Food Staples

UpToTheChallenge

I am going grocery shopping today to stock my house with some friendly snacks and food to help with my weight loss. What are some of your favourite must haves? Any and all ideas are welcome. I am always looking for new foods

Thanks!

LiL_MisS_C

I stopped using processed shredded cheese in my salads and now I use a fruit flavored goat cheese....so yummy!

kao708

Thin buns & thin bagels (Arnold, Thomas & Natures Own make these)
Canned fruit (fresh fruit is expensive and goes bad too fast right now for me)
Granola bars (I like Nature Valley Peanut butter variety)

I haven't had my coffee yet, if I can think of more I'll come back! :drinker:

Bearface115

BUMP

Atlantique

Brown rice
Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Frozen fruit (berries in my case--excellent in smoothies!)
Skim milk
Low-fat cottage cheese (the non-fat has so much more sodium that it's not worth it to me)
Laura's Lean Beef (very low-fat ground beef)
A few Lean Cuisines for emergencies
Hummus and baby carrots
Yogurt
Organic spring mix (salad greens)
Sweet ptoatoes
Whole wheat pasta
Kashi Go Lean cereal
Oatmeal (not the instant kind--the sort you actually have to cook!)
Whole wheat tortillas or Carb Balance tortillas
Reduced fat cheese
Eggs
Peanut butter
Almonds

If you haven't cooked much at home before, you're probably going to end up buying a lot of spices so you can add flavor to things.

That's off the top of my head. Maybe I'll think of some more after coffee!

catwoodard

Bran Crispbread - its only available around me at the health food store - but low calories with high fiber.
Hummus
Kellogg's Fiber Plus Bars - these are my chocolate fix, it feels like I am eating a candy bar but for only 120 calories and 9 grams of fiber.

Dipmom

Nestle fat free hot chocolate - 20 calories a pack . It doesn't taste great, but it's not bad and it does help with the chocolate cravings. Oh, and grapefruits.

lnadeau66

Breyers smooth and dreamy ice cream sandwiches (160 cals), weight watchers toffee bars (100 cals each), ww ice cream candy bars (150 cals), laughing cow cheese (35 cals), special k crackers ( 17 for 90 cals), chocolate kisses (22 cals each), marshmallows (25 cals each), and 100 cal mini bags of popcorn . These all satisfy my snacking, which by the way I love to do.

staps065

Add:

Eggs (you can separate out the whites!)
Oatmeal (Plain)
Low Fat / Fat Free Yogurt (Great in a smoothie!)
White Wheat bread
Bananas

Vicky14174

fat free half n half
brummel and brown yogurt butter
sara lee 45 calories bread
turkey smoked sausage
greek yogurt
fat free sour cream

fitnessfoodtravel

KashiGoLean
Whole wheat and spelt flour to bake loafs and muffins
Dried fruit like goji berries, cranberries, etc.
Cashews, pumpkin seeds, and walnuts
Frozen bananas ( I put them in the food processor with a bit of soy milk and a teaspoon of cocoa powder for a healthier version of ice cream/frozen yogurt)
Veggies
Hummus
Brown rice cakes
Kale chips
Home-made chutneys
Home-made baked sweet potato chips

Here is a website with some ideas for you and shopping lists for overall meal planning: http://www.cleaneatingmag.com/Meal-Planning.aspx.

You have a great list to get you started!
PS I would stay away from processed foods with artificial sweeteners, chocolate milk, etc. I don't want to be rude, but some of the stuff other people recommended is actually bad for you, ie. WW toffee bars, fat free half and half, and 20 calories hot chocolate.

Barelmy

Onions, tomatoes, butter beans, cannelini beans, vital wheat gluten, hemp powder, bread flour, rice, red peppers, chickpeas, baby spinach, houmous, high bake water biscuits, apples, bananas, grapes (freeze them!), wholemeal bread, oatmeal, soy milk, garlic puree, tomato puree, vegetable stock cubes, lentil soup.

The houmous and biscuits make a nice snack/mini meal. High bake water biscuits (not sure what they're called in the US) are like crackers, but smaller and thinner, and so slightly less calories each. That adds up.

