I know there used to be a thread like this, but I looked and looked and couldn't find it.

I think it would be a good idea for people to list what foods they always have on hand, that way we can have more options by sharing with each other!

Here's my list of foods I like to have on hand:
- Fresh Ground Turkey - I make burgers, burritos, tacos, burrito casserole, "hamburger" helper meals, etc.
- Frozen Grilled Chicken Breasts
- Eggs! Microwaved or boiled.
- Sliced & Shredded Cheese.
- Tortillas.
- Bread. Mainly for an emergency hungry meal. Toast two slices and put a slice of cheese in between, a quick and butter free "grilled" cheese.
- Canned tuna, plus light mayo
- Wheat Thins
- Cottage Cheese - a life saver!
- Yogurt!
- Oatmeal
- Apples, oranges & grapes if I can find fresh enough looking ones at WM.
- Rice cakes -- but NOT the mini ones in the bag, I always overeat those.
- Pickles.

I'd LOVE to keep cubed cheese on hand, but I know the bf and I would both overeat it

Ground turkey and lean ground beef
Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Chicken legs or thighs (for soups, mostly)
Chicken sausage (for soups and pastas)
Eggs

Fresh Fruits (Whatever is in season - oranges, apples, Asian pears, and bananas are my staples right now)
Frozen berries (for protein shakes)
Veggies (I always have basic soup veggies and one or more kinds of greens on hand. Other veggies vary based on the menu plan for the week).

Dried beans (for soups)
Sliced and shredded cheese
Small corn tortillas
Reduced sodium chicken broth, if I don't have any homemade frozen.
Canned tomatoes
Canned refried beans
Canned olives
Greek yogurt
Lowfat milk

Turkey Burgers
Frozen Salmon Filets
Canned Black Beans/Taco Seasoning
Apples
Tons of roast-able veggies
Tea, tea, and more tea
Egg Beaters
RF cheese

Coffee. Beans, cold brewed, instant for hot and instant for iced. Also, tea in green, black and oolong. If I haven't had my coffee or tea in the morning, I'm more likely to make bad choices.

Beans. I keep canned white, canned black, canned chickpeas, canned pintos, canned refried and a couple of different kinds (right now it's lentils, good mother stollard, and yellow eye) of dry beans on hand all the time.

Canned tuna (I can't bear to be without when a craving hits) and eggs

Fresh fruit - whatever I felt like/looked good/the kid wanted/etc. Curently there's bananas, granny smith, strawberries, mango and pineapple - I just finished off the blackberries.

Canned tomatoes - whole with basil, diced, crushed, fire roasted

Polenta - I grind it a little finer when I want cornmeal.

Corn Tortillas (I'm out, but have been missing them)

Sharp and flavorful cheeses (so I eat less)

Nuts: Walnuts and pecans pretty much always. I also have cashews, peanuts and a few pistachios at the moment.

Veggies: Onions and garlic are staples, along with some kind of greens and whatever fit the planned meals.

Frozen chicken stock, frozen grass-fed ground beef.

Misc dairy - milk, plain yogurt or cottage cheese, kefir.

Coffee and rolled oats - if i can't start a day properly, i'm guaranteed to get some sort of cravings.

A variety of herbal teas - otherwise i give myself a caffein overdose. In my office I keep a tin of freshly ground coffee, hibicus tea, green tea, a fancy flavored herbal tea mix, earl grey tea and a self-made sugarfree hot chocolate mix. Thus I'm covered for the day. It's simply too difficult to remember drinking plain cold water in the winter...

Carrots - I use them in everything, including mashed potatos, squash soups, cakes, smoothies and salads.

Bananas - I sometimes boil a banana with oats if I want a sweet start for the morning. I base most of my smoothies on a banana. And I have a banana when I need a hearty snack.

Beans and lentils - I buy them dry and always keep some soaked in water for quick meal preparation.

Fruits and berries for smoothies, snack and for adding to oatmeal.

What I don't keep at hand/home: sugar, wheat products (flour, pasta, bread), sweets. Very important. If I get a craving, I don't stand a chance to survive it if I have at hand something that i'm not supposed to be eating.

• Chicken breast (cooked in the refrigerator for a snack, raw in the freezer for dinners)
• Lean cooked ham slices
• Frozen/canned salmon
• Eggs
• Low fat cheese
• Orange juice w/no added sugar (healthier sweet choice than soda if I can't take the sugar craving)
  
• Ryvita crackers in all shapes and forms
• Baked beans (European style in a sugar-free tomato sauce, not American style)
• Apples
• Green tea

I can't have any candy/sodas in the house or I'll give in to temptation!

Almonds (shelled) for sure! About 15-21 will kill my appetite when I am craving anything to get over I am so hungry feeling.

Fresh baby spinach
Romaine lettuce
Mushrooms
Sweet potatoes
Baby carrots
Grapes
Oranges
Apples
Bananas
Canned beans (black, red, cannellini, fat-free refried, chickpeas)
Canned peas
Canned tuna
Greek yogurt
Whole wheat tortillas
Hommus
Tofu
Eggs
Whole wheat pasta
Canned tomatoes
Diet Coke

Excellent lists!

These are my staples that I eat 80% of the time! The other 20% of the time I let my hairdown & eat whatever I want to consume!

