What are your staples?
 

So, what are your dietary staples? Do you have certain foods that you eat every day, or almost every day? Something you'd make a special trip back to the grocery store for if you forgot or ran out?

What about your staple lunches and dinners? The "go-to" meals?

And how about seasonal foods you look forward to?

I'm sure I'm not the only one who needs some ideas and inspiration. :dizzy:

tilapia. light yogurt. sunflower seeds. grapes. celery. bag of salad mix.

these are almost always in our grocery cart.

Every day for breakfast I have a coffee with a chocolate protein shake mixed with it. It's so good, starts the day off right, and works for me as I hate cooking breakfast and eating something hot. So it works. Then I'm not hungry til 2pm.
At 2 pm I have lunch which is tuna with a dollop of renees mighty Caesar dressing, or 3 fried eggs.

Supper is protein and a bit of veg if I can stomach it.. I have crohns and am flaring right now so veggies are ripping me apart.

I love for snack unsweetened coconut mixed with a dash of splenda. So good znd filling! Also in the heat, liking sugar free freezies.

Bagel thins with cream cheese, Light Yoplait yogurt, FiberOne bars, & lean cuisines...FiberOne bars might be the key to my success!

Breakfast; 1/2 cup Stonyfield french vanilla yogurt, 1/3 cup granola, fruit & Berries. Almost every day. Usually works out to 280-315 in calories (depending on berry availability or fruit used). And Coffee!

lunches and dinners; Big clam shell of greens, chicken breasts, broccoli- always in the cart.
I had to start growing basil because I put it on just about everything i cook.
Just DH & me so I make a big green salad on almost every dinner plate.

Fresh fruit and veggies, lots of them!
Cottage cheese and extra dark chocolate (at least 72% cacao).

-greek yogurt
-individually portioned cheese (NOT string cheese, though. too salty tasting)
-V-8
-those sundried tomato tuna/crackers things
-lean cuisines or healthy choice
-varied meats and fish
-veggies
-nuts

1% cottage cheese
Reduced fat string cheese
Whole grain bread (at least 5 grams fiber per slice)
Fiber One bars or Fiber Plus bars
Fiber One yogurt
bagged salad

I used to get Fiber One bars but I had trouble stopping at one. They were like candy bars to me.

Here is my list.

*Fresh fruit - what type depends on what is in season and/or on sale
*Fresh vegetables - what type depends on what is in season and/or on sale
*Frozen chicken breast
*Eggbeaters
*Frozen veggies
*frozen pepper stir fry to have peppers and onions to add to other things when cooking
*Laughing Cow light cheese wedges
*whole wheat bread
*Babybel Mini Babybel Light cheese
*canned green beans
* Keebler Townhouse Reduced Fat Crackers
*SF Pudding
*SF Jello
*Light popcorn

spinach, lettuce, cucumbers, carrots
blueberries, raspberries, strawberries.
In season melon.
Apples.
Roasted almonds, peanuts, and raisins.
full-fat plain greek yogurt
Meat of some sort (organic/free range and hormone free, preferably grass fed if beef)
Essentailly, fresh veggies and fruits, and meat. And greek yogurt. And nuts.

Breakfast is the same every morning: scrambled eggs with bacon and mushrooms, and onions. Oh, and some coffee with milk, no sugar.

Snacks:
Bell peppers dipped in cottage cheese
Mozarrella cheese
Sugar-free jello
Apples
Grapes
Watermellon

Meals:
Pizza on tortillas
Chicken fried rice with lots of veggies
Beef or chicken stroganoff
Gyros
Fajitas
Chicken noodle soup
Roasted veggies

My meal stapples change over time so I used to make lasagna/tacos/blacks beans+roasted chicken more often but I've gotten sick of them lately. There are also some former staples that I can't make locally because some items are unavailable/too expensive and so I really miss sweet potato fries and the south beach diet pancakes (cottage cheese+oatmeal+blueberries). :(

Desserts:
chocolate chip cookies (I make them with half the amount of sweetener that the recipe requires and use honey -i prefer maple syrup but it's too expensive locally- and add in flax seed, oatmeal, and unsweetened coconut to at least attempt to make them somewhat healthier)

Dannon Greek yogurt, la tortilla high fiber low carb tortillas, precooked grilled chicken, shredded lettuce, salsa, sf pudding, baby carrots, refried beans and tuna. And lots of different fresh fruits and veggies...yum.

