My Pantry Staples

Supposedly Benjamin Franklin said, "If you fail to plan, then you plan to fail." I don't know for sure if the quote is his, but who am I to argue with a $100 bill? ;)

Certainly, though, the easiest way to succeed at weight loss is by planning. It's when we fly by the seat of our pants that it's easy to fall back into our old, unhealthy patterns. Remember that it takes time to build new patterns to support the changes you're making in your life! Until then, take the few extra steps to plan out what you're going to eat and what you need to have on hand. It's worth the time investment! Nutrisystem helps by giving us the basic meals, but we need to have those healthy add ins ready to go! The easier you make the program, the more likely you'll be able to follow it.

First of all, identify anything that's your kryptonite. We all have some. What food absolutely can't be in your house otherwise you'll binge eat it or just can't stop nibbling at it? Mine is good quality chocolate. Fortunately, Nutrisystem does have pretty good chocolate bars, but I won't binge on those. If I have a bar of good chocolate in my nightstand, though- that's not going to be there long, and it's not going to help me succeed! So I don't buy things like that anymore.

So what should we be stocking our kitchens with, if we want to plan for success? I thought I'd share my tips for grocery and pantry items to give you some ideas while you find what works well for you. If you want to skip the long post and just have a quick look at my healthy pantry items shopping list on Amazon, that's right here! If you want to send me something off my list to support my journey, I'd greatly appreciate it.

Proteins:
Probably my favourite Powerfuel is Greek yogurt. It's loaded with protein, so it's filling, and it's so versatile. I can either buy it in different flavours and so keep changing it up, or I can buy it plain and cook with it or make dip with it. It makes it easy not to fall into a rut.

I also keep bags of preshredded cheese in my fridge. It makes it easy and convenient to measure out one serving of cheese, and when it's shredded, it looks and feels like you're getting a whole lot more compared to cutting slices. Cottage cheese and ricotta cheese are great choices as well, and they add really well to the pasta dishes if you save a Powerfuel for dinner.

Maple Leaf Ready Crisp bacon is another item I keep around. It's actually shelf stable until you open the package, it's real bacon, and it's only 30 calories per slice (or per tbsp, if you buy the bacon bits instead of slices). You can either use it as an extra, or a full or partial Powerfuel (BLT, anyone?). Bacon just perks up so many different recipes; stir it into your macaroni and cheese for some smoky flavour, or add it to the Loaded Potato with green onions. It's versatile, delicious, and will make you feel like you're not on a diet. I personally can't stand turkey bacon and why eat it when I can have the real thing?

I always keep tins of crabmeat and tuna in my cupboard as well. They make great Powerfuels (just make sure you check how much of a tin fits the guidelines) and flex lunches. I love crabmeat and have made several recipes with it- it's definitely a go-to for me.

I try and keep lots of lean proteins around as well. While I love dairy, it's better not to always use dairy as your protein because it does tend to be lower in protein than meat or meat substitutes. So my freezer will have individually portioned and frozen packages of fish, lean ground turkey or chicken, and veggie dogs. I also like to make my own meatballs and freeze them, for serving with pasta or on meatball sandwiches. Hard boiled eggs make great proteins as well, or I can fry them up in Pam spray and put them on the Nutrisystem 5 Seed Roll or the Honey Wheat Bagel. I do also like the Burnbrae Farms Egg Bakes, which means I can have a great breakfast ready in 90 seconds. I think they are much tastier than the Nutrisystem breakfast sandwiches, personally.

PB2 is another great Protein option to keep around, as it's much lower in fat than regular peanut butter and still tastes delicious.

Keep in mind you can also use the Nutrisystem Sweet & Tangy Meat Stick as a Powerfuel serving, as it fits the requirements (which makes it an odd snack, since a snack is supposed to be 1 PF + 1 SC, but there it is). I really like this if I'm looking for portable Proteins.

I don't personally like drinking my calories, so I am not a fan of the Nutrisystem shakes or any of the others. I know some people love them- my mother orders them every month. They're just not to my taste.

Low Glycemic Carbs:
I try to use fruit as frequently as possible for my SmartCarb servings, because they are much more nutritious choices than using grain products. I love berries in my yogurt, and many of my breakfast recipes include fruit. Just keep in mind portion sizes, because I have noticed people tend to shortchange themselves on fruit. Fruit is very low calorie, so make sure you enjoy it!

I also keep tinned beans and corn, for days where I want to make something like my Southwest Salad. Starchy vegetables (or proteins in the case of beans) are a great choice for SmartCarbs as they tend to be far more nutritious than grain products. I love butternut squash for example, and use it in a variety of different recipes. Sweet potatoes are delicious, too.

I keep Flatout flatbreads in the house to use when I do want a grain product. I like to make a huge wrap with the Nutrisystem BBQ Seasoned Chicken entrée (don't forget that you are required to add a SmartCarb to this meal as part of the entree!). I also sometimes like the Foldits as an occasional treat to make a sandwich with deli meat for my afternoon snack.

For flex breakfasts, I will sometimes buy the Thomas Bagel Thins or President's Choice Blue Menu bagels. I love them with PB2, or else with smoked salmon and a dab of cream cheese.

