Greetings from Traverse City Michigan!!! We were supposed to be going to West Virginia for our summer family vacation, but it was hard to fit it in with everyones schedule… so we decided to move that trip to next summer. Instead, we opted for a quick trip to Northern Michigan, which is always beautiful in the summer time! So, after a five hour car ride, we arrived at our vacation rental home in Traverse City Michigan, which is located right on one of Michigan’s beautiful lakes!
When we got in the house, I was thrilled to see the fully equipped kitchen and grill, because one of my favorite things to do on vacation is cook huge meals for my whole family to enjoy! Most people would love to eat out every meal while they’re on vacation, but if given the choice my family and I would almost always ‘rather’ eat home-made meals!
Don’t get me wrong, we like to eat out as a family, and we do consider it a ’special treat’ especially when we’re on vacation. However, one thing we’ve found is that it can be much more difficult to find healthy options that taste as good as the food we can make at home! (Plus I actually enjoy to cook~ I know big surprise!)
One of the first things we did when we arrived here was hit the grocery store to plan out our meals for the week! We started by talking about how many days we would like to eat out, and planned for the rest of the meals at home.
Considering that we were attempting to fill a truly empty fridge, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to share what some ‘essential foods’ are that I almost always stock up on during the week! As with any trip I take, I almost always bring my own protein powder, stevia, protein bars, and a few other essentials that I know that I won’t be able to find at the grocery store.
I will also note that this is not an ‘entire’ compilation of what we put in our cart, as that would make for a LONG post! However, it is more of a list of products that I have found that are ‘healthier’ choices to many frequently bought items at a traditional grocery store. I also included some tips that I’ve found make grocery shopping for living healthy simpler!
That being said I didn’t include pictures of ‘the basics’ such as fresh fruits and veggies, milk, eggs, cottage cheese, etc.!
Now off to the grocery store we go!!!
The first thing I stock up on when I enter any grocery store are fresh fruits and vegetables. I try not to buy too much, so I tend to ‘under purchase’ these items, unless I have an exact idea of how I will use them. That way I can re-stock during the week to get the freshest produce, and I never have to throw food away!
Some things that I love to stock up on in the produce section are ‘Pre-Sliced’ Veggies. Items like pre-sliced onions make meal planning that much simpler when you’re hungry and trying to cook up a quick and healthy meal! I’ve found that they tend to be a bit more expensive, but I figure it all tends to even-out after I buy things on sale, or save using coupons…And it all ends up meaning less time prepping meals when your hungry! Totally worth it in my opinion!
I almost always get pre-washed and cut lettuce for the exact same reason. There are just some things that are worth a few ‘extra cents’ to save big amounts of time in my opinion! I love Shredded Lettuce for Mexican style meals!
Grated Parmesan Cheese is an ESSENTIAL to me when it comes to making veggies taste good! To find out how I use parmesan cheese to make The Tastiest Veggies Ever check out This Video Post!
I almost always buy Reduced Fat Dairy Products, especially when it comes to Cheese. Unless of course it’s already a ‘lower fat’ cheese such as Feta, Mozzerella, or Parmesan.
Center Cut Bacon is one of the best cuts of bacon! It’s lean, but you could never tell by the taste!
I almost always buy Lean Ground Beef, or Lean Ground Turkey, however, the grocery store we went to only had Ground Chicken. It has all the same nutritional stats as ground tukey, and my family and I were delighted with how moist and flavorful our burgers turned out! I’ll be buying this more often for sure!
I love buying the Family Packs of Chicken Breasts! Even if you don’t eat them all for one meal, they are almost always a better deal, and I love to make the whole batch at once anyway. That way I have cooked chicken breasts on hand for salads and other meals during the week!
I love this Honey Smoked Turkey Lunchmeat. I know lunchmeats out of a package aren’t the best, and I try to go to the deli, but in this case the deli was closed, so if I need to get a pre-packaged deli meat, this is one of my favorites! You can have 6 slices for just 50 calories!
These Light English Muffins ROCK! I use them to make my Healthy Breakfast Sandwiches, and my hubby never knows the difference! When I buy bread I always look for at least 4-5 grams of fiber, and 100 calories or less per slice!
