I wanna start cooking from scratch, need help with my grocery list!!

I tend to have trouble with food shopping - impulse buying junk food, etc. And I'm not a creative cook but I wanted to do better, cook more natural foods, etc. I have found eMeals helpful - they send recipes and a grocery list for the week.

I'll give you some of my favorite recipies. All of them are as equally tasty as they are healthy and fairly simple to make!
Chicken Noodle Parmesean:
1 9 ounce package refrigerated angel hair pasta
4 large carrots, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
6 tablespoons purchased basil pesto
1/4 cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese
Olive oil (optional)
Fresh basil (optional)
Cook pasta according to package directions.
Meanwhile, in 12-inch skillet cook carrots in 1 tablespoon melted butter over medium heat for 3 minutes. Add chicken; cook and stir 4 to 5 minutes or until no pink remains in chicken. Add 4 tablespoons pesto; toss to coat.
Drain pasta. Return to pan; toss with remaining butter and pesto. Serve with chicken mixture. Sprinkle pasta with Parmesan cheese and ground black pepper. Drizzle with olive oil and top with basil. Makes 6 servings at 390 calories per serving!
Fish Tostadas

1 pound fresh tilapia or cod fillets
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1 lime, halved
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
8 6 inches tostada shells
2 cups shredded cabbage mix
1 avocado, halved, seeded, peeled, and sliced (optional)
1 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered (optional)
Bottled hot pepper sauce (optional)
Preheat broiler. Sprinkle fish with 1/4 teaspoon of the chili powder and 1/4 teaspoon salt. For chili-lime cream, in bowl squeeze 2 teaspoons juice from half the lime. Stir in sour cream, garlic powder, and remaining chili powder; set aside. Cut remaining lime half in wedges for serving.
Place fish on unheated greased broiler rack; tuck under thin edges. Place shells on baking sheet on lowest rack. Broil fish 4 inches from heat 4 to 6 minutes per 1/2-inch thickness, until fish flakes with fork. Break in chunks. Serve tostadas with cabbage, chili-lime cream, avocado, tomatoes, lime, and pepper sauce. Serves 4 (2 tostadas is a serving) at 278 calories per serving!
Mocha Pastry Cups:
1 1/2 cups fat-free milk
1 (1.4-ounce) box fat-free, sugarfree chocolate instant pudding mix
1 tablespoon instant espresso
3 sheets frozen phyllo dough, thawed
Cooking spray
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon sugar, divided
Fat-free whipped topping
In a saucepan, combine milk, instant pudding mix, and instant espresso, stirring with a whisk; bring to a boil. Remove from heat; transfer to bowl. Cover surface of pudding with plastic wrap; chill 1-4 hours. Preheat oven to 400°. Unwrap thawed phyllo dough. Lay 1 piece on counter; lightly coat with cooking spray. Sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon sugar. Lay second sheet on top of first; repeat steps with remaining phyllo. Cut dough into 8 rectangles; fit into ungreased muffin cups. Bake 10 minutes; remove from oven. Cool 10 minutes. Remove cups from pan; cool completely. Spoon pudding into cups; top each with 1 teaspoon fat-free whipped topping. Makes 8 servings at 80 calories a pop!
I hope this helps

I also try to make everything from scratch. Fresh pico is a staple in my house...(tomatoes, purple onion, fresh cilantro, a dash of olive oil, lime juice and a little salt...yum!) I use this for turkey taco's, I put it on top of grilled chicken...even in place of salad dressing.

reblzbeckmol wrote: »

My partner and I did just the same in September, after a bit of advice from a nutritionist we just google clean eating recipes. There is an ace site called kitchen shed.Over the months I've built up a bank of herbs spices etc rather than buy all at once. It's been really good for us... Basically if you can't grow it or kill it we don't eat it! With the exception of goats cheese and greek yoghurt. We also cut out all wheat based products. I'm no chef but it has been fun learning and I've lost about 16lbs "... Good luck

Buy a good electric pressure cooker it greatly reduces cooking time. You can cook dry beans in about 25 minute. Chicken fresh or frozen in 20 to 30minutes and many other things. They normally come with a basic cookbook from which you can use to form your shoppimg list. You can use the broth from the cooker as a base. Let it cool and the fats will rise to the top and can be skimmed off.

Hi Nicole, First let me start by commending your efforts to start the year eating better! Hubby and I started to "dabble" in clean eating about 3 years ago. We already cooked a lot at home and I thought I could just flip the switch and start buying all organic products. What we discovered was a gradual phase into eating clean worked better for us. We were able to slowly add better quality, locally sourced organic foods to our diet over time. This year our goal is to purchase locally grown produce as much as possible and pasture raised meat. It's a work in progress. Think about what you eat most and start replacing those items with organic or local. Visit your local farmer's market, too.

Start with recipes. Pinterest is an excellent place to find healthy recipes. You can both contribute to the same Pinterest board and add things that look interesting.

Another thing you can do is download the "Out of Milk" app to your phones. You can share a grocery list through the app that both of you can see and add to. That way whoever had time can stop at the store.

One of the best investments you can make for healthy eating is an herb and spice collection. Oddly, if you live near a World Market, that's an excellent place to find very inexpensive spices.

I agree with the people who say to start with the recipes--then you'll know what to buy. I usually menu plan for the week on Friday, then get up early to shop on Saturday (I find if I'm at the store before 7, it's sooo much better than if I get there after 8, crowd-wise).