My Grocery List: Eating for One

Eating and shopping for one person is so difficult. I always end up buying too much or too little, and I feel like I throw out so much food. This year, I'm committing to making grocery lists and meal plans for my weeks so I don't waste anything, and so I try new foods. My plan is to only buy 2-3 types of fruit and 2-3 types of veggies at a time, and switch it up week by week. I also plan to make a lot of cold salads to eat throughout the week when I'm being lazy.

Be sure to buy in-season produce in small quantities.

I try to keep on hand most of the time:

Grains

• Whole wheat bread (as small of units as I can buy)
• Whole wheat English muffins or bagel thins (alternating between them so they don't go bad)
• Whole wheat pasta
• Rice

Dairy

• Skim milk
• Laughing cow cheese or cottage cheese (low fat, alternating)
• Low fat cheese sticks
• Feta (occasionally)

Protein

• Turkey burgers
• Tilapia/Salmon
• Occasionally chicken breast for grilling
• Eggs

Legumes/Nuts

• Black eyed peas or chickpeas
• Black beans
• Peanut butter

Veggies

• Pick 2-3 of: broccoli, green beans, asparagus, cauliflower, bell peppers, peas, corn, etc.
• Baby carrots and/or cucumbers
• Olives

Fruits

• One or two "whole" fruits: plums, grapefruit, clementines, bananas, etc.
• Grapes, pineapple or cherries
• Apples or cantaloupe

Other

• Olive oil
• Healthy dressings
• Mustard
• BBQ sauce
• Healthy crackers
• Dark chocolate
• Tea

I buy a good bit of the stuff that doesn't go bad (sauces, pastas, canned beans, etc.) and hit up the store about once a week for fresh produce, grains and proteins. Everything on this list can be found for relatively cheap if you pick veggies and fruit that are in season and don't buy too many. For me, the most important thing is keeping junk food out of the house. If I buy it, it'll be gone instantly and I won't eat my healthy food. If I just keep good food in the house, and let myself splurge when I'm out occasionally, I do so much better.

Post-Europe Cleanse: No More Cheese!

Okay, maybe I can have a little cheese.

After six weeks in Europe munching endlessly on white bread, fromage and all kinds of dessert, my body feels pretty terrible. I'm also quite dehydrated due to the lack of water refills with meals and water fountains around Paris, so I need to get back in shape. Since this is my first weekend back in America, I'm giving myself a few days to enjoy my favorite foods such as BBQ, Mexican and fried chicken that I haven't had in several months. But once my taste for North American cuisine is satiated, I'm going on a meal plan and getting back to running. I've started to outline my meal plan and grocery list that I'm hoping to stick to for a month before cheating.

I love packing lunches to eat between classes.

Breakfast:

• Option 1: whole wheat english muffin, peanut butter, plum/clementine
• Option 2: hard boiled egg, grapes, cheese stick/cottage cheese
• Option 3: whole wheat bagel thin with Weight Watchers cream cheese, apple

Snack:

• Option 1: Greek yogurt
• Option 2: healthy crackers and laughing cow
• Option 3: carrot sticks

Lunch:

• Option 1: cucumber salad
• Option 2: pasta/quinoa salad
• Option 3: turkey on whole wheat
• with cucumber and laughing cow
• with mustard
• with apple and brie

Snack: 

• Option 1: Luna bar
• Option 2: apples and peanut butter
• Option 3: green smoothie

Dinner:

• Option 1: turkey burger, bbq sauce, broccoli
• Option 2: tilapia, rice, green beans
• Option 3: rice and beans dish

On my busier days when I don't go home for hours, I'll be combining some snacks and meals (i.e. turkey sandwich and carrot sticks) and alternating which veggies and fruits I use, but this is the basic plan! No white bread, limited cheese, and no nasty, processed food. Since it's summer in the South, I want to use my oven as little as possible so everything but dinner is fresh and cold. 

Once I get started with this plan I'll let you know how it's going!