My THM Kitchen
Following Trim Healthy Mama can be as simple as tweaking the meals your family already eats to separate fuels and eliminate the bad fats and carbs. Truly, the only thing you will almost certainly need is an on-plan sweetener, unless you do not plan to ever eat sweets. Since there are desserts and snacks in abundance that are completely on plan (THMers are known for eating cake for breakfast!) you will probably want to buy an on-plan sweetener, and one or more are almost certainly available at your local grocery store. More on sweeteners here.
What follows is what I, personally, have in my THM kitchen. You probably like some different foods than I do, so yours might look different, and that’s fine. Some of these foods are readily available locally, and some I order from Canadian THM distributors such as Healthy Family Foods or Sweet and Sprouted. If you’re in the USA, you can order directly from the THM shop.
Many links below go to Amazon, where I may earn a slight affiliate income if you buy, at no extra cost to you.
My Resources
• Trim Healthy Mama Plan Book – vital for truly understanding the how and why of THM. If you’re on a budget, check to see if your library has a copy.
• Trim Healthy Cookbook – a great resource for on-plan meals of every type. This includes quite a few single-serve recipes as well as good basics like easy on-plan ketchup, jam, and pancake syrup.
• Trim Healthy Table – an excellent cookbook with a condensed version of the plan in the first few chapters as well as many terrific recipes. I own both cookbooks and both live on my counter and are open often. I couldn’t pick a favorite.
• Trim Healthy Mama Podcast (also available on iTunes and Podbean, etc)
• Trim Healthy Mama Facebook Page
• Trim Healthy Mama Facebook Beginners Group
• Quick Start Guide from Gwen’s Nest
• My THM Pinterest boards
In My Pantry
• Apple cider vinegar (ACV): I use this in salad dressings and in a daily drink we call Good Girl Moonshine (GGMS).
• Almond flour: called for in many dessert recipes.
• Applesauce: I buy this in the six-packs of single serves since I don’t go through a lot. If you do, get bigger containers! I like it occasionally as an E (carb) snack (with a light cheese stick for protein/fat). It’s also an ingredient in some baking.
• Baking blend: this is a combination of flours/powders. THM sells their version, and I make a copycat version since I have easier access to the ingredients than to their finished product. (Not any old gluten-free baking blend will do, trust me!)
• Balsamic Vinegar: look for a brand that is low-carb and has no added sugars
• Baobab powder: baobab has more Vitamin C than anything else yet discovered on the planet. It dries naturally into a citrussy flavored powder that I use in smoothies, some snacks/desserts, and my daily GGMS.
• Beans: I keep canned black beans, kidney beans, garbanzo beans, etc, on hand, since I enjoy cooking with them. I usually pressure can my own.
• Broth: Low-fat chicken and beef broth are staples. I make and can my own, but both are readily available in any grocery store.
• Brown rice: I usually buy brown basmati in big bags, as it keeps well!
• Brown rice cakes: I often use these as a sandwich base in an E meal.
• Cereal: I make granola (E), but in the USA you can buy Uncle Sam cereal and Ezekiel 4:9 cereal that are on plan.
• Chana dal: a very low-glycemic alternative to other dry beans and great in soups and stews. Split peas are also fine – both work in an E (carb) setting.
• Chocolate: any 85% or higher chocolate bar is acceptable since the amount of sugar is negligible. Lily’s brand is sweetened with stevia, so any are okay. Two short rows is a serving in an S (fat) setting.
• Chocolate chips: look for stevia sweetened ones like Lily’s. Krisda is not quite on plan but what I can get, so I use them. Walmart in the USA now carries Bake Believe chocolate chips in dark, milk, and white. These are pretty close to plan.
• Cocoa: I like chocolatey things, so I buy this in bulk, as I always have!
• Coconut: only unsweetened. I buy shredded as well as flakes for different recipes.
• Coconut flour: another oft-used baking ingredient
• Coconut milk: Canned full-fat coconut milk is in several recipes I enjoy. Not all brands are created equal, so try a couple if at first you don’t succeed.
• Coconut oil: I buy the big tubs of unrefined oil. If you’d rather not have the coconut smell and hint of flavor, buy refined. I don’t mind it. I also buy spray coconut oil for cooking lean protein for E and FP meals.
• Coffee: I buy organic whole beans from a local roastery and grind them daily as needed.
• Collagen: THM has their own brand, but I usually order Great Lakes brand from Amazon (green can). I use this in a few recipes, most notably in my homemade hot chocolate mix for added protein. Costco’s Organika brand is also good.
