Get Smart Get Strong

Create Your Food List

In the previous chapter I talked about menu planning and how we’ve simplified it so that we are planning 1 breakfast, 2 snacks and 7 dinners each week instead of 42 meals. Before we get to the menu plan, we need to build a food list. For the last two years, I’ve researched foods that are high in nutrition and created a list that forms the basis for our weekly menu plans and shopping lists:

Meat & Seafood:

• Chicken
• Turkey – whole and ground
• Bison/Buffalo
• Fatty fish (salmon, tuna)
• Other fish (trout, tilapia, cod, halibut, etc)
• Shellfish (shrimp, mussels, clams, oysters)

Veggies:

Once we choose a protein, we pick a vegetable or two to complement it:

• Asparagus
• Artichokes
• Avocado
• Broccoli
• Carrots
• Cauliflower
• Celery
• Red, yellow and orange peppers
• Onions
• Sweet potato
• Zucchini, summer squash
• Tomatoes
• Mushrooms

Starches and Starchy Vegetables:

After the surgery, these stopped being the bulk of my diet, but I still have a few bites every day.

• Potatoes – try red bliss, fingerlings and small new potatoes for a change of pace
• Brown Rice
• Whole Wheat Pasta
• Whole Grain/Multigrain Breads
• Squash: try Acorn, Butternut or Spaghetti Squash

Fresh Herbs:

• Dill
• Parsley
• Rosemary
• Basil
• Thyme
• Sage

Fruit:

• Apples
• Apricots -  fresh or dried
• Banana
• Cantaloupe
• Cranberries
• Lemons
• Mangos
• Oranges
• Raspberries
• Blueberries
• Strawberries

Dairy:

• Milk – lactaid milk
• Eggs – omega 3
• Buttermilk
• Greek Yogurt (Fage % is a great brand)
• Non-fat sour cream
• Ricotta

Grocery:

• Beans: Black, Kidney, White, Navy, Black-eye peas, etc
• Nuts: Peanuts, Almonds, Walnuts, etc
• Honey
• Quinoa
• Steel Cut Oats
• Tea
• Coffee
• Cinnamon
• Dark Chocolate
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Ezekiel sprouted sesame bread (freezer section)
• Splenda