kitchen-staples1In our house we (mostly) “Eat Clean”. There are certain foods that are staples for Brad and I. We love our quesidillas, one pot meals and a great salad so there are certain items that must be in the house at all times. Greens, fruit, chicken and rice wraps are a must

 

Here is a Sample of Our Grocery Essentials

  1. Fruit; We love these fruits because they are high in fibre, they have a long shelf life and offer a variety of nutrients. Except for the berries these fruit are easily transportable so I can grab a peice of fruit when I am on the run… and I am often on the run. Fruit is the REAL “fast foods”.  When our fruit gets beyond the point of being desirable to eat, I freeze them and use in a shake/smoothie.
    1. Apples
    2. Pears
    3. Oranges
    4. Banana’s
    5. Frozen Berries
  2. Vegetables; We love these vegetables because they can easily be made into a salad or added to our one pot meals or quesadillas. Avacados are great in a salad but they are also great to use in replace
    1. Kale, Spinach or Cabbage
    2. Spring Greens
    3. Tomatoes
    4. Cucumbers
    5. Zuccini
    6. Sweet Peppers
    7. Avacado
    8. Garlic!
  3. Protein; Protein is important for every cell in the body. Hair and nails are mostly made of protein. Your body uses protein to build and repair tissues. You also use protein to make enzymes, hormones, and other body chemicals. Protein helps build bones, muscles, cartilage, skin, and blood.
    1. Chicken; We cook a whole organic chicken, then make a variety of meals through the week.
    2. Cheese; only organic
    3. Nuts & Legumes; We have a variety of nuts and seeds in the fridge/pantry
    4. Eggs; Besides baking, eggs are a great quick meal at the end of the week when groceries are getting low.
    5. Fish;  Salmon is full of the good fat omega 3, easy to cook and used in a variety of ways over the week.
    6. Peanut Butter; for my morning toast : )
  4. Grains
    1.  Brown Rice Wraps; As a gluten free alternative, they are not great for rolling but are delicious for quesidillas cooked in a pan or baked : )
    2. Quinoa;  A great gluten free alternative to rice. We use it in soups, stews, salad and as a side dish. It is inexpensive so makes a great option to bulk up a meal.
    3. Organic whole wheat flower; Brad makes bread for our toast : )
  5. Jerk Sauce; we don’t eat much in the way of processed foods but we love jerk sauce! The memories brand has only a few ingredients, all of which I can recognize as food : ) We use it on our quesadillas and we LOVE our quesadillas. It is a sad day if we ever run out of jerk sauce : )
  6. Canned & Frozen Diced Tomatoes; we can make just about anything if we have a can of diced tomatoes. Soups, stews, baked spagetti squash, spaghetti sauce, baked burritos/enchillatas …
  7. Legumes; dried or canned. These are great in our one pot soups and stews, especially at this time of year when you want warm comfort food. They are also cheap and widely available. Legumes are highly nutritious and very high in both protein and fiber.  Soluable fibre is fiber that plumps up your stool ; ) Insoluable fibre cleans your colon as it passes through and it’s all about the poop ….eat your fibre : )
    1. Black Beans
    2. Chick Peas
  8. Bone Broth  ; its not just an old adage, homemade bone broth is excellent for speeding healing and recuperation from illnes and there’s scientific support for such a statement. We always have bone broth/stock on hand in the freezer so we can make soup, stew, stirfrys anytime we want.
    1. Chicken
    2. Beef
    3. Turkey
  9. Yogurt;  has a good source of calcium & protein and offers active cultures that may help certain gastrointestinal conditions. We use it to cool down our spicy quesadillas : )
  10. Fats; Gotta have fat. “Good Fats” actually burn fat. Yup thats what holistic nutritionist, Andrea Jones says.
    1. Olive Oil; stir frying, salad dressing,
    2. Coconut Oil; popping pop corn, making homemade tortillas, cooking quesidillas, greasing muffin pans, moisturizing my face : )