A Healthy Grocery List – Muncher Cruncher Approved

Today as I whipped up my quick and delicious lunch I got to thinking. I have a lot of favorite healthy food items that I swear by. My lunch consisted of a few of these items which is where this train of thought began.

Lunch was simple:
Whole wheat bagel thin with sliced turkey and honey dijon mustard and 1/2 cup of low fat cottage cheese with tomatoes, salt, and pepper. 

 Usually any sort of turkey sandwich I make has spinach and a lot more veggies on it. However, when I went to the store this week they were out of lettuce. Yep. Straight up, 100% out. No romaine, no spinach, no nothing. So annoying…

I am absolutely in LOVE with these little bagel thins. I tried them about a month ago, and I can’t even tell you the last time I’d had a bagel before that. Usually bagels come about the size of my head and with about 400 calories right along with it. I’d rather put my calories elsewhere. But, due to the fact that I do think bagels are very tasty, I was delighted to find these little 110 calories delights. They are perfect for sandwiches, are great dipped in soup, and would be awesome made into a little oven pizza.
 
I have clients ask me for different food suggestions all the time. They want to know my favorite brands of this, that, and the other. I am always so happy to share my favorites because finding great food that is healthy and delicious makes me excited. Why wouldn’t I want to share it. So…without further a do, my Muncher Cruncher approved shopping list.

Produce:
*Let’s be honest. Good fresh produce is AWESOME. This list consists of my favorite specific ways to eat it. It is definitely not all I buy. I can hardly name a fruit or veggie I don’t like, BUT keep in mind, these are just my favorites.
– baby carrots
– cherub tomatoes
– baby spinach/spinach (LOVE the huge bag at Costco. Such a great price)
– fresh blackberries/strawberries/blueberries/raspberries to nibble on (frozen for protein shakes)
– apples (I prefer crisp apples so I love fuji, gala, braeburn and honey crisp)
– bananas
– avocados
– Costco mini sweet bell peppers
– Costco broccoli florets (amazing way to take ALL the work out of eating broccoli) 
– Salad Bars (Sometimes it is just more worth it to me to pick up an awesome salad with tons of fresh produce over my buying each item and making my own salad.)

Dairy:
– skim milk
– Almond milk
– Vanilla soy milk
– 0% fat greek yogurt (I like Fage and Chiobani the best. Costco sells a container of Fage at a great price.)
– Eggs (I end up ditching most of the yolks, but egg whites are an AWESOME source of protein.)
– part skim mozzarella string cheese
– low fat cottage cheese

Packaged (dry):
– La Tortilla Factory whole wheat low carb tortillas (one of my favorite products ever made. ever.)
– Whole wheat bagel thins (There are several brands of these. I always get the ones with the lowest calories and highest amount of protein and fiber.)
– Special K Protein Plus Cereal (This stuff is AWESOME. I mix it with other cereals to boost the protein.)
– Kashi Go Lean Crunch Cereal (I try not to over do it on the cereal because most are higher in sugar, but if I do eat it this mixed with the Special K protein plus is my go to.)
– Swiss Miss Diet hot chocolate (They have a sugar free variety as well, but i prefer the diet. It only has 25 calories per serving)
– Ranch Salad dressing packets
– Taco seasoning packets
– Chocolate Muscle Milk Light
– Biochem Vanilla Whey Protein Powder
– Quaker Slow Cook Old Fashioned Oats
– Raw Almonds (I like the Costco bags)
– Brown Rice
– Skippy Natural Peanut Butter

Packaged (refrigerated):
– Costco Deli Turkey
– Costco Mango Salsa
– Hummus
– Kroger brand low fat avocado ranch

Canned:
– chick peas
– non-fat refried beans
– black beans
– Costco all white mean chicken
– Tuna (I actually get the individual servings that come in the pouch)
– Healthy Choice/Amy’s/Progresso Light Soups
– Light Marinara/Pasta sauces
– Turkey Chili

Frozen:
– Costco individual Edama mae packets
– Morningstar Black bean veggie burgers
– Chicken Breasts
– Popsicle Brand sugar free fudgesicles
– Vegetable blends (the California mix is my fave)

This is a pretty comprehensive list of the items I have on hand for my meals all the time. Hopefully it will give you some ideas of some new items to try! Do you see any of your favorites on this list? What are your most common go-to meal items?