One of the best ways to get on track and stay on track with your nutrition is to make sure you have the right stuff in your pantry, (and don’t have the wrong stuff)! ;) When was the last time that you cleaned out your fridge and pantry and filled it with food that fits your goals?
I am going to break this into 2 steps, Purge and Restock.
PURGE:
There are a lot of things you might THINK are healthy that are sabotaging your efforts. So what do you look for?? First pull out every item of your pantry/fridge that is expired and get rid of it immediately.
Then go through and start reading labels. There are 2 things you should look for: (1) if sugar (by any name) appears in the top 3 ingredients and (2) if there are a ton of ingredients that you don’t recognize or cannot pronounce. Get rid of those items too, or donate them if they are unopened. It is likely that you have quite a bit of space now! Which means time to restock.
RESTOCK:
I get asked all the time what I eat, so I put together a list of some of my staples. To be clear, I don’t buy or consume every item on this list every week – this is an overall list of foods that appear frequently in my meal plans.
I also make sure to meal plan on a weekly basis so I know exactly what to buy and how much – this saves me a lot of money! When I do it right, I have a full fridge at the beginning of the week and a nearly empty one at the end.
I shop almost exclusively at Trader Joes, but also occasionally at Target and Whole Foods. So here is my list broken down into categories.
Proteins:
• Ground turkey
• Chicken breasts
• Fage Greek yogurt
• Eggs
• 85% OR higher lean ground beef
• Cottage Cheese
**TIP: Watch for weekly specials then buy and freeze what you won't use for awhile!
Healthy Carbs:
• Brown rice
• Sweet potatoes
• Rolled oats
• Ezekiel bread or sprouted grain
• Brown rice/Quinoa pasta
Fruits:
• Bananas
• Apples
• Berries of all varieties
• Pears
• Stone fruit of all varieties
Veggies:
• Mixed greens
• Spinach to put in my shakes
• Zucchini
• Onions
• Celery
• Carrots
• Bell Peppers (I prefer yellow/orange)
• Spaghetti Squash
• Tomatoes
**TIP: buy "in-season" and/or farmers market to save money on produce!
Healthy fats:
• Almonds
• Pumpkin seeds
• Sunflower Seeds
• Cashews
• Shredded mozzarella
Other items:
• Organic peanut or almond butter
• Organic salsa (JUST veggies and spices)
• Organic marinara sauce (JUST tomatoes and spices)
• Organic tomato sauce (JUST tomatoes and spices)
• Almond milk
• Garlic
• Ginger
Stuff I ALWAYS have on hand but don't need to buy often because it lasts so long:
• Honey
• Sweet leaf stevia packets
• Semi-sweet chocolate
• Coconut oil
• Balsamic vinegar
• Organic Balsamic vinaigrette dressing
• Spices/herbs (garlic powder, onion powder, turmeric, dill, salt, pepper)
• Liquid aminos
Snacks to have on hand in case of emergency (all sparingly):
• Kind bars
• Quest bars
• Homemade snack bars
• Complete cookies
I wash all my fresh food really well, and buy organic when possible. If you are just starting with organic foods, I recommend following the dirty dozen and the clean fifteen.
I hope this is helpful for you and if you have any questions, of course reach out!
This blog post is part of my weekly series called Trainer Tip Tuesday. Each Tuesday, I send a "Trainer Tip Tuesday" email, with a great tip/article I've come across recently, a recipe I have tried, or something health/fitness related that I personally experienced. If you would like to subscribe to the email list and get my Trainer Tip Tuesday posts a week before they are published here, please CLICK HERE
I am going to break this into 2 steps, Purge and Restock.
PURGE:
There are a lot of things you might THINK are healthy that are sabotaging your efforts. So what do you look for?? First pull out every item of your pantry/fridge that is expired and get rid of it immediately.
Then go through and start reading labels. There are 2 things you should look for: (1) if sugar (by any name) appears in the top 3 ingredients and (2) if there are a ton of ingredients that you don’t recognize or cannot pronounce. Get rid of those items too, or donate them if they are unopened. It is likely that you have quite a bit of space now! Which means time to restock.
RESTOCK:
I get asked all the time what I eat, so I put together a list of some of my staples. To be clear, I don’t buy or consume every item on this list every week – this is an overall list of foods that appear frequently in my meal plans.
I also make sure to meal plan on a weekly basis so I know exactly what to buy and how much – this saves me a lot of money! When I do it right, I have a full fridge at the beginning of the week and a nearly empty one at the end.
I shop almost exclusively at Trader Joes, but also occasionally at Target and Whole Foods. So here is my list broken down into categories.
Proteins:
• Ground turkey
• Chicken breasts
• Fage Greek yogurt
• Eggs
• 85% OR higher lean ground beef
• Cottage Cheese
**TIP: Watch for weekly specials then buy and freeze what you won't use for awhile!
Healthy Carbs:
• Brown rice
• Sweet potatoes
• Rolled oats
• Ezekiel bread or sprouted grain
• Brown rice/Quinoa pasta
Fruits:
• Bananas
• Apples
• Berries of all varieties
• Pears
• Stone fruit of all varieties
Veggies:
• Mixed greens
• Spinach to put in my shakes
• Zucchini
• Onions
• Celery
• Carrots
• Bell Peppers (I prefer yellow/orange)
• Spaghetti Squash
• Tomatoes
**TIP: buy "in-season" and/or farmers market to save money on produce!
Healthy fats:
• Almonds
• Pumpkin seeds
• Sunflower Seeds
• Cashews
• Shredded mozzarella
Other items:
• Organic peanut or almond butter
• Organic salsa (JUST veggies and spices)
• Organic marinara sauce (JUST tomatoes and spices)
• Organic tomato sauce (JUST tomatoes and spices)
• Almond milk
• Garlic
• Ginger
Stuff I ALWAYS have on hand but don't need to buy often because it lasts so long:
• Honey
• Sweet leaf stevia packets
• Semi-sweet chocolate
• Coconut oil
• Balsamic vinegar
• Organic Balsamic vinaigrette dressing
• Spices/herbs (garlic powder, onion powder, turmeric, dill, salt, pepper)
• Liquid aminos
Snacks to have on hand in case of emergency (all sparingly):
• Kind bars
• Quest bars
• Homemade snack bars
• Complete cookies
I wash all my fresh food really well, and buy organic when possible. If you are just starting with organic foods, I recommend following the dirty dozen and the clean fifteen.
I hope this is helpful for you and if you have any questions, of course reach out!
This blog post is part of my weekly series called Trainer Tip Tuesday. Each Tuesday, I send a "Trainer Tip Tuesday" email, with a great tip/article I've come across recently, a recipe I have tried, or something health/fitness related that I personally experienced. If you would like to subscribe to the email list and get my Trainer Tip Tuesday posts a week before they are published here, please CLICK HERE
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