La Tortilla Wrap Bread is by far my favorite brands of wrap bread. I use it when I make Mexican food as a tortilla, and for wrap sandwiches. It is loaded with fiber and protein, and has 100 calories or less per wrap, and it tastes awesome!
I always buy Fat Free Coffee Creamer, which is typcially about 15-24 calories per tablespoon. Otherwise your usually looking at somewhere between 30-50 calories per tablespoon for the regular kinds, and trust me that adds up quick!!!
For Greek Yogurt my favorite brands by far are Fage and Oikos. I usually buy the plain 0% kind, but if you want to buy ones with fruit, this Oikos Strawberry Yogurt is the best choice as far as sugar/calorie content goes (it has 12g of sugar per yogurt). Just be sure that the sugar content isn’t more than 10-12 grams per yogurt, or else I hate to tell you…but it really isn’t even a ‘healthy choice’ at that point!
I love to eat these Fiber One Yogurts frozen! I microwave them for 30 seconds right before I eat them, and they taste like ice cream! I like the Strawberry and Key Lime Pie flavors the best!
I almost always buy Fat Free Whip Cream, and Regular Whip Cream… It’s only 5-15 calories per serving, and low in sugar…Anything that makes frozen strawberries taste like a dessert for a few extra calories is fine by me! 
Sugar Free Pudding Mix is an essential for sure! Like I’ve said in the past, I try not to use too many sugar free products, (which is why I use stevia), but this is one product I use just a ‘little dash’ of in my protein shakes, and it makes them taste like a Dreamy Creamy Milkshake!
I’m always researching the latest granola bars, comparing the sugar/calorie content. It’s amazing how much they can differ! As a general rule, I try to look for bars that are 120 calories or less per bar, and have 5 grams of sugar or less. Bars that have Fiber and Protein are always a bonus!
Reduced Sugar Chewy Bars are always great in my book…
As well as these Fiber Plus Bars! I love the coconut flavor bars, they taste like a samoa girlscout cookie!
Whole Grain Cereals are always great to have on hand as a snack! I like to measure out single servings and place them in ziplock bags. That way they are ready to pair with a Greek Yogurt for a quick snack, and I know I won’t be tempted to over-eat…which with cereal can be easy to do!
I like this new Fiber One Honey Square Cereal. It only has 80 calories per serving, and is loaded with fiber to keep you full! In general, be sure to look for cereals with calories under 120 per 1 cup serving, and a fiber content of at least 4-5 grams per serving!
I love Terriaki Sauce for multiple reasons… It’s great to mix with ground meat to make Terriaki Burgers, to marinate chicken breasts in, and it tastes great on veggies! Just be sure to check the calories and sugar content! This La Choy Brand only has 20 calories and 3 grams of sugar per serving!
Kraft has a lot of great ‘lower calorie’ dressings that taste wonderful! I perfer this Light Balsamic Dressing, because you can use it in so many ways! I like to pick dressings that have 50 calories or less per serving as a general rule.
I LOVE this Newman’s Own Peach Salsa! It adds so much flavor to any Mexican Dish, as well as a touch of sweetness!
I just love Frozen Veggies, they’re a great time saver, and taste great when broiled on a baking sheet for about 15 minutes! Plus, they never go bad!
Frozen Strawberries are an absolute essential to me! I eat them like a dessert with a touch of stevia and whip cream, and sometimes I add some chopped nuts! I’m telling you they are almost as good as an ice cream sundae!
If you want to buy a ligher ice cream, Edy’s Slow Churned Flavors are wonderful! They are generally less than 150 calories per serving, and they have all of the same creamy and rich flavors as a regular ice cream! This Samoas Flavor is one of my favorites!
And, last buy not least, bottled water. I find it so helpful to have cold bottled water on hand, and I love to mix it up with a squirt of lemon juice, and a stevia packet to make my own ’sugar free lemonade’. I also love the all of the new water flavors made with stevia!
I hope you found this “Grocery Shopping Essentials” post helpful! Be sure to stay tuned for another Daily Dish Post from my Traverse City vacation soon!!!