• Dreamfields pasta: a friend and I split a case of Dreamfields macaroni and Dreamfields angel hair. These are a “personal choice” item that shouldn’t be used frequently, but definitely hits the spot when I need a mac’n’cheese fix or spaghetti and meatballs in pasta sauce. Dreamfields apparently has a konjac-based coating that allows the product to pass through your body without too many carbs ingested. Can be used in S or E but is too calorie dense for FP.
• Dry fruit: not highly recommended since they are a concentrated form of sugar. Add raisins or unsweetened cranberries sparingly. You can DIY sweetened dry cranberries.
• Extracts: I have too many! The ones I use most often are vanilla, caramel (in chocolatey or butterscotchy recipes), maple and butter (in homemade pancake syrup), lemon (in some baobab recipes), and mint (in some desserts or GGMS – see ACV)
• Extra-virgin olive oil: what most of my homemade salad dressings are based on.
• Flax seed: Golden flaxseed meal is recommended, and I use a lot of it.
• Flour, whole wheat: I buy both regular whole wheat flour (for use in sourdough recipes) and sprouted (for other applications). Since I’ve begun baking bread again after taking 15 or so years off, I’m mostly using the regular whole wheat flour in sourdough.
• Gelatin: useful for making anything that needs to set up, like gummy candies!
• Gluccomannon: aka ‘glucci,’ this is a thickener derived from the konjac root and is THM’s first choice of thickener. A little goes a long way. Too much, and you can get a slimy texture. It does take a bit of getting used to…
• Granola: I make batches of low-fat granola (E) to store in my cupboard. While you could eat it straight with cartoned almond or cashew milk, I prefer to use it as a topping over yogurt and fruit or berries.
• Honey: THM doesn’t recommend using honey often since it can spike glucose, but a teaspoon a day can certainly be used for medicinal purposes. They recommend Manuka honey from New Zealand. Honey produced locally to you will also help give immunity to local airborne allergens – support your local beekeeper!
• Jerky: a great source of protein, especially for a snack. Check for off-plan ingredients, as they abound in many flavors, especially added sugar.
• Konjac noodles: THM has their own brand of Ancient Wisdom Noodles, but I can buy NuPasta brand in my local grocery store. Zero calories, good for S, E, or FP, and add bulk to a meal. Particularly good in Asian style dishes as a replacement for rice noodles.
• MCT oil: this metabolism-revving oil is used in very small amounts (or it can cause stomach cramps/diarrhea – fun – not). I use a dribble in my smoothies and in my coffee, and sometimes on salads.
• Molasses: Blackstrap molasses can be used sparingly on plan to create a brown sugar flavor when mixed with on-plan sweeteners.
• Nuts: whatever you like. We usually have cashews, almonds, and pistachios on hand. They are calorie-dense so should be eaten in moderation even in S settings. Salted nuts are fine, but check for off-plan ingredients in other flavors. I have walnuts and hazelnuts on hand from our own trees.
• Oat fiber: this is not the same thing as oat flour. I buy this online and use it quite a lot. It’s in my version of baking blend and in many of the single-serve muffin-in-a-mug recipes I enjoy. I also use it for breading for frying in place of flour. It has no calories and can be used in any setting.
• Oat flour: made from buzzing rolled oats in the blender until they’re powder. Used as flour in some E recipes. You can buy it, but why? Use your blender.
• Oats, rolled: skip buying instant oatmeal packets – they go straight to the bloodstream and have off-plan sweeteners. Also skip quick oats. Instead buy either steel-cut oats or old-fashioned rolled oats (aka as large flake or regular or thick rolled oats)
• Parmesan: I keep some powdered parm in my cupboard for the very few recipes I make that call for it. I skipped it for a long time. Nutritional yeast can be used instead some of the time.
• Pasta: see Dreamfields and konjac above
• Pasta sauce: look for a brand with no added sugar. Kirkland makes one, and there are others. I usually can my own, because I’m a gardener and DIYer.
• Peanut butter: buy a brand without sugar in the ingredients. I buy Adams natural in my local grocery store. If you prefer sweeter peanut butter, add on-plan sweetener!
• Peanut flour (aka peanut powder): this is a defatted flour that can be used to add peanut flavors in E or FP meals without worrying about overdoing fat. THM has a version, and you might be able to find PB and Me (green label) locally. Again, look for one with no added sugar. It’s hard to find, but available!
