What have I overlooked at the grocery store?

melodyis4reals
melodyis4reals Posts: 186 Member
edited November 26 in Food and Nutrition
About to go shopping. Looking for new or old products I may have overlooked.

Replies

  • MichelleSilverleaf
    MichelleSilverleaf Posts: 2,027 Member
    Overlooked in what respect?
  • PixelPuff
    PixelPuff Posts: 902 Member
    Anything you don't normally buy for veg/fruits. Go experiment! Google them as you look to see their stats (beware of persimmons), but try some new stuff.
  • ladyhusker39
    ladyhusker39 Posts: 1,406 Member
    Since we don't know what you've "looked at" (or what you like to eat or your goals) we can't possibly recommend things you may have overlooked. Would you like to be more specific?
  • melodyis4reals
    melodyis4reals Posts: 186 Member
    Some items I was late to discover:
    Parsnips (wonderful cut into 1/2 inch sticks, oven roasted w/olive oil, honey and sesame seeds),
    brussel sprouts (halved and oven roasted, with salt, pepper and specks of butter),
    polenta, semolina (cream of wheat), millet and barley meal make incredible porridges that don't need sugar, just a pat of butter,
    tapioca (great for puddings),
    pumpernickel (sweet, black, moist rye bread),
    gorgonzola,
    beets and kohlrabi (delicious raw, in sticks),
    romanesco (looks like alien broccoli),
    edamame,
    plantains,
    kale,
    dates (be careful, can be difficult to moderate),
    pomegranates, pomelo, plouts, litchi,
    new varieties of old favorites (apples, pears, grapes, plums).

    Thanks. Some of these are great ideas!

  • melodyis4reals
    melodyis4reals Posts: 186 Member
    I’m just looking for some inspiration and new ideas for my weight loss journey.
  • rheddmobile
    rheddmobile Posts: 6,840 Member
    I like to try one new fruit or vegetable every time I go to the farmer's market. Find something you have always wondered about. Look it up on the internet for different ways to eat it, buy one or a few, and learn if you love or hate it. This is how I learned to love sapote ice cream, nopales, and dragon fruit.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    I echo the advice above to pick up a vegetable you have never tried. You can always google a recipe.

    Any sort of dried bean or legume is good too. I like Mung beans best sprouted.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,423 Member
    You can bulk out your meals with low calorie vegetables. Cabbage, zucchini, cauliflower, spinach can be used in many ways.
    Frozen vegetables are great to have on hand.

    I don't buy many special diet products. Bolthouse Farms salad dressings I have tried though were very tasty and low calorie options.
  • rj0150684
    rj0150684 Posts: 227 Member
    If you like broccoli stems, try kohlrabi. Basically tastes the same. Cooks the same way. Very mild flavor, crunchy to soft texture (depending on how long you cook it)
  • Cbean08
    Cbean08 Posts: 1,092 Member
    When I want new things, I go to a different grocery store. It's a big bonus if they have a large international section. There are lots of interesting things like sauces (indian curry, thai curry, sweet and sour, enchilada sauce, pesto, tapenade) and seasonings that you could easily use with a different recipe.
  • andreagayle7510
    andreagayle7510 Posts: 2 Member
    Bags of frozen mixed veggies (Asian snap pea mix is my fav)
    Red and yellow bell peppers in everything
    Black lentils
    Kimchee just to snack on
    Nori sheets and rice wine vinegar to make veggie sushi (avocado, celery, cucumber, carrot variations) oh don’t forget the wasabi (I use brown rice; it doesn’t stick as well)
    Dave’s killer bagels have lots of protein and taste amazing
    Pre washed, chopped kale.
    Sugar free, just fruit spreads on rice cakes
    Hot sauces! ❤️ the secret aardvark (from Portland OR) get it on Amazon

    Best tip: buy a good nonstick Pan. I have one from TJ max it looks like stone. I use water to sauté and don’t use oil. Saves so many calories!!!
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,179 Member
    Just go shopping in Canada and get a pack of Protein Snickers in Fun Size for me.
  • CarvedTones
    CarvedTones Posts: 2,340 Member
    I like to try one new fruit or vegetable every time I go to the farmer's market. Find something you have always wondered about. Look it up on the internet for different ways to eat it, buy one or a few, and learn if you love or hate it. This is how I learned to love sapote ice cream, nopales, and dragon fruit.

