Fortunately I assembled a pretty decent lunch using food we had around the apartment.
Noodle Bowl!
Today’s meal featured Carba Nada egg fettuccine pasta with Barilla marinara sauce, steamed broccoli and Parmesan cheese.
Carba Nada
Barilla!
Bowl o' Goodness
For not having a lot of food on hand, this lunch was pretty great!
Healthy Food On Hand
I try to have the makings for a healthy meal on hand at all times, and find that keeping a pantry or freezer stocked with certain items makes this a lot easier. In our pantry you will almost always find:
- Pasta
- Oatmeal
- Barley
- Soup
- Peanut butter
- Protein powder
Our freezer will almost always be stocked with the following items:
- Veggies (edamame, corn, broccoli, etc.)
- Fruit (strawberries, bananas)
- Whole wheat bread (sandwich thins, Alternative Bagels) Note: I freeze bread all the time because it takes me a while to get through a whole loaf of bread or package of bagels.
- Shrimp
- Salmon burgers
- Veggie burgers
Even though I may complain about having no food sometimes, I always seem to have something I can conjure up into a healthy meal.
Question of the Afternoon
What healthy foods can almost always be found in your pantry or freezer?
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Hmmm, what foods do we usually always have?
Brown rice
peanut butter
frozen veges (broccoli, beans, and sweet peppers)
frozen fruits (strawberries, blueberries) and bananas–orange juice
whole wheat/grain bread (koepplinger’s)
wraps-extreme
arnold sandwich thins–and we’re actually out.
chicken
fish (salmon or tilapia)
cottage cheese (fiber one)
Greeky yogurt, brown rice, lean meats, cereals… cookies – those count too right? 😉
Oh yes, cookies count 🙂 Though I am not so keen on greek yogurt.
One of the things I learned when I first moved out on my own is that freezing foods is WONDERFUL for people who don’t eat food fast enough. I like to buy things in bulk to save money and freezing it makes it last so much longer. It takes me at least a week or two to go through a loaf of bread, so I totally understand your freezing method!
I was just thinking this morning of how long I could actually make it if I got stuck in my apartment – a LONG time! I seem to have a never-ending supply of pasta, yogurt, frozen tortillas, etc. I always have baking supplies, too. 🙂
pasta pasta pasta…oh, and eggs and frozen veggies 🙂 yum!
Freezer: Broccoli, boneless/skinless chicken breasts
Cabinets: Soy crispettes, PB2 :), really good dark chocolate (that way you don’t overindulge!)
Other pantry staples: Red pepper flakes, Italian seasoning (to make anything tasty in no time)
We always have frozen veggies and frozen Amys meals or Morningstar Farms things in the freezer.
Otherwise I would say oatmeal, bread, pb, cereal, canned beans/soups, and things in the pantry.
Always nice to have staples you can count on.
I always have whole wheat pasta in the pantry, and marinara, and broccoli in the freezer with turkey meatballs 🙂
gotta love the staples!
I always keep the freezer stocked with broccoli, fruit, waffles, sandwich thins or english muffins, and veggie burgers. It’s usually enough to throw together a breakfast and lunch.
Worst comes to worst I always have bread and peanut butter. I stock up on pasta, too. It’s the veggies and fruit that go the fastest.
i have pretty much the same staples as you. and i am so with you on freezing things. it’s a lifesaver!
Protein powder, peanut butter, tahina, flax seeds, almonds, canned beans/peas, and tuna in the pantry and frozen chicken, fish, edamame, and ice (for GMs lol) in the freezer =)
Do you buy your Carba Nada noodles online or do they sell them in grocery stores?
i buy them online at netrition.com. 🙂
hmmm. . . I just moved and so my parents took me to Sam’s. It was great cause i could get a lot of staples so. . .
Apples, Almonds, Kashi Go Lean, Chicken Sausage, bread thins, carrots, pb and j, and tuna were all purchased and will be used
I always have brown rice, pasta, canned diced tomatoes, pasta sauce, frozen veggies and lots of cheese 🙂
Nut butters are always on hand. I get anxious when I start to run low!
I like to keep a lot of the same things stocked in my kitchen, too. It’s so nice to always have something to fall back on!!
Basically the same stuff that you have! I also always have:
Almond milk
Quinoa
Brown Rice
Bananas
Protein Bars or Powder
Nuts and seeds (Almond, Walnut, Pecan, Sunflower Seeds, etc).
Honey
brown rice, chicken, lean beef, pasta and pasta sauce, peanut butter, olive oil
Ezekiel Bread (love!)
