Grocery List Tips + Snack Ideas

Bryan and I get asked a lot about our typical grocery list and what kinds of healthy snacks we keep around the house or tuck in our lunches. Planning our weekly meals and snacks definitely takes some dedicated time and thinking ahead, but in the end that is what keeps us in check when it comes to fueling our bodies and not spending extra $$ on eating out during the week. I thought it might be fun to share tips on creating a grocery list, a list of pantry essentials, and the most popular healthy snacks around our house. 

Grocery List Tips

I have found it is close to impossible to fill my fridge and pantry with healthful foods without a little extra time and thinking. If I walk into my local Jewel or Mariano’s and I do not have a list, I am doomed from the start. I will undoubtedly forget something or come home with an especially large container from the trail mix bar (I am a sucker for M&Ms and banana chips).

• MAKE the list
  • It’s a little intuitive, but in order to have a successful trip, you actually have to MAKE the list, the FULL list- not just the ingredients for one meal you’re going to make that week. Bryan and I have found we are most successful when we dedicate thirty minutes to an hour on Saturday nights or Sunday mornings to figuring out what we want for the following week and looking up delicious things to make for dinner. I usually plan for three dinner type meals that make for good lunch leftovers. Two of those meals I try and keep a little simpler (like a whole wheat pasta with chicken sausage or caesar salad wraps) and for another I like to try a little more involved recipe (one of our favorites is a Weight Watcher recipe for Cheeseburger Soup and we pair it with warm pretzel rolls). 
• Be Realistic
  • When making your list, be realistic about what your week looks like. Hubs and I always compare schedules and if we find that we are both only going to be home together one night that week or are just generally going to be on-the-go that week, maybe you plan to make one of your meals a large Sunday Crockpot soup so that you have leftovers for a few days or make couple pounds of shredded chicken to quickly throw on salads. Don’t plan on trying a new pot roast and roasted veggie recipe if you won’t be home more than an hour at a time. 
• Take Notes
  • If you see or hear of a recipe on Wednesday, but don’t have time to gather the groceries or make it until the following Sunday or Monday, write it down! We all have phones we can keep reminders in and websites like Pinterest have made this aspect incredibly easy. I often hear colleagues talk about recipes they have made and thought “that sounds good!” but forget simply forget to ask for it or I just let it sit in my e-mail inbox. 
• Use a Fun Paper!
  • This may sound incredibly silly, but I have recently enjoyed setting aside some small colorful cardstock to make my lists on. I might be a little old fashioned in that I like writing things down whenever possible and avoiding my phone (Hubs hates that I still use a physical planner I can write in as opposed to using a Google calendar and that I write my lists down instead of creating a note in my phone), but it’s worked for me. I’m a little more motivated to sit down and make my list if there’s a little pop of color involved. I also enjoy Papersource’s endless supply of cute note pads. Here is a ‘market list’ pad by Rifle Paper Co. that I have used in the past.

Pantry Essentials

Just last week I actually found myself telling my husband “I’m out of literally everything and have no idea what to make for dinner”. By Thursday night, we had made everything I planned for and actually used all the leftovers (we’re training for races and recently we are hungry ALL the time). I am not lying when I said our fridge was literally EMPTY besides a defrosted package of chicken, carrots, an egg, and some grapes. I told him to go on his run and I would figure something out. I dug through my REALLY messy pantry and figured I could find something to do with that chicken. Lo and behold, I found an unopened tin of whole wheat bread crumbs I didn’t know I had. Between the few veggies I had and the chicken with breadcrumbs, I decided to make some Chipotle Chili Chicken Tenders with a small caesar salad on the side. It was probably the least planned meal ever but ended up being one of my favorites last week. 

With all of this said, it’s important to have a few essentials in your pantry for those nights when you want to avoid going out to eat but may have run out of ideas. Here is a list of what I always make sure to keep on hand!

Easy and Healthy Snacking

I am definitely a snacker. In fact, I would much rather snack consistently throughout the day than eat a few full meals. I find that having smaller portions when it comes to meals and a few good snacks throughout the day keeps me more energized and feeling full. In addition to planning what we will need for meals throughout the week, Bryan and I always make sure to add plenty of snacks to the list. We usually have a lengthy list of them because Bryan is more of a sweet snacker and I am a salty snacker. Since I began Weight Watchers almost seven years ago, I have developed a lengthy list of go-to’s when it comes to snacking that don’t pack extra points/calories. 

By setting aside a little time each week, your pantry, refrigerator, and tummy will be full and you will have far less stress when it comes to choosing what to eat. I hope that you can use some of these suggestions but I also reccomend making your own list of favorite snacks or essentials to keep in the house.

What do you do to prepare for a weekly shopping trip? What are your favorite lunchtime snacks?