I don't like grocery shopping. If you're not a nutritionist but you want to eat healthy, navigating the aisles at the supermarket can be a chore of wandering and reading labels attempting to get an idea of which foods are good options to take home and eat for the coming week or two.
Because I dislike grocery shopping so much, I'm always looking for foods I can buy in bulk and try to eat daily or every other day that will be optimally nutritional. Here are five of my favourites, along with a few ideas on how to prepare them to mix up your dishes.
1. Black Beans
I've mentioned this before, but beans are one of the diet staples mentioned as being common across societies with the greatest number of citizens who reach 100 years of age. That's a testament to how good they are for you.
They are great for your heart like most beans and are loaded with antioxidants, fibre, and protein. They are also versatile. Eat them in wraps and burritos, on salads, or blend them into a dip or spread for sandwiches.
Better yet they can be bought and stored dry so you can supply for months on end if you have a large enough airtight container.
2. Berries
Berries are great. Packed with antioxidants and fibre, but way more delicious than beans. The problem for me here is that I don't want to go to the store all the time, and berries spoil quickly. If you want to eat these daily, my recommendation is to get the giant Costco bag of frozen mixed berries. You can also get them dried but they're a bit more spendy.
Blend them into smoothies, make jam out of them, or heat them in the microwave and eat them with a bit of cream, shooting for a cup of berries a day can be an amazing addition to your diet, and one that actually tastes good too.
3. Carrots
Easy to store, and they keep well, carrots pack a nutritional punch that is thought to help reduce the risk of cancers, asthma and arthritis. Pick up a package of normal carrots (pro tip: 'baby' carrots are just normal carrots shaved down, stop spending the money on them), and keep them in the fridge.
You can add shredded carrot to salads, eat them with a light dip (or solo if you just love carrots), or make a healthy carrot cake. Don't be afraid to microwave them either, carrots can actually be made more nutritional and gain antioxidants during the microwaving process.
4. Greek Yogurt
You've already probably heard all about how healthy Greek Yogurt is since it's invaded the US. It's one of the healthier gas station snack you can get, and it has tons of protein with little to no fats and sugars if you buy unsweetened versions. If you can, get Skyr, the Icelandic version of strained yogurt, which is even more packed with protein.
Greek yogurt and skyr both are more versatile than one might think. They make a great breakfast with oats and berries, a great desert with mixed fruit, a great spread on sandwiches, as well as a killer dip for veggies or chips. Sriracha and greek yogurt is a delicious and healthy blend with a kick.
5. Spinach
Well obviously. Popeye knew what he was talking about. Rich in plant based omega-3s, folate, and lutein to help your body in a variety of ways including decreased muscle degeneration and reduced risk of osteoporosis, stroke, and heart disease.
Spinach is great with eggs, in salads, in dip, or just tossed in and blended with a smoothie. Try to eat at least one cup per day.
This one is going to be the one to keep you going to the store the most frequently, as it spoils rather quickly, but while you're back at the store you can pick up a new variety of fruits and veggies to complement your new daily staples.
Or just buy canned or frozen spinach and stick to avoiding the grocery store like the plague.
