After several months on SB, I have fallen into a rut, buying and eating the same foods all the time. Some of them I love, but I am in danger of getting bored. Before I do my weekly shopping, I was wondering what your SB must-have grocery items are.
I am recently back on the beach and was nervous of getting stuck in a rut, because I did 4 years ago. I suggest going to the library and checking out some of the newer cookbooks. There seem to be really great new recipes in them and maybe cooking new dinners and having the leftovers for lunch will keep you from getting in a rut.
My staples right now are celery, rf chive cream cheese, natural PB, turkey sausage, and turkey burgers.
Thanks! I love the OP thread and ck it regularly. I also read through the wonderful recipe section. I was just curious what everyone's go-to weekly items are.
My staples, always in the pantry;
Beans: white, pinto, black, anasazi, broad(fava)
Lentils: green, pink
Split Pea: green, yellow
Brown Rice: short grain, long grain, wild
WW pastas; macaroni, spaghetti, lasagna
Always in the freezer:
Salmon, halibut, rockfish
Ground elk, buffalo
Several vegetarian proteins
Veggie burgers
Boboli WW pizza crust
Ezekial Bread/Ezekial Tortillas/Ezekial Hamburger/Hot dog buns
Various frozen veggies, especially chopped fresh spinach which I add to soups
RF shredded cheeses; mozz, cheddar and parmesan(not RF)
Fridge:
Black/green olives
Plain yogurt
Eggs
Ground almond butter
Hummus
All my fresh fruits and veggies
Garlic/Ginger root
Cupboard(cans & jars):
Good organic pasta sauce
Beans; great northern, black, refried (when I'm in a rush)
Enchilada sauce
Pumpkin
My favorite rotations include pizzas made on Ezekial tortillas and the occasional Boboli, Lentil/Spinach/Sweet Potato Curry, Spaghetti Squash with either marinara or olive oil/basil/pine nuts, *new fav* Meatball Casserole(I made mine with Elk), Buffalo Burgers, Black Beans/brown rice with fresh salsa and salad.
So for my weekly shopping trip I only have to stock up on any of my missing items, buy my fresh veggies and fruit, and anything unusual (last week was dill and an eggplant). I love only having to shop once. Hope any of that helps...
beans of all kinds - chickpeas, pinto and black beans are my favorite. I mix them with rice or quinoa, salsa, eggs, crushed tomatoes and spices for a quick chana masala or throw them in a salad for extra protein.
nuts and nut butters - whether off a spoon, stirred into yogurt, or used as a dip, they help add healthy fat and calories to my day and keep me satisfied.
cottage cheese - i make it sweet with fruit and stevia, or savory with chopped peppers and black pepper. I also use it to make smoothies (the cheesecake smoothies are a favorite of mine)
Greek yogurt - like cottage cheese, it is very versatile
I have been keeping sunshine vegetarian burgers in the freezer for impromptu meals - I especially like the southwestern variety with salsa and guacamole.
a wide variety of grains (quinoa, wheatberries, oat groats, spelt, millet, etc.) keeps one from getting bored with the same ol' brown rice.
and LOOOOOOTS of veggies. I always buy something new or find a new way to prepare a favorite veggie. My newest addiction is swiss chard wraps - I have them sweet with green apples or bananas, cinnamon and almond butter or savory with chopped veggies and hummus or a vegetarian burger and salsa. either way, they are a great way to get another serving of vegetables in and chard is packed with phytonutrients to keep your skin glowing!
Checking the OP thread really helps me when I get stuck. I read through it everyday and it helps me find new foods when I feel "stuck". I have recently gotten into chia and kale because of it. I like to separate my grocery list into the sections of the store to make it easier to shop (I think someone else had mentioned that in another post, too).
