What should I buy on my first Paleo shop?

Eggs, one or two meats, a bag of salad, two vegetables, two fruits, olive oil and nuts. That is enough for three days.

Do I need to throw out all non-Paleo food?

You do not have to, but removing the snacks you reach for automatically makes week one considerably easier.

Sugar-free, nitrate-free bacon is widely accepted. Most supermarket bacon contains added sugar, so check the label.

Paleo Grocery List for Beginners

Your first Paleo shop should be small. Twenty items, no specialty products, all of them things you already know how to eat.

Goal

Duration

Max cooking time

Budget

People

Estimated 1693 kcal and 106 g protein per person per day. Figures are rough planning estimates, not measured values.

Your 3-day Paleo meal plan

Day	Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner	Snack
Monday	Eggs & avocado	Egg salad plate	Roast chicken & root vegetables	Carrots + guacamole
Tuesday	2-ingredient banana pancakes	Beef patties & slaw	Paleo meatballs & zucchini noodles	Banana + almond butter
Wednesday	Hard-boiled eggs + fruit	Chicken & roasted sweet potato box	Turkey & vegetable chili	Tuna on cucumber rounds

Grocery list

Scaled for 1 person across 3 days.

Meat & Protein

Canned tuna — 0.5 can
Chicken breast — 150 g
Eggs — 11.5 eggs
Ground beef — 300 g
Ground turkey — 150 g
Whole chicken — 0.3 chicken

Vegetables & Fruit

Apples — 1 apple
Avocado — 1.5 avocado
Banana — 2 banana
Bell peppers — 1 pepper
Broccoli — 0.5 head
Cabbage — 0.2 head
Carrots — 4 carrots
Carrots — 1 carrot
Cucumber — 0.5 cucumber
Mixed salad leaves — 2 handfuls
Sweet potatoes — 2 medium
Zucchini — 1 zucchini

Pantry

Almond butter — 1 tbsp
Coconut oil — 1 tsp
Crushed tomatoes — 1 can
Ground cumin — 1 tsp
Olive oil — 1 tsp
Olive oil — 2 tbsp

Sunday 60-minute meal prep

Cook these components once and the rest of the week is assembly.

1. Egg salad plateChop boiled eggs with avocado instead of mayo, serve over leaves.
2. Roast chicken & root vegetablesRoast a whole chicken over carrots and sweet potato; leftovers feed two lunches.
3. Carrots + guacamoleMash avocado with lemon and salt; dip carrot sticks.
4. Beef patties & slawGrill seasoned patties, serve with cabbage slaw dressed in olive oil and lemon.
5. Paleo meatballs & zucchini noodlesBake beef meatballs bound with egg, simmer in crushed tomatoes, serve over zoodles.
6. Banana + almond butterSliced banana with a spoon of almond butter.

The twenty-item starter shop

This covers three days of meals with nothing wasted.

Eggs, chicken thighs, ground beef, canned tuna
Bag of salad, spinach, broccoli, carrots, onion, garlic, sweet potato, tomatoes
Avocados, bananas, apples, lemons
Olive oil, almonds, almond butter, sea salt

Reading labels without overthinking it

If a package has an ingredients list longer than a sentence, or contains wheat, soy, corn syrup, canola or sunflower oil, put it back. Most of what you need has no label at all.

Frequently asked questions

What should I buy on my first Paleo shop?: Eggs, one or two meats, a bag of salad, two vegetables, two fruits, olive oil and nuts. That is enough for three days.
Do I need to throw out all non-Paleo food?: You do not have to, but removing the snacks you reach for automatically makes week one considerably easier.
Is bacon Paleo?: Sugar-free, nitrate-free bacon is widely accepted. Most supermarket bacon contains added sugar, so check the label.