my staples have changed so much over the last 6 mths

sadly now I am buying healthily our vege prices here in australia are going up through the roof... what an annoyance. (*grumble*)
really, $9 for a cauliflower and $10 a kg for bananas.

Typical grocery items lately have included:

-fiber one bars (I like the 90 cal ones)
-bananas
-berries of some sort if they look good
-clementines or grapes or apples
-onions (pre-sliced if I can find them)
-zucchini
-mushrooms
-bagged baby spinach
-tomatoes
-squash (either pre-cut butternut or whole acorn) or pre-cut sweet potato sticks
-potatoes of some sort (I love the pre-packaged fingerling potatoes from TJs)
-boneless skinless chicken breast
-ground white turkey
-Empire kosher turkey deli meat (when I can get to the store that carries it)
-turkey bacon
-egg beaters (or another egg substitute)
-skinny cow ice cream treats
-vitalicious muffin tops
-laughing cow light cheese
-fage greek yogurt (a recent addition)
-brown rice (I like the TJ's frozen packages because they're fast and easy)
-whole wheat pasta
-Arnold sandwich thins
-Rao's tomato sauce (expensive, but worth it)
-TJ's roasted red pepper and tomato soup
-crystal light

When I go to Trader Joe's I usually also purchase several other refrigerated or frozen items for convenience, such as the quinoa with vegetables, zucchini and eggplant melange, balsamic-glazed onions, hummus, etc.

I don't know if any of those appeal to you or fit within your plan, but let us know your finds and staples as well!

I would totally recommend this thread for ideas of the best foods to always keep around the house.

I go to three different stores to take care of what I need. Sunflower Market to get my produce (unless it's on sale for less at Safeway which is rare), almond milk, Pop Chips, Baked Kettle Chips and meat / seafood when it's on sale; Safeway to get anything I didn't get at SFM which is typically cereal, cheese, frozen pizza, popcorn, snacks, pasta, etc. and Target for their drink mix (0 calories, good flavors).

Make boneless, skinless chicken breast your best friend!

Here's some other staples:

Quinoa
My new love - Bulgar Wheat
Cous Cous
Brown Rice (the long grain that you cook for 45 mins...much better than instant)
frozen veggies of all types
almonds or cashews
100 cal popcorn
raisins/prunes
canned pumpkin for my famous muffins
Activia Light Yogart
Jimmy Dean Turkey Sausage links
Lots of different spices (I usually get them at my local whole foods market, they sell all spices by weight, so you take what you want and only pay for that).

*Special Note* - I enjoy eating ethnic foods from around the globe. I grew up eating southern foods such as grits, fried chicken and greens..lol! Therefore, I am not under the delusional impression that I will somehow learn to love dried up grilled chicken and salad for the rest of my natural born life! That said, I make a special point to ENJOY the foods I eat. I pre-prepare my foods using low fat recipes I find in my cookbooks or on the net...or that I through playing around in the kitchen..discover on my own! I use more spices/herbs and less fat and sodium.

I make sure that my food RIVALS any restaurants (Applebees, TGI Friday, etc.) This makes it EASY for me to decline offers to eat out at these types of places...I simply ENJOY MY FOOD more!

That really makes this very REAL for me...and very DOABLE for the future. You may want to take this factor into consideration as you prepare for your new way of eating...for LIFE!

I eat vegetarian very often, but I eat a lot of chicken, ground turkey, and turkey based variety meats (turkey kielbasa, turkey meatballs, etc). I get a lot of ideas for meals from SkinnyTaste

I'm a creature of habit, though, so I tend to eat a lot of the same things. An example of most days is:

Breakfast: Egg white and spinach on half of a bagel thin or bread round (with either a piece of turkey bacon or laughing cow spread onto it).

Snack: a banana, apple, orange, or blueberries

Lunch: A cup of homemade low cal soup (I always make and have a variety on hand).

Snack: baby carrots and hummus OR string cheese with cherry tomatoes

Dinner: Often a good home cooked meal like many of the recipes in skinnytaste (often soup). Half of my plate/ingredients are vegetables.

Snack: 1 oz Pirate's Booty or 18 salt free mini pretzels with TJ hot and sweet mustard


Pretty basic. I love to make all varieties of chili because my entire family loves it, or roasted veggies and chicken, or some kind of casserole with a salad. Try going through cookbooks or checking out my favorite RD/chef Ellie Krieger.

Absolutely. I was just discussing this the other day. I always scan for the most healthy option at restaurants and it's often something that is blah. When I'm cooking at home, I can tweak recipes of foods that I'm in the mood for and the food is a million times better than out at a restaurant.

I always have on hand
Non Fat Milk
Non Fat Yogurt
Laughing Cow Cheese Wedges
Bananas
Oatmeal

I just made a low fat "alfredo sauce" that I would CHALLENGE any restaurant to come up with a better tasting, rich and creamy counterpart!

I posted the recipe on my link below (in my siggy). It's so simple to make, yet outrageously delishous and soooooooooooo gourmet!

My low cal/low carb must haves are:
boneless skinless chicken breast
lean ground beef
broccoli frozen
cauliflower frozen
romaine lettuce heads
spinach fresh
string cheese
cheese in general (i look for reduced fat but no carb cheese which means its less processed, usually shredded cheddar and deli deluxe american which yes is processed but no carbs and less calories than regular american)
lunch meat
Village hearth 12 grain light bread (40 cal per slice and yummy)
peanut butter
Cheerios
diet coke (lol)
raw almonds (for work desk)
canned diced tomatoes or fresh tomatoes
canned tomato sauce
rotel (i cook alot with these 3)
onions
fresh garlic
and when doing low carb bacon and eggs I bake bacon ahead of time then refridgerate and microwave as needed
I agree with lots of herbs. I have bought more spices and seasonings in the past year than ever. My hubby likes to use them individually but I like the ones that are premixed light Mrs. Dash and 'italian seasoning' and generic ones like that. lol It's just an easy no brainer to me. I grew basil last year outside and it was so simple I had tons, I am starting a seed now and I am going to keep it inside to have year round.

I need to start adding some fruit back in, probably apples/strawberries/blueberries/grapes.

Are you allergic to all seafood including salmon? That's a bummer. My usual doesn't offer much variety either.

- empire kosher boneless skinless chicken
- wild salmon
- tuna
- cage free eggs
- almond butter
- hummus
- gluten free crackers
- small potatoes
- broccoli
- cauliflower
- onions
- carrots
- zucchini
- cucumber
- grape tomatoes
- green peppers
- sweet potato
- brussel sprouts
- appes
- earth balance soy free (until I add dairy back to my diet, if I can)
- olive oil
- TJ's mayo
- TJ's maple syrup
- Amy's dairy free/gluten free enchiladas
- gluten free lentil soup

If I wasn't counting carbs I would also buy chocolate almond milk but it's rather high and won't fill me up like lentils.