I make my own baked beans with the onions, tomatoes, and butter beans. They're much nicer and more special than ones out of a tin, plus they have actual veggies in there. Recipe --> http://vegan20eleven.blogspot.com/search/label/Baked Beans

I enjoy baking my own bread rolls. Rivercote ciabatta mix is lovely, simple, and makes nice little rolls that go well with soup. I generally get the bread mix and the soup from Lidl. Their Bulwark lentil soup is 39p for two portions, about 86 calories, low in fat, sugar AND salt.:D And I can generally get 16 small rolls from the breadflour, so each one works out to about 7p. Thrifty.

Frozen grapes are a lovely snack, seriously.

You can make a great salad from one sliced red pepper, some chopped tomatoes, a drained tin of chickpeas, and some rice (about 30g). The rice is not necessary, but I like it. It's so filling, this recipe. I have trouble finishing it. It's good cold too, so I generally take it to work.

Baby spinach leaves are good on sammiches. They taste less watery than lettuce, and have less of a crunh. They're one of the first few leafy things I trained myself to like (I was raised on chips/fries, and didn't learn to eat veggies regularly until last year), and were easy to add in when I made a rule about including some kind of fruit or vegetable at every meal.

Barelmy

PS I would stay away from processed foods with artificial sweeteners, chocolate milk, etc. I don't want to be rude, but some of the stuff other people recommended is actually bad for you, ie. WW toffee bars, fat free half and half, and 20 calories hot chocolate.

I'd agree. Plus, stuff made from fresh is nicer. And, if you decide to make your own cupcakes or cookies, you can give the rest away. You look generous, get a cookie, and get the rest out of the house!

ltlhmom

Larabars organic section
Almond Milk
Almonds
Dannon Light and Fit Vanilla Yogurt (yummo with blueberries and strawberries mixed in with a little granola on top.
Eggs
Cabot 50% less fat cheddar cheese
Skim milk
Fat Free half & half
boneless chicken breast
bananas
apples
Grapes
Strawberries
Breakstone's - Cottage Cheese 2% Milkfat Lowfat, 30% Less Sodium
Bake potatoes (yummo with cottage cheese on top and a little pepper)
Sweet potatoe fries
feta cheese
eggs
Bagel Thins
Salsa
Hummus
Tuna Fish
Apple sauce
Edy's half the fat ice cream or store brand 1/2 fat
Fudge Bars
Popcorn
oatmeal
carrots
broccoli
frozen peppers and onions
Turkey Pepperoni
Frozen pizza dough

perrytyra

Clementines, Pistacchios, frozen fruit, greek yogurt, apples, pears, blueberries, oatmeal, cheese, crackers, stuff for salad.

I buy Aunt Mid Garlic Viniagrette Salad dressing. And if I really want ranch I get T.Z. Marzetti's Light Ranch. 80 calories per serving, and no MSG or preservatives.

jeannas

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daybyday

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missdeehere

Lots of good ideas suggested.

Think Fresh, Fat Free or Low Fat & Brown (whole grains)


Can't remember if I saw Low fat popcorn, Fiber One cereal, Chick Peas, kidney beans, (any beans) Sugar Free jello & pudding mix, Fat Free Dressings, Couscous or Zucchini.



I buy very ripe bananas when they are reduced & cut them up & freeze them for smoothies. I just saw on TV the other day if you run the frozen bananas through a processer & add a lil Low Fat Peanutbutter it's a mock ice cream. :-)

missdeehere

Lots of good ideas suggested.

Think Fresh, Fat Free or Low Fat & Brown (whole grains)


Can't remember if I saw Low fat popcorn, Fiber One cereal, Chick Peas, kidney beans, (any beans) Sugar Free jello & pudding mix, Fat Free Dressings, Couscous or Zucchini.



I buy very ripe bananas when they are reduced & cut them up & freeze them for smoothies. I just saw on TV the other day if you run the frozen bananas through a processer & add a lil Low Fat Peanutbutter it's a mock ice cream. :-)

WomanofWorth

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MelissaGarvey

I always keep frozen organic fruit for smoothies (less expensive than fresh), hummus and fresh carrots and celery for good snacks and kale. Kale is a superfood and I sneak it into every meal that I can. It's even good in smoothies!