My weekly staples include:
lettuces (spring/mesclun mix, baby spinach, kale, romaine)
tomatoes
red and white onion
bell peppers
lemon
berries
other fresh/on sale/in season fruits and veggies
veggie burgers
edamame
cheeses (rf feta, cottage, shredded mozz/cheddar, snack sticks, laughing cow)
milk
almond milk
greek yogurt
eggs
sometimes deli turkey or canadian bacon
lean meats (ground sirloin, chicken breast)
frozen tilapia
Most of my shopping is around the perimeter of the store- produce, meat/fish, dairy. I don't do much in the middle but when I do it includes things like beans (refried, black, garbanzo), cherry peppers, artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers, nut butters, splenda
Most of mine are repeats but maybe not yet mentioned:
whole grain flatbread (DH uses for sandwiches and I use mostly for pizza)
grape tomatoes (great for an on-the-go snack)
canned tuna
turkey pepperoni (great for a snack too)
For snacks: greek yogurt, almonds, carrots, edamame, sometimes string cheese
For breakfasts: almond/hemp milk, chia seeds, frozen fruit (to make a pudding)
Lunch: I've recently gotten into meat/beans/veggie toss ups, essentially equal quantities of all three mixed together with herbs and a bit of oil. SO easy and very satisfying for lunches.
Dinner: always meat and a veggie, or sometimes just two veggie burgers (Praeger california burgers, gardenburger portabella, TJ's indian style veggie burgers). I buy the packs of prewashed and chopped kale and keep them in the freezer to use in a stir fry with meat.
For a snack, in salads and on pizzas, I love turkey pepporoni. At night I love to micorowave it for a minute or a little more and make pepporoin chips. One of my favs.
100 cal guacamole packs (good with Taco Bake or on its own with veggies)
yogurt (no just for breakfast - I make tzatziki with it, smoothies, etc)
beans (chick peas for roasting and salds, green beans for roasting and dipping, edamame for snacking)
good canned tomatoes
frozen veggies (edamame, cauliflower, chopped spinach, broccoli)
hummus
My go to breakfast lately is either a baked egg. I beat an egg in a small ramikan and microwave for 50 seconds and then top with cheese. It's like an egg mcmuffin minus the muffin. I usually serve with sauteed mushrooms or a pepper and onion mix.
Or I have a cup of fat free plain greek yogurt with a 1/4 cup of unsweetened applesauce mixed in and topped with cinnamon. During p1 I used natural peanut butter instead of applesauce.
Lunches are either leftovers or salad topped with either hard boiled eggs, grilled meat like chicken or beans. I use sbd friendly salad dressing.
Snacks are usually cheese strings, hard boiled egg and veggies, veggies and hummus or berries and almonds. In p1, I ate a lot of pistachios.
For dinner I either have lean meat and a large side of veggies like green beans. If I'm extra hungry I also have a side green salad. Or I've been experimenting with SBD recipes posted here. I love the squash pizza, egg casserole dishes, and tonight we are having the taco bake. Next week I'm trying the meatballs. I've also resorted to using salad leafs to make chicken fajitass with cheddar and guacamole or to have a burger. Turkey, vegetarian and beef chili is also a good meal.
I try to mix it up, but I get grumpy if the following things aren't on hand:
Dairy:
Plain lf or ff yogurt (greek is best, but it ain't cheap)
Lf cottage cheese (you can make a great salad dressing w/cottage cheese, yogurt, and just a hint of mayo)
unsweetened almond milk (or the almonds to make it)
Freezer:
prechopped frozen onion/pepper blend (seriously, this has made the difference between a home-cooked meal and take out on more than one occasion)
Frozen banana (for smoothies, usually have one bunch ripening on the counter and one bunch chunked and frozen)
Frozen berry blend
Turkey bacon
Veggies
Varies according to season, but absolutely always have a big *** bag of spinach from costco (for smoothies, or pureed with almond milk and banana in overnight oats, or in salads)
All that and eggs, must have eggs
My "I can't think of anything and I don't want to cook meal" = Throw frozen onion/pepper mix in pan with olive oil, add a few hand-fulls of spinach and a dash of lemon juice and saute. Top with a poached egg, and add a side of ww toast rubbed with a garlic clove. Fifteen minutes start to finish, only two dishes dirtied.
Pantry
Oats
Quinoa/brown rice/wild rice blend
Garbanzo beans
Canned tomatoes
SF marinara
ww pasta
ww bread
ww tortillas
Your SB Staples