• Pork rinds: a great salty, crunchy snack to replace chips…if you can get past the porky smell. I grind them and use them as breading in some recipes, but my favorite use is in Keto Cheetos and in Party Snacks. Now I buy pork rinds all the time! You’re preferably looking for something with ingredients like the Old Dutch Bac’n Puffs in Canada: pork, lard, salt. That’s it. The flavored pork rinds nearly all have off-plan oil and/or sugar added.
• Psyllium husks (flakes or powder): used in several THM recipes, including my version of Baking Blend. I also use them in several wrap recipes. These are basically a no-calorie fiber extender. I buy whole husks – easy to make powder out of them for the recipes that call for powder!
• Salmon: I usually have a stack of cans of salmon in my pantry for quick meals. Buy wild sockeye. It is a thousand times better than pink.
• Salt: Pink or gray Himalayan rock salt is recommended, since it doesn’t have all the great minerals removed.
• Seeds: Salted pumpkin and sunflower seeds are great on salad in an S (fat) setting. Chia seeds, hemp seeds, and sesame seeds are also good.
• Sesame oil: I use it sparingly in some Asian-inspired dishes. Check the ingredients and make sure to buy one with no sugar added.
• Soy sauce: soy isn’t recommended on THM, but I do still use Kikkoman brand since I have a Costco size jug. Braggs liquid aminos are higher recommended. Coconut aminos for those allergic to soy.
• Spices: whatever single-ingredient dry herbs and spices you already enjoy cooking with are fine. Blends should not include MSG or sugars. Garlic and onion powder are versatile additions, and I buy Saltwest seasoning salt (Canadian brand) that has no off-plan ingredients.
• Sunflower lecithin: you can easily do without this. On the other hand, a container goes a long way. I use it in smoothies and dressings to help emulsify them. Soy lecithin isn’t recommended.
• Sweeteners: I’ll be honest. I have about every on-plan sweetener that exists in my cupboard. So many sweeteners that I created a page just for THM-approved sweeteners…
• Tea: I wasn’t a tea drinker, but that’s changed. I now drink tea- based GGMS (see ACV above on this list) daily, and that has me going through teabags at an unprecedented rate. I buy mostly herbal teas, but also black teas, green teas, chai, rooibos, and oolong. Oolong has some health benefits and is featured in some recipes in the THM cookbooks.
• Tomatoes: I’m a gardener and DIYer, so I can my own tomato chunks in both pint and quart sizes. I also make and can pasta sauce and roasted tomato sauce, which I use in any recipe calling for tomato sauce. I also make pizza sauce from the roasted tomato sauce and tomato paste. Some recipes call for Rotel-style tomatoes, but I usually just add some spice to taste to the finished meal.
• Tomato paste: I buy this by the case from Costco.
• Tuna: I keep tuna canned in water in stock at all times. A quick protein source that’s lean enough for an E or FP. Look for line-caught tuna.
• Vinegar: I use white vinegar (though not as often as I used to), rice wine vinegar (Kikkoman brand does not have added sugar), and balsamic vinegar (watch the carbs) as well as ACV which I use enough that it has its own heading above.
• Wasa crackers: Light Rye Wasa crackers are on plan! I use them often as the basis for an E snack with Laughing Cow cheese and a skim of all-fruit jam.
• Whey Protein Powder Isolate: Again, THM has their own brand, but I’m currently using the bulk powder from Bulk Barn There are other good brands in the USA. I hear good things about Jay Robb. Remember you’re looking for isolate not concentrate.
• Whisps: little bits of dried cheese goodness. Double check ingredients.
• Xanthan gum: a thickener that’s easier to find than gluccomannon and is probably available in your local store. They are interchangeable in most (but not all) recipes.
• Zevia: the stevia-sweetened pop/soda of choice for those who love Coke, Pepsi, ginger ale, Dr Pepper, etc. It does take a bit of getting used to.
In My Fridge
• Butter: absolutely no to margarine. Everything is better with butter, especially your health.
• Cheddar: We love cheddar, so it’s our first choice for a hard cheese. Others are fine.
• Cottage cheese: I generally buy 2% as it’s low enough in fat to fit an E or FP meal and also fine in S. I sometimes put it in a smoothie, but usually eat it with a bit of sweetener and berries or fruit for a snack.
• Cream: a THM concession for coffee or tea addicts! Heavy whipping cream is recommended (you heard that right) because the fat-to-carb ratio is greater. Half’n’half is acceptable.
