Sunday, April 13, 2014

10 Healthy Foods I Always Buy

I'm a creature of habit when it comes to certain things in my life. One such thing in particular: My grocery list. Whenever I sit down to compile our weekly needs, there are always a few automatics that I write down, even before I check the 'fridge or pantry. I just know we'll need them at some point in the week ahead because, well, I personally cannot go without them. Take a look:

1) Avocados

Whether we're eating Mexican food or not, avocados are a must-have for healthy fats. If I'm not turning them into Kale Guacamole, I add them to salads and sandwiches. Or I chop them up for my girl as part of her meal. I mean, what's not to love about an avocado? Except for their price. They can be expensive, at least up here in Michigan.

2) Whole Wheat Bread
3) Peanut Butter
4) Yogurt
5) Fresh Fruit

Whole Wheat Bread: While I'm not loyal to one brand, I pick a loaf based on price and ingredients. From toast to French Toast, to burger buns and sandwich tops/bottoms, we go through whole wheat bread like it's our job. I seriously need to try making it in my bread maker...honestly not sure why I haven't yet.

Peanut Butter: Or any other kind of nut butter, really. But mostly peanut butter. Don't even try to keep me away from it. I consume peanut butter on the regular, and while I prefer to make my own, I've been known to pick up a fun jar from the store, especially if I've never had the particular brand before.

Yogurt: Lately, I've been buying whatever is on sale. Usually going with Greek-style, typically gravitating toward Chobani, Oikos and Stonyfield. But whenever I'm at my local Whole Foods, I pick up a jar or two from Traderspoint Creamery, shown above. Words cannot even begin to describe how delicious this stuff is.

Fresh Fruit: I start with bananas and berries, then I gravitate toward the apples. Then the citrus fruits and go from there. I gotta, gotta have fresh fruit in the house for smoothies, cereal and snacking. Lucky for me, I live in an area where fresh fruit is bountiful in the summer months. Can't wait to start buying my "candy" from the Farmer's Market!

6) Hummus

Like peanut butter, I almost always make my own. Especially now that I've discovered affordable tahini at Whole Foods. But if I'm out of tahini and can't get down to Whole Foods, then I'll buy some from the store. Crackers or veggies? Still can't come to a verdict on which is a better dipper. I eat the stuff on sandwiches, too. Also a delicious option.

7) Chicken
8) Fresh Salad



Chicken: Chicken on the grill. Chicken salad. Chicken on a salad. Chicken in my pasta. Chicken, chicken all the time. And it goes on sale all the time at my local big box, which makes it easy to stock my freezer. Don't get me wrong, I don't shy away from pork and beef. It's just that nine times out of ten, if there's meat on my plate, it's probably chicken.

Fresh Salad: My local big box makes the best, most delicious fresh salads—and they aren't that expensive, which is awesome. I buy one for around $4 and eat off it all week long, adding things to it as I go. (I've even been known to use the greens on my sandwiches.)

9) Oatmeal

I buy a big 'ol container of old-fashioned oats, and for those mornings when I don't have time to make a bowl from scratch, I have instant oats on hand to get the job done. I'm a huge fan of Better Oats, shown above. Such great varieties, not many ingredients. Generally speaking, this is one item I can scratch off the list before I even hit the grocery store...sometimes my stock is up from week to week, depending on my breakfast adventures. But if it isn't, you betcha it's on the list and eventually in my cart.

10) Eggs

OK, so we're egg freaks over here. Eggs for dinner? Not at all uncommon. Plus, I bake with them. So we're almost always in need. But here's the thing, I prefer my eggs without the feather:

If you follow me on Instagram, you've already seen this picture. But, seriously...why is there a feather in a brand-new egg carton? Gross. Creepy. Odd. Unless, of course, it means whomever finds it wins a prize. I snapped a pic, put the carton back and grabbed another. I just, I couldn't. You've seen Food, Inc. Right?

Question: What items are always, always on your grocery list?

4 comments:

Mandy Nester said...

I'm right with you on yogurt, fruit, and eggs...add milk for us! We get our milk at the grocery store, but it's from a local dairy and it comes from Jersey cows. It's expensive, but worth supporting the local guy. I always buy those fruit/veggie pouches for my toddler...if I can't get him to eat anything else, he'll normally suck one of those down in a pinch. Too much to do and not enough time to eat, he thinks. Also, fresh veggies...I'm glad the produce department is first, so I can load up on a variety of veggies for the week. There's something therapeutic about chopping up fresh veggies for dinner. Yum!

Mandy Nester said...

Loved these! Thanks for sharing. I try to stretch after every workout (normally Tues-Friday) but I don't do much over the weekend. I love your ottoman - reminds me of mine, but I like your design. Glad the pregnancy is going well. I'm 26 weeks going on 27 now. My baby is moving up a storm, too. I think this one is moving more than my first baby...we decided not to find out with this one either what the gender is, but it's so much like baby #1 that I assume it's another boy. We'll see in July! I wish you the best of luck in these final weeks. And kudos on running a mile! My bladder and lungs can't handle it right now, but I'm still teaching spin and BodyPump once each week along with my other class. So far, so good!

adailydoseoffit said...

Fresh veggies, yes...although I'm really bad about eating enough of them. I totally gravitate toward fruit! Ugh. Looking forward to the farm markets this summer. That's when I really stock up. I'll have to keep an eye out for the egg options this year, too.

adailydoseoffit said...

The ottoman is from Target! I have two that I put right next to each other for a "coffee" table in front of my couch. One has a green tray on it...they're both actually boxes, and they're totally stuffed with toys! How's it going with Spinning? I'm still teaching, too...although I'm totally starting to run out of room. My handlebars are all the way up and I'm still feeling a bit cramped...but the body is keeping up, so we'll see. Can't wait to find out if you have another boy...feeling the same as my first, too. Hmm, girl? We'll see!

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