Must Have Grocery Items

I've been very happy with my meal planning since I started my diet. I find a few meals I like in recipe.com low calorie section. The have nice tools to save favorites, plan meals, and build shopping lists.

Since I'm eating new and exotic stuff, I never feel deprived. Some of the odd ingredients cost a bit more but overall I'm saving money and calories by rarely going to restaurants.

bumping to come back. ;-)

Bananas
Apples
Grapes
Strawberries
Pineapple (Ok, I should add here, they are high in sugars {fruit in general}, but the 'good' kind. You still need to be careful to not overdo it, just as with anything)

Carrots
Green Beans
Peppers (these are good with EVERYTHING nom nom nom)
Baby Spinach (I substitute this for lettuce in everything, Its soo much better for you and tastes the exact same raw as lettuce)
Beans

Chicken
Pork
Turkey (Try to stay away from most deli meat, as it is high in sodium, but if you must, ask for low sodium turkey. Most brands of it can be found in MFP already for calculations).

Wheat bread (Personally, unless Im adding a Tbsp of peanut butter, for a morning snack, I stick to pita, as it has less calories.)
Wheat Pasta
BROWN RICE (I make a huge portion, then spoon out what I need for different meals. It keeps things fast and convenient)
Oatmeal (Ok, I cant stand oatmeal, but its great for you)

Special K Cereal
Skim Milk
Mozzarella, reduced fat, string cheese
Yogurt (Greek is the best, but light yo-plaits or fiber enhanced are always tasty too)
Raw or No Salt Almonds (its key to buy things with less salt if possible)

Special K Protein Water Mix Packets
Crystal Light Metabolism+ Green Tea Peach Mango Water Mix Packets

Personally, I have to have some 'snack' items, otherwise I know I will fall off the band wagon. These are some of the items I chose that help me stay on track in my 1200 calorie diet.

Special K's new Cracker Chips (110 calories for 30 chips)
Jell-o Snacks sugar free (60 calories)
Jell-o Mousse (They are new and wonderful. 60 calories and kick my ice cream and sweets cravings out the door)

Things to remember....
Buy things will low or no sodium, if you 'absolutely' must have it, adding a pinch in yourself is better than the crazy amounts they will add for you, but overall, try to kick the salt habit.
Keep spices around, such as cajun, fresh black pepper, paprika, and rosemary, as these will enhance all your meals without worries of calories or sodium.
Add 'everything' to your journal, even if you arent happy seeing all the red. It has personally helped me keep myself accountable and on track.
Don't diet to the point you fall off the wagon. If I want Chipotle, you better believe I will eat it. However, I keep in mind what else Im eating that day, as well as making sure I have ample workout time to burn off those calories.

Hi,

I'm a vegetarian but this is basically what I make sure I have at home.

Apart from milk, bread, juice, fruit. veg, tofu, houmous, passata or pasta sauces, eggs, & yogurt, everything else, in the list below, is bought less often and sometimes in bulk -

Semi- skimmed milk
Low-fat vanilla flavoured yogurt
Fruit - especially clementines, apples, & bananas
Spinach leaves, onions, red onions, tomatoes, green & red bell peppers, broccoli, carrots
potatoes/sweet potatoes, asparagus, closed cap mushrooms, garlic, aubergine, courgette (zucchini), sweetcorn
Special K cereal
Whole grains (whole wheat bread/ pita bread, whole wheat pasta, quinoa, oats, whole grain or rye crackers, brown rice)
Reduced fat houmous
Passata & pasta sauces
Couscous
Lentils
Beans- red kidney, black beans
Quorn range products
Tofu
Eggs
Light choices cranberry juice or orange juice
Reduced salt soy sauce
Lemon juice
Herbs, seasoning, & spices, especially dried basil, dried mixed herbs, ground black pepper, ginger, & crushed chilli flakes
Granola
Nuts - almonds, pecans, walnuts
Seeds - pumpkin, sunflower seeds, flax seeds
Whole-wheat bread crumbs
Baking powder
Self-raising flour
Corn flour
Plain flavour
Cheese
Butter or margarine
Cooking oil
Tabasco & other sauces

Hope that helps