Diet-Friendly Kitchen Staples

Having a well-stocked kitchen can make a huge difference when attempting to follow a healthy diet. I try to make sure that I always have an array of key ingredients to create healthy meals or snacks, that way I don’t get tempted by the drive-through or box of Cheez-Its. 

When it comes to grocery shopping, one can easily get overwhelmed with the vast variety of choices. Reading the nutrition labels carefully helps guide healthy choices, but comparing calories per serving, servings per dollar, and so on can be confusing and time-consuming. To help make your shopping trip a little less daunting, I’ll list my must-have kitchen staples and diet-friendly brands.

(FF = fat free)

Meats/Seafood/Protein

• Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts or Cutlets (I buy them whenever they are on sale, keep one or two packages in the refrigerator for the week and freeze the others)
• Ground Turkey (same deal with buying them on sale and freezing some)
• Frozen shrimp
• Imitation Crab
• Swanson White Premium Chunk Chicken Breast in Water (for easy, quick chicken salad)
• Starkist Chunk Light Tuna in Water
• Boca or Morningstar Ground “Beef” or “Sausage” (great for throwing into marinara sauce for a quick and healthy meat sauce for pasta) 
• Morningstar Veggie Sausage Patties
• Gardein Beefless Tips (found in the frozen section, usually near the Morningstar and Boca products. SOOO good stir-fried with broccoli and soy sauce)
• Boca Original Vegan Burger (This version is much lower in calories and fat than the All-American or Flame-Grilled variety)
• Morningstar Spicy Black Bean Burgers  and California Turk’y Burgers 
• Lite Firm or Extra Firm Tofu 

 
Produce

• Portable fruits – apples, bananas, pears
• Spinach – always in my fridge for salad bases and omelettes
• Dipping veggies – carrots, celery, green peppers, raw broccoli (if you want to save some time buy the prepared veggies in the produce section, otherwise save some moo-lah and wash/cut your own) Great with FF sour cream mixed with ranch seasoning.
• Seasonal fruits and veggies – get what’s in season for best flavor and best price!

 

Refrigerated Items

• Milk – FF Milk, Westsoy FF Plain Soymilk, Blue Diamond Unsweetened Almond Milk
• Yogurt – Dannon Light & Fit (any flavor), Fiber One Yogurt (any flavor), Fage Total 0% Plain Greek Yogurt
• Egg Substitute (Store-brand is much cheaper than Egg-Beaters brand and has same taste/consistency)
• Tofu Shirataki Noodles (found in the produce section with the other soy/tofu products)
• Laughing Cow Light Cheese Wedges  (any light flavor, usually found on an aisle end, unrefrigerated with pepperoni)
• Kraft Fat Free Singles (any flavor)
• Kraft Fat Free Shredded Cheese (mozzarella or cheddar)
• FF cream cheese
• FF sour cream (Publix brand is cheaper and lower in calories)
• Jell-O Sugar-Free 60-Calorie Pudding Snacks (any flavor)
• I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter Fat Free Spread

Frozen Items

• Frozen Dinner Entrees (I looooove Kashi’s Chicken Florentine and Tuscan Veggie Bake, Morningstar’s Lasagna with Sausage-Style Crumbles is also great. Lean cuisine also has a large selection of diet-friendly entrees.
• Frozen Vegetables (chopped spinach, vegetable medleys, corn, peas)
• Green Giant Just for One Broccoli and Cheese Sauce
• Skinny Cow Ice Cream Sandwiches or Truffle Bars 
• FF Cool-Whip (the Publix brand tastes better!)

Carbohydrates

• Grains – Brown rice, Quinoa, Bulgur Wheat, Quick-Cooking Barley, Fiber-Gourmet Pasta
• Bread – Nature’s Own Double Fiber Wheat and 35-Calorie Honey Wheat 
• Crackers – Fiber Gourmet Wheat Snacks and Cheese Snacks (they are copy cats of wheat thins and cheez-its)
• Cereal (When it comes to cereal, I’m all about volume. Mix and match a puffed cereal with your favorite variety to get more cereal for less calories!) – Fiber One Original, Kashi 7 Whole Grain Puffs, Quaker Puffed Wheat, Kix
• Old Fashioned Rolled Oats (not instant)
• La Tortilla Factory Low Carb High Fiber Tortillas
• Portion-Controlled Snacks (Nabisco 100-Calorie Snacks, almonds, dried fruit, popcorn, etc)
• Snack Bars – Fiber One Bars  (Oats & Strawberries with Almonds, Oats & Peanut Butter are my favorites) South Beach Living Protein Fit Bars (any flavor, NOT the high calorie meal bars)

Pantry Items

• Beans (get the reduced sodium if its available) – Black beans, chick peas, kidney beans, cannellini beans, etc.
• Canned tomatoes – diced, crushed, stewed
• Salsa
• Light Soups – Progresso Light, Campbell’s Select Harvest 
• FF chicken broth
• Canned pumpkin - great as a substitute for oil while baking
• PB2 (Delicious 45-Calorie Peanut Butter!)
• Smucker’s Sugar Free Preserves
• Splenda, Granulated
• Coffee-Mate Sugar Free French Vanilla Powdered Creamer (not only great for flavoring coffee, but also wonderful for baking)
• Sugar-Free, Calorie-Free Syrups (Torani or Da Vinci Gourmet)
• Whole Wheat Flour
• Seasoning Packets (Hidden Valley Ranch, Taco Seasoning, Kikkoman fried rice and stir fry seasoning
• Light Salad Dressing – There are so many options, but Newman’s Own Lighten Up Low Fat Sesame Ginger Dressing is hands down the best low calorie salad dressing. I also really like Maple Grove’s FF Poppyseed Dressing 
• Non-stick Cooking Spray – Pam Olive Oil, Pam Butter Flavor
• Spices – Cumin, Chili Powder, Coriander, Cinnamon, Crushed Red Pepper, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Cayenne Pepper, Paprika, Oregano (most other herbs besides oregano are much better fresh)

In addition to a well-stocked refrigerator and pantry, a well-equipped kitchen allows for endless possibilities. Besides the obvious pots & pans, having a few of these more obscure items will undoubtedly allow you to get creative in the kitchen. I'll list just a few of the things I can't live without: blender and/or food processor, crock pot (easiest meals around), kitchen scale (though I don't measure while I cook, I do like to portion out snacks that easily get the best of me), microplane (for zesting), box grater, grill pan, muffin pan (for portion-controlled mini meatloaves!), and ice cube tray (for flavored ice cubes). If your collection of kitchen supplies is not up to par you can get cheap brand-name utensils and appliances at places like Home Goods or Tuesday Morning.

This list is just a sample of some of my favorite and most-used ingredients. Many of these ingredients have a long shelf life, so if you stock up (when they are on sale preferably) you can have healthy ingredients on hand at all times. Having instant access to just a few ingredients will allow you to mix and match to create a simple, healthy meal whenever hunger strikes.

If you have a product you love to incorporate into your healthy lifestyle share with the rest of us! Leave a description of what your favorite product is and why you like it in the "Comments" of this post.

Tip: Most grocery stores have weekly specials posted on their websites. Look up what’s on sale at your local store before shopping to avoid missing a sale on your favorite ingredients.