What are the food staples you buy at the grocery store?

I'm actually working hard at eliminating the grocery store from my life, my food shopping consists of;

Organic beef from a local farm, purchased at the farmer's market

Organic eggs from a local farm, purchased at the farmer's market

Fresh fruits and veggie at the farmer's market (not a lot currently in season here in Michigan)

My CSA starts next week and I'll be getting a weekly box of all kinds of organic produce (greens, berries, broccoli, apples, herbs, melons, squashes of all varities)

I buy non homogonized, vat pasturized milk and butter from a local dairy, the closest thing as straight from the cow you can legally get here in Michigan and yes, that means it's full fat but I don't drink milk so it's only consumed in cooking and I believe it's much healthier in it's least processed state.

I buy raw honey at the farmer's market, used for sore throats and to slightly sweeten tea and in cooking

I order raw milk cheeses from a local co op and sometimes find them at the farmer's market

At the actual store, I buy

Almond milk
Raw Almonds (Trader Joe's Just a handful bags are awesome for grab and go and not expensive)
Canned tuna
Tilapia
Salmon
Organic, air chilled chicken breasts
Fresh veggies I can't get at the farmer's market or through my CSA yet. (lots of spinach and kale for smoothies)
Steel cut oats
Lemons (for water and green smoothies)
Mint (for water and green smoothies)
Plain greek yogurt
Almond Butter
Coconut Oil for cooking and health and beauty needs.
Olive Oil

I don't eat bread, but the kids do so I buy them organic 100% whole wheat bread

GOOD bread, not that crappy iron kids white bread or whatever. I like to splurge on a gorgeous loaf of sunflower honey wheat bread for 3 bucks. It's my guilty pleasure, plus I can make homemade croutons with any extras. Delicious carbs...

Don't forget to try to look for healthy options to what you currently eat. There are healthier frozen pizza, not red baron, leaner hamburgers, healthier sweet potato french fries (make your own), and more delicious less healthy desserts, skinny cow ice cream is delicious. Trial and error.

Agreed! Substitution has been key for me. Personally, I can't completely ban certain foods (kudos to those who can)- I end up unhappy and binging on them later- but I've been successful so far (21 lbs down) with substituting and moderation. Low-fat cheese instead of regular (Fresh & Easy, if there's one near you, has an amazing 2% string cheese). Cooking spray instead of only olive oil (some olive oil is okay, just not a ton of it). Ground turkey instead of ground beef. You can probably use a lot of the same recipes you used before, just using low-fat, non-fat, and light ingredients instead.

Shrimp and bay scallops are good too- they are small, quick to cook, and low-cal so it feels like you're eating a lot for not many calories! I saute a pound of them in 1 tablespoon of olive oil and lots of garlic (add any herbs you like, or lemon and pepper). That, with plenty of grilled or pan-cooked (with olive oil flavored cooking spray, pepper, and herbs) veggies makes a great dinner for two.

Also, some snacks I like (when I want something other than fruit or veggies): 94% fat-free popcorn (butter or kettle-corn flavored...I get mini 130-cal bags); Apples with reduced fat peanut butter; Light string cheese. Skinny Cow anything.

A few things I usually keep on hand for when the sweet tooth kicks in, are fiber one brownies, skinny cow ice cream treats, and/or edys sugar-free real fruit popsicles.

I keep Edy's frozen fruit bars (lime!) for my sweet tooth!

Lately I pick up a container of baby spinach a couple of times a week. It goes into smoothies, into salads, into scrambled eggs, into nearly everything! Love it!

Quick oats. If I was only allowed to buy one thing at the grocery store for the whole week, it'd be oatmeal!

Baby Spinach
Avocados
Brown Rice
Hummus
Low calorie tortilla wraps
Eggs
Lots of oatmeal
Various teas and herbals
Soya Milk
Almond Milk
Lots and lots of broccoli (frozen and fresh)
Tomatoes
Tons of fruit - especially bananas
No sugar cranberry juice
lean pork, turkey, chicken...
A box of low cal cake slices every two weeks.

I also like to keep plenty of fresh herbs and spices to hand to liven things up.

strawberries, oranges, broccoli, yambean, cucumber, vegetable pears, tuna, panela cheese, plain yogurt, eggs, turkey ham.. Thats like my top 10, I might buy something else if I see it and I like it.

