several times i have been asked, 'what do you eat?', 'i need help eating healthier' or my favorite, 'what the heck are you eating now?'. i'm not writing this post to declare that i am the cleanest and healthiest eater. i'm 23 years old, i still live for happy hours, late nights and quick meals on the go. so, i am writing this post to help with a few guidelines and maybe help you with making healthier substitutions at the grocery store!
ok, let's start at the top of the fridge. cottage cheese is wonderful for many reasons. you can eat it plain or mix it with fruit or veggies and it is packed with casein protein-a slow digesting protein. note: i try stay away from anything that straight 'low fat' or 'fat free'. read it as 'filled with junky air to make it less dense'. you can barely see it the top right corner, but it's a carton of Archer Farm organic brown eggs. another great source of protein and it REALLY helps that the chickens were fed well (i am hoping to write another post soon about what is worth buying organic and what you can buy from a conventional source). no, i didn't purposely skip over the 'to-go' box hoping you would miss it, it's probably left overs from a happy hour. again, i am not proclaiming to be perfect. the other tupper-ware is my salad for lunch! however, i will not take responsibility for the Red Bull that is tucked away on the left, i am not a fan of energy drinks!
moving down to the second row. Chobani is a staple around our house. It is packed with protein and awesome on the go for breakfast, before a workout, or to hold you over until dinner time. they are SO yummy and SO much better for you than it's popular competitor, Yoplait. i know, it can be hard to swallow paying over $1 for a yogurt, but your body deserves it, trust me! besides all that Chobani, there is a pack of edamame, one of my favorite snacks to have while i sit in my cube. this is a great snack heated up a bit with some soy sauce and sea salt! beneath the edamame is tortellini. we try to keep a small stock of 'quick' meals on nights we work out late or find better things to do than cook. next up is meat and poultry. drew and i love to hit up the local Trader Joe's for our meat. the prices are reasonable for great organic, grass fed meat and chicken. here, i believe we have ground hamburger, various cuts of chicken and porks, stuffed and regular. now that we have gone organic with our meat, i don't think we will ever go back! meat is one thing that is worth splurging to buy organic or grass-fed. happy animals=happy, nutritious meat!
deli drawer--this can get a little random, but we can never go without string cheese! another good source of quick protein (notice a trend here?). most of the time we also have a bag or two of shredded cheese and/or a pack of tortillas!
bottom shelf--here is obviously where our bigger stuff resides. drew drinks whole milk while i enjoy coconut milk. reasoning behind this? i eat a lot of dairy between yogurt and string cheese, so i try to cut down on dairy by drinking coconut milk. plus, it makes my morning oatmeal taste SO much better. the whole milk? well, that is what drew likes, so that is what drew gets :)
kefir! as you can see we love kefir just about as much as we love Chobani. kefir is a great probiotic for gut health/digestion, it also is an awesome compliment to any breakfast as well as a something to put in your stomach without actually 'eating'. while plain kefir is recommended (less sugar), we cannot stop buying the fruity stuff, especially raspberry or blueberry. when trying kefir for the first time, do yourself a favor, buy a flavored one. plain kefir can be a little tart since it is essentially fermented yogurt, but i promise it is delicious and your tummy will thank you! i think there is a pitcher of green tea off to left. i LOVE keeping a pitcher of green tea on hand, it's cheap and easy to make and it's a nice alternative to pop, coffee, and water. plus, no one can deny the mile long list of benefits you can get from green tea!
last, but certainly not least, the 'crisper' drawers--i can get strategic about what i put in these because i don't want it to go to waste! in this picture, i believe there is a mixture of produce from Trader Joe's and Target! there is for sure a bag of organic kale, it's my newest addiction! this particular trip, i know i picked up cucumbers, grape tomatoes, brussel sprouts (cannot get enough), yellow onion and most likely carrots. when i am buying produce, i try to buy items that can be used multiple ways (i.e in a salad, can be steam/grilled/baked as a side or maybe just something to munch on in my cube). this saves waste and money! a future goal for myself to expand my produce list beyond the 'typical' and force myself to find a way to use it!
now you may know a little more about our diet than what you may like, but we do take pride in stocking our fridge with quality food! while we may be struggling to still get 'our feet beneath us' after graduation, we found that we would much rather spend extra money on groceries than we would on clothes or 'material' things. (i know, hard to believe for those of you that knew me through college!).
either way, i hope this can somewhat help you next time you hit the grocery store!
always striving for more,
dee b.
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