Greens/tomatoes for salads
yogurt
bananas (fresh and frozen)
apples
veggie burgs (Dr Preggers)
eggs
pasta/rice
lots o’ spices
ww tortillas
almonds and cashews (kept in freezer for longer shelf life)
red sauce
frozen spinach for smoooothies!
I’ve never heard of Carba Nada — I’ll google that later.
Foods we always have:
Whole wheat or brown rice pasta
Canned tomatoes
Oatmeal
PB
Jam
Bread
Eggs
Protein Powder
Larabars
Brown rice
Frozen veggies
Almond milk
The freezer is my favorite! Especially because I love Ezekiel 4:9 bread so much. I ALWAYS have:
Larabars
Nut butters (almond, peanut)
Dried grains and beans
Fruits and vegetables (apples, grapefruit, berries, broccoli, kale, brussels sprouts, tomatoes, carrots, sweet potatoes)
Almond milk
Woodstock Orchards Apple Spread (this stuff is the yummiest condiment ever invented!)
Avocados
Amy’s California Burgers
Dried fruits (dates, raisins, prunes, apricots, apples)
Nuts! (almonds, walnuts, peanuts, pecans)
Ezekiel breads, buns, tortillas
NuStevia powder and Baking Blend
These always ensure that I have everything I would need to make just about anything simple and healthy 🙂
I have to freeze all of my bread/english muffins too! Some of my friends think its weird, but hey, at least my bread is fresh.
I always have lentils, brown rice, and canned tomatoes on hand. It’s amazing what a comforting meal you can whip up with just those three things!
I LOVE smoothies, so I always have frozen berries on hand. Oatmeal is a staple in my pantry as well. 🙂
I pretty much always have oatmeal, peanut butter, bananas, apples, brown rice, and some veggies on hand. Oatmeal is a must most mornings! And the peanut butter…well the peanut butter is the most important, it can be used on anything and everything.
Happy Monday 🙂
Chelsea
I always have oats, peanut butter, hummus, bread, and some black bean burgers.
What is the best way to defrost the bread when it’s frozen?
i always make sure I have my staples on hand! brown rice, sweet potatoes, oatmeal, PB, greek yogurt, cottage cheese and beans! oh and frozen veggies
Always on hand chez moi: oatmeal, almond butter, some kind of grain (quinoa, brown rice etc.), frozen peas, frozen blueberries, Dr Praeger’s veggie burgs.
I’ve come up with some pretty outlandish concoctions on those low–on-groceries days!
Pasta, brown rice, canned tuna fish, frozen veggies, peanut butter, frozen fruit
I actually made a pasta bowl for lunch today and all of my coworkers were asking if I had made a spaghetti dinner with red sauce–nope! Thanks to you I just threw some spinach leaves, leftover spaghetti, roasted eggplant, mushrooms, marinara, and a babybel light broken up on top into container and heated at lunch time which steamed the spinach and melted the cheese. What a great lunch!! Thanks for the ideas! 🙂
I usually have oatmeal, frozen veggies, frozen fruit, nut butter, pasta, pasta sauce, apple sauce, and soup. I’ve been trying to go through my cabinets and eat what we have, instead of always going to the store or going out to eat. I’m definitely a convenience girl and I am trying to change that!
I always have canned soups, beans, PB, nuts, protein powder, and bars of some sort (luna, think thin, z bars, kashi, etc) in the pantry. The freezer and fridge have greek yogurt, frozen fruit, almond milk (and whole for the man), and various Morning Star “burger” patties and “sausage. I also usually have some sort of bread product like la tortilla wraps or alternative bagel bagels or english muffins in the fridge.
We ALWAYS have veggie burgers, sandwich thins, tuna, oatmeal, special k, lactaid milk, and a handful of fruit/veggies. Oh, and peanut butter 🙂
P.S. What kind of veggie burgers do you like? They just discontinued my favourite kind 🙁 (Motts Garden Vegetable Medley) and I’m desperate for a new favourite! HELP! LOL
morningstar farms veggie burgers are delicious! i love the asian veggie patties & pizza burgers. so tasty!
haha…usuaully when i have no food, it’s because i really have no food. we have an incredibly small kitchen and fridge (barely even a freezer) so yeah…there’s only so much we can stalk. i guess i always have cereal, and really, you can’t go wrong with that 🙂
Greek yogurt, frozen fruit, frozen vegetables, black beans, brown rice, whole wheat pasta, everything else is pretty perishable!