Oatmeal
egg whites
fresh fruits (esp. apple, strawberries, blueberries)
fresh veggies (esp. cucumber, tomatoes, celery, broccoli, onion, squash)
tuna
greek yogurt
almond / cashew / coconut butter
chicken breast
fresh salmon
ground turkey

My shopping list varies, but I usually get a good mixture of fresh fruits and veggies, whole grains, lean meats and fish, etc.

*Kashi cereal. I love this stuff- right now I am on the cinnamon harvest one and it is delicious.
*Fat free milk (I get lactose free for obvious reasons)
*red leaf lettuce or organic salad mix. I really like baby spring mix. As for salad dressing, I like Newman's Light kinds.
*bell peppers, broccoli, kale, tomatoes, beets, etc. Various vegetables.
*Fruit! I always get bananas and apples,but now that it's summer I am enjoying all the fruits summer has to offer!
*natural whole wheat bread
*boneless, skinless chicken breast
*canned tuna
*Laughing Cow light wedges
*hummus
*carrots, celery, etc. With the hummus makes a great snack!
*natural peanut butter
*fresh fish. I LOVE salmon since I am from the PACNW.
*yogurt, but not the Yoplait kind since it has too much sugar. Trader Joe's makes good small Greek yogurts with fruit flavors.

I haven't lost a lot of weight yet, but these staples have helped me when I've lost weight in the past. When I'm on the road and need to get something to eat, I usually get Subway. Not as healthy as it's marketed, but better than a burger and fries!

Most things can wait until the next shopping trip, so I tried to limit my staples to things we would drive to the store to get or things that we always make sure to have:

• Eggs. Whether they're by themselves or a part of another recipe, we use them A LOT.
• Part skim mozzarella. I sometimes add Mexican/fiesta shredded cheese for a bit of cheddar or colby jack flavor but fewer calories than if I had all cheddar.
• Cans of crushed tomatoes for making quick pasta sauce.
• Parmesan cheese from the Smiths deli. It's probably not as good as Parmegiano Reggiano, but I like it much better than the Kraft parmesan.
• Canned black beans. I eat them topped with cheese and taco seasonings or mix them into other foods to make them more filling.
• Soy sauce. We have stir fry at least once a week.
• White whole wheat flour. I use it to make pancakes, crepes, pizza dough, bread, tortillas, cookies, etc. It's milder than regular whole wheat, but I'll use that in a pinch.
• Onions, garlic, and ginger. So many recipes call for onions and garlic that we usually pick up a few every time we shop. I get the minced garlic in the jar because it's so much easier. (Unfortunately, I only discovered it after buying a nice garlic press, lol.) I haven't found minced ginger, but I just get it fresh, mince it myself, then store it in the freezer. It's one less step to do while making stir fries.

Our go to meals if we aren't feeling creative or if we don't have a lot of ingredients are hamburgers, stir fry, and chicken soup with rice.

The seasonal foods we love the most are NM green chile and fresh cranberries. It's mainly my mom and I that crave those foods. Two years ago, I bought a chest freezer just to store the chile in, so we had enough to last all year. :D I haven't found unsweetened cranberries (dried or frozen) locally. I'll have to figure out a plan of attack for this upcoming season.

Such a great idea the coffee and the protein shake mixed!
I too have Crohns Disease :( it's really hard isn't it?!

