Hey ladies,

I'm new to this thread, I'm usually lurking on the 20 somethings But I'd like to take the whole foods approach more seriously. I was wondering if anyone would mind putting up their shopping lists so I can have a sample of what I shoudl be buying?

Here's mine currently:
Tons of fruits; pears, bananas, apples, oranges, grape fruit, grapes.
roma tomatoes
spinach
cucumbers
frozen corn
skinless boneless chicken breasts
turkey bologna
bagged low fat shredded cheese
Lite and fit vanilla yogurt (in the big tub)
whole grain lite bread
whole grain pastas
whole grain pitas
smart ones
natural PB
skim milk
organic granola
Quaker oats oat meal
fiber one cereals and bars (it's the best way I can find to get my fiber, any suggestions on this one?)

those are basically the staples.....

any pointers as to where to go from here?

Question on the turkey bologna: What additives does it have, if any? How much sodium? You might be better off just eating plain unadulterated turkey.

I take a fiber supplement because with my reduced calorie diet, I doubt I am getting enough from my food sources alone.

What supplement are you taking? I've been thinking about doing that for a while...

And as for addatives, well here's the ingredients list:

Turkey Ingredients (Mechanically Separated Turkey, Turkey), Water, Modified Corn Starch, Contains Less Than 2% of Corn Syrup, Sodium Lactate, Salt, Dextrose, Flavor, Sodium Phosphates, Sodium Diacetate, Sodium Erythorbate (Made from Sugar), Sodium Nitrite

Looking at it now, I don't really want to eat it any more!

My shopping list varies by what I'm going to make that week!

Your list looks pretty good - you are trying to eat better, which is great! Personally, I would go for an organic yogurt. That Dannon stuff only has 60 calories which means it probably has artificial sweetners of some sort.

Smart Ones are also an iffy choice for whole foods, they may be low cal and good portion control, but frozen dinners tend to be really processed and have a lot of sodium. That being said, I have 2 Kashi frozen meals in my freezer right now - I like having a quick option, just in case I need it. My goal is not perfection, just to do the best I can. I buy stuff like salad dressing, ketchup - although I try to get the organic options.

You definitely don't have to make these changes!

I plan to ditch the smart ones.

Thanks for the advice on the yogurt. I was reading the label the other day, and it's really not that great ! I've always just looked at calories and fat.

My shopping list varies but not by much

1) Soy yogurt (unsweetened plain)
2) Various fruits (depends whats on sale, reasonable but citrus, apples, bananas and whatever else)
3) Various veggies (Salad greens, cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots, celery, greens for cooking, and whatever else)
4) Frozen veggies and fruits
5) Beans (canned and bulk)
6) Grains (brown rice, quinoa, amaranth)
7) Canned tomatoes
8) Whole grain bread, usually the sprouted variety
9) Raw almond butter
10) Salsa
11) Raw nuts (almonds, walnuts)

That is probably the bulk of my shopping. There are some things here and there but that is pretty much the most of it.

I LOVE grocery shopping!
*I shop at a local co-op and all of my produce is organic, we get our meat from a local farm and we'll be getting our fruits and veggies from a local farm this summer as well.

Apples
Bananas
Oranges
Avocados
Green peppers
Red peppers
Onions
Carrots
Potatoes
Lettuce
Spinach
Celery
Bagels - local
Eggs - local (our neighbor is getting chickens next year!)
1% Milk - local
Sour Cream - local
Coffee
Peanut butter from the ground peanut machine
Bulk granola
Bulk nuts
Blue corn chips - local
Salsa
Cheese (lots of WI cheese)
Bread
Frozen Amy's entrees
Quorn chick'n products
Veggie corn dogs

I would definitely add beans and nuts to that list. Almond butter is the best! Have you tried experimenting with whole grains at all? Quinoa is really tasty and great for you. It has a lot of protein, cooks really fast and is easy to eat on its own like rice or to mix it in with veggies or beans.

A nice raw cheese would be better than that bagged stuff if you want to try that instead. We have both here but the bagged is for my husband.

Also, those "lite" yogurts usually have weirdness in them. You may try out another brand of just yogurt, nothing added.

Here's my recent list. Probably not very whole-foody, but healthier than it's been in the past. I bought this stuff when I had a friend over and we were cooking together:

honey
corn tortillas
refried beans
a bottle of diet Coke (a guilty pleasure)
ground beef
roma tomato
apples
yellow pepper
jalapeno pepper
tomatillo
cilantro
potatoes
onions
hot sauce
pepper-jack cheese

Based on your list, I'd find a less processed cheese, and I'd buy a plain yogurt and add your own flavoring. Try to find a yogurt with several live cultures in it, and consider maybe making your own yogurt.

Fiber: I'd ramp up vegetable consumption, make sure your oats are steel-cut oats, and add some other grains (quinoa, bulgur, like that) to your diet.