What’s in My (Grocery) Bag
Recently, a reader reached out and asked if I’d be willing to share my go-to’s when I hit the grocery store. My response was a bold absolutely and I am actually, perhaps strangely, excited to share my staples on grocery list with you.
Honestly, I love to grocery shop. I always have loved it. I remember driving an hour and half to Whole Foods with my dad when I was in grade school, because there wasn’t one in our town. I loved seeing the wooden signs that led us to fresh colorful produce, unique bulk combinations, organic cosmetics, etc,
Now that I live in a city with great grocery stores and co-ops, I go to the store regularly — at least twice a week. With that said, I do keep a lot of items fresh, which I can afford to do as I go so regularly (we’ll see if that changes when I’m a mom).
Put simply, I’m sort of a grocery enthusiast. So here I am, excited to share my go-to grocery list with you — the items you will always find in my cabinets and fridge.
VEGETABLES
Leafy greens — kale, arugula, and romaine are always in my fridge.
Microgreens or alfalfa sprouts
Onion — either yellow, red, or shallots for cooking
Green onion/chives (for salads)
Cauliflower (I like to make mashed cauliflower to replace mashed potatoes)
Celery (mostly for juicing)
Cucumber (for juicing and salads)
Beets (salads)
Bell pepper (usually orange)
Broccoli and broccolini (I like to chop broccoli for salads and cook broccolini — just my own weird thing)
Carrots
Ginger (for juicing)
Mushroom (mostly for stir-frys or omelets)
Sweet potato (rarely do any other potatoes)
Garlic
FRUITS
Apples — usually honeycrip or opal
Avocados
Bananas
BERRIES — we always have blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries
Clementines, manderines, or tangerines (I crave citrus)
Lemons (for cooking, for juicing, for salads)
Something tropical or in-season like mango, watermelon, or cherries
GRAINS
Ezekiel bread and/or english muffins
Seeds of Change rice and quinoa packs (so easy for stir-fry)
Sourdough bread
Sprouted oats (for baking or oatmeal)
Sprouted wraps (I like Angelic Bakehouse)
NUTS/SEEDS
Almonds, sprouted
Cashews
Chia seed (for smoothies or chia pudding)
Flaxseed, grounded (for smoothies or vegan baking as an egg sub.)
Macadamia nuts
Almond butter (preferably sprouted and raw — make sure there’s no sugar-added)
Walnuts, sprouted
Pumpkin seeds, sprouted
PROTEIN
Organic pasture raised eggs (we love Vital Farms or anything local)
Sliced turkey from the deli (as minimal ingredients as possible, no sugar added)
Turkey bacon (we like Applegate)
Chickpeas (for salads, usually)
PaleoPro protein powder in Aztec Vanilla (cleanest/least processed animal powder I’ve found)
Cymbiotika plant protein powder (another clean plant-based brand)
Salmond, wild-caught
Scallops, wild-caught
Grass-fed ground beef (will freeze this and pull it out for pastas or simply sautée with vegetables)
MISC. REFRIGERATED/Frozen ITEMS
Pepperoncini (for salads)
Almond milk (for smoothies — I like Malk and Three Trees)
Coconut water (we like Harmless Harvest)
Coconut yogurt (I like Cocojune, Culina, and GT’s CocoYo) or Siggis Skyr (full fat)
Hummus
Butter (we like Kerrygold, if not something local)
Frozen berries (for smoothies)
Frozen spinach (for smoothies)
Primal Kitchen ketchup (love that it has no sugar)
MISC. PANTRY
Flackers (I love to chop and put on salads)
Simple Mills crackers
Dang coconut chips (top smoothies with them)
Dark chocolate (always — I like Hu and Lily’s)
Dijon mustard (love a dijon-lemon-olive oil dressing)
Maple syrup and honey (for beverages and/or baking)
Oils — coconut oil (for baking and stovetop popcorn) and olive oil (cooking)
Popcorn seeds (for stovetop popcorn)
Primal Kitchen condiments (we love the ketchup, marinara, and lemon turmeric dressing)
Sriracha
Cacao nibs (for smoothies or “banana boat” snacks)
Chickpea pasta (we like the Banza brand)
Lentil pasta (Tolerant is a good brand)
Red pepper flakes (most used spice)
Cinnamon (second most used)