Grocery shopping is really difficult when you’re looking for the healthy stuff. I’ve spent hours reading labels and trying to pick the most healthy things that don’t take hours of prep time and will help me lose weight. I thought I’d post some of the things that I reach for automatically at the grocery store now, maybe that will help the next time you go shopping!
First, though, you might want to purge your cabinets. The less you have of the bad stuff, the better choices you’re forced to make during those munchy binges.
- »California Blend Frozen Veggies (cauliflower, broccoli & carrots, 5 days worth)
»Ground turkey breast (turkeyburgers are awesome, low fat, high protein!)
»Turkey tenderloin/mignon
»Lean pork loin chops
»Florida’s Natural Red Ruby Grapefruit Juice (6 oz. a day, at most)
»Eggbeaters (1 cup a day for breakfast, 7 days worth)
»Salad (bagged premixed is the easiest way to go, avg. 1 cup per person per day, 2 bags/week)
»High fiber breakfast cereal like Fiber One or Raisin Bran
»Small snack boxes of raisins for a quick sweet snack
»Chicken breast (fresh, skinless & boneless, about the size of the palm of your hand)
»Whole chicken (1 a week, usually)
»Turkey/chicken roasting bags (for whole chicken)
»Whole Wheat Tortillas
»Fat free mayo
»Fat free sour cream
»Shredded cheese blend (colby jack sprinkled on top of steamed veggies)
»Potatoes
»Fish, quick frozen or fresh, whatever is on sale (2x a week)
»Rice (brown boil in a bag)
»Skim milk
»Salsa (to add variety to eggbeaters, put salsa on it & wrap it in a tortilla)
»Stonyfield Fat Free French Vanilla Yogurt
»No Pudge Brownie mix (make as individual servings)
»Sliced Deli Turkey (choose based on least amount of sodium/highest protein)
»Sliced Deli Chicken (choose same as turkey)
»Lemons
»Grapefruit
»Asparagus
»Fresh mushrooms
»Frozen Potatoes O’Brien (great as a side as well as cooked with the eggbeaters, too!)
These are the main staples in our house now, and I am really finding out that if I’m going to be cooking, I want to know exactly what I can have and have 5-6 meals that I know I like, and I will keep eating those until I tire of any of them and I’ll find something new to replace one or two of my selections.
What’s on your list? (The good stuff.) 
1:35 pm
Great topic, Daisy! Off the top of my head, it is:
Laughing Cow Light Cheese (wedges are 1 point, but they also ahve a tub of it at some stores)
Mission Low Carb/Lowfat Whole Wheat Tortillas (softer than the regular fat ones!)
Crystal Light Teas (raspberry, peach and plain…I live on them!)
Bell Peppers (love to snack on them, they have as much vitamin C as an orange!)
Sargento Light Mexican Blend shredded cheese
Eggbeaters and Egglands Best eggs
Turkey Bacon (1 pt per slice!)
Salad bag
Pop Secret 94 % Fat Free popcorn (a great snack if you cravy salty/crunchy treats)
Sugar Free jellos
Weight Control Quaker Oatmeal (thought I need to convert to just the plain oatmeal eventually
Skim milk
On the Border Medium Salsa (I eat this almost daily)
Baked Tostitos
2:02 pm
I have to work with a vry tight budget, so I’m always looking for things that will give us the biggest “bang for the buck” and still be nutritious and calorie-wise. Some regular items:
*tuna, water-packed
*salmon, canned or fresh, if price is not ridiculous
*salad ingredients, again will vary depending on price much of the time
*rice, brown usually
*skim milk
*fat-free mayo
*leanest meat that’s reasonably priced (hint…we shop for meat just before closing on weekends and get tremendous buys on anything dated for Sunday that won’t carry over to the first of the week. We don’t have Sunday shopping in NS.) Usually skinless, boneless chicken x2/3; lean pork x 1; lean ground beef x 1/2; stewing beef or inexpensive steak for stirfry x 1, etc.
*olive oil based margarine
*WW multigrain bread
*large bag frozen broccoli
*other frozen veggies (mixed; green beans; peas; etc.)
*fresh fruit, varies
*potatoes
*Mott’s fruit sauces, unsweetened (apple; pear; mango, etc)
These are some of the routine things.
4:59 pm
Where is the best place to shop to find all of these? I know some of the smaller grocery stores don’t have a lot of the variety.
My list includes:
100% Wheat Bread
Bananas
Oranges
Apples
Chicken
100 Calorie snack packs
Chicken
Instant Oatmeal
Raisins
Grapes
Sandwich meat
Stuff for salad
some type of Yogurt
some type of soup
Tropicana Light N’ Healthy Orange juice (when I can find it)
5:43 pm
Most of the stuff on your lists, is on mine.
I would add clementine oranges. For you Weight Watcher’s 2 of them is 1 point. Light or fat free ranch dressing.
Thanks Leanne and everyone else.
12:04 am
Ohhh! Nice idea!
We have a LOT of the same as your list, including asparagus, non-fat cottage cheese…
Staples for my 15 month old include grape-fruit, eggwhite omlets and spinach. I’m happy to say I eat what she eats.
1:30 pm
Trader Joe’s is a wonderland of fun foods to try. They have a lot of options. Its a huge chain but I don’t know if they are ack east or not, they have them all over out here in Cali.
9:40 am
I wish we had Trader Joe’s in Oklahoma…
Out here everything is breaded and fried.
Practically.