protein)
30-calorie almond or flax milk

Slice onions and celery and saute in coated pan. Season with salt-free seasoning. Add frozen edamame, peppers, zucchini, peeled diced tomatoes and broth and water. Add canned fava beans (optional). For thicker soup or stew and to increase fiber and protein, add milled flaxseed, TVP or avocado. For creamier soup, add almond or flax milk.

Stay tuned to this blog for more food swap recipes