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.

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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)

• Cassava wraps (not a grain, technically, but provides same function)

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

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)

• Hummus

• Butter (we like Kerrygold, if not something local)

• Frozen berries (for smoothies)

MISC. PANTRY

• Flackers (I love to chop and put on salads)

• Simple Mills crackers

• Dang coconut chips

• 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)