Clean Eating Shopping List Done For You

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This is stating the obvious but if you don’t have junk food around the house, you’re less likely to eat junk!  If all you have is healthy nutrient rich foods in your cupboards and refrigerator, you’re always going to make smart choices at home. Basically, it all starts with your shopping list and avoiding temptations once your at the store. Here’s a great clean eating shopping list to get you thinking about what you should be bringing home.

Refrigerator Staples:

I try to make sure I have a wide variety of fresh vegetables at all times. During the growing season, I only buy local produce from the farmers market, but obviously in winter, I have to take what I can get in produce at the grocery store. I make sure I have plenty of onions, zucchini,  spinach, mushrooms, peppers and broccoli to use in my scrambled eggs.  I also like to add organic chicken or turkey sausage or bison sausage into the Free Range eggs, along with some raw grass-fed goat cheese or other good cheese.

Coconut milk is another staple in my fridge. I like to use it to mix in with smoothies, oatmeal, or yogurt for a rich, creamy taste. Not only does coconut milk add a rich, creamy taste to lots of dishes, but it’s also full of healthy saturated fats. Healthy saturated fats such as medium chain triglycerides (MCTs), specifically an MCT called lauric acid, which is vitally important for your immune system.

Other Fridge Staples:

  • Walnuts, pecans, almonds  taste good and are great sources of healthy fats.  Try to get raw nuts if possible as the roasting process can oxidize some of the polyunsaturated fats in some types of nuts making those damaged fats slightly more inflammatory.  Overall, nuts are still healthy even if they are roasted, but raw nuts are best.
  • Cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, and yogurt. Try mixing cottage or ricotta cheese and yogurt together with chopped nuts and berries for a great snack.  Watch out for yogurt with sugar or high fructose corn syrup and other additives.
  • Chia seeds and hemp seeds are also great to add to yogurt, smoothies, or salads with loads of omega-3 fatty acids and vitamins and minerals. Don’t use ground seeds as the omega-3 polyunsaturated fats are prone to oxidation.  No grinding is necessary to properly digest these seeds.
  • Salsa. Make sure your buying one without unnatural additives. Should be nothing but tomatoes, jalapenos, onions, cilantro and spices.
  • Avocados are a great source of healthy fats, fiber, and other nutrients. Try adding them to salads or sandwiches or lettuce wraps.
  • Butter (Grass-fed organic) adds great flavor to anything and can be part of a healthy diet in small amounts. Never use margarine (period).
  • Nut butters. Again watch for additives as this should just be ground nuts with nothing added.  I love almond or cashew butter.  Using a variety of nut butters gives you a good variety of vitamins and minerals and keeps you from burning out on peanut butter.
  • Leaf lettuce and spinach along with shredded carrots. Having these on hand makes it super fast to prepare a salad.
  • Balsamic vinegar, spicesextra virgin olive oil, and Udo’s Choice oil blend. Don’t buy store bought salad dressings with refined oils.
  • Sprouted grain bread for occasional use since too much gluten which is found in most sprouted grain breads can cause gut issues whether or not you are gluten intolerant.

Recommended Reading: Wildly Affordable Organic

Freezer Staples:

  • Frozen berries. Obviously fresh is best but buy fresh and freeze yourself for the winter. Get them when they are at their cheapest and freeze for later.
  • Frozen fish (wild). Lots of choices to try something new and full of omega-3 and omega-6.
  • Frozen chicken breasts.  Watch for additives and get just chicken. Great to add to a salad for a quick meal.
  • Grass-fed steaks, burgers, and ground beef.  Grass-fed meats are super high in omega-3 fatty acids and have much higher levels of fat-burning and muscle-building linoleic acid (CLA) compared to typical beef that you’ll find at your grocery store.
  • Frozen veggies are great when the fresh season is over since they often have higher nutrient contents compared to fresh produce that has been shipped thousands of miles, sitting around for weeks before you buy it.

Cupboard Staples: 

  • Antioxidant Teas such as green, oolong, white, rooibos (red tea) are some of the healthiest.  One of my favorite teas is yerba mate, which is a south american tea that is loaded with antioxidants and other nutrients.
  • Oat bran and steel cut oats have a higher fiber than convenient packs of instant oats, which are loaded with sugar.
  • Virgin coconut oil and Extra virgin olive oil.
  • Coconut milk (canned) is loaded with healthy saturated fats.
  • Tomato sauces (glass jars) are a great source of lycopene. Just check labels to make sure there is no added high fructose corn syrup.  You also want to make sure that the tomato sauce is made with olive oil instead of soybean oil or canola oils.
  • Raw honey has high quantities of nutrients and enzymes. Honey has even been proven in studies to improve glucose metabolism.
  • Organic Pure Maple Syrup
  • Black or kidney beans for Mexican dishes high in fiber and antioxidants.
  • Dark chocolate (more than 70-75% cocoa content)

Fruit Staples:

The staples such as bananas, apples, oranges, pears, and then some more interesting like mangoes, pomegranates, pineapples, and kiwi. Also, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, black raspberries and cherries have super high nutrient value and very high in antioxidants.

Not everyone likes the same foods but when you are trying to eat clean and wonder what should be on your list hopefully this gives you some good ideas.

Healthy Blessings,

Sandy

Related Blog: Why You Should STOP eating whole wheat bread, energy bars or cereals.

Resources:

http://www.100daysofrealfood.com

http://www.TheFatBurningKitchen

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Sandy J Duncan
Sandy Duncan is completing her Doctorate in Integrative Medicine, a health and wellness coach, Certified Neurofeedback specialist and author of AllNaturalHealthReviews.org. Read honest reviews on current health and wellness products as well as register for FREE giveaways.