Fluffy Girl's Grocery List

I've had lots of fluffy followers tell me that they don’t know what to buy at the grocery store or what to cook at home to help them stay on track. I’m often asked for suggestions of good snack foods or staples to keep on hand to help them stay on track.
Believe it or not, I do not live on lettuce and water. I love to eat, enjoy cooking, and live on a very tight budget. So when I shop for groceries, I make sure that I’m intentional with what I place in my basket. I try not to put things in my basket unless:

1. I know that it is a needed ingredient for a specific meal or recipe. I try to think of at least two meals that I want to make over the next two weeks. That way, I’m purposeful with my time in the store and with my budget.
   
2. The likelihood of it going bad, spoiling, or being wasted is low.
   
3. I find a new product that looks beneficial to my health and tasty. Some of the best products in my pantry were items I found by accident in the store. (NOTE: I read the labels carefully!)

So here is a list of staples that I make sure to always have in my pantry and fridge. I made this as complete as possible and included as many categories as I could. Maybe this will help you save some money, lose some weight, and gain some healthy go-to foods for you and your family. (Note: My references to “store brand” refer to Kroger Stores.)

Drinks

• Decaffeinated tea bags – I’m not very good at drinking a lot of plain water. I’m a Southern girl in need of some sweet tea on a daily basis. With the WW plan, tea is zero points and counts as part of your daily fluid intake. I use zero calorie sweetener, which has helped me get my sweet fix and give up sodas. The decaffeinated bags let me drink all evening at home without keeping me up all night. Score!
  
• Crystal Light Hawaiian Punch – Great for a kick to water and a sweet fix on a hot afternoon.

Meat/Poultry

• Frozen chicken breasts – Since I live alone, I usually one need to cook one piece of chicken at a time. Buying frozen chicken, or fresh chicken on sale then freezing it, helps me keep healthy protein on hand without wasting food. Sometimes I buy the pre-cooked frozen chicken strips, too. They’re great to thaw out quickly and top a salad or add to a warp.
  
• Luncheon Meat – I usually choose a roasted turkey or lower fat ham. Be careful not to get the “honey baked” hams. Lots of extra sugar in those. Lunch meat is a great addition to salads, omelets, or wraps… not just for sandwiches anymore.
  

Condiments

• Light Ranch Dressing – Great for salad or dipping veggies, but I also dip my frozen pizzas or Lean Pockets in it to add a little more flavor.
  
• Salsa – I cannot stress this enough… BUY SALSA. Make sure you buy the kind that looks fresh and chunky, not paste based. Those have a lot of added sugars. If you get the kind that looks to be mostly veggies, it’s zero points on WW. I use it to top salads, add to wraps, dip my sandwiches, you name it. Adds flavor without a lot of sodium, sugar, or fat.
  

Dairy

• Sugar-free flavored coffee creamer – My store brand French vanilla is wonderful. It has enough flavor and sweetness that I don’t have to add extra sweetener to my coffee. Plus, I use mostly creamer and a little coffee, and this creamer is still only 1 point.
  
• ½-1% milk – If you’re a whole milk drink like I was, don’t freak out. Wean yourself down to the lower percentage milk. I still can’t stand to drink skim milk. I’d rather pour water on my cereal than use that stuff!
  
• Country Crock Light Margarine
  
• 2% shredded cheese

Cereal

• Lower Sugar Maple and Brown Sugar Instant Oatmeal – My store brand is awesome and tastes better than the Quaker brand.
  

Bakery/Chips

• Tostitos Baked Scoops Tortilla Chips – Great way to get a crunchy fix. Plus, a serving is 15 chips. Regular tortilla chips are only 12 for a serving. I’m all about the extra chips!
  
• Ole Brand High Fiber/Low Carb Wheat Tortillas – My brother turned me onto these. They taste great, are only 1 point each, and FILL YOU UP! Be careful if you buy regular wheat tortillas. My store was out of the Ole brand, so I quickly grab a low-fat wheat version. When I got home and did the WW math, they were 3 points each! Not cool.
  
• Sara Lee Soft & Smooth® 100% Whole Wheat Bread – Tastes great and is a low point value.

Fruits/Veggies

• Garlic – A great way to add flavor to recipes without adding sodium from seasonings.
  
• Lettuce or Bagged Salad
  
• Frozen mixed fruit – I’ve found large bags of chopped mixed fruit in my store brand or in the Great Value brand. I get a bigger variety of fruit, and it lasts longer. Great for smoothies, but I typically just top a bowl of it with fat-free cool whip.
  