• Cream cheese: full fat is fine in S meals and dessert, but you’ll want low-fat for E or FP. I usually just buy the 95% fat-free Philadelphia and use it for everything since I don’t go through it quickly enough to justify two kinds.
• Deli meat: lean deli meat like turkey breast or ham is a staple in my fridge. Perfect in an on-plan E sandwich.
• Dressing: I keep several salad dressings on hand, homemade (my own recipe of Glory Be) and storebought (Ranch and Caesar). While you can buy oil and vinegar dressings, I don’t love them. I cobble a dressing together when I want an E or FP salad badly enough. Storebought dressings should be under 2 grams carbs per serving.
• Eggs: I support a local farmer for my delicious eggs, but regular storebought ones are fine, too.
• Egg whites: look for cartoned egg whites with nothing added. I go through quite a few making puddings and breakfast casseroles.
• Ginger juice: Yep. I chunk up a couple of inches of fresh ginger and pulverize it in my Vitamix with 4 cups of water for several minutes. Strain. The juice keeps fine in the fridge for quite a while, or can be frozen. I use this in my GGMS (see ACV in the pantry section).
• Jam: buy an all-fruit jam like Good Good and enjoy up to 1 tsp in S or FP or 1 tbsp in E. I like it on Wasa crackers over Laughing Cow cheese.
• Kefir: This was new to me with THM and I am a total addict now. It’s the base for my near-daily smoothies. Buy low-fat, unflavored, or make your own! I haven’t yet.
• Light Laughing Cow Cheese: this comes in little round packages with 8 wedges in each, in several flavors. Check the fat grams and buy some with less than 5 grams of fat per serving so you can use it in E/FP settings. I buy the White Cheddar and use it regularly. Shortcode: LLCC
• Mustard: personally, I’m not a fan, but it’s perfectly fine on plan.
• Nut milk in cartons: I usually buy cashew or almond. You are looking for “original” with no sugar added. Rice, oat, and soy milk are not recommended. Cow’s milk isn’t recommended, either, because it’s high in carbs. It counts as a crossover, fine for growing kids and those at a healthy weight.
• Nutritional yeast: I bought this for years because I’ve been an addict of Glory Be Dressing for a long time! Now I also sprinkle it on roasted veggies and on egg dishes. It’s also on Keto Cheetos (see pork rinds above). Can’t live without it.
• Parmesan: I prefer shredded parm to powdered for over eggs or pasta or pretty much everywhere. It’s so dry that it keeps a long time in the fridge.
• Pickles: dill pickles and okra pickles are great and on plan. Double check no added sugar. Bread and butter pickles will generally be sweetened with sugar unless you make your own on plan.
• Sourdough starter: I’ve always got one or two jars of starter in the back of my fridge.
• Sour cream: I buy full-fat. If I need low-fat for E or FP, I’ll use non-fat yogurt instead.
• Yogurt: While you can use full-fat yogurt in S settings, I don’t go through enough of it to buy both versions, so I only buy fat-free Greek yogurt. It goes in some recipes but is often an evening snack with sweetener and fruit or berries and maybe a handful of homemade granola.
• Produce: I have most of these on hand most of the time.
- • Apples
• Cabbage
• Carrots
• Celery
• Cucumbers
• Daikon
• Jicama
• Kohlrabi
• Mushrooms
• Peppers
• Radishes
• Spinach
• Sugar snap peas
• Turnips
• Zucchini
In My Freezer
• Berries: I freeze fresh local raspberries, blackberries, and strawberries in ziplock bags in the summer. Also wild huckleberries if we can pick some. Gives me berries year round for smoothies and snacks.
• Bread: sprouted and sourdough bread don’t have piles of preservatives and are best kept frozen. I slice homemade bread before I freeze it. It’s easy to split frozen slices from the loaf then they thaw quickly on the counter or in the toaster.
• Broccoli/Cauliflower: I prefer to buy these fresh as needed since the frozen ones retain a lot of moisture and result in soggy veggies (blech) but I do keep some on hand just in case I need them.
• Cauli-rice: a great shortcut. Check the ingredients list to make sure you’re not buying additives and sugar.
• English muffins: I keep a package of Ezekiel English muffins in the freezer for occasional E meals. Sometimes I make my own sourdough ones.
• Fruit: we have several plum trees, so I wash, pit, and bag lots of plums every year. Thus plums are my usual smoothie ingredient in an E (carb) setting. What fruit can you get locally? Up to one cup is good as a carb serving, and many freeze well.
