# Healthy shopping list



## Butterz (Apr 25, 2006)

when you go to the supermarket, and you know your eating healthy for the week or whatever, what does your shopping list look like.  i am trying to make one of my own, but can use some help.


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## Robo410 (Apr 25, 2006)

I look for fresh and durable.  I love dark leafy greens (collards kale spinach etc) I also like the floavorings from roots and bulbs, onions garlic shallot.  In a stew or soup cauliflower and turnips make healthy alternatives to potatoes, and they cook easily and  take up the stew flavors readily.  I also get lettuces, carrots, celery, raddishes etc for salads and munching.  Peppers are full of Vit C, and I also look for seasonals asparagus?  corn?  mellons? fruits??

I look for hard flavorable cheeses of which I can have a little and be satisfied.  I look for lean meats, but I also flavor my dark greens with smokey bacon or turkey.  All kinds of tomato product, whole wheat pasta, brown rice, dried beans, barley, Irish oats, low salt/fat broths.  Chicken sausages...there are some great ones out there!  skim milk, low fat yogurt (make yogurt cheese with a stainer or cheese cloth) Dark whole grain breads.  

I make my own soups most of the time, and try to use all I buy...stale bread becomes crumbs etc...Old greens perk up in soups,


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## luvs (Apr 26, 2006)

get yourself veggies (potatoes & squash, peas & corn are very starchy yet are great for fiber), legumes (if you buy canned ones, put 'em in a strainer & rinse them), you may want dried splitpeas &/or lentils for soups, yogurt, skim mozzarella & ricotta, whole almonds to roast w/ garlic, seasalt, sage, pepper & oliveoil, fish such as tilapia or flounder, codfish, salmon (plenty of omega in some fishes), eggbeaters or you may get regular eggs & discard your yolks for omelets with veggies, lower fat poultry items, breads with whole grains ,flaxseed for fiber that you may wanna have with your cereal. many brands offer lower-calorie items.
fruit is great for you.


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## grumblebee (Apr 26, 2006)

I usually get a lot of what is listed on the World's Healthiest Foods website. (that website is great for recipes too, by the way) 

I usually try to eat fairly healthy so my list will often include many of those foods. (fish, fresh veggies and fruits, high quality grains, legumes, etc.)


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## bethzaring (Apr 26, 2006)

A good rule of thumb is to concentrate on making your purchases from the items sold from the perimeter walls of the grocery store, where you usually find dairy, produce, meats, breads, in other words, real food.  The interior isles will contain the pre-packaged foods and you want to stay away from pre-packaged foods.  The exception to this rule is you will find things like oats, dried beans, flour, baking essentials, in the interior isles.  Remember, if junk does not make it into your grocery cart, you can not be tempted by it in your house.


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## In the Kitchen (Apr 26, 2006)

*Full*



			
				bethzaring said:
			
		

> A good rule of thumb is to concentrate on making your purchases from the items sold from the perimeter walls of the grocery store, where you usually find dairy, produce, meats, breads, in other words, real food.  The interior isles will contain the pre-packaged foods and you want to stay away from pre-packaged foods.  The exception to this rule is you will find things like oats, dried beans, flour, baking essentials, in the interior isles.  Remember, if junk does not make it into your grocery cart, you can not be tempted by it in your house.


At the beginning of the store where I do  most of the shopping, the produce department is first.  After I have bought what I want from the produce, the basket is already full.  Do any of you experience the same thing?  During the course of shopping, have to rearrange everything so things don't get mashed.   Do not want to suggest store getting bigger carts; spend enough already.


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## Robo410 (Apr 26, 2006)

Yes I do ITK, specially at a store like whole foods where the produce is sooo fine and fresh and handled with care...When I cook, the meat is essential but not the bulk item...4 oz  or less per person.  THis means I treat my veggies seriously and with care for great texture color and flavor.


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## In the Kitchen (Apr 26, 2006)

*Yeh Yeh*



			
				Robo410 said:
			
		

> Yes I do ITK, specially at a store like whole foods where the produce is sooo fine and fresh and handled with care...When I cook, the meat is essential but not the bulk item...4 oz  or less per person.  THis means I treat my veggies seriously and with care for great texture color and flavor.



Yeh, for Whole Foods!!!!! Good thing you get to go there.  I really feel like I am so privileged to be able to shop at store like it and then to see how many people are in there.  It makes me so grateful to know others are conscious of their health too.  I often see lot of well known people in there, like people  who are on tv, mayor, senator, etc.  I surely don't bother them when they are shopping.  they are entitled to their privacy too.  You just can't find place where the produce looks like picture and t astes just as good.  Not to mention the meat department.  I am sure they pride themselves on consumer appeal.  Good for you Robo410 you are giving yourself the BEST.  You can't buy your health so next best thing is to protect what you have.


