Two weekends ago we had horrible storms (those of you in the DC area know what I’m talking about) that left us without power, necessitating the complete and total clean out of…the FRIDGE. This, of course, followed my “diet cleaning” of the pantry a week ago, leaving us with zero food in the house. What a perfect opportunity to start fresh with healthy foods, and a perfect way to start including more of the healthy eating posts that I’ve been wanting to!
I put off making a list or a meal plan since I wasn’t sure when the power would come back on, so this grocery trip was really just replacing the basics like eggs and butter, and grabbing enough easily assembled foods to last us half a week.
We’re constantly throwing away spoiled fruit and veggies, so we’ve tried to limit what we buy fresh to what we know we’ll eat. No more buying crazy fruits and vegetables in the hopes of eating healthy!
I try to buy organics, at least with the dirty dozen. Living in a somewhat rural area, it can be hard to find them sometimes. And of course, they do cost more.
Priority number one was of course, creamer for my coffee. I normally do organic half and half, but wanted to try the new Natural Bliss since they had a light vanilla flavor.
I do Greek yogurt in place of sour cream and mayonnaise in everything. Try it; it’s so much healthier and even my picky eaters can barely tell the difference.
Frozen waffles are probably the one traditional breakfast food I’ll eat. I like to look for one’s that have a little something extra. Van’s are natural, and have Vitamin Boost, Power Grains with Protein, and other healthy options – and they still taste good!
The hubby comes home for lunch three days a week and we try to throw something together or do leftovers. On the days I’m on my own, I usually do fast food. I figured even with the sodium in frozen meals, it was a better option, and I can indulge my pasta and pizza cravings with these.
Since my diet is light on fruits and vegetables, I recently bought a juicer to try to incorporate more into my diet in an easy way. This week’s juice is going to be a green one with cucumbers, green grapes, granny smith apples and kale.
We went light on the meat for dinners, just grabbing a frozen salmon and some organic chicken. Easy to throw on the grill and serve with brown rice or couscous.
Snacks are the best part of grocery shopping, aren’t they? I keep it simple as I’m typically not a snacker. Roasted Garlic Triscuits and French Onion Laughing Cow are an easy combo that gives me crunchy, creamy and savory at once. The Lundberg Brown Rice Cakes are yummy topped with bananas, peanut butter and a little honey when I want something sweet. Popcorn is an easy staple for the family while we watch tv. And who doesn’t love cheese?
Since it was a holiday week, a little indulgence seemed necessary. I don’t care for whole wheat rolls, so I went with potato hot dog buns to go with my uncured beef Oscar Mayer Selects. I only eat hot dogs as a rare treat, and I try to be very careful about the ingredients. No hot dog is complete without chips and dip, so I splurged on a Cabot dip and some Terra Exotic Vegetable Chips. Yummy! I’ll wash it all down with my Zevia Creme Soda. If you haven’t tried it, it’s a diet soda made with Stevia instead of other artificial sweeteners. It’s a little pricey, but it’s worth it to me to not completely give up soda.
So that’s it, the beginning of the kitchen restock and my groceries for the week.
What would your must haves be if you had to start from scratch?