    I usually enjoy doing this, but one time I bought a big root vegetable at the Asian market that turned out to be a giant "blink back tears" radish that is fine as an ingredient used sparingly but not in big chunks like it was a potato.

    The other day I got a Galia melon. Looks like a cantaloupe on the outside, like honeydew on the inside and tastes kind of halfway between the two. It was pretty good.
  • rheddmobile
    rheddmobile Posts: 6,840 Member
    I like to try one new fruit or vegetable every time I go to the farmer's market. Find something you have always wondered about. Look it up on the internet for different ways to eat it, buy one or a few, and learn if you love or hate it. This is how I learned to love sapote ice cream, nopales, and dragon fruit.

    I usually enjoy doing this, but one time I bought a big root vegetable at the Asian market that turned out to be a giant "blink back tears" radish that is fine as an ingredient used sparingly but not in big chunks like it was a potato.

    The other day I got a Galia melon. Looks like a cantaloupe on the outside, like honeydew on the inside and tastes kind of halfway between the two. It was pretty good.

    Daikon is a little much to eat as a vegetable raw, but it cooks up surprisingly well, similar to turnips, and makes a good soup! A little dashi or soy sauce and you're good. It's much milder when cooked. But yeah, this is why I always read up!
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
    You can also revisit many of the classic fruits and vegetables you know and love in the way of pickles. Pickling is not just for cucumbers and okra. It is not even just for vegetables. Not to worry either you don't need your grandmother's pressure cooker and flats of sterilized mason jars because all you need to do is make them refrigerator pickles. There are plenty of recipes out there and experimentation with flavor profiles is part of the fun.

    Ginger apple pickles... yum.
  • BranaBecky
    BranaBecky Posts: 8 Member
    Have you ever tried Shirataki Noodles? I can't always find them where I shop near home, but love to get them when I can. They are zero calorie noodles, I can't remember the plant they are from, but they have no real taste of their own and pick up the flavours you are cooking with them.
    I love to make homemade pasta sauce using lots of diced onions, peppers, sliced mushrooms, with tomato paste, some water, Italian Seasoning, chopped garlic and some hot sauce. Add some lean chicken, meat or fish and serve over the shirataki noodles and you have a really hearty meal that feels like you are cheating, but you aren't. But my experience is that it is only good when you first make it - if you freeze the noodles in sauce or a soup, their texture changes when you reheat them, and they become kind of hard.
  • nowine4me
    nowine4me Posts: 3,985 Member
    I like to shop at Whole Foods on occasion and try stuff from the old bins. Like freekeh, wheatberries, and random dried fruits. Not sure how, but I don’t think I’d ever had prunes until last week.
  • corinasue1143
    corinasue1143 Posts: 7,460 Member
    edited April 2018
    Just go shopping in Canada and get a pack of Protein Snickers in Fun Size for me.

    Is that for real? I used to love Payday Pro bars. They didn't have them long.
    @JeromeBarry1
  • CarvedTones
    CarvedTones Posts: 2,340 Member
    Do you go down the confectionery aisle? Always loads of good things appear there...
    This week, I added banana split M&m's, neopolitan M&m's, a block of "boost bar" chocolate, a block of "mega crunchie chocolate", starburst on sale, and some new flavours of sweets...

    Banana split M&Ms? Me want. Well, maybe - it obviously can't have real banana flavor inside an M&M. But I definitely want to try that. Chocolate dipped banana slices are one of my favorite treats.
  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,751 Member
    Do you go down the confectionery aisle? Always loads of good things appear there...
    This week, I added banana split M&m's, neopolitan M&m's, a block of "boost bar" chocolate, a block of "mega crunchie chocolate", starburst on sale, and some new flavours of sweets...

    Banana split M&Ms? Me want. Well, maybe - it obviously can't have real banana flavor inside an M&M. But I definitely want to try that. Chocolate dipped banana slices are one of my favorite treats.

