Preparing your own food and doing your own grocery shopping is an important aspect of healing psoriasis and living a healthier lifestyle in general. By doing this, you are leaving minimal room for excuses and are ensuring that you really are consuming the foods that you need in order to heal and thrive. 

Before I go into more detail on specific food groups and provide you with more extensive grocery rotation lists, here is an example of a typical weekly Psoriasis diet shopping list. Many of the items on this list are not a weekly purchase as they will last more than a week. I would say that my typical weekly bill is around $100. 

Vegetables– Celery, cucumbers, spinach, kale, bell peppers, asparagus, onions

Fruits– strawberries, blueberries, bananas, apples, mangos

Healthy Starches– Sweet potatoes, quinoa or brown rice, oats

Nuts and Seeds– walnuts, pumpkin kernels, chia seeds 

Plant protein– Chickpeas or black beans, maybe some tofu

Fish, Meat, and Eggs– Some wild caught salmon and grass fed meat

Drinks– natural spring water, herbal tea, maybe a kombucha or cold pressed juice

Herbs and Spices– cinnamon, cumin, black pepper, turmeric, cilantro, parsley, or basil

Vegetables

If you’re familiar with me and my blog, I probably sound like a broken record when it comes to speaking about how important vegetable consumption is. In my opinion, vegetables are the most important food for natural healing and you should definitely get in the habit of buying a bunch of veggies on your trips to the grocery store. 

One great thing about vegetables is, they are generally inexpensive. Although I do think think that it’s best to buy organic produce, which is a little more expensive, organic vegetables are still usually pretty reasonably priced. 

When I am in the produce section, I usually buy veggies with two different forms of consumption in mind: For meals and for juices. I usually buy some broccoli or asparagus to accompany a dinner entree, some spinach, kale, and cucumbers for salads, and some celery, maybe some carrots, and some more leafy greens and cucumbers for making juices.

Grocery list rotation

• celery
• Cucumber
• Leafy greens (spinach, kale, chard, romaine lettuce…)
• Bell peppers
• Broccoli
• Asparagus
• Carrots
• Zucchini
• Ginger root
• Onions
• Corn 

Fruits

Fruits are another food group that I am constantly endorsing. In my research, Ive come across quite a few diets that limit or eliminate the consumption of fruits. In most cases, I think this information is rather misleading as it steers people away from one of the most nutritious food groups. Just keep in mind that fruits are best consumed on an empty stomach. 

Organic fruits and fruits in general can be a little more expensive than vegetables. With that said, you can almost always find some kind of sale and certain fruits are generally much more cheap than others. Buy what you’re comfortable with. It’s quite easy to purchase a good amount of fruit without breaking the bank. 

Similar to how I shop for veggies, I typically buy certain fruits for general consumption and others for smoothies. I’ll buy some apples, mangos, or watermelon to snack on, and then some berries for smoothies. I also love bananas as I use them in almost all of my smoothies and love them with oatmeal or just as a snack. 

Follow this link to be directed to my products page where you can shop juicers and blenders. Juicing and making smoothies are two habits that have helped me tremendously and I try to expose others to these beneficial practices as often as I can

Grocery list rotation 

• bananas
• Apples
• Berries
• Dates and raisins
• Oranges
• Mangos
• Melons (watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew…)
• Cherries
• Grapefruits
• Grapes
• Pears
• Pomegranates 
• Pineapples
• Avocados
• Lemons and limes
• Tomatoes 

Healthy Starches

Healthy starch foods have been a staple in my diet for years now. Although many people are drifting towards low carb diets, which can certainly be beneficial for many, I do believe that including the right carbohydrate foods in your diet will make for a very enjoyable and sustainable diet approach. In my opinion, societal carb shaming has gone a little too far. 

Healthy starch foods such as quinoa, brown rice, sweet potatoes, and oats are also typically pretty cheap and you can buy them in bulk. This makes them a great option to stock up on and stick in your pantry. Learning how to how to constantly have your staple foods on hand and ready to prepare and eat is a great way to stay consistent and avoid cheating. 

If you are following a ketogenic approach and are experiencing great results, then stick with it. But if you reach the point where you want to start adding some healthy carbs back into your diet, consider some fruit as well as these healthy options. 

Grocery list rotation

• Potatoes
• Quinoa
• Brown rice
• Oats
• Squash
• Sprouted whole grain bread and wraps
• Whole grain pasta (occasional)

Nuts and Seeds

While nuts especially can have some adverse digestive effects on some people, nuts and seeds are a great dietary addition if you they don’t give you any problems. These foods are generally great sources of healthy fats, dietary fiber, plant based protein, and elusive minerals such as zinc, magnesium, and calcium. 

The downside of nuts is that they are typically pretty expensive. If you find a sale on walnuts or almonds, then you should hop on the opportunity. With that said, you can certainly find good deals. 

While I probably wouldn’t call seeds cheap, they are typically less expensive than nuts. I typically buy a big bag of chia, flax, or hemp seeds for a reasonable price which can last me up to a couple months. 

