Sugar Free Grocery List
On Monday, I posted about how Alex and I are doing a little “sugar detox” after watching Fed Up, and a few people have asked what our groceries looked like. Grocery shopping was tricky because we had to check labels on everything. We made one grocery trip to Kroger on Saturday and one to Trader Joe’s on Tuesday. I’ll divide up our list based on what was easy to buy and what took a little bit of digging. I’ve also included the brands we found with no added sugars.
Note: This post contains affiliate links.
I should also clarify- we’re not totally getting rid of sugar. We’re still eating a little bit of fruit, and we’re eating sugars that naturally occur in some dairy foods and things like that. We’re just trying to get rid of added sugars. I also haven’t had stevia for the past week, to see if that would help with eliminating my sugar cravings and my tolerance to sweetness. I think I’m going to start adding it back in, in moderation this week.
Ok, onto the groceries! This photo isn’t everything, so I’ve listed everything below, but I thought it might be easier for you to find these brands if you saw the picture!
Sugar-Free Grocery List
Here’s what I purchased, divided up by what was a no-brainer and what took some hunting:
Easy things to buy with no added sugar:
- Produce: Peaches, blueberries, sweet potatoes, zucchini, bananas, clementines, arugula, onion, avocado, cucumber, tomatoes,
- Packaged foods: hummus, Tzatziki, almonds, almond milk (be sure to buy unsweetened!)
- Canned foods: black beans, chickpeas, cannellini beans.
Double-check for added sugar
- Peanut Butter– I love Justin’s nut butters which don’t have added sugar.
- Spaghetti Sauce– Rao’s pasta sauce is the absolute BEST. It’s a little more expensive, but it’s so delicious, it’s worth the splurge.
- Cereal– Kashi 7 Whole Grain puffs is one of the few cereals with no added sugar. Add some fresh fruit on top if you like a little sweetness!
- Frozen pizza– It’s SO hard to find a frozen pizza without sugar. These Caulipower pizzas have 2g of sugar, which is about as low as you’ll find!
- Popcorn– Boom Chicka Pop is my personal favorite. It only has 35 calories per cup so you can have a pretty big serving!
- Greek yogurt- Fage 0% is what I always buy anyway, and there’s no added sugar.
- Frozen berries– I usually buy the Kroger brand which has no added sugar, but be sure to check the ingredients depending on the brand.
- Salad Dressing– Drew’s has a bunch of dressings with no added sugar. I like the Romano Caesar, which is made without sugar, anchovies or eggs, making it a great vegetarian option!
- Ravioli- Trader Joe’s Arugula & Ricotta doesn’t have added sugar, and it tastes delicious! You can find it in the refrigerated section by the prepared foods.
- Whole Wheat Bread– Ezekiel Sprouted Grain Bread from Food for Life is great for things like toast and sandwiches.
- Soup– Amy’s Lentil Vegetable soup is a good one. Most soups we found had added sugar, so we typically make our own soup, but Amy’s is useful when you need a quick option.
- Crackers– Nut Thins are an excellent sugar-free option. They’re made from nut flours.
Some things didn’t surprise me at all. (Of course, most cereal has sugar in it.) But SO many frozen/pre-packaged dinners we looked at had added sugar in them. Maybe that shouldn’t be surprising since I’m usually skeptical of packaged food anyway, but the fact that it was in almost everything was pretty eye-opening.
I’m glad we found a few options without sugar since it’s nice to have those things on hand for busy evenings. We’ve been trying to tackle a lot of house projects lately so sometimes making dinner doesn’t happen. Having some frozen options on hand makes it a lot easier!
I should also mention, I purchased the book I Quit Sugar, and it arrived last night!
Even though we’re not necessarily following the 8-week detox plan, I’ve enjoyed it so far. It’s taught me even more about how our bodies respond to different types of sugar, and I think the recipes will be beneficial. If you’re interested in a full review of the book, let me know!
I loved all your comments on my thoughts on the Fed Up Documentary & my Sugar-Free Meals this week! It sounds like a lot of people have given up sugars on Whole 30 so I might have to check out some of your recipes! Unfortunately, Whole 30 isn’t super vegetarian-friendly, but I bet there are still some excellent meals I could try!
Need a little more motivation to give up sugar? Check out this TED talk about why we can’t stop eating unhealthy foods.
Ready to take the plunge? Here are a few additional resources to get you started.
Make these tasty sugar-free recipes:
- This kale & quinoa salad has a naturally sugar-free dressing.
- Most packaged tomato soups have added sugar, but this sugar-free tomato soup recipe is so easy, you can make your own!
- These creamy feta stuffed peppers are naturally sugar-free, but these sweet peppers are so satisfying, you won’t miss dessert one bit!
- Salad dressings often have sugar in them, but this Green Goddess salad dressing is sugar-free!
Try a sugar-free meal kit like Sun Basket!
Did you know that Sun Basket has meal kits with no added sugar? If you get overwhelmed by the grocery store, why not get your meals delivered? The Lean & Clean plan has no added sugars. You can even use my affiliate link to get $50 off your first Sun Basket order!
You can read all about my first Sun Basket experience here.
Ready to kiss sugar goodbye?
Good for you! It’s hard to give up sugar. I was off it for years, about a decade. But after I moved to a rural area, I gave up because we didn’t have many grocery stores, pretty much just Walmart and Food Lion. Also, some foods without sugar need extra chemicals to preserve them. Sugar can help preserve foods.
cool! Great information 🙂
Thanks for sharing, Liz! I actually really enjoy the Krema Pb. I was a bit skeptical about it when my MIL bought me 2 jars a few years back. I’ve noticed though that theres a lot of people eating it these days though.
I have never been able to find spaghetti sauce without added sugar! I must look for this one!
I should warn you- the Rao brand is pretty expensive, but it’s honestly the best jarred pasta sauce I’ve ever had!
Arugula pizza sounds amazing! I like to see what other people are trying. I’ve been looking for some new salad dressings to try!
I will be so interested to read about how this little project goes! I have taken sugar out in the past (longest was for an 8-week wellness challenge through work) and I definitely felt better after I got through the first few days without it. Even if you don’t eat a ton of it to start with, I still think it’s tough to remove! It’s just everywhere, as that documentary has showed. Best of luck, and enjoy your weekend!
I think sugar has (like salt) just snuck its way into so much of our food, it’s why we develop a taste and even ‘addiction’ to it – I have found great no added sugar peanut butter and yogurt at Costco of all places, actually!
I couldn’t believe how difficult it was to find a spaghetti sauce without added sugar. I may try making my own – I’m sure it may be even better than jarred! I want to get that book from the library. Interested to flip through the recipes. 🙂
Thank you for this! I actually am trying to cut sugar out slowly as much as I can remember too throughout the day and I wouldn’t have thought that kashi had no added sugar! That’s great to know! Also, I’m a huge Fage yogurt fan; by far the best out there!
Great list! I love a lot of the Trader Joe’s items because I can actually recognize all the ingredients.