Grocery shopping!

pavingnewpaths

Okay, so I'm going grocery shopping today and I feel like the same thing happens each time: I plan to buy entirely healthy food, get to the supermarket and buy everything I needed, then realize that it's not nearly enough to last for the upcoming weeks, begin to roam around the supermarket and end up purchasing a lot more junk than I'd intended.

What healthy foods are a must buy when you go grocery shopping? (specifically snacks I can nibble on and dinner options please!)

ciki90

Can't you go to the grocery store more than once a week? I usually go every 5 days or so. Some staples that I always buy:

(Meat/Protein)
Chicken breast, center cut pork chops, ground turkey breast, high quality sandwich meat, eggs, egg whites (carton), low fat cheese, low fat breakfast sausage or turkey bacon, canned tuna/salmon, frozen fish

(Produce)
Broccoli, cauliflower (lotttts), mushrooms, potatoes, onions, tomatoes, salad mix, carrots, green beans, apples/pears, whatever else is in season. I buy a lot of stuff in the frozen section, especially fruit for smoothies. (Frozen produce) cherries, strawberries, butternut squash, peppers & onions, peas & carrots, spinach, sweet potato fries

(Canned)
Diced tomatoes, beans, pasta sauce, pickles, red peppers, pumpkin (good for smoothies and dips)

(Condiments)
Cocoa powder, stevia, pb2, light mayo, mustard, reduced sugar ketchup,

(Dairy)
Sargento reduced cheese, 0% Greek yogurt, LF sour cream, butter (yes real butter!), fat free cream cheese, almond milk

(Snacks)
Mini snack pack raisins, mini chocolate chips (70% or more cacao), almond/pistachio/cashew blend mixed nuts, freeze-dried fruit

(Other)
Smart&Lite sandwich bread, small low carb tortillas, light 100 cal English muffins, coconut flour, coconut oil, olive oil, protein powder, 0 calorie drinks like Powerade, pelligrino, diet soda, etc.

Hope this have you some ideas

EyesOnSize8

Ideas for snacking:
Crunchy: Mini carrots, cukes, natural almonds and sugar snap peas
Healthy fats: Breakstone's individual cottage cheese packs, cheese sticks, avocados, hummus (great with carrots, peas, peppers or pita for dipping)
Salty: Popcorn (I use an air popper...healthier way to prepare it and the machine is cheap!)
Sweet: Dove dark chocolate squares (control! One at a time ) Also, we use a machine called a yo-nanna at our house...it turns frozen bananas into soft-serve type treat.

Brige2269

Ciki gave you some great things! Almost everything I buy! Although, not the canned goods, I stay away from those due to BPA and high soduim. With snacks, stick with fruit and veggies. Apple and PB together is great. Nuts and seeds are another great snack too. Get the full fat cottage cheese and cream cheese, really you are only saving about 2 grams of fat. It tastes better and your not getting the what ever they add to make the fat free taste slightly good. Remember to mainly shop the outter isles of the store. Good Luck!

AlabasterVerve

Have you tried making your list from your menu? Just look at a day that has food that you like and enjoy eating and come up with a list of everything you need to eat those meals -- don't buy healthy food just because it's healthy -- you won't want to eat it and it'll make sticking to your plan harder.

For example today I'll have coffee, cabbage and eggs for breakfast and chili for dinner and tomorrow I'll have cabbage and eggs again and a roast chicken for dinner. So my list has everything I need to buy in order to make those 4 meals -- I separate the food into sections just to make shopping easier (produce, meat, dry goods etc.):

cabbage
onions
garlic
green pepper
tomatoes
green beans

coffee
apple cider vinegar
black beans

whole chicken
ground beef

eggs
butter
cream
cheddar
sour cream

I hope that helps. It might seem strange/hard at first but it'll become second nature after awhile and it won't take you any time at all to come up with a list and grocery shop.

pavingnewpaths

These are all really good food ideas as well as good advice. Thanks guys, really needed this

JimiB73

Chicken Breast
Eggs
Plain Fat Free Greek Yogurt
Nuts (almonds/walnuts)
Oatmeal
Tomatoes
Broccoli
Sweet Potatoes
Protein Powder
Milk
Almond Milk

Those are the foods I can't live without!

Ideabaker

I live alone and am a "grab and go" eater. I often suddenly get hungry and need to eat within fifteen to twenty minutes, so I pre-prepare as much as possible--ingredients that can be interchanged for variety in meals. I also live thirty minutes away from the closest grocery store, so only go shopping about once every 5-7 days.

