Healthy Staples For Whole Food Nutrition

Today I want to share with you the foods, snacks, and items that I always try to have on hand, to make living a healthy lifestyle easier! The FASTer Way To Fat Loss program focuses on whole food nutrition, and during a time that going to the grocery store can feel like a strategic mission, I wanted to share some must have staples to make your life easier. Continue reading for my favorite healthy staples for whole food nutrition.

The FASTer Way Blog continues to be an amazing resource for our community, and they’ve put together a fantastic post on items to have on hand for your freezer and pantry. I personally have quite a few of the items on hand listed in their blog post. I will link it below, however, continue reading for a list of my personal favorites!

Grains

-Whole grain rolled oats
-Brown rice (I love minute rice single serving cups for quick lunches or sides for myself)
-Quinoa
-Gluten free pasta (I love ancient grain brand from Sprouts as well as Barilla brand)

Canned Goods

-Beans (chickpea, black beans, and pinto beans)
-Chicken, beef, and vegetable broth (I also like to put any unused broth in bags and keep them in the freezer. I save them in 1 cup increments for easy use in recipes later. My grandma always told me that chicken broth is like liquid gold. It’s stuck with me all these years. :))
–nutpods creamers (good for coffee and also savory cooking – can substitute for half and half or heavy cream)
-Canned coconut milk or cream (again a good swap for heavy cream in recipes)
-Lemon juice & lime juice

Condiments & Sauces

-Mustard, Mayo, and Ketchup (Look for mayo varieties that are made with olive oil vs soybean oil.)
-Salsa (again look for kinds without sugar added, our family LOVES Mexican food and taco night happens weekly. Salsa is a great way to spice up your tacos, create a dressing for salads, or added to eggs to dress up breakfast.)
-Salad dressings. (Check this blog post for some of my favorites!)
-Honey, Pure Maple Syrup, Agave Syrup. (These are great natural sweetener options to add to granola, oatmeal, or coffee/tea.)
-Olive Oil, Coconut Oil, and Avocado Oil. I like the regular containers of these, plus I like the spray versions! Comes in handy when roasting veggies or needing to spray your pan before cooking.
-Marinara sauce (look for kinds with minimal ingredients + NO added sugar.) Thankfully, this has become more popular over the years so some of my favorite brands are Ragu Simply, Prego, Bertolli Rustic Cut, and Newmans Own)

Nuts, Seeds, & Spices

-Almonds, Pecans, Walnuts (Great for salads, making your own granola, or just to snack on.) These are packed with healthy fats & protein!
-Peanut Butter & Almond Butter (I love Target’s Good & Gather brand Natural peanut butter both creamy and crunchy version.)
-Chili Powder, Cumin, Garlic Powder, Italian Seasoning, Onion Powder, Cumin, Oregano, Paprika
I also love the McCormicks Garlic & Herb all purpose seasoning, and Everything But The Bagel seasoning.
-Coffee (LOTS of coffee! :))

Fruits & Veggies

During this crazy pandemic, any fruit or veggie option you can get your hand on is better than nothing. However, if you can, fresh is always the first option, with frozen being next best option, followed by canned goods.
-Favorite fruits include strawberries, raspberries, apples, grapes, blueberries, mango, bananas, and avocados.
-Favorite veggies include green beans, squash & zuchinni, peas, carrots, celery, cucumber, lettuce & spinach, regular and sweet potatoes, brussel sprouts, cauliflour rice, brocolli, bell peppers, onions, tomatoes and fresh garlic.

Meat/Fish/”Dairy”

-Ground venison (we hunt and process our own), chicken (I like whole chickens, chicken breast packs, or tenderloin packs), ground turkey & pork, beef (steaks & hamburgers), salmon, and shrimp.
-No sugar added sausages (Costco carries 2 great brands – Aidells & Jones Dairy Farm)
-Coconut Milk & Almond Milk
-Ghee

Pre-Packaged Foods

I try to keep our “processed foods” to a minimum, but there are times that you just want to grab something ready to eat! Here are some of my favorites.

-Lara Bars (minimal ingredients and most are sugar free, they are all dairy free and gluten free)
-Luna Bars (again minimal ingredients)
-Kind Bars
-100% Fruit Twists/Snacks (from both HEB and Target)
-Orville Naturals popcorn (or another simple ingredient popcorn)
-Gluten free pancake & waffle mix (My favorite is Birch Bender, King Arthur, & Pamela’s)
-Trail mix (Costco has a great mix with paleo chocolate chips)
-Vegan protein powder (GAINFUL is a good one, and I also love Sprouts brand)
-Collagen Peptides (I love Vitauthority) great way to add in protein if you are struggling to meet your macros.

Switching to a whole food nutrition lifestyle can feel intimidating, but I’m hoping this list of staples helps you feel less overwhelmed. It’s my mission to make it easier for you! I love sharing what I’ve learned, and you can find lots of inspiration on my Pinterest boards, as well as on my IG stories. To read the FASTer Way Blog click here. To sign up as a client for my next round of FASTer Way click here!