Intermittent fasting shopping list

Why this list

On a fasting schedule you eat fewer meals, so each one needs to keep you full and give you enough protein ¹. The list is built around the plate in what to eat during intermittent fasting: protein in every meal, plenty of vegetables, carbs with fibre, and a little fat.

The list

Item	Why it's on the list
Eggs	Cheap, quick and about 6 g of protein each
Greek yoghurt, skyr or cottage cheese	Protein you can eat with a spoon, at any meal
Tinned tuna, salmon or sardines	Keeps for months; a tin of tuna has about 25 g of protein
Chicken thighs or breast, turkey mince	Batch-cook for several meals
Frozen fish fillets	Often cheaper than fresh, and as good
Tofu and tempeh	Plant protein that takes on any flavour
Lentils, chickpeas and beans, dried or tinned	Protein and fibre in one, for very little money

Item	Why it's on the list
Frozen spinach, broccoli, peas and mixed vegetables	Cheap, no waste, ready in minutes
Onions, carrots, cabbage, peppers, courgettes	Long-lasting basics for cooking
Salad leaves, cucumber, tomatoes	To eat first at your first meal 2
Tinned tomatoes	The base for chillies, curries and soups
Apples, bananas, oranges, frozen berries	Whole fruit, best at the end of a meal

Item	Why it's on the list
Oats, wholegrain or rye bread, brown rice, wholewheat pasta	Fibre: aim for at least 25 g a day 3
Potatoes and sweet potatoes	Filling and inexpensive
Olive oil	For cooking and dressings
Nuts, seeds and peanut butter	A small handful adds fibre, fat and some protein
Plain yoghurt, kefir, sauerkraut or kimchi	Fermented foods made gut bacteria more diverse in a small trial 4

Item	Notes
Coffee	Black, hot or iced: it fits a fast
Tea: black, green and herbal	Plain, without sugar or honey
Sparkling water and lemons	Lemon slices add flavour, not a meal
Salt	A pinch in water can help with headaches on longer fasts 5

Keeping it inexpensive

• Frozen vegetables and fruit are as useful as fresh and don't go off before you use them.
• Tinned fish and tinned or dried legumes are some of the cheapest protein there is.
• Supermarket own brands of oats, rice, yoghurt and tinned food are usually just as good.
• Cook once, eat twice: a pot of chilli or dal covers several windows.
• Eating fewer meals often means buying fewer snacks, which can lower your bill.

What to keep for occasional use

Nothing is banned, but some things make fasting harder. Juice, sugary cereal, pastries and sweetened drinks are fast-absorbing sugar that can leave you hungry again a couple of hours later, especially on an empty stomach. Creamers and sweetened plant milks often contain sugar, which breaks a fast. If you like diet drinks or sweeteners, read do sweeteners break a fast? first.

Sources

1. Leidy HJ, Clifton PM, Astrup A, et al. The role of protein in weight loss and maintenance. Am J Clin Nutr. 2015;101(6):1320S-1329S. doi.org/10.3945/ajcn.114.084038
2. Shukla AP, Andono J, Touhamy SH, et al. Carbohydrate-last meal pattern lowers postprandial glucose and insulin excursions in type 2 diabetes. BMJ Open Diabetes Res Care. 2017;5(1):e000440. doi.org/10.1136/bmjdrc-2017-000440
3. Reynolds A, Mann J, Cummings J, et al. Carbohydrate quality and human health: a series of systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Lancet. 2019;393(10170):434-445. doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(18)31809-9
4. Wastyk HC, Fragiadakis GK, Perelman D, et al. Gut-microbiota-targeted diets modulate human immune status. Cell. 2021;184(16):4137-4153.e14. doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2021.06.019
5. Sigler MH. The mechanism of the natriuresis of fasting. J Clin Invest. 1975;55(2):377-87. doi.org/10.1172/JCI107941