• Frozen chopped onions and bell peppers – A quick and easy add to recipes when I’m in a rush and don’t have time for all the chopping. Okay, so the truth is, I’m a lazy cook.
  
• Frozen carrots and other veggies – Ziplock makes steamer bags, so having a quick side dish of veggies is easy. It’s also nice to add veggies to a pasta dish or other recipes to bulk up the veggie side of life.

Other Frozen

• Fat-Free Whipped Topping – Sweet fix that is zero points (unless you eat a lot… which I have… I’m not ashamed to say that… really… you try to eat just a little… you can’t do it… don’t judge me.) It’s really helped my ice cream and dessert cravings. I throw it on top of fruit or add it to a smoothie.
  
• Birds Eye Viola! Three Cheese Chicken Pasta Skillet – This is a frozen pasta dish that is yummy! It has pasta, chicken, and veggies in it, so it’s really healthy. I add even more frozen veggies to it so that I can eat more without losing points. Just 5 points for a cup cooked. Nice! This also comes in a family size at some stores. Some of the other flavors are more points, so be sure to check before you buy.
  
• Lean Pockets
  
• Smart Ones, Lean Cuisine, or Healthy Choice dinners – I make sure to keep some at the office so I technically have no excuse for eating out at lunch! Great when I run low on points for the day and still have a meal to eat.

This fluffy girl stays well fed! I also have plenty of variety in my menu with mix and match ingredients. However, if you find a yummy option that I should add to my grocery list, please share!

Hope this helps!

Faithfully, fluffully His,

Fast Meat and Vegetable Meal for Single Girls on the Go

So I played around in the kitchen this week and made something super easy and super yummy. This one should be good for Weight Watchers folks or low carb lovers. This one is easy, and you can swap out whatever veggies you like with your meat or as your side. Add a salad, too, and you have a feast! If you have family and want to extend it further, double the amounts of veggies and/or meat and add some multi-grain bread to the table.

MEAT

• 1 lb. of either extra lean ground beef or ground turkey
• 1 packet of ranch dressing seasoning (dry)

Mix together then either make into measured patties or brown in a pan as is. (I left mine loose and chunky to brown instead of patties cause it fills my plate up more. Tricking my brain!)

VEGGIES to Mix in with Meat

• 1 cup of diced onions
• 1 cup of diced bell peppers (I found some already diced onions and bell peppers in the frozen food section. Score!) 
• 1 cup of chopped mushrooms (I used canned mushrooms. Zero prep time, just open and drain.)

I sauteed everything in a pan with Pam cooking spray. Salt/pepper/season to taste, but don't ruin it with too much sodium. I added lots of black pepper and dried minced garlic. After I measured out my meat serving, I mixed in tons of the veggie mix. If you choose to make patties, top the patty with the veggie mix or make it a bed for the patty.

VEGGIE to have on the side

• 1 steamable bag of asparagus or other veggie - NOT the ones with sauce in them. (I shop at Kroger and found a whole section of fresh veggies in steamable bags with zero sauces or seasonings. Cheap, too, and great for out-of-season veggies. Loving my bags of asparagus right now!)

Stick steam bag in microwave a few minutes before your meat and veggies are finished and yummo!

For WW folks, my meat cooked up to about 13 oz., so I split into a 6 oz. serving and a 7 oz. serving. Since I didn't add a salad to my meal, I kept my meat portions large, one for dinner and one as a leftover for the next day. Depending on the meat you choose, it's roughly 9-11 points. That's a lot of meat, but I am a country girl who likes her meat! If you add a salad, too, I suggest dropping to a 3 or 4 oz serving of meat. That will stretch the whole meal, too.

WHY I LIKE IT:

1. My veggies didn't cost me any points cause I didn't add butter or oil! This stuffs me full without making me miserable. I used asparagus both times I made it, so I got tons of fiber, too. DOUBLE WHAMMY!
2. Since I used mostly used pre-chopped items and the steamable bag, the whole thing took me about 15-20 minutes start to finish, including boxing up the half for leftovers to take to work the next day. Super easy and saved me from eating out and absorbing extra preservatives and calories. Saved my $$$, too.
3. Standing up to cook for a few minutes when I get home from work makes me less likely to plop onto the couch for the whole evening. Any movement is better than no movement at all!
4. The ranch dressing packet gives tons of flavor to the meat without adding points to my WW program. NICE!
5. My leftovers look fancier than they really are when I pull them out at the office. Having nice green spears of asparagus on top of beautifully seasoned meats and veggies looks pretty, gosh darn it!

If you play around with this idea and find something yummy, let me know!

Faithfully, fluffully yours,