• Green beans: one of my favorite frozen veggies. They go straight into the oven to roast or into a frying pan or into a soup pot.
• Meat: We’re on the farm and have several freezers. We often buy half a pig or half a cow or a dozen whole chickens. It’s nice to have options for meals any time. Most people can’t (or don’t) do this, but buy on-sale meat as you can and freeze it.
• Mozzarella (shredded): I don’t go through it quickly enough to keep it in the fridge, but you might. I like having shredded mozz on hand for pizza or anything with fathead dough (google it)!
• Okra: once a healthful southern staple, now a superfood in many THM kitchens! It’s hard to find in my part of Canada, so I stock up when I find it. We like it roasted or panfried. I also add it to my smoothies and puree it into many of my soups.
• Pumpkin: We are gardeners and DIYers, so we grow and process pumpkins. I freeze the majority in ¼ cup servings (using deli dressing containers, then pop them into gallon ziplocks when frozen) to add to smoothies. I find pumpkin gives a great mouth feel to a smoothie, like a banana, but with fewer carbs. I also like pumpkin flavored everything, so the rest gets frozen in 1 or 2-cup measures. If you don’t grow them, buying cans is fine. Make sure you’re buying pure pumpkin, not pie filling.
• Salmon: I’ve been buying the individually wrapped frozen sockeye in bags from Costco. A great protein source. Best left to thaw naturally in the fridge overnight rather than trying to quick-thaw. Other fish are also great.
• Shrimp: I keep a bag or two of shrimp on hand. A quick lean protein source.
• Sole: I buy these individually wrapped in a multi-serve bag for another quick lean protein source.
• Spinach: I keep a bag in case I run out of fresh.
• Wraps: while there are several ‘acceptable’ wraps you might be able to buy in stores, at least if you live in USA, most of them are considered personal choice, meaning better than most other options while not perfectly on plan. These include Joseph’s pita (1 is a serving), Joseph’s lavash bread (1/2 is a serving), and Mission wraps (1 is a serving). I’ve now discovered homemade sourdough wraps, totally on plan (1 in S or FP, more in E) and delicious. My new go-to.
Also in my freezer:
• Spare pantry products: I keep most of my almond flour, coconut flour, golden flax seed meal, nutritional yeast, and baking blend ingredients in the freezer for freshness.
• Leftovers: It’s always nice to have ready-to-thaw-and-eat meals on hand. I ladle soups, stews, chilis, etc, into single-serve ziplock bags. Label them with a permanent marker with recipe name, date, and fuel type, and squish the bags flat to freeze so they stack nicely. Who doesn’t like a day off cooking?
• Chicken carcasses: I keep the carcasses (bones and extra skin) from rotisserie chickens and home-roasted chickens or turkeys to make soup broth. Generally I can it in pints or quarts when I’m making a big batch of broth, though sometimes I freeze 2-cup packages in ziplocks – lay flat for freezing so they stack well.
In My Kitchen
• Vitamix blender: mine has been going strong since 1996. I love this thing. (similar to mine)
• Cuisinart food processor: this is similar to mine.
• Cuisinart coffee maker (finally one that outlasted its warranty…)
• Cuisinart coffee grinder: I prefer one where you set the grind rather than guessing. This is mine.
• Bosch mixer: I don’t use it as often as I used to, since the sourdough bread I’m currently making is no-knead.
• Mandolin: this is the one I own.
• Cast iron frying pans
• Porcelain-covered cast iron Dutch oven (this one is similar to mine)
• Lagostina pot set. Mine is ceramic-coated stainless steel from Canadian Tire – I don’t see an equivalent in the USA.
• Cake pans, cookie sheets, muffin pans, etc (glass or silicone or metal, your preference)
• Rice cooker: I’m not on the Instant Pot bandwagon, at least not yet!
• Pressure canner: since I keep mentioning home-canned broth! You cannot use an instant pot or other pressure cooker to safely can jars. More info on pressure canning here.
• Hot water-bath canner for acidic foods like tomatoes, fruits, and pickles. More info on water-bath canning here.
• Air-fryer: a new addition to our kitchen in 2021. Mine is by Pampered Chef.
There you have it! That’s most of the contents of my cupboards, fridge, and freezer. A lot of these are things I already used regularly, but there are some “special ingredients” that I’ve been buying since embracing the Trim Healthy Mama lifestyle.