I don't like bread as much as wraps or bagels, but when I want to have something special like my Clubhouse Sandwich, I buy the Sara Lee Delights 45 calorie bread slices.

I don't often buy crackers because they're one of my trigger foods and I find them less than satisfying, but I know a lot of people do enjoy using crackers as a SmartCarb (as long as they're low glycemic and have fiber in them) along with cheese or deli meat or PB2 or something similar.

Whole wheat pasta is also a great choice, you just have to be very careful of serving size. I have a food scale in the kitchen and always weigh it out dry before I boil it to be sure I'm eating the correct portion. I like Catelli Smart pasta. They do make some fantastic high protein pastas, but they are incredibly expensive and don't fit into my grocery budget, unfortunately. If you have a chance to get those, I would definitely recommend them as long as they fit in terms of calories- just make sure to keep an eye on the portion because the "recommended" pasta portion is always far too large to be Nutrisystem compliant.

Complete Snacks:
When I need an on the go snack, I like the Sargento Balanced Breaks. I have always loved tapas style food so I can try little bits of everything, and these are perfect for that.

Don't forget that you can use a Nutrisystem snack, breakfast, or lunch as a complete snack of 1 Powerfuel + 1 Smartcarb- if you need a little extra convenience and don't want to shop for all your own snacks, it might be helpful to order some extra food a la carte. On those really hungry days, I sometimes like to have two melts for lunch- combining lunch and afternoon snack. Or at tea time, I might like to have one of the breakfast pastries or biscotti. It fits just fine in the program as long as you don't mind ordering extra meals, otherwise you would run out sooner.


Free foods & Extras:
Seasonings and sauces are so important to make your food really taste good! I don't enjoy bland food, so it's important to know program compliant ways to personalize your meals to your own palate. While we can't add salt, I think you'll find that there are lots of free (or low calorie extra) ways to spice things up!

I grow my own fresh herbs. It really is amazing how much flavour you can add to the red pasta meals by adding a little shredded fresh basil, for example. Or say, ginger in the Spicy Kung Pao Noodles, or the Sesame Ginger Chicken.

Salsa is great, too. I use it as salad dressing at times- it's flavourful and goes so well with fresh vegetables, especially if I am pairing it with something like a Southwest salad. I do love tomatoes as flavouring and I like using canned Aylmer Accents as vegetable servings in several of my recipes.

Hot sauce is another freebie, as is balsamic vinegar, and lemon juice. Again, all great ways to add flavour without adding too many calories. I also like sauteeing my vegetables in chicken broth instead of fats.

I do keep Pam spray around for some cooking, but you have to be careful with it. While the label often says zero calories, very few people are using a serving small enough to be considered a free food.

I do also like to use "real" fat servings in my cooking, sometimes. I will use 1 tsp olive oil to drizzle on my air fried vegetables, or 1 tsp real butter on my bagel. As long as you're careful to measure your serving and you count it as an extra, there is nothing wrong with doing this.

I will also use real maple syrup for some of the breakfast entrees, again, as long as you measure your serving and count it as an extra. The sugarfree stuff just isn't worth it to me. I can't stand the Walden Farms products myself, although I know that some people love them.

My fridge will always have a low calorie BBQ sauce as well (Kraft makes a 20 calorie one) because I like to use that as an extra to cook my vegetables in occasionally, like with the BBQ Seasoned Chicken. And of course I keep low calorie salad dressing on hand as well in various flavours. I generally choose the Kraft light dressings. If you aren't sodium sensitive, soy sauce can be a great flavouring agent as well. Honey mustard can be a delicious condiment as well and livens up the Nutrisystem Grilled Chicken Sandwich!

So play around with your free foods and extras- I think you'll be amazed at how different you can make the same Nutrisystem entrée taste if you try!

And don't forget to keep your favourite nonstarchy vegetables on hand! There are so many different ways to prepare veggies that even if you aren't a big fan, you will likely find some way you enjoy them, whether that's in soup, roasted, sautéed, or just crunched raw with some dip. Cauliflower is enjoying a huge rise in popularity right now, and while I don't think that it's quite as good of a substitute as some people think it is, I do find that it's great to bulk up some of the rice dishes or potato entrees. I also love eggplant, and I've made some amazing recipes with it. Zucchini is one of my favourite veggies as well, and I love it lots of different ways. And of course, don't forget onions- one of the most flavourful veggies and also occasionally a treat!

So don't forget, once you've started your program, to make a plan for what kinds of staples you will want to keep in the house so that you always have something program compliant available. Don't grab for the full fat mayonnaise because you don't have any other sandwich spread you like on hand, or find yourself with nothing you can use for a Powerfuel when you need one!

And of course, my most important kitchen recommendation? Extra Nutrisystem food. Don't leave yourself in a position where you're down to only entrees you don't particularly like, or that you've run out of food and you have no choice but to flex. I think that it will definitely make you more likely to succeed if you've always got at least an extra week of food on hand. Then you'll always have at least a few choices, and if you had planned to flex but you're tired and just want to grab and go, you'll be OK and stay right on track!

What are your favourite pantry staples?