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
Meow! Thank you! xo
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