How do I consume my nuts and seeds? Considering its best that you don’t overindulge on these foods, I prefer to mix them into my meals rather than snacking on them. While I do like to snack on them as well, it can be difficult to stop yourself this way. I love including my nuts and seeds in my smoothies and oatmeal in particular. 

Grocery list rotation

• walnuts
• Almonds
• Pecans
• Nut butter
• Nut milk
• Hemp seeds
• Chia seeds
• Flax seeds
• Pumpkin kernels

Legumes and Tofu

If you are following a completely plant based plan (which I recommend for many people in the early stages of healing) it is important that you get a sufficient amount of plant protein in your diet. 

I think that it is ok to sort of put protein on the back burner short term if you are following a heavy detox diet such as the fruitarian or all fruits and vegetables diet. With that said, you do want to make sure that your normal day to day diet contains enough protein if you are going to stick with a completely plant based approach for an extended period of time.

Plant proteins such as legumes and tofu are not only for vegans. I believe that most people rely too heavily on animal products to get their protein. I personally only eat animal products once a day at the most and this is usually for dinner. Finding other ways to get your protein is an important thing to consider. 

These foods are typically pretty cheap as well. Cooking your legumes yourself is the healthier route to take, but buying organic canned products is fine as long as you rinse before consuming (this is what I do).

Grocery list rotation

• chickpeas
• Black beans
• Firm tofu 
• Lentils
• Peas

Fish, Meat, and eggs

Let me just note that I ate a completely vegan diet for a full year and had some great results in terms of skin healing. Although I had a great experience early on, I eventually came to the conclusion that this was not the best long term solution for me. 

Now, this does not mean that you should start just eating meat any way you can get it. I believe that it is very important to consider the quality of the fish, meat, or eggs that you are consuming. Taking the initiative to buy wild caught fish an meat and eggs that has been raised without antibiotics and no added hormones is crucial. 

As you are probably aware, these higher quality products are going to cost you more than farm raised options. My advice would be to look out for sales and figure out what kind of products work for your budget. At the end of the day, if you are only buying the foods that you need, your grocery bill shouldn’t be too expensive. 

Grocery list rotation

• Wild caught salmon
• Wild caught cod
• Wild caught shrimp
• Grass fed ground beef
• Grass fed steaks
• Pasture raised chicken, turkey and eggs

Drinks

For the most part, I really just stick with water. Drinking a sufficient amount of water is an irreplaceable habit that cannot be overstated. As I’m sure you know, many store bought drink options are high in sugar and are just not all that healthy. With that said, there are certain health drinks that I do think can have a positive impact on your health and are great grab and go options. 

Cold Pressed Juices– Although juice is best when prepared and consumed fresh, quality cold pressed juices are still a very healthy choice and are becoming more and more popular on the shelves of health food stores. 

While they are pretty expensive, sometimes I just can’t help myself and give in to the convenience. Make sure they are actually cold pressed and not just your typical over-processed sugary beverage. 

I’ve tried quite a few of these over the years and Suja brand is my personal favorite. It’s hard to find a better quality and better tasting cold pressed store bought juice at a reasonable price. Click here to check out some Suja green juice on Amazon. 

Kombucha–  Kombucha is becoming more and more popular in the health and fitness world. These fizzy tasting drinks can satisfy your soda pop cravings and can also prove to have some health benefits as they are a fermented probiotic drink that promotes good gut bacteria.

These are also fairly expensive, but are a good treat to grab every once in a while. I wouldn’t get to crazy with these. In my opinion, they aren’t going to have any huge health benefits. To me, it really is just a treat kind of thing. They’re just something tastesy to enjoy without feeling guilty

Herbal tea– Incorporating herbal teas into your diet can have some great digestive health benefits. If you are someone who relies heavily on coffee in the mornings, I would suggest giving herbal teas a try as they really are the more healthy beneficial option in my opinion. 

They are also very cheap. You can get a few weeks supply of your favorite herbal teas for a very reasonable price. Chamomile, peppermint, and lemongrass tea are a few of my favorites. Click this link to be directed to my blog post on how drinking herbal teas can benefit your psoriasis.  

Sparkling mineral water– As I said, I really do stick to just plain old water for the most part. There really is no healthier option and nothing is as effective in terms of hydration and ensuring the optimum performance your body. Drink water every day and drink a lot of it. 

With that said, sparkling mineral water is another great healthy treat to add to your arsenal. Drinking sparkling waters such as S. Pellegrino or Perrier gives you that fizzy poppy taste like kombucha and is another great way to give your taste pallet some variety. 

Herbs and Spices

Not only are herbs and spices a great way to take the taste of your favorite foods to the next level, but many of them have some great additional health benefits. This is one of the things I was pleased to hear when I first began a psoriasis healing diet. Who doesn’t like adding some fresh herbs and seasoning to their meals?

Many herbs and spices of course are generally very affordable and just a small amount can last you a fairly long time. While there are many great powdered herbs and spices that you can store in your pantry such as cinnamon, turmeric, and pepper, don’t forget to incorporate some fresh herbs from the produce section such as cilantro, basil, or parsley. 

Grocery list rotation 

• cinnamon
• Pepper
• Paprika
• Turmeric
• Cumin
• Cilantro
• Basil
• Parsley
• Cayenne pepper
• Thyme