My pantry is usually stocked with:

Brown Rice (and/or pasta)

Low-Sodium Veggie or Chicken Stock (great to cook the rice in, and also to use for stir fries or in soups)

Thin Sliced Wholegrain Bread

Instant Oatmeal (I parcel it into 1/3 cup servings in snack sized Ziploc baggies... 100 cals each)

Sliced Almonds (from the baking sections, these can be sprinkled onto oats or over salads and give a lot of flavour, nutrients and fibre without using heaps of almonds)

Fibre bars (Fiber One or Quaker with chocolate chips)

Microwave Popcorn

Canned lowfat refried beans, black beans, and lentils

Canned crushed tomatoes (great for quick spaghetti sauce, to throw into soups, spaghetti sauce, or to make a sauce for fish or chicken)

Salsa

Whole Wheat Tortillas

Olive Oil

Rice Bran or Canola Oil

Peanut Butter

Heads of Garlic

Assortment of tea bags

Coffee

Plenty of herb seasonings, including pumpkin pie spice, Indian spice blends, Moroccon spice blend, Cajun Spice Blend, Italian Seasoning and Curry blends

Raw Honey

100% Maple Syrup

Snack sized chocolate bars (for a lower cal "treat" now and then)


My weekly shop is mostly the fresh stuff that would otherwise go bad:

Lite Greek yoghurt (great stand in for sour cream, plus I mix some in a container with Hidden Valley Ranch powdered dressing for a lowfat salad dressing... I also use it to make the Ultimate Protein Powder Pancakes)

Mini-tubs of lowfat yoghurt ( I use these as snacks and for desserts if I get the Boston Cream Pie or Key Lime Pie flavours)

Lite cream (which I use for coffee) or milk

Bagged refrigerated pumpkin, squash, or veggie soup

Veggies in season (Right now it is onions, sweet potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, squash, carrots, corn, bagged lettuces and bagged spinach, bell peppers)

Fruits in season (bananas--but only a few because I don't like when they start getting brown spots--, apples, pears, avocado, tomatoes, and always garlic, onions and lemons)

Frozen fruit (I LOVE the Dole pitted cherries which I eat whole from the bag... they are like tiny fruit icy treats, and are hardly any calories)

Eggs (I boil up about eight on Sunday and munch on those through the week)

Chicken ( I bake up several pieces and use them in sandwiches, salads, or nuke it with rice and veg for dinner)

Fish (usually salmon)... I bake up a big piece on Sunday and eat on it all week in the same way I use the chicken

Lean steak or red meat (I don't get it often, but it does provide heaps of iron)

Frozen 100% Fruit Bars (for my sweet tooth) or Frozen yoghurt bars



On Sunday when I'm cooking up my containers of veg and meat/fish, I boil up about eight eggs, and let them cool. I also cook up a batch of brown rice in the rice cooker using broth instead of water for flavour. I parcel it up 1/2 in the freezer, the other half in the fridge (I take out the other half midweek when the first half runs out). I sometimes also do a small batch of pasta, which I rinse after cooking and let drain, then pop into the fridge.

For breakfasts, I grab a pre-boiled egg and a piece of toast with fruit or a yoghurt, or put boiling water over my oats with a chopped up apple and sliced almonds... lately I've been tossing in pumpkin pie spice-yum.

I can just grab and go to prepare my "brown bag lunches" by tossing rice, a protein, some veg into a Tupperware for lunches. A piece of fruit and a fibre bar rounds out the daytime snacks.

For dinners, I often grab a couple of handfuls of the bagged salad mix with some chopped veggies and tomatoes and the Greek Yoghurt dressing. I top it off with sliced (pre-cooked) chicken or flaked salmon with a side of soup for dinner, or just eat the greens alongside a piece of chicken or fish with more rice and veg.

With pasta, you can make a quick "tomato sauce" by sauteeing minced garlic and onions then dumping in the crushed tomatoes with some Italian seasoning and a pinch of sugar. Throw in your pre-cooked meat or chicken, some veggies if you like, and toss over warmed up pre-cooked pasta and voila! Quick dinner.

Feeling like a fiesta? Sautee some onions and bell peppers in a bit of olive oil, toss in your refried beans, some pre-cooked chicken (warmed up), (you can add cheese, if you have some)... top off with a handful of lettuce, plenty of salsa and some plain Greek yoghurt...roll it all up in a heated tortilla-- so good, and ready in minutes.

judychicken

stock

47Jacqueline

I'm really fortunate to live near a bunch of grocery stores that are in walking distance to where I live. I have a small studio with a small refrigerator. I can fit about a week's worth of food in it. I usually shop every few days rather than once a week because I eat a lot of fresh foods so I do some freezing, but a lot of stuff is easier for me to pick up on a frequent basis.

Francl27

I've found it's much easier to resist buying junk than to resist eating it when it's at home.

