STOCK THESE!

Do you want to lose weight and still enjoy excellent, tasty foods??  Maybe, like me,  you don't need to lose weight but just want to eat more nutritiously/more plant-based/less fats and sugars or to lower the "bad" cholesterol.  I added every one of these items in the last year to my daily meals and dropped my bad cholesterol by 5 points.  You can, too!!

Here are 10 foods that every kitchen should stock up on..........some are known as super foods.......others are just low fat protein choices.  All of them can be incorporated into recipes or stand alone meals.

• FRESH FRUIT:  Berries especially should be kept in your fridge!  Blue, black, raspberries and strawberries.  All of them are loaded with anti-oxidents and are proven to lower your cholesterol.  Toss them into Greek yogurt, on top of steel cut oats, on top of your fave multi-grain cereal, or just eat plain!  Stir into fresh salads.  The choices are endless.  You should also have on hand a variety of other fruits:  oranges, grapefruit, watermelon, cantaloupe, kiwi, pomegranate. Try to stock your fridge with a variety of color!

• NUT BUTTERS:  or better yet, Sunflower seed butter.  Almond butter is also a great low-fat choice.  Both give scads of protein.  Other good nut butters are walnut butter, pistachio, hazelnut, and peanut.  I prefer Sunflower seed due to the fact that it has 4 grams of fiber, 3 grams of sugar and 7 grams of protein!!  Also, it is easier to spread (must be kept in fridge) and lasts a long time.......and is easier for me to digest than peanut butter.  Smooth it on apple slices, a piece of flaxseed bread, or use as a "dip" for carrots, celery sticks, pepper sticks.  Makes a quick and easy snack!

• CUT UP FRESH VEGGIES:  keep cut veggies in your  fridge and you are more likely to reach for them.  Things like cherry tomatoes, celery, baby carrots, broccoli, red, green, yellow, orange pepper strips.  Use in fresh salads, toss with pasta or quinoa, or just snack on them!  

• LEMONS:  Keep fresh lemons on hand.  I keep several in my counter top fruit bowl.  Slice into sparkling water or filtered water and keep a water bottle or glass going all day.  Use a lemon to season pasta or cous-cous in place of oil based dressings.  Squeeze over salmon or flounder.  Mix with sliced oranges and put in a glass of water for a wonderful detox drink. 

• READY TO EAT LEAN PROTEIN:  Cook a couple of boneless, skinless chicken breasts on Sunday.  Cut up into bite-sized chunks and keep in fridge for a quick choice to stir into steamed veggies, into a pasta dish, or just grab a few pieces to stick in your lunch-bag for work.  Tofu is another good choice as well as cooked salmon, flounder, tuna, quinoa, beans (black, northern, garbanzo).  Be creative!

 

• EGGS:  hard-boil a few eggs on Sunday to keep in fridge all week.  My husband and I do this every week.  That way you can bring one a couple of times during the week to have with breakfast, or to chop up and put in a salad for work or dinner.  I limit my self to 2 a week but do what your doctor was recommended for you.  A great source of protein!! Breakfast idea:  half a grapefruit, boiled egg, a slice of flaxseed toast with canola oil butter.

• GREEK YOGURT:  keep Greek yogurt on hand for snacking, a quick lunch (stir in fresh berries or granola with almonds/walnuts).  I eat this kind pictured above.  I like the Triple Zero in Mixed Berry, Coffee, Peach, Coconut.  Less sugar than any kind I've found and much less cholesterol.  High in protein! Low in fat. You can use it in cooking certain recipes too!

• HUMMUS:  this is what I eat at least 4/7 lunches a week.  My fave is roasted red pepper and I keep a small container of it in my lunch bag for work.  It does have to stay refrigerated but makes for a great snack or lunch.  I like it with fresh veggies, almond or rice crackers, or multi-grain crackers. Hummus is such a great source of meatless protein!

• BABY SPINACH:  We always have a bag of this in the fridge.  It is great tossed into various pasta dishes I make.  I also add fresh arugula to it for a tossed salad. Baby spinach is very versatile and nutritious. It also contains antioxidants. You can tuck it into a veggie wrap or add to sliced turkey, cheddar cheese and sliced apple sandwich.

• ALMOND MILK:  if you still haven't switched from dairy to almond, I dare you to try it!  This is the kind I like (pictured above).  I use it for my morning cereal and sometimes in my coffee.  Almond milk has no fat!  No cholesterol.  And if you buy the unsweetened kind, no sugar!! Excellent source of Vitamin D and calcium with no lactose!

Those are just some of the foods that you can stock up on to help your daily lives be a little easier ...and daily nutritional goals.

ENJOY!!