Keto Diet: Where to buy food in Shanghai

Where can you buy your keto groceries in Shanghai? This can be a bit tricky as you will notice:

So you need to scout out the Carb free, or ultra-low carb options. Let us help you! Here is a Chinese nutrition label:

Protein = 蛋白質

Fat = 脂肪

Carbohydrates = 碳水化合物

Dietary Fiber = 膳食纖維

Unfortunately many nutrition labels do not list dietary fiber, so it will be hard for you to calculate net carbs. However, knowing that carbs are 碳水化合物 will help you know how many carbs are inside! Now, lets discuss where to buy certain keto-friendly products:

Nuts

We recommend you to go to the Shanghai fresh markets, where you can purchase an array of different nuts and seeds for very low prices. The reason for this is that even big supermarkets like Carrefour usually have salted and/or sugared produce, and it is by far better to buy the natural ones. Half a kilo of peanuts will cost you around 8 RMB on the wet markets, whereas cashew nuts, walnuts, almonds, and macademia nuts tend to be more expensive. However, these provide a lot of energy, and we definitely recommend you to add them to your diets.

Tip: Almonds and Macademia nuts are extremely good for keto as they have a good macro ratio, so you do not really have to monitor your consumption of them. However, with other nuts just remember to calculate the macros you are taking in to be sure not to kick your body out of ketosis.

Raw full fat dairy products

Be careful with milk, as most milk has around 4 grams of carbs per 100 mL, so you definitely should limit your milk intake. However, full fat cheese is an excellent product for a keto diet, and you may find this cheese at Western supermarkets such as Carrefour and City Shop. Carrefour is the cheaper option, so we recommend you to go to the cheese section and scout out the higher fat cheeses!

Vegetables

Vegetables really shouldn't be an issue for you. Fresh markets and supermarkets hold a broad array of tasty and vegetables. If you are looking for organic produce, there are small organic stores around too (such as Mahota or Hunter & Gatherer). We recommend you to focus heavily on leafy greens. These are particularly rich in micronutrients and are usually very low in carbs.

Herbs & Spices

When you cook on keto, herbs & spices are your friend. Go to the fresh markets or any big supermarkets and buy a variety of spices to give your food an interesting taste!

Meat & fish

Here it depends on whether you want to eat organic or not. We buy most of our meat and fish at Carrefour, because we trust their safety procedures concerning fresh produce. Tyson chicken and their Tilapia are particularly recommendable. If you wish to purchase good quality beef City Shop has good Australian cuts, however they are quite pricey. For good Filet Steak, we recommend Yasmine's! 

Oils & Butter

You can buy Extra Virgin Oil at many supermarkets. Coconut oil is a bit trickier and quite expensive in Shanghai. We recommend either buying a brand named Gr3en which you can buy at Sproutworks, going to Mahota, or purchasing it on Kate & Kimi and/or Fields (both local online stores). Lastly, you can purchase it on iherb.com, that will ship it from the US. As for butter, we recommend you to buy New Zealand butter from Carrefour.

Dietary Supplements

It can be hard to find trustworthy dietary supplements in Shanghai. We have heard of many stories of people purchasing fake protein powder among other supplements. We recommend you to purchase your dietary supplements from the World Health Store, as they import all their products legitimately. They have a store in the Jing An Kerry Centre, and seem to be the supplements store in Shanghai with the widest and best product selection. Check out their website here: http://www.worldhealthstore.com.cn/.

Dietary Supplements

This isn't as hard as you may think. First of all you can always go to health food restaurants such as Sproutworks and Hunter & Gatherer. There you will find many menu items that fit into a ketogenic diet. 

As for going to eat to places that are not exactly healthfood restaurants, it is still very possible to abide by keto rules. You may have to ask the waiters to tweak your meals slightly, but usually this shouldn't be an issue. In any Western type restaurant you can eat salads with olive oil and vinegar dressing, and many different types of meat & fish as main courses. Just make sure they do not add sugary sauces.

How about restaurants?

It gets a bit trickier with Chinese restaurants, as many times sauces are full of sugar. We recommend you to get spicier dishes, as they usually include less sugary items, and obviously you will have to cut out the rice. Try and focus on the vegetables, and find the ones that are not covered in thick sauces. Also, Malantang places are usually pretty keto friendly. Yes, the oil used there isn't exactly healthy. However, it is unlikely to kick you out of keto. Make sure to eat non-starchy food items and avoid the processed meats. Lastly, we love the muslim skewer places. Again, they may use unhealthy oils, but usually they grill them a lot healthier than your average shao kao place.

For any questions concerning food and restaurants on keto, do not hesitate to message us!

Are you a healthy restaurant that would like to get featured on rawrocket? Just message us :).

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