Saturday, April 6, 2013

A Pantry

Thanks to a best friends suggestion, I decided to create a post with items I most recommend to have in your pantry at all times. At first I didn't think that I could create this list, because I'm always so frazzled and running to and from the store during the week. However, after creating this croissant casserole with bananas and chobani (inspired by FOOD magazines croissant casserole), I realized that I do have a lot of great ingredients that I buy every week just to have around the house!

Since starting weight watchers, I have noticed a significant change in our pantry and the items that we buy on a daily basis.  It actually makes me very proud, and excited to know that we've planned out a healthy lifestyle for ourselves in the future.

If I use any of these items in a week - then I will just replace them next week at the store. If I don't use it and its non-perishable? Then save it in the pantry for later.  These items are ones that I love to have 'laying around' for when I'm feeling creative & our weeknight meals/lunches!

QuarterNoteCafe's, Pantry Must-Haves!
Fruits & Veggies
-Fresh Bananas (if they start to brown, toss them in the freezer - and voila! Frozen bananas!)
-Strawberries
-Clementines
-Cucumbers
-Carrots
-Salad Mix/Lettuce Mix
-Potatoes
-Brussel Sprouts (mmmmm...)
-Green Beans
*From week to week I always have more produce BUT again, this is the must haves that I guaranteed have in my fridge every week*

Dairy
-Skim Milk
-Eggs
-Chobani plain fat free Yogurt
-Chobani flavored yogurt (new fave is their minis with fig & orange zest)
-Fat free sour cream
-Fat free/reduced fat cheeses - either cheddar/mozz/swiss
-WW Ice Cream Varieties OR Skinny Cow (why deny the sweet tooth?)

Pantry
-JELLO sugar free pudding (only 1 pt per 1/2 cup serving)
-Reduced Sugar Apple Sauce
-Canned Black Beans
-Canned White Beans
-Crushed tomatoes with Italian Seasonings (great to have around for homemade sauce!)
-Tomato Sauce (can)
-Wegman's Jarred Marinara Sauce
-Whole Grain/Wheat Pasta Variety
-Brown Rice
-Special K Chocolatey Pretzel Breakfast Bars *NEW FAVE ALERT! Only 2 WW Points! Great for snacks as well - there is a huge variety of Special K bars that are only a few points!
-Personal sized tuna fish cans
-Fat Free balsamic dressing
-Vanilla extract
-Truvia - natural sweetener
-White sugar & Brown sugar
-Flour
-Cooking Spray with Olive Oil
-OLIVE OIL! (I use this 10,000,000,000 times a week)
-Whole wheat/grain bread

Meats
-Ground Chicken or Ground Turkey
-Chicken Breasts (always have in the freezer)
-Tilapia or Salmon (depending on sales!)
-Pork Loin (often I buy these when they are on sale & freeze them for later use!)

*herbs & spices
-basil (dried - prefer fresh, but hey that can be pricey)
-parsley (dried - or fresh! if my plant isn't dead that week)
-Sea Salt Grinder
-Black pepper Grinder
-Oregano dried
-Ground cumin
-Red pepper flakes (MUST HAVE)
-Chili powder
-Nutmeg
-Cinnamon


A typical Lunch-Day for me:
-3 medium sized carrots chopped up into sticks
-1/2 a cucumber cut into slices
-1 Chobani mini (less points - about 3)
-Banana (hits the sweet tooth)
-Leftovers (maybe) - sometimes I will throw in 1/4 cup or 1/2 cup of leftovers of whatever we had the night before as long as it was a WW friendly meal.  Some days you just want something hot or something savory & veggies just don't do the trick.

I know this sounds like a strange accumulation of food for a lunch - and it sounds boring, but since I have so many different things: yogurt, cucumber,carrot, banana etc. it fills me up quickly because I feel like I'm eating a lot.  And with the fiber from the fruits & veggies it fills me up fast! And like I said, sometimes I just want a bit more - so the other day I took a 1 point serving of the Broccoli slaw leftover from my Fish Tacos, and it was satisfying!  Or a bit of pasta, to satisfy that hot comfort food on a cold dreary day.

I hope this post either a. helped you, b. inspired you or c. was just an informative read!  The more I think about how my habits have changed, the more proud of myself I am.  WW is a slow, but steady process.  So far my weight loss is approx. 12 lbs.  I did gain 2 over Easter, but I talked myself through it, it's just a Holiday, it's not every weekend, and its okay because I'll kick my butt into high gear this week and shed those 2 lbs again. Either way, it's working, and I plan on sticking to it!

Enjoy! - Jack

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