Stocking Your Kitchen and Being Prepared For Every Meal

In order to be prepared for every meal, there is certain food I like to keep on hand at all times.


Fridge

• Meat
  Chicken, beef, fish, turkey. I prefer to eat a verity of meat, but stick with a leaner meat with most meals.

• Vegetables
  I always have lettuce, spinach, broccoli and parley. These green vegetables are loaded with nutrition which is why I like to eat them on a daily bases. Since they make a great addition to a salad, my fridge is often packed with bell peppers, cucumbers, cauliflower, mushrooms and carrots. Loading your salad with a verity of vegetables makes it more enjoyable to eat.

• Fruit
  Fruit is great at breakfast, part of a salad or as a dessert. I limit myself to 2-3 servings a day, sometimes 4.
  
• Eggs
  Eggs are a great way to get your morning protein and the yoke has a lot of nutrition. 

Pantry

• Dried fruit with no added sugar
  Dried fruit without added sugar is hard to find. It is important to stay away from food with added sugar. Fruit is already very sweet and dried fruit is even sweeter since the water is removed. Adding sugar to it only makes it sweeter and causes your blood suger to rise more than it should. Since raisins don't have added sugar, I keep them around. Raisins are really sweet, so be careful on how many you have at once.
  
  
• Nuts
  Even though they are high in fat, nuts are a great addition to a diet. The fat they contain is a good type of fat, and fat is needed in a healthy diet. I most regularly eat almonds, but also keep other nuts around for verity. I have at least one serving a day.
  
• Nut Butter
  Nut butter adds verity and is very good with fruit and vegetables.
  
• Seeds
  Seeds are a great addition to a salad, stir fry or any mix of vegetables and fruit. As I stated in my previous post, Quinoa is a new addition to my diet and I now keep this seed in my pantry. I also like to keep flaxseed.
  
• Cocoa
  This is 100% cocoa, chocolate without the added sugar. You can buy this in the baking section as cocoa powder or 100% cocoa bar. Yes, it is bitter, but in my opinion, very tasty. Once upon a time I couldn't stomach this. However, when I stopped eating food with added sugar I started to enjoy the taste of 100% cocoa. I keep it around because I love chocolate and when I want chocolate this is what I eat. Sometimes I go for the 85% or 99% cocoa as well.
  
• Honey
  Honey is a great natural sweetener.
  
• Canned Tuna or Chicken
  You come home from a long day of work, didn't plan dinner and need to eat now! Grab a can and mix with some vegetables, quinoa and olive oil.
  
• Olive Oil
  A heathy fat to add flavor to your meats and vegetables.
  
• Spices
  Great addition to salads and meats. Be careful about the spice mixes you purchase, a lot of them have added sugar. Always look at the ingredients.
  
• Vinegar
  Another great addition to salads
  
• Hot Sauce
  Most hot sauce consists of dried peppers, vinegar and salt. This is another great way to add flavor to your meals. Again, take a look at the ingredients to make sure there isn't any added sugar.
  

Freezer

• Meat
  Fish, beef, chicken, etc. Cosco sells individually wrapped wild caught frozen fish which has been a life saver for me. They defrost in 20 mins and take 20 mins to cook. This makes for a great back up meal for the days you don't have any fresh meat on hand. You can certainly do the same thing with chicken or beef.
  
• Vegetables
  I personally never keep these frozen because I always have fresh. However, I believe that frozen vegetables are great to keep around for the days you may run out of fresh.
  
• Fruit
  Frozen fruit makes a great dessert.