I also am a fan of salad mix, watermelon, grits, banana popsicles, red seedless grapes, grilled chicken breast with different spices each time to keep it from getting boring, etc.
:broc:

I always buy

lots of fresh fruit
Organic apples (I try to eat one a day)
Berries - I only buy organic strawberries but will buy non organic raspberries and blueberries
Bananas
other fruit depending on season

Fresh Veg
Cauliflower (I eat 1-2 cups almost every day at lunch)
red Cabbage
Broccoli
baby carrots
Mini red potatoes
Sweet potatoes
Cucumber
I am getting kinda bored with the vegs I buy and am trying to add other stuff
Garlic

Other staples

-Skim milk
-eggs
-cheese (varities vary but love full fat gouda)
-Low fat havarti slices
-Nitrate free turkey and ham slices
-Healthy Living multi grain bread
-Kashi 7 grain crackers
-Natural peanut butter that has a wee bit of sea salt and cane sugar (this with the kashi crackers and an apple is a snack I crave and feel really good about eating and am totally satisfied with 10 crackers, 1 TBSP PB and half an apple...mmmmmm)
-New Zealand Isolate Whey protein with vanilla bean and stevia (I have this every morning for breakfast)
-Unsweetened almond milk (regular and chocolate) this with the protein is yummy too and like 150 cals and 36g protein, 2g fat, 1g carbs)
-Nuts!!!!! Pecans, walnuts, almonds are pretty much always in the house and my DH and I eat a serving a day and DS usually has a serving as well
-Olive oil
-We also get a meat order of naturally raised beef and pork so we always have different lean cuts of meat
-boneless skinless chicken breast

Greek yogurt
oatmeal
True Lemonade packets (5 calories each, so tasty)
blackberries
watermelon
spring mix
fat free feta
salmon
tuna
cherry tomatoes
almonds (raw, wasabi, or cocoa roasted)
Hummus
whole wheat wraps
100 calorie Klondike bars (for a special treat)
Amy's organic vegetarian frozen meals
Persian cucumbers

fat free or low fat cottage cheese
0% fage greek yogurt
lots of veggies MUST be in the fridge at all times
shrimp
chicken tenderloins
smoked oysters
wasa crackers or akmok
fat free or soy milk
coffee and coffee...and coffee
whole grain cherios
whole grain tortillas
fat free refried beans
sliced jalapenos in the jar not the can...very particular
lean cuisine and healthy choice meals
PB2

bagged salad greens
baby spinach
cucumbers
cherry tomatoes
cabbage
canned diced low sodium tomatoes, and mild Rotel tomatoes
cans of tuna
eggs, which I hard boil and keep in the fridge
Egg Beaters
light string cheese
frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts
frozen pork tenderloin
frozen lean ground beef & turkey
nonfat Greek yogurt
sugar free coffee creamer
olive oil
Light Ranch dressing and Light Balsamic vinaigrette
dill pickle spears

atkins advantage protein bars (I eat these for breakfast during the week)
Egg whites.
Spicy chili feta cheese from trader joes
red onions
Weight watchers 1 point cheese sticks
laughing cow spreadable 1 pt cheese wedges in chipotle and in onion flavor
Dr. Kracker crackers or some sort of large multi grain cracker (i sometimes get akmaks too)
Kashi Go lean cereal and Fibre one cereal
Silk unsweetened soy milk
berries (raspberry and blackberries)
some sort of chicken sausage
cucumbers and tomatoes
a rotissarie chicken (sp) or two

I get all of these things every week. I switch out what fish I eat depending on what looks fresh.

....subway o.o

Plain, full fat low-sugar yogurt
In-season fruits and vegetables
Whole wheat pasta
Salmon, chicken breast, tofu

Mango, what is PB2?

Staples...
S/f jello, cool whip light, big ol pot of veggie soup, chix breast, broccoli, diet coke, s/f hazelnut coffee mate, sandwich rounds, lettuce, tomato and laughing cow cheese.

Must-haves are:

Almonds (individually packaged)
Eggs
Greek yogurt
Protein bars and/or Fiber plus bars
Bran cereal (and nonfat milk)

Everything else I can work around :)

Ooh I forgot to add Toby's Lite Tofu Spread. I get the jalapeno one and it is SO good!

apples
oatmeal
peanut butter
eggs
yogurt
chicken
protein bars/shakes
cheese

@ghost, PB2 is a powdered peanut butter that has 80% less fat then regular peanut butter, its good in smoothies and I also use it to make thai peanut sauce for my chicken. My son likes it when I mix it with honey and spread it on grahm crackers for him.