EEK! First grocery trip today! Help!

Mellie - I've never heard to stick to the outside and avoid the aisles of a grocery store, but that makes so much sense! Thanks for the tip! Reading through the blog now (very helpful!).

I will definitely be stocking up on fruits and veggies (steph -thanks for the frozen veggie tip! Totally slipped my mind!).

Anyone ever buy frozen fish? If so, what kind and how did you prepare it?

I find Tilapia to be the most affordable. I recently read a recipe where you season and bake the fish, chop it up, and drop it in a wrap with lettuce, tomato, onions and peppers. I plan to try this very soon!

I actually had a similar supper last night. Sauteed cod with taco seasoning, lime juice, onions and green bell pepper, served with lettuce, tomato, and avocado. Ditched the tortilla for Kettle: Black bean tortilla chips to save on sodium.

I have also found that I have to make more trips since I've changed the way I eat. Since I eat nearly exclusively fresh and perishable foods- I have to buy them more frequently. I usually stick to the outer aisles except for the organic/vegetarian section where I pick up veggie burgers and tofu, yogurt and silk, and then my oatmeal and the frozen section, and the occassional box of couscous or brown rice. The center aisles are necessarily your enemy, good food like plain oatmeal or canned beans can be found there, but it's true that your best bets are on the perimeter.

I also try to go to the farmer's market or veggie stand on the weekend and try to find the fruits and veggies there, sometimes the price is better and often the produce is tastier and fresher.

Clarissa - This may be a silly question, :ohwell: but I'm not much of a cook as I've spent so much of my time in drive thrus. Do you need a broiler to broil something? Or is there a way to do this with standard kitchen appliances?

Not a silly question. You should have a setting on your oven that says broil. In newer ovens, in most cases, it is the top element in your oven (when you bake, you use the bottom element on the floor of the oven), but can also be the bottom drawer of your oven depending on the model you have. Sometimes I will bake & broil the fish depending on what kind of coating I put on my fish

Tarragon is a very good seasoning for fish like salmon and talapia. There should be a broiler function on your oven. Just make sure to watch it closely because it can burn quickly.

I also stick to the outsides of the stores, that is good advice. I agree with the poster that said don't go overboard on the fruits and veggies because they'll go bad. I go to the farmer's market once a week and then the regular grocery store for non-perishables every two weeks. As soon as I get home with my veggies, I chop up everything and put it in tupperware. It makes meal preparation 100% easier.

For snacks I like low-fat triscuits with Polly O string cheese (especially satisfies a "salt" craving). I like the Fiber One oats & chocolate bars for a "sweet" craving. I did just discover they have too much sugar, so I'm trying not to eat them as often.

Although I am not one for the 100 calorie packs and other "diet" foods, it might be good for your to "wean" yourself into healthy eating by picking up some of these snacks. If you are coming from a place where you ate a lot of fast food and hardly cooked at home, going "cold turkey" might be a secret sabotage. Your body may still crave that salt and fat. You might as well have a little pack of cheetos on hand to stave the craving. Sometimes there are days that I do not want to eat something healthy. I look at my fridge full of fruits and veggies and I'm not feeling it....like at all...so those are the days I will eat a south beach pizza. I would rather have that in my freezer for craving emergencies than having nothing at all and end up going across the street for a big old slice with pepperoni.

I'm just a big a believer in not setting yourself up to fail. Good luck to you!

We try to eat fish at least once a week and I always buy frozen fish. It's usually salmon, sometimes tilapia or shrimp, but we try to add new kinds here and there. I have found many ways to prepare salmon so it's not like having the same thing all the time!