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## BreezyCooking (Apr 26, 2006)

My creed to healthy eating is DIVERSITY AND MODERATION.  Period.  Simple.  No brain surgery required.

In my case, I make up a complete menu every week on the computer along with the grocery list, always leaving room for that unexpected "special" I might find.

My husband doesn't eat any red meat or red meat products, so I devise our weekly menus around vegetarian, poultry, & seafood - usually planning on 2 dishes of each type, but using different ethnic recipes.  

Asian, Indian, Italian play the largest parts of our menus.  I also love roasting on our indoor rotisserie, so roasted poultry is utilized as well.  And soups - I always try to do one homemade soup per week.

To answer your question directly, you can't just "make up your shopping list" because you're trying to eat healthy.  You need to decide what you're going to make every day & work from there.


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## Claire (May 13, 2006)

I make up my list based on 1-3 major meals -- one will be a great weekend meal, quite often shared with friends.  Another might be a stew or soup or specific kind of salad (now that summer is coming up, salad nicoise is a favorite).  Then I just fill in the gaps in the pantry, and fill my fridge crisper drawers with tons of fruit and veggies.  It always amazes me that I know people who couldn't live out of their pantry/fridge for more than a couple of days .... I could for months, and the space isn't much (a regular sized cupboard, a 70s style fridge/freezer combo).  I go to the grocery store once a week, and always buy a heaping basket full.  Freezer always has at least two bags of good quality frozen veggies so I can grab a hand full whenever needed.  There are always at least three kinds of greens in the crisper drawers (a cabbage, a head of iceberg, and some kind of loose greens -- sometimes spinach, a baby lettuce mix, etc).  There are always green onions, round onions, and garlic.  The pantry always has a lot of grains and legumes.


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## BreezyCooking (May 13, 2006)

Oh Claire that is SO true.  Every time I go to the store, I always pick up one or two pantry items, even if I don't need them specifically for the week's menu.  It might be a package of whole-wheat pasta, or a can of diced tomatoes, beans, or - like you said - an extra bag of good-quality frozen vegetables.

I might not be able to go for a month, but I have made it thru at least a week & a half just on what I had on hand.  And good eating, too!


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## Claire (May 14, 2006)

yeah, I keep a full pantry, fridge, freezer at all times.  Part of it is from living in hurricane-prone places for so many years.  But mostly it is the way I was raised.  Right at this moment you can walk into Mom's garage and pull together a meal for 20.  I no longer have a separate freezer, so maybe I couldn't feed 20!  But I definitely do not plan every meal I'm going to cook every week.  I make and freeze a lot of stocks, soups and stews.  I keep bags of frozen chicken breasts on hand, and in the summer, chicken wing parts because it's a neighborhood thing.  There is more fruit in the house than there used to be since hubby was diagnosed with diabetes.  There are always products that have a good shelf life for "cheating" -- soup and sauce mixes.  Lots of pasta and at least 2 kinds of rice.  Always carrots and celery.  If my grocery list is short one week, I'm with you -- I pick up whatever is on sale -- cans of beans, tomatoes/paste, pasta, rice -- nonperishables -- to round out the pantry.  Every quarter or so I dig through the pantry shelves and donate what I haven't used to the food bank.  I've always cooked "too much" for the two of us, so I bring food to shut-in freinds and have people over for meals quite often.


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## biev (May 15, 2006)

I only shop for two, but this is what my grocery list looks like:

Fruits and vegetables - whatever looks fresh, which usually isn't much around here
Some kind of bread
Some kind of cheese
One type of meat, though I always regret not getting more than one
One bag of rice or pasta
One can of vegetables
Anything TJ wants for his lunch
One hurricane food - the season's coming
Milk
Eggs


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## Corey123 (Jun 12, 2006)

I've just started doing this and did the following yesterday;

1. Fresh fruits and veggies, but no corn or potatoes.

2. 1% milk.

3. Low-cal sweetener.

4. Lettuce, tomatoes and a cucumber for salads.

5. Reduced-sodium cold cuts.

6. Ground chicken.

7. Orange juice.

8. Smart Balance Omega Oil.

9. One bag brown rice.

10. Diet Soda.

11. Fruit-flavored water (Fruit 2 0).

12. Whole-grain bread.

13. Reduced-sodium low-fat swiss cheese.

No pasta, straches or sweets of any kind!

