Suggestions please- what are your healthy grocery list staples?

[Rafiki31]

Hi there I am super busy, full time student and also working and I am trying to squeeze in some more healthy habits. I have started the c25k plan but need some help in the food dept.

I am in search of QUICK EASY HEALTHY GRAB &GO foods. I am usually in and out of the house in a hurry and usually take my food to go, so it has to be quick and easy to prepare. Help! What are your quick and easy healty staples? What can i grab on the way out the door for bfast?

I need more protein, but do nto care for meat, I need some EASY & QUick ways to prepare more meals with leguemes. Please ! I love black beans, but need more ways to prepare them.

What is on your grocery list every week?

 

[cclovesdis]

I have a few ideas for breakfast...Hard-boiled eggs are great. You could make a bunch over the weekend and grab one to go. Not sure if you eat eggs, though. Another thought is peanut butter (I like soy nut butter) on toast, or even just whole-wheat bread. You could also use a wrap and roll it up. That would probably be easier to eat while driving. I bought my dad 100 calorie portioned almond packages. I don't eat nuts, but he said they were good. Expensive though, IMO. You could always buy a container of almonds and portion them yourself. Yogurt is another possibility. That's probably hard to eat and drive at the same time, but you could get the kind that comes in a stick. You pre-make some yogurt and granola parfaits with nuts and/or berries as well and eat that when you get to wherever you are going.

For lunch, I like - turkey and/or ham on some type of whole wheat bread. This week I'm adding 1/4 of an avacado to my sandwich. I'm spoiled. My dad makes my lunch, but a sandwich is pretty easy to make ahead of time. You could also take leftovers from the weekend. I also like soup, which is only possible (for me, at least) if I can warm it up.

I think the best thing to do is to make lots of meals over the weekend, or whenever you have time, and portion them into smaller meals for lunches and/or dinners during the week or whenever you need them. You said you like legumes. Chili and soup are great ways to put legumes into your diet, although you probably know that. Best of luck!

 

[ohMom]

just made taco salad -- bagged salad, black beans, shredded cheese, unsalted tortilla chips and light catalina dressing. and easy - at home meal

on the go -- pria/Luna bars, light mozz cheese sticks, drinkable yogurt, meat/veggies in a flat-out wrap (found with deli breads at my wal-mart), drinkable soup, dry cereal portion out in baggies (pick one with bie pieces like shredded wheat)

on the weekend I usually clean and cut up veggies for the week, my family tends to eat more if they are ready at hand

mix your own bean salad with the black beans, green beans, yellow beans, black/kidney bean tossed in a light vinagarette

 

[pjlla]

Here are my healthy eating grocery basics... admittedly, not always the most budget friendly, but quick and easy healthy options.

Bagged salad mixes (especially the kinds with baby spinach)

baby carrots

grape tomatoes (wash and then they are ready to grab!)

ready-to-steam bagged fresh veggies

All natural lunch meats (not from the deli... too many nitrites there). I usually buy the Hormel All Natural Honey Ham and Smoked Turkey

Laughing Cow light cheese wedges

Rachel's brand single serving low fat cottage cheese (the pear mangosteen is delicious!)

Light cheese sticks

Arnold Sandwich Thins or Pepperidge Farms Deli Thins (sandwich rolls)

apples and grapes

snack size boxes of raisins or craisins or both

instant high fiber oatmeal

high fiber cereal (like FiberOne or Crunchy Corn bran)

Stonyfield Farms fat free french vanilla yogurt

Skinny Cow ice cream cones (not so healthy, but a great treat!)

Rotisserie chicken (easy to cut up into individual portions and have ready to grab from the fridge for the week!)

Eggs (I eat only the whites but I prefer plain whites to the taste of Egg Beaters)


I guess those are most of my quick and easy healthy staples.

If you are up for just a bit of cooking you could make things up on the weekends or evenings to put in the fridge/freezer and have to grab. Homemade healthy, high fiber muffins and breads are great for breakfast or snack.... Pumpkin muffins with carrot and raisin is my favorite right now. I also make apple muffins. I add LOTS of grated carrot and chopped apples to most of my muffin recipes to make them a bit more filling. But homemade if you are trying to watch your calories... most store bought muffins (and Dunkin Donuts muffins) are LOADED with calories!!

You could cook up chicken breast on the weekends and portion it into Tupperware for the week. Then use it in salads, or with rice or a hot veggie. If you have a microwave where you eat, you could micro-steam veggies to go along with the chicken for lunch/dinner.

How about soups? Find some good lentil soup, pea soup, and/or bean soup recipes, stew recipes, and chili recipes, make up a big batch, and then portion it and freeze into single servings. You could pull one serving out the night before and then it would be defrosted and ready to heat quickly the next day. A piece of cheese and maybe a few crackers or melba toast rounds and you are good to go!

In a pinch, there are a few decent frozen meals out there.... but you need to read the package if you are trying to avoid things like MSG, sodium, and preservatives. But having a few of those on hand for emergencies might help.

Good luck.......................P

 

[Raenstoirm]

I am a one-day-a-week cooker. Now that it is getting colder, I will start making my soups. I make a big vat of one, portion it and freeze it. I am not a fan of preservatives, so I make everything I can from scratch. Actually I bought the soup stuff today in fact since I felt like eating some of my veggie.
It is really easy to make. I throw peppers, onions, asparagus, celery (in this batch, but you can add any veggies) in a frying pan to soften then throw them in a pot with a spoon of tomato paste, water (or broth if you prefer), spices (oregano and basil are my two veggie favorites) and let it simmer for a half hour. Then I portion it out into containers, keep some in the fridge and freeze the rest. I have added cabbage, beans, shrimp and chicken in other batches, but this one will be a brothy veggie just to warm me up when I feel like something with very little calories.
Scrambled eggs in a cup work great for breakfast. I put 1 whole egg plus 2 whites in a cup and throw it in the micro for 1.5 minutes. Presto instant protein! Add a banana and some Greek yogurt and you are well on your way to meeting your protein quota for the day.
I the simple harvest bars- no artificial ingredients which is really rare for granola bars