How to organize your Banting fridge for your LCHF lifestyle
One of the changes we noticed when we switched to the Banting lifestyle was how short we were of fridge space and how empty our grocery cupboards were. As you switch from your old grocery cupboard staples like pasta, rice, flour, sugar and other dry and tinned food “staples” to real food … Suddenly the fridge becomes the focus of your kitchen more so than the grocery cupboard.
Getting organized and shopping once a week will help keep you creative and eating LCHF, and less likely to cheat when popping in at the shops more frequently.
Here are my top tips for an organized fridge
- What To Get Rid Of
Throw out everything that doesn’t fit in your new lifestyle. That means the sweetened tomato sauce, jams, pickles and other condiments that contain sugar, juices and cordials, etc. In my fridge that gained me a whole shelf!
Throw out all low fat products.
Throw out all dairy that is low / reduced fat.
At this point most people’s fridges are pretty empty if they’re transitioning from a low fat high carb lifestyle to a low carb high fat lifestyle … So go ahead and empty that fridge and give it a good clean … Nothing better than a clean and organized fridge to kickstart your new lifestyle.
- What To Shop For
Now go do your weekly Banting shop and we can get started on organizing your fridge. Not sure what to shop for? Check out our Typical Weekly Banting Shopping List.
- Organise Your Fridge
For me, what works is having some structure in terms of what goes where in my fridge. Start with your essentials and items you use most and put those in the most convenient spots.
The main areas you will need in your Banting fridge are:
- Butter, fats and dairy
- Fresh veggies and berries
- Bacon & Eggs
- Water
- Condiments (Banting approved)
Fridge Door Shelves:
I stock these with my most used items and condiments like:
- Cream
- Butter
- Crushed Garlic
- Condiments
- Water jug
I use the cheese compartment for treats like dark chocolate because it’s too small to fit all our cheese in.
Top Fridge Shelf:
This is the rest of my cheese and dairy
- Yoghurt
- Feta Cheese
- Cheddar
- Mozzarella
- Halloumi
2nd Fridge Shelf:
I stock this with our breakfast staples
- Bulk Bacon in Tupperware
- Eggs in a holder
- Avocados
Vegetable Drawers:
I’m fortunate to have 2 large drawers in my fridge but you may need a large Tupperware to add to a shelf in your fridge for further fresh veggies as this is now a large part of your shopping.
I separate my veggies into “delicates” such as lettuce, Avos, tomatoes, herbs and anything that shouldn’t be squashed by heavier items and put that in one drawer.
In the other drawer I put the rest of the veggies like cabbage, kale, broccoli, cauliflower, brinjals, peppers, zucchini, pumpkin, etc. I take these out of any plastic, if I’m feeling energetic on shopping days I actually wash and dry them all and store them clean so I can grab and prepare during the week without having to wash.
Remaining Fridge Space:
Any other space is taken up with miscellaneous items such as
- Whatever protein is defrosting for cooking that night
- Our dogs food (they eat a biologically appropriate raw food diet … Kinda like Banting for dogs)
- Chilled coconut cream for smoothies / cocktails
That’s about it … Below are some photos of our fridge for inspiration
