What foods do you consider your essentials?

My everyday essentials

Special K cereals
Whole Wheat or Multi Grain Arnold Rolls
Buena Vida Low Carb Wraps
Oscar Meyer Deli Fresh Chicken or Turkey
Kraft Fat Free Shredded Mozarella Cheese
Baby Spinach
Sargento Light String Cheese
Low Fat Peanut Butter
Schwan's Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast Filets
Schwan's Fajita Chicken

And once a week we head to Panera Bread Company for a meal out -
I always get Garden Vegetable Pesto Soup, Smoked Turkey Sandwich, and the French Baguette Mmmmm - makes me want to eat out tonight!

foods i consider essentials are frosted mini wheats, oatmeal, raisins, broccoli, yogurt. thats usually my breakfast, and lunch snacks, then dinner is a good dinner, some form of meat (no red meat) (chicken, salmon, fish etc) with veggie.

Strawberries. When they are in season I will have them almost everyday as my afternoon snack.

Tilapia. It's cheaper and lasts longer than buying chicken, I get my omega-3s, and since I have eczema that REALLY helps with my skin, it's higher in protein than chicken (I compare it to chicken 'cause it's my favorite!!) and I can throw it in the oven while I'm in the shower after a work out and it'll be ready once I'm dry and ready to snarf it down! :happy:

*vanilla fat free yogurt - i love it,its like dessert

*any kind of fruit - pineapple,blueberries+strawberries most though (afore mentioned yogurts gets teamed with the fruit for breakfast every single morning)

*turkey - less calories than chicken but still yum!

I don't always eat the same thing every single day, but there are a lot of foods that are a part of my routine:

Fiber One Blueberry Muffins
Light & Fit Yogurt
salad full of veggies with a little bit of reduced fat feta, craisins and light dressing
Arnold sandwich thin with 2 slices of meat, 1 slice of cheese and dijon mustard
Jenny O Turkey burgers (frozen, individually wrapped)
Broccoli (microwave)
Sweet potatoes (microwave)
Treasure of the Sea parmesan crusted tilapia (delicious and I'm not a big fish person, frozen, bake for 20 min)

The reason I eat so much of these foods are they are relatively healthy, tasty and easy to prepare (or take no preparation at all)

~ Peanut Butter
~ Slim-A-Bear Klondike Bar
~ Greek Yogurt
~ Watermelon, Apple, Strawberry, or Oranges
~ Special K Protein Meal Bar

I forgot a few things

~Almonds
~Broccoli
~Black Bean Chipotle Garden Burgers

I have become addicted to fish tacos!

On most work days, I get them for lunch from this little Mexican taqueria near where I work.

In the evenings, or on weekends ... I'll make homemade fish-wraps using frozen tilapia filets.

I'll cook one tilapia fillet on the George Foreman, adding lots of pepper and lemon pepper ... sometimes fresh lemon if I have it. Next, I'll warm up a couple of 8" flour tortillas. If I have fresh pico de gallo (another staple), I'll load them up with that, otherwise, I'll just dice up a bunch of tomato and onion. Then I add some lettuce, a teeny bit of cheese, some fat free sour cream, avocado (if I have it), and the best part of all ... a little raspberry chipotle sauce. They are amazing (if I do say so myself).

This has become my primary food source, and I would eat it for lunch and dinner every day if I could!

Other than that, I eat a lot of Kashi bars, bananas, hard boiled eggs, and the occasional yogurt & granola.

I ALWAYS have the following at home and at work:

Fage Total 2% greek yogurt
bananas
organic peanut butter, full fat

I eat different foods every day, I don't like to be in a set routine or I get bored, but there are a few staples that MUST be in the house at all times or I head to the store!

-lettuce, onions, and green, red, yellow, and orange peppers
-yogurt
-tilapia or chicken (at least one must be in the fridge)
-peanut butter
-oatmeal, not instant
-fresh fruit of some kind

any of those threatens to run out and I make sure I get more before it does.