I've also learned to always do groceries AFTER eating. It makes it easier to resist the junk.

michellelandis33

okay when I go shopping I have made my menu for the week already. I buy what I need. If I see something that looks good I get the nutrition information and get it the following week. Doing it right this time. I buy A bag of grapes great to eat in the car.,, bananas, apples, whole grain english muffins or bagels, peanut butter is a must, fat free yoplait greek yogurt, pretzels only eat 3 at a time for snack, fig newton whole grain, lots of water, frozen vegetables are better my nutritionist told me that they are better because they are frozen at their peak of flavor. Skim milk, cheese, whole grain crackers, turkey lunch meat, tuna, quaker oatmeal cookies, oatmeal, raisin bran....think healthy and delicious...and if you eat something you really want only eat the proper serving but eat it slowly and savor every taste. I fill my food journal everyday and remember tomorrow is not that far away...when I get hungry at night and have already reached my goal amount. I drink water and go to bed or preoccupy with something. Like doing my nails can't eat while my nails are drying...rethink what you're doing and remember why and who you are doing it for....you. That is my motivation.

lisamlucas82

This may sound CRAZY... but... I go every single day! I enjoy going daily and picking up what i need. It is not the most cost effective way to do things but it works for me. One time a month I will buy a large cart full, but going daily takes the pressure off. If for some reason I can't make it I always have food I have made in the past in the freezer ready to heat up.

keem88

i love grocery shopping! i started doing shop at home through shoprite and i just go pickup my order pay at the store and leave. no way for me to wander around the aisles getting junk i don't need. i also buy ingredients based on what i plan on making.

my shopping list rarely varies, if anything just brands changed based on whatever the sales are.

this is what i usually buy every 3 weeks, spending around $210 for 2 people ($180 and then i go back a few times for more produce, milk eggs and bread)

snacks i get are fresh fruit (grapes, bananas, pears, berries etc), veggies to cut into strips and eat with hummus, wheat thins or triscuits, popcorn, apple cinnamon rice cakes, sometimes i have cereal as a snack like different chex varieties. i love oatmeal with applesauce and cinnamon mixed in that is a filling snack for 165 calories. yogurt too with either fruit mixed in or chocolate protein powder mixed in. pb is a good snack on apples or make a pb&j

generally this is my shopping list:

bakery: wheat bread, tortillas or flatout wraps (whole wheat), english muffins, bagel thins if they're on sale, herb stuffing.
beverages: gatorade and juice for the bf, for me flavored seltzer water
breakfast: cereal (depends what is on sale or what i have a coupon for, this shop trip was different varieties of chex), nature valley bars, canister of oats
canned/packaged: enchilada sauce, progresso soup for easy lunches, banana peppers, diced tomatoes, black olives
condiments/sauces: marinara sauces, white sauce, knorr pesto mix
dairy: white american, milk, eggs, cottage cheese, yogurt, flavored yogurt for bf, ricotta, mozzarella, cheddar jack, grated parm
deli: sliced provolone, ham and turkey for bf
frozen: ice cream for bf, spinach, broccoli, mixed veg, pepper onion mix, cauliflower, boca meatless crumbles, meatless balls, tortellini, ravioli
ingredients: cocoa powder, shirataki noodles, tofu
meat: italian sausage and chicken sausage for bf
pasta/grains: quinoa, brown rice, whole wheat pastas, couscous
produce: cabbage, eggplant, spaghetti squash, lettuce, bell peppers, cucumber, mushrooms, zucchini, grapes, pears, bananas, apples, avocado, oranges, baby carrots
snacks: crackers, popcorn, hummus, tortilla chips, triscuit/wheat thins, apple cinnamon rice cakes, pirates booty puffs

staples i usually have at home already: variety of dried beans, rice, whole wheat pastas, rice cakes, condiments (mustard, bbq sauce pickles salad dressings), canister of oats, vital wheat gluten to make seitan, frozen veg, diced tomatoes to make soups chilis or sauces, olive oil, red wine vinegar, spices

recipes i make with these ingredients: stroganoff, soups, spinach baked ziti, stir frys, seitan cheesesteak sandwiches, "meatball" hoagie, spinach artichoke dip pasta, quinoa risotto, sushi bowls, bbq tofu, chili, greek tortellini salad, ravioli bake, fettucine alfredo with veg, spaghetti squash casserole, cheesy spaghetti squash bake, mushroom eggplant sauce over pasta, eggplant curry, chickpea curry, tofu with veggies in a coconut green curry sauce over couscous, stuffed zucchini, creamy zucchini "noodles", crustless pizza, pizzadillas, quesadillas, sweet potato burritos, taco salad, avocado soft tacos, burrito bowls, loaded nachos, stuffed mushrooms

laursoar

Make lists of things you use in meals you like too so you can be sure to buy replacement ingredients. Find your staples as others have mentioned. Also, look at healthy recipe sites for delicious meal ideas and put the ingredients that you need on your lists. You could try planning ahead in MFP a couple of days as well to see how far what you're buying will get you. I pretty much always get extra of my staples and buy before I run out. I also tend to go to the grocery store a couple of times a week as needed.