Ezekial bread
Arnold sandwich thins
eggs
chicken
salmon
deli turkey
grassfed beef
cheese
mixed greens
grape tomatoes
cucumber
whole wheat pasta
avocado or wholly guacamole
zuchini/yellow squash
frozen veggies
greek yogurt
honey
peanut butter
oatmeal
fruit - a few of these each week (banana, apple, pear, grapes, strawberry, blueberry, kiwi, pineapple, mango)

These are the basics, but we eat a variety of foods... so there are a lot of other items most weeks, but these are EVERY week.

what r u eating with whole grain pastas? spaghetti sauce.....???

Now as to what I shop for now that we are eating healthier:

Baby Spinach: Great in salads or to use in place of lettuce in sandwiches.

Romaine Salad Blends: I like the convenience of the pre-cut mix with the shreds of carrots and red cabbage already in it. Then we just add whatever extra veggies to it that we want that day. I usually purchase ones with romaine lettuce as the base because hubby isn't fond of the other mixes that contain field greens, etc.

Fresh Veggies: ones for recipes and others for dipping into hummus or yogurt dip or eating plain. We like to dip carrots, celery, red/yellow/orange peppers, and cucumbers. My husband also likes to dip broccoli and cauliflower.

Frozen Stir Fry Veggies mixes: These are very convenient for us as it saves prep time and gives us a variety of vegetables in one dish. Sometimes we add meat, other times we just use them as veggie sides. We purchase a sauce we like to use as flavoring or add our own spice mixture to them.

Fresh or Frozen Fruit: We like to get fresh fruit when we can (bananas, grapes, strawberries and apples mostly). But there are some times when the fresh offerings aren't so, uh, fresh. So we buy a package of frozen fruit and then thaw it out in the fridge. This also helps when we want a fruit that isn't in season. Today I bought a package of assorted melon already prepped because I am the only one who will eat it.

Dried Fruits: These transport well, and can be stored at room temp (less fridge space!). Plus I can take them to work and leave them there for an emergency snack. We like to add raisins or other dried fruits into our yogurt as well. We mainly buy: raisins, cherries, cranberries, apricots and prunes.

Greek Yogurt: We went from occasional yogurt eating to buying the low cal regular then switching to greek because there isn't the artificial sweetener stuff and you get more protein, etc. for your calorie buck. You can also use plain greek yogurt as a substitute for sour cream in dips, etc.

Whole Grains: We still eat sandwiches, crackers, etc. just made with whole grain breads or wraps and maybe other things added into them (flax, etc.). The kids like Pepperidge Farm breads and we like the Flatout Wraps and Damascus Bakery flat breads.

Nuts & Butters: These can be high in calories, but so yummy. We eat raw pecans, walnuts and almonds. We also like the pre-shelled pistachios (although these are salted). We eat peanut butter and almond butter. I purchase the cashew butter only at holiday baking time for cranberry cashew cookies.

Hummus: Never thought that I would like it. But it is a great dip for veggies and a spread for crackers. We mainly purchase the Sabra brand of regular hummus (it has a garlic like flavor) as we can get them in individual servings in a big box at Costco. We've learned that because there are only two of us who eat it that a regular sized container may go bad before we finish it. But the individual servings are perfect to take to work and actually encourage us to eat it more often. We do like other hummus flavors, but only purchase them if we know that we are going to use them before they go bad. Have not tried making my own, but it is also possible to do so.


Tip: Take advantage of in store samples. A lot of stores are now sampling more of the healthier products. Gives you a chance to try before you buy. This is how my daughter found out that she likes to eat strawberries. But only with vanilla yogurt and a bit of honey drizzled on top because that's how the sample lady was doing it. Lol.

Also, if it's something new that you want to try out, opt for the smaller package the first time around. It might cost a tiny bit more per ounce than the bigger package, but you won't end up wasting it if it turns out not to be to your liking.

bumping for future shopping trips!

Whole Grain Bread
Eggs
Brown Rice
Dried Beans
Boneless Skinless Chicken breast

Hi!! I always have fresh fruit and veggies, and one of my very favorite snacks is raw veggies and hummus. I use peppers, cucumbers, carrots, zucchini...whatever I have and use thm as dippers for my hummus.