Carmel vanilla tea
Unsweetened tea
St. croix water- lemon, lime, grapefruit, coconut, berry
Old fashioned dry oats
Healthy choice 7 grain bread
Southwest mustard
Chicken breast
Tuna in pouch
Salmon in pouch
Chicken in pouch
Shrimp
Sardines
Extra lean hamburger
Low sodium soups
Low sodium chicken breast & turkey breast
Better n peanut butter & banana sandwiches
Apple rounds made into sandwiches with better n peanut butter & dry oatmeal, almonds, raisins, smooshed together & eaten sandwich style.
Kashi waffles- for the syrup I like to douce them with flavored greek yogurt, sliced strawberries on top of the yogurt, then sprinkled with ground flax
Romaine Lettuce- mainly use it on for sandwiches & wraps
Red, orange, yellow peppers
Sweet potatoe nuked then douced with Better n peanut butter
Buttercup squash
Carrots
Celery with better n peanut butter & raisins for ants on a log or with craisins for ladybugs on a log!
Water chestnuts rinsed out of the can, love the crunch
Black beans in can low sodium
Kidney beans in can low sodium
Garbanzo beans in can low sodium
Tomatoes in can- no salt
Baked potatoe with black bean & corn salsa
Snap peas
Cauliflower
Broccoli
California blend frozen veggies
Stir fry blend frozen veggies for stir fry or fajita's
Avocado- love it with raw veggies or on a sandwich
Apples- Honeycrisp, Gala, Braeburn
Strawberries
Pears
Papaya
Watermelon
Bananas
Grapefruit
Oranges
Grapes
Kiwi
Mango
Better N peanut butter- LOVE this stuff!!!
Mango salsa- Paul Newman- LOVE this stuff!!!
Salsa with black beans & corn (homemade by moi) LOVE this stuff!
Popcorn- plain
Almonds- unsalted
Cashews-unsalted
Eggs- I toss the yoke & use just the whites
Fiber wraps
Coconut milk
Greek chobani yogurt
Ground flax
Ground cacao nibs
Figs
Dates
Cherry & orange flavored prunes
Dried Pineapple rings
Dried mango
Sweet potatoe chips with Mango salsa
Veggie flaxseed tortilla chips with Mango salsa
Rice & Bean Chips with Adzuki beans
Wasa light rye with Mango salsa
Unsalted pretzels
Luna protein bars
Cinnamon puffin cereal
Graham crackers & animal crackers
Kind bars- dark chocolate cherry cashew
Dark chocolate covered prunes
Dark dove chocolate
Lindt dark chili chocolate
Blackberry wine

What a great idea! I've never thought of actually boiling the banana with the oatmeal.

Aside from the usual, I have recently discovered that I love kale chips, arctic zero ice cream (either coffee or strawberry flavor) and more than anything, right now I'm really enjoying PB2Chocolate with some celery. It's basically peanuts that have gone through some sort of a process, but they're all natural. The calories are low so I have 4 tablespoons for only 90 calories, which I mix with water to the desired consistency. I like mine a litter less dense than peanut butter. I have that as a snack and find it quite decadent! I found out about it here and purchased it on Amazon. If you have a Prime membership, you get free 2 day shipping plus a discounted price. I also love my Fage 0fat Greek yogurt with cinnamon and splenda. Yum! Finally, I measure out 100 calorie portions of grapes and eat them frozen. Takes a long time to eat and is yummy.

Over time some foods drop off the list and others are added, but these are the staples I always keep in the house right now...

boneless skinless chicken breasts
turkey or chicken sausage
turkey bacon
reduced sodium deli turkey
eggs, egg beaters and egg white beaters

Fiber One english muffins
Some kind of light or high fiber whole wheat bread/pitas/tortillas (whatever appeals to me most when I go to the store)
Whole grain pasta

bagged baby spinach
bell peppers
mushrooms
tomatoes
acorn squash or sweet potatoes

strawberries, blackberries or raspberries
bagged apple slices

Chobani 0% (plain, vanilla and peach)
light cheese sticks/cheese slices
Yogurt blue cheese dressing

Rao's marinara sauce
Roasted red peppers
Frank's Red Hot

90 cal Fiber One bars
TJ's Fiberful bars
Reduced sugar oatmeal (individual serving packets)
Pistachios or cashews
Light microwave popcorn
Sugar-free cinnamon candy

A few low-calorie frozen entrees
Vitalicious muffin tops (chocolate)
Some sort of small or light frozen dessert (lately, TJ's "Hold the Cone" mini ice cream cones)

Cherry coke zero for my husband


And while not something I keep in my house, I have a skinny vanilla latte from Starbucks almost every day, lol. It definitely qualifies as one of my staples!

I try to vary what I eat, so what I ALWAYS have on hand is a pretty small list

Kale, I put that **** in everything (just like the hot sauce commercial, lol)!
Morning Star spicy black bean burgers
Sandwich Thins
natural peanut butter
eggs
light sour cream
Sharp 2% cheese slices
almonds
tuna
frozen mixed veggies
Protein powder
Chicken breast
Wholly Guacamole 100 calorie packs

This is usually what I have on hand-

Vegetables - Leaf or Romaine Lettuce, Carrots (I buy the 5lb bag, cashiers usually comment on it!), Celery, Onions, Garlic, misc frozen

Fruit - Apples, berries in the summer (really need to add more fruit!)

Dairy - feta, extra sharp cheddar and mozz cheeses, buttermilk occasionally for biscuits, mashed potatoes, eggs, etc., sour cream, butter (the real stuff!)

Meat - Grass fed beef, ground turkey, amish chicken - usually drumettes, thighs, Chicken Broth (homemade or organic), turkey bacon

Beans - Kidney, Black, Vegetarian refried

Grains - lo carb Tortillas, whole wheat bread, misc pastas, organic brown basmati rice, mini pizza crusts

Misc - Franks red hot, rooster (Srichacha) sauce, Izzy's (local chain) pickles, organic ketchup (so much more robust than the regular stuff with HFCS)

I try to go organic with most of my produce, many times it is the same or even less than the conventionally grown stuff.