My Weekly Grocery Essentials
Prioritizing nutrition is what I can confidently say is what has gotten me to look and feel the best I ever have. While I am no registered dietitian, I have learned quite a bit throughout this journey, what a general grocery trip looks like for me on a budget and sticking to a primarily whole food diet.
Creating a healthy lifestyle that encompasses your nutrition goals means finding and incorporating foods in every meal that give you energy, help to maintain your strength, and fuel your mental and physical growth. I make sure to incorporate three key food types in every meal of the day: protein, healthy fats, and complex carbohydrates. Through this guide, I have created a basic essential grocery list that comprises these three key essentials:
-Note: I am gluten-free, primarily dairy-free, and eat little to no red meat. This grocery list is what has worked for me personally with my dietary restrictions, but can be tailored to your needs and food habits :)
1) Fruits and veggies
Fruits- bananas, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, lemons, limes, avocados, frozen bananas, frozen strawberries, frozen blueberries, pineapple
Veggies- broccoli sprouts, carrots, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, spinach, kale, cucumbers, red pepper, zucchini, mushrooms, green onions, heirloom tomatoes, ginger, red/yellow onion, garlic, sweet potato
Herbs- basil, parsley, cilantro, dill
2) Protein
wild-caught salmon, organic chicken breast, organic chicken thigh, wild-caught canned albacore tuna, organic pasture-raised eggs, Applegate chicken breakfast sausages, organic ground turkey, wild-caught smoked salmon, extra firm tofu, hard-boiled eggs, turkey lunch meat, honey-ham lunch meat
3) CONDIMENTS
ghee (gf butter), un-salted almond butter, unsalted cashew butter, lemon vinaigrette,
4) PANTRY
Supper Foods- Truvani vanilla protein powder, maca powder, spirulina, vital proteins collagen powder, chia seeds, flax seed, coconut flakes, cacao nibs, cacao powder
Seasonings- garlic powder, onion powder, trader joes onion salt, paprika, Italian seasoning, dried oregano, Himalayan sea salt, black pepper, cinnamon,
Bottled Goods- coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil, white balsamic vinegar, lime juice, lemon juice, aloe vera juice, OWYN vanilla protein shakes
Canned Goods- tomato sauce, basil pesto, black beans,
Snacks- almonds, cashews, chickpea hummus, Crunchmaster multi-grain baked crackers,
Other- quinoa, ancient grains rice, GF rolled oats, Ezekiel bread, Siete almond flour tortillas, GF pasta noodle
Many if not all of these groceries are ingredients I use in all of my favorite recipes that I eat on repeat throughout the week. There are a few steps I would recommend taking while building your own grocery list:
1) discover the meals and Recipes you love and begin organizing them
Wherever you are in your lifestyle journey, I encourage you to start to write down those recipes you see online or eat while you are out so you can begin to make them from home. While I am currently creating a physical recipe book, most of my current recipes are saved on my Pinterest board. Whatever form of organization you use, doing so allows you to better plan which recipes you will cook throughout your week along with giving you a space to easily access the ingredients list and directions.
2) find the healthiest way to cook your favorite dishes
I have learned that to be ‘healthy’ doesn’t mean cutting out all the meals you love that are considered unhealthy. Instead, it means taking those dishes and re-working them utilizing different ingredients that are less processed and more whole, allowing you to feel better after eating your favorite meal, along with giving yourself a creative space to begin creating your very own recipes.
3) Meal plan
At the start of every week (which is usually a Sunday for me), always meal plan. I cannot begin to describe how much doing so has not only allowed me to keep my monthly spending much more budget-friendly but also to relax throughout the week knowing I have exactly enough food for every meal. No more of those late-night grocery trips when I realize I am out of eggs and I wanted to make a veggie omelet tomorrow morning. I personally like to either use a digital planner or a notebook.
If I choose to use a digital planner, I usually use either of these two layouts. However, some weeks are different from others, digital planning and spending time meal planning on my computer may not be achievable that week. In that case, I may be so busy that the most I can do is write Mon-Sun in my notes app on my phone and plan breakfast, lunch, and dinner for each day while I am on the go. Better something than nothing, I have grown to accept that every week may not be as organized and aesthetic as I would like, but we do the best we can.
4) Schedule a date and time for a grocery trip and stay Consistent
Consistency looks different for everybody. When I first began to meal prep, I would be on and off for the first few months in starting, as I was busy some days then others, or the day I wanted to grab groceries, something else came up and I had to push it into my week.
When I finally became consistent, It was because I decided to choose a date and time for myself, and put it in my calendar at the beginning of every new month. In doing so, as my month would go on, I would plan any extra spontaneous event around the date and time. It is the feeling of stability that allows me to maintain my motivation in keeping a consistent schedule for myself.