One of the most common questions I receive from friends and family surrounding the topic of plant-based diet has always been “What do you buy at the grocery each week?” Using the basis of these conversations as inspiration, I thought it would be helpful to share my top 12 weekly staple items for those wanting to make a change toward cleaner eating and healthy lifestyle! These routinely get tossed in the shopping basket during my Whole Foods trips and will be especially helpful if you are new to navigating natural retailers. Personally, for big weekly stock-up trips, I recommend visiting Whole Foods (over Sprouts or Trader Joe’s) as they have the widest selection available of local and fresh produce.
Side Note: I always ONLY buy ORGANIC. Always, always, always. I won’t go into a long saga about why to eat and shop organically, but if you’re not convinced, just google “rats GMO study.” I don’t want my food chemically messed with, I’ll leave it at that!
Ok, without further ado,
TOP 12 WEEKLY GROCERY BASKET ITEMS:
Sulfite Free Wine
Usually red but I’ll throw in a pinot grigio or prosecco as well! Always read the back of ingredient labels on wine to see if sulfites occur. You do not want these little guys swimming around as studies support they are what heavily contribute to hangovers.
Kale
Love me some kale. Seriously, I could eat it everyday for the rest of my life. This is a great dark leafy green to start out with given it’s popularity rise over recent years and versatility for use raw in salads or steamed for other recipes.
Bananas
Easy one, right? I primarily will freeze these and use for morning smoothie recipes or slice them up and put on toast with some sort of nut butter.
Avocado
Being vegan, I often turn to avocado for a source of healthy fat. I usually eat about half of one per day. I’ll toss in a green smoothie, slather on toast or in a tortilla, and of course throw on top of my nightly salad!
Celtic Sea Salt
Trash your refined, iodized, and highly processed table salt for this healthy, mineral-rich alternative!
Freshly Ground Almond or Cashew Butter
This is my daily go-to snack paired with an apple! You can find the freshly ground version available in the bulk section of the store.
Nut Milk
Coconut, almond, cashew, pecan, and flax! There are so many options available to help you test out making the switch from traditional dairy cow’s milk.
Lentil Pasta
This also has recently become quite popular on the health food band wagon. Basically, lentils (a type of legume) are taken and ground into flour, then made into the shape of traditional pastas.
Hummus
Can’t get enough of it. Great to snack on with veggies or put in sandwiches/wraps!
Sprouted Quinoa
I make a big batch of quinoa each week and keep in the fridge for quick lunches or dinners!
Sprouted Corn Tortillas
You’ll see a pattern that I always try to buy “sprouted” bread products when available. This buzzword basically just means it’s the healthiest bread option available and the brands that offer this are typically in the refrigerated or frozen section of the store.
Paper Goods
Toilet paper/paper towels. I know, you may think this is where the “Whole foods, whole paycheck” joke really comes into play, but it’s actually quite the opposite! I only purchase chemical-free household cleaning and personal care products. Specifically, I wanted to include paper goods here because it’s often something you don’t ever put much thought into buying. At Whole Foods, they are relatively cheap, recycled, and most importantly do not contain any chlorine, bleach, etc, etc, etc. Who wants to use chemical laden paper on their hands or worse, down below? Not me!
A couple other easy, last minute tips: I try to avoid highly processed foods and anything with sugar or other shady ingredients listed on the labels. I hope this will help you get your feet wet and familiarize yourself with simple, healthy kitchen staples! Would you guys like to see some of my favorite brands that go along with this list? I’m here to do the research for ya so let me know what you want to see!
Cheers and happy healthy shopping.
xoxo, Dani
photos via The Retro Pengin
Would love to see your fav beanda + another round of staple grocery items;) ?
Would love to see your fav bRands + another round of staple grocery items;) ?
Yay ok cool will do!!! So helpful to hear what people want to see/hear about!
Thanks dani
I CHECKED my refrigErator and can say i am off to a great start for the new year. I found your blog helpful and will definitely add a few new items to my weekly grocery list. I will share with friwnds and famiLy. Keep writitng please. If you have specIfic brands you revommend that will make my shopping A no brainer!!
Yay thanks so much for reading and passing along!! I will definitely be adding brands then as a follow up- it’s so helpful to hear what people want to see! 🙂
Thanks for the healtY Go To Shopping List. Any SUggestions for thosE With a sweet tooth.
Hi!! For sure! I have SO many sweet tooth recommendations haha! For dessert lately I’ve been freezing bananas, then taking them out and mashing one like ice-cream in a small bowl/coffee cup and then adding a little very dark chocolate on top with a tablespoon or so of almond butter! 🙂
I’m so glad to have informaTion like to be able to lead a healthier lifesTyle! Thank you!
Yay so glad you read! Thanks, Sally!! 🙂
Hi Dani, Im going to be following you. Id love to learn mOre about how you cook and eat. And, yes, id like to see Your fav BRANDS AND items. Thanks for doing all of the research. Happy blogging,
Hi! Thank you so so much! So happy you read the posts and the feedback is seriously SO helpful to know what people are interested in hearing about- I will definitely be adding my favorite brands soon! Thank you again! 🙂
Thank yOu so much! Loved this information, especially
About the papeR goods. I concentrate on healthy foods Going in my body, But Not always what I am using on my body.
Hi! Thank you so much for reading- means so so much to me!! So glad it was interesting for you! 🙂