    The bag has banana flavoured choc M&m's, vanilla ice cream flavoured M&m's, and normal choc M&m's.... Haven't tried them yet :)
  • melodyis4reals
    melodyis4reals Posts: 186 Member
    Cbean08 wrote: »
    When I want new things, I go to a different grocery store. It's a big bonus if they have a large international section. There are lots of interesting things like sauces (indian curry, thai curry, sweet and sour, enchilada sauce, pesto, tapenade) and seasonings that you could easily use with a different recipe.

    You are so right. Now that I have a toddler I’ve stopped going to more then 1 market. I’ve got to start doing that more. I few African shops nearby!!!
  • melodyis4reals
    melodyis4reals Posts: 186 Member
    Bags of frozen mixed veggies (Asian snap pea mix is my fav)
    Red and yellow bell peppers in everything
    Black lentils
    Kimchee just to snack on
    Nori sheets and rice wine vinegar to make veggie sushi (avocado, celery, cucumber, carrot variations) oh don’t forget the wasabi (I use brown rice; it doesn’t stick as well)
    Dave’s killer bagels have lots of protein and taste amazing
    Pre washed, chopped kale.
    Sugar free, just fruit spreads on rice cakes
    Hot sauces! ❤️ the secret aardvark (from Portland OR) get it on Amazon

    Best tip: buy a good nonstick Pan. I have one from TJ max it looks like stone. I use water to sauté and don’t use oil. Saves so many calories!!!


    Are you from Portland? I am. Lol, we eat similar foods. I live the fruit spread on rice cakes idea. I also need more Kimchee in my life.
  • CarvedTones
    CarvedTones Posts: 2,340 Member
    Do you go down the confectionery aisle? Always loads of good things appear there...
    This week, I added banana split M&m's, neopolitan M&m's, a block of "boost bar" chocolate, a block of "mega crunchie chocolate", starburst on sale, and some new flavours of sweets...

    Banana split M&Ms? Me want. Well, maybe - it obviously can't have real banana flavor inside an M&M. But I definitely want to try that. Chocolate dipped banana slices are one of my favorite treats.

    The bag has banana flavoured choc M&m's, vanilla ice cream flavoured M&m's, and normal choc M&m's.... Haven't tried them yet :)

    Ah - then maybe it does have natural flavor. I was thinking it had those 3 flavors + maraschino cherry all in one M&M.
  • Sunshine_And_Sand
    Sunshine_And_Sand Posts: 1,320 Member
    See if your grocery store has any blood oranges. The rind is orange with a red blush and the fruit is a deep maroon. They taste like a cross between oranges and raspberries or strawberries.
  • jessicagreen1828
    jessicagreen1828 Posts: 133 Member
    I just tried red lentil pasta. It’s pasta made from lentils! So the protein and fiber content are fantastic compared to regular pasta. It’s very filling, with a slightly different texture, but the extra protein content makes it worth it for me.
  • lucys1225
    lucys1225 Posts: 597 Member
    I just tried red lentil pasta. It’s pasta made from lentils! So the protein and fiber content are fantastic compared to regular pasta. It’s very filling, with a slightly different texture, but the extra protein content makes it worth it for me.

    My husband loves the Banza chickpea pasta.
  • jessicagreen1828
    jessicagreen1828 Posts: 133 Member
    edited April 2018
    lucys1225 wrote: »
    I just tried red lentil pasta. It’s pasta made from lentils! So the protein and fiber content are fantastic compared to regular pasta. It’s very filling, with a slightly different texture, but the extra protein content makes it worth it for me.

    My husband loves the Banza chickpea pasta.

    Yes! It can be made from black beans, or green lentils, or even chickpeas! A bit more expensive than regular pasta, but worth it.
  • rheddmobile
    rheddmobile Posts: 6,840 Member
    I just tried red lentil pasta. It’s pasta made from lentils! So the protein and fiber content are fantastic compared to regular pasta. It’s very filling, with a slightly different texture, but the extra protein content makes it worth it for me.

    It's also helpful for me as a diabetic because it has a few less carbs.
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