Acceptable Foods List

Basic rule: if someting is not included on this list, you should NOT eat it.

These are the foods you may eat liberally during Induction:

All fish, including tuna, salmon, sole, trout, flounder, sardines, herring
All fowl, including chicken, turkey, duck, goose, Cornish hen, quail, pheasant
All shellfish, including oysters*, mussels*, clams, squid, shrimp, crabmeat
All meat, including beef, pork, lamb, bacon**, veal, ham**, venison
All eggs, including scrambled, fried, poached, soft-boiled, hard-boiled, deviled, omelets

*Oysters and mussels are higher in carbs than other shellfish, so limit them to four ounces per day.
**Processed meats, such as ham, bacon, pepperoni, salami, hot dogs and other luncheon meats—and some fish—may be cured with added sugar and will contribute carbs. Try to avoid meat and fish products cured with nitrates, which are known carcinogens. Also beware of products that are not exclusively meat, fish or fowl, such as imitation fish, meatloaf and breaded foods. Finally, do not consume more than four ounces of organ meats a day.

OTHER FOODS THAT ARE ACCEPTABLE DURING INDUCTION

Cheese
You can consume three to four ounces daily of the following full-fat, firm, soft and semisoft aged cheeses*, including:

cheddar
cow, sheep and goat cheese
cream cheese
Gouda
mozzarella
Roquefort and other blue cheeses
Swiss

*All cheeses have some carbohydrate content. The quantity you eat should be governed by that knowledge. The rule of t.humb is to count 1 ounce of cheese as equivalent to 1 gram of carbohydrate. Note that cottage cheese, farmer’s cheese and other fresh cheeses are not permitted during Induction. No "diet" cheese, cheese spreads or whey cheeses are permitted. Individuals with known yeast symptoms, dairy allergy or cheese intolerance must avoid cheese. Imitation cheese products are not allowed, except for soy or rice cheese—but check the carbohydrate content.

Vegetables
You should eat 12-15 net carbs a day of vegetables. These salad vegetables are high in phytonutrients and provide a good source of fiber:

alfalfa sprouts
daikon
mushrooms
arugula
endive
parsley
bok choy
escarole
peppers
celery
fennel
radicchio
chicory
jicama
radishes
chives
lettuce
romaine lettuce
cucumber
mâche
sorrel

Other Vegetables
Within the 12-15 net carb daily vegetable requirement, these vegetables are slightly higher in carbohydrate content than the salad vegetables listed above, but they also provide important nutrients and add variety to your daily food intake:

artichoke
celery root
pumpkin
artichoke hearts
rhubarb
asparagus
chard
sauerkraut
bamboo shoots
collard greens
scallions
dandelion
snow peas
bean sprouts
dandelion greens
spaghetti squash
beet greens
eggplant
spinach
broccoli
hearts of palm
string or wax beans
broccoli rabe
kale
summer squash
Brussels sprouts
kohlrabi
tomato
bean sprouts
leeks
turnips
cabbage
okra
water chestnuts
cauliflower
onion
zucchini

If a vegetable, such as spinach or tomato, cooks down significantly, it must be measured raw so as not to underestimate its carb count.

Salad Garnishes
crumbled crisp bacon
grated cheese
minced hard-boiled egg
sautéed mushrooms
sour cream

Spices
All spices to taste, but make sure none contain added sugar.
Herbs
basil
garlic
rosemary
cayenne pepper
ginger
sage
cilantro
oregano
tarragon
dill
pepper
thyme

For salad dressing, use oil and vinegar or lemon juice and herbs and spices. Prepared salad dressings without added sugar and no more than two carbs per tablespoon serving are also fine.

Acceptable Fats and Oils
Many fats, especially certain oils, are essential to good nutrition. Olive oil is particularly valuable. All other vegetable oils are allowed, the best being canola, walnut, soybean, grapeseed, sesame, sunflower and safflower oils, especially if they are labeled "cold-pressed" or "expeller-pressed." Do not cook polyunsaturated oils, such as corn, soybean and sunflower oil, at high temperatures or allow to brown or smoke.
Butter is allowed. Margarine should be avoided, not because of its carbohydrate content, but because it is usually made of trans fats (hydrogenated oils), which are a health hazard. (Some nonhydrogenated margarines are now available.)

You don't have to remove the skin and fat from meat or fowl. Salmon and other cold-water fish are an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids.
Remember that trying to do a low-fat version of the Atkins Nutritional ApproachTM may interfere with fat burning and derail your weight loss.

Artificial Sweeteners
You must determine which artificial sweeteners agree with you, but the following are allowed: sucralose (marketed as Splenda™), saccharin, cyclamate and acesulfame-K. Natural sweeteners ending in the suffix "-ose," such as maltose, etc., should be avoided. However, most sugar alcohols have a minimal effect on blood sugar and are acceptable.
Saccharin has been extensively studied, and harmful effects were produced in the lab when fed to rats only in extremely high doses. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has removed saccharin from its list of carcinogens, basing its decision upon a thorough review of the medical literature and the National Institute of Science’s statement that there is "no clear association between saccharin and human cancer." It can be safely consumed in moderation, meaning no more than three packets a day. Saccharin is marketed as Sweet'n Low™.
The Atkins preference, however, is sucralose (Splenda™), the only sweetener made from sugar. Sucralose is safe, noncaloric and does not raise blood sugar. It has been used in Canada for years, and the FDA approved it after reviewing more than 100 studies conducted over the past 20 years. Note that each packet of sugar substitute contains about 1 gram of carbohydrate, so don’t forget to include the amount in your daily totals.

Acceptable Beverages
Be sure to drink a minimum of eight eight-ounce glasses of water each day, including:
Filtered water
Mineral water
Spring water
Tap water

Additionally, you can have the following:
Clear broth/bouillon (not all brands; read the label)
Club soda
Cream, heavy or light (limit to two to three tablespoons a day; note carbohydrate content)
Decaffeinated or regular coffee or tea*
Diet soda made with sucralose (Splenda™); be sure to count the carbs
Essence-flavored seltzer (must say "no calories")
Herb tea (without barley or any fruit sugar added)
Lemon juice or lime juice (note that each contains 2.8 grams carbohydrate per ounce); limit to two to three tablespoons

* Caffeine can cause cravings or blood sugar spikes with some people. If you’re one of them, you should drink only decaffeinated beverages. If you don’t have a problem with caffeine, you may drink one or two caffeinated beverages a day, because evolving research indicates there may actually be health benefits to a limited amount of caffeine. However, if you have a true caffeine addiction, it will be best to break it during Induction, because any food addiction can cause problems if it isn’t taken care of. Once you’ve broken the addiction and moved on to OWL, you can carefully try adding caffeinated beverages back into your food intake, as long as it doesn’t trigger the addiction again.

Special Category Foods
To add variety, each day you can also eat 10 to 20 olives, half a small avocado, an ounce of sour cream or three ounces of unsweetened heavy cream, as well as two to three tablespoons of lemon juice or lime juice. But be aware that these foods occasionally slow down weight loss in some people, and may need to be avoided in the first two weeks. If you seem to be losing slowly, moderate your intake of these foods.