Grocery Shoppin'

One of my friends asked me not too long ago about my food staples. Hi Lauren! Check out her blog here.

This was my response:

1. Milk - either Horizon organic or Almond Breeze unsweetened vanilla. Lately I've been drinking mostly Almond milk and that seems to sit better with me.
2. Spinach - for use in Green Monsters, or to sautee with other vegetables
3. Bananas - for use in GMs, oatmeal, or on their own
4. Two other kinds of fruit (beginning to shy to away from apples..they hurt my stomach). Lately I've been buying oranges, pears, and grapes
5. Greek yogurt - for a snack
6. Oatmeal (old-fashioned) - for breakfast
7. SunButter (or any kind of nut butter)- for oatmeal, sandwiches, snacks, etc.
8. Cereal (I love Quaker Oatmeal Squares)
Let's take a pause here and jump back to the book Food Rules. See this post. Two things that Michael Pollan mentioned were avoiding foods that have some form of sugar listed as the 2nd or 3rd main ingredient. If you pick up a box of cereal, you'll probably see sugar close to the top. Quaker Oatmeal Squares' nutrition facts:

WHOLE OAT FLOUR, WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR, BROWN SUGAR, SUGAR, MALTODEXTRIN, MALTED BARLEY EXTRACT, MOLASSES, SODIUM BICARBONATE, SALT, CALCIUM CARBONATE, REDUCED IRON, SODIUM ASCORBATE, YELLOW 5, NIACINAMIDE*, ZINC OXIDE, BHT (A PRESERVATIVE), VITAMIN E ACETATE, VITAMIN A PALMITATE, YELLOW 6, THIAMIN MONONITRATE*, PYRIDOXINE HYDROCHLORIDE*, RIBOFLAVIN*, FOLIC ACID*.

*ONE OF THE B VITAMINS
BHT ADDED TO PACKAGING TO PRESERVE FRESHNESS.

It has brown sugar, AND sugar, AND molasses. Shoot. No wonder I love it so much. Well, in comparison to Fruit Loops or Frosted Flakes, I would say that I'm doing ok.

Pollan also mentions sweetening or salting our foods ourselves. Why let some other person/machine dump a bunch of sugar on your food so you get a sugar high and want more? His point makes a lot of sense to me. Take charge of your own food. So, this past weekend, I bought unsweetened shredded wheat that has no sugar in it and I'll put my own sweetener in it, or I'll mix it with greek yogurt and agave nectar. I will continue to buy Quaker Oats Squares every once in a while, but I will explore other options too that aren't as sugary.

Back to the show...

10. Broccoli (for roasting or steaming)
11. Veggie burgers (for quick meals)
12. Loaf of whole wheat/grainy/healthy bread
13. Hummus - for vegetable dipping, spread for sandwiches, etc.
14. Carrots (I eat a lot of carrots & hummus)
15. Protein bars (Luna, Clif, Fiber One, whatever)
16. Quinoa (make a big batch and put veggies or whatever on top of it)

I just went to the grocery this morning for a quick trip and bought 7 of those 16 items! If you are local, the Plainview Kroger always has specials on Larabars and other protein bars. Kroger usually has a lot of 10 for $10 deals going on, and they will sometimes include Clif Bars or Luna Bars in those deals. What I didn't know, until about a month ago, is that you don't have to buy 10 of the items to still get the discounted price!

Today was senior discount day and there was a woman playing an organ near the checkout line. There's nothing like some good organ music while grocery shopping.