The weekend is a perfect time to get your food shopping done and meals prepared for the week. This way when your busy during the week you can have quick, healthy to-go meals. Here are some tips of healthy choices to make on your next shopping trip.
To buy list:
Carb List= Veggies/Fruits: you can buy organic and non-organic please refer to the dirty dozen list!
Veggies:
- Peppers: green, orange & yellow- purchase organic
- Mixed Greens
- Onions
- Mushrooms
- Asparagus
- Brussel Sprouts
- Spinach
- String bean-purchase organic
- Broccoli
- sweet Potato
Pretty much anything “Green” or in season buy!
Fruits:
- Berries (any kind of berries)
- Banana
Sugars:
- Raw honey found at Traders Joe
- 100% Organic Maple Syrupy found at Trader Joe’s
Good Fats (Saturated fats are key)
- Avocado
- Nuts: any kind except peanuts (peanuts are not nuts, they are legumes). Make sure your nuts are Organic and Raw. If you love peanut butter you can use Almond butter as a substitute but not too much of it because it is high in OMEGA 6’s, I would stick to walnuts which are higher in Omega 3 make sure they are organic. Another great nut is Macadamia nut .
1. Macadamia nuts at the best choice, found at Trader Joe’s
2. Walnuts Found at Trader Joe’s
3. Almond Butter found at Trader Joe’s
4. Almond Flour: can be used instead of bread crumbs but coconut flour is the better option.
Store bought almond meal is frequently made with blanched almonds- almonds that have had the skins removed. I like to use almonds with their skins on because the skin contains healthy antioxidants.
Make your own!
- Place 1/2 cup whole, unbleached almonds in a clean electric coffee bean grinder.
- Put the lid on the coffee bean grinder and pulse several times until a medium-fine textured meal forms. Don’t over-grind or you will make almond butter!
- Put ground almond meal in a clean flour sifter. Sift almond meal. Place any large particles of almonds back in coffee bean grinder and pulse again. Sift re-remaining almond meal.
- That’s it. Use any nut to make fresh, delicious nut meals using this simple technique.
- Always store almond meal in a labeled container in the refrigerator or freezer.
- Icelandic Butter or Kerry Gold Butter (does contain 3% GMO)
Great fat source and cooking your food, icelandic found 
in Whole Foods and Kerry gold unsalted found in Trader Joes or Whole Foods
COCONUT PRODUCTS! BEST OPTION! To use for cooking or as salad dressing or diary & grain substitute!
- Coconut oil to cook your food in medium heat so the fats don’t burn. You can purchase this at Tropical Traditions. If you can not spend the money right now Trader Joe’s also has coconut oil available.
2 Jars Green Label Organic Virgin Coconut Oil – 32 oz.
- Olive oil: use as salad dressing or on food for taste. Extra Virgin Olive Oil imported from GREECE found in Trader Joe’s. Best option purchased at Kasadrinos Imports.
- Coconut products: Coconut milk instead of regular Milk; found anywhere Bodega or Trader Joe’s, coconut flakes (baking) found at Whole Foods. Coconut milk comes from coconuts, but it’s not the liquid found inside the coconut. That’s the coconut water. On the tree, young coconuts are green, often the size and shape of bowling balls. At this stage, the liquid inside is sweet, and the flesh (meat) is gelatinous, the consistency of pudding. When the coconut matures to the “hairy brown rock-hard stage,” the meat inside also solidifies, and the coconut water turns bitter. Coconut milk is made by grating the solidified coconut meat, then squeezing it to extract the liquid. In the can, the solids separate; the thick cream floats to the top, and can be scooped off for recipes that call for coconut cream. Actual coconut cream is made by steeping coconut meat in milk. The thinner milk remains at the bottom. Shaking the can redistributes the creamy bits.
Coconut milk recipe:
- crack open and peel a ripe (hairy brown) coconut;
- Grate the white flesh;
- Place in a heat-proof bowl and cover with hot simmered (not boiling) water;
- Allow it to soak for 30 minutes or until cooled.
- Line a colander with cheesecloth, and pour the soaked coconut into it.
- Lift and twist the cheesecloth to squeeze out the coconut milk.
- Refrigerate until ready to use.
Almond milk (instead of milk): All of the almond milks that I have seen in the grocery store are filled with sugar, preservatives, and soy. Paleolithic nutrition does not allow soy or preservatives and is calls for low amounts of sugar. Making real paleo milk (almond milk) is easy and healthy.
Almond Milk
- Start with whole almonds and soak them overnight in water.
- Next day, blanch the almonds (dip in boiling water) and remove the skins (they come right off).
- Puree in blender with water and maybe some sweetener – maple syrup and vanilla extract if you like.
- Filter out the grit and you have almond milk. Easy!
- Just put them right into the blender with water and 1/2 a banana.
- More almonds and banana = thicker milk
- Eggs (pasture raised) found at Whole Foods or Farmers Market (make sure you ask the farmer if they are fed grass not grains).
- Grass fed Meats (Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods or Meat share from a farm)
- Wild Fish found at Trader Joe’s
- Chicken: Pasture raised chicken found at Whole Foods is your best option but if your in NY and it is not season then your second options is FREE RANGE Chicken found at Trader Joe’s
- Organic Nitrate free Deli Slices: Applegate is the best found at Trader Joe’s
- Bacon Organic uncured pork (nitrate free) found Shoppe rite Bacon – Sliced Lower Sodium *Best option to have without sugar
- Seasoning: Organic: garlic, red pepper, sea salt, pepper, thyme etc….
- Coco powder (found at Trader Joe’s) or 100% Ghirardelli-Chocolate Bar (for baking, found in whole foods)
For and even better shopping list please purchase Rich Food Poor Food by The Caltons.
Happy Shopping!
It's not just a diet! 