All of this is to try to stem the diabetes that I was just diagnosed with.


~Corey123.


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## kyles (Jun 12, 2006)

I was at the supermarket today and left my trolley for a moment. I heard some teenage boy say to his mate "let's steal that trolley" they put their grubby hands on it, then let go as if it were boiling hot "yuck, it's full of healthy stuff!!!!!!!! ROFL!!!!!

My trolley had celery, tomatoes, strawberries, bananas, fish, dark chocolate (a half marathon trainer needs to keep up her strength!!), three tubs of cottage cheese in different flavours, and granny smith apples.

My trolley is nearly always 3/4 full of veggies, the rest is carbs and protein. My trolley always looks really colourful. If the colours aren't there, I know i'm not going to be eating right.


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## Corey123 (Jun 12, 2006)

What did they expect to find in the cart, junk food, sweets candy, cake and donuts? Heart-attack food!!


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## kyles (Jun 13, 2006)

Yep! When I moved to the UK I was really shocked at how cheap cakes, pies, ready meals were. It's ridiculous!

In Australia we have a government tax on everything you buy, but fresh food is exempt from the tax, to try and encourage people to spend more of their food dollar on healthier foods.


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## Banana Brain (Jun 19, 2006)

Eggbeaters, fresh fruits and veggies, wheat germ, smilk milk, soy milk, endames, pre-cut chicken breast, tofu, white fish, salmon, and Amy's Organic frozen entres.


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## urmaniac13 (Jun 19, 2006)

kyles said:
			
		

> In Australia we have a government tax on everything you buy, but fresh food is exempt from the tax, to try and encourage people to spend more of their food dollar on healthier foods.


 
That's a great idea!! thumbs up to the Australian government.


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## Lady C (Jun 19, 2006)

This is what my grocery list looks like.  I bake my own whole wheat bread.  And the complex carbs are consumed early in the day only.

*PROTEINS
*Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast 
Tuna (water packed) 
Fish (salmon, seabass, halibut) 
Shrimp 
Extra Lean Ground Beef or Ground Round (92-96%)
Venison
Buffalo
Ostrich 
Protein Powder 
Egg Whites or Eggs 
Ribeye Steaks or Roast 
Top Round Steaks or Roast (aka Stew Meat, London Broil, Stir Fry) 
Top Sirloin (aka Sirloin Top Butt) 
Beef Tenderloin (aka Filet, Filet Mignon) 
Top Loin (NY Strip Steak) 
Flank Steak (Sir Fry, Fajita) 
Eye of Round (Cube Meat, Stew Meat, Bottom Round , 96% LeandGround Round) 
Ground turkey, Turkey Breast Slices or cutlets (fresh meat, not deli cuts) 

*COMPLEX CARBS* 
Oatmeal (Old Fashioned or Quick Oats) 
Sweet Potatoes 
Yams 
Beans (pinto, black, kidney) 
Oat Bran Cereal 
Rye Cereal
Brown Rice 
Farina (Cream of Wheat) 
Multigrain Hot Cereal 
Whole wheat or Spinach Pasta 
Rice (white, jasmine, basmati, Arborio, wild) 
Potatoes (red, baking, new) 

*FIBROUS CARBS* 
Green Leafy Lettuce (Green Leaf, Red, Leaf, Romaine) 
Broccoli 
Asparagus 
String Beans 
Spinach 
Bell Peppers 
Brussels Sprouts 
Cauliflower 
Cabbage
Celery 
Cucumber 
Eggplant
Green or Red Pepper 
Onions
Pumpkin 
Garlic 
Tomatoes 
Zucchini 

*FRUIT*
bananas, apples, grapefruit, peaches, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, lemons or limes

*HEALTHY FATS*
Natural Style Peanut Butter 
Olive Oil or Safflower Oil 
Nuts (peanuts, almonds 
Flaxseed Oil 

*DAIRY AND EGGS* 
Low-fat cottage cheese 
Eggs 
Low or Non-Fat Milk 
Bottled Water 


*CONDIMENTS & SPICES* 
Diet Soda 
Crystal Light 
Fat Free Mayonnaise 
Reduced Sodium Soy Sauce 
Reduced Sodium Teriyaki Sauce 
Balsamic Vinegar 
Salsa 
Hot Peppers and Hot Sauce
Chili powder 
Mrs. Dash 
Steak Sauce 
Sugar Free Maple Syrup 
Chili Paste 
Mustard 
Extracts (vanilla, almond, etc )
Low Sodium beef or chicken broth 
Plain or reduced sodium tomatoes sauce, puree, paste)


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