My Top 10 Refrigerator Staples to Make Clean Eating Easier

Hey internet friends!

I’ve been receiving a ton of emails from your wonderful faces (well, I hope they’re from your wonderful bodies, and not just your face typing to me. That would be weird) about feeling overwhelmed about where to start with this whole “clean eating” thang.

You know I think that healthy eating should not be stressful, so I want to help give you an idea of how to get started on your SUPER REWARDING journey.

So, today, I’m giving you a peek into my refrigerator and talking about my top 10 fridge staples to help you make clean-eating choices throughout the day, without having to spend hours in the kitchen prepping 1 million meals in advance.

Side note: I know a ton of people devote one day a week to all kinds of meal prep and, if that works for you, cool! But…this girl just don’t have time for that. 🙂

SO, without further nattering, here’s are the 10 items that I ALWAYS keep in my fridge, making sure that I still have them every single time that I do a grocery store trip.

1. Liquid Egg Whites. I eat these every.single.day for breakfast, and sometimes at dinner too. Buying just the egg whites saves time (and yolks!) from only using the whites from whole eggs. Egg whites are one of the lowest calorie and carb foods out there. There are also one of the most protein packed! Scrambled egg whites are a favorite quick snack of mine to keep me full!
2. Whole eggs. As much as I love egg whites, I also ADORE a soft boiled egg at breakfast, or for lunch. I wouldn’t recommend eating a ton of whole eggs per day, as they pack in more calories and fat than egg whites, and are significantly lower in protein. HOW-EV-ER, it’s all good fat, so an egg at breakfast time, or for a quick bite, is a great choice!
3. Pre-cooked chicken breast. This is the ONE thing that I prep in advance. I sprinkle a few chicken breasts just with salt and pepper at the beginning of the week, and them keep them in the fridge for easy meals. Keeping the seasoning neutral makes it a snap to throw them into any kind of salad, wrap, sandwich etc for a quick, healthy and high protein meal throughout the week.
4. Cottage Cheese – I am obsessed with cottage cheese. I have spouted off my love for it in my two “cheesecake” variations (links are at the bottom of the page) and I eat cottage cheese every single night. I love that you can mix it with a ton of things (flavoured protein powder OR pumpkin pie spice and a pinch of stevia are my go-tos) and you have a crazy protein-packed snack that is ready to go from bowl -> face in under a minute. Such a win.

   

5. Cauliflower – Are you sick of me talking about cauliflower yet? Seriously though, this is one of my FAVORITE vegetables to keep on hand. You can easily make it into cauliflower Alfredo sauce or cauliflower rice for a low-carb alternative to rice/quinoa/pasta etc at your meal times. Plus it’s SO great roasted or steamed as a side dish. It also happens to be packed with fiber to keep you nice and full, with very minimal calories.
6. Greek yogurt – Greek yogurt is very similar to cottage cheese to me, in terms of its uses. Again, you can mix it with a ton of yummy stuff to create a super flavourful and high protein snack. It’s also a super easy breakfast option, and all that protein will keep your tummy happy until lunch break.
7. Zucchini – This is another vegetable that I ALWAYS keep on hand because of its versatility. You can sauté it in 2 minutes for a super delicious side dish, or you can quickly turn it into noodles for a healthy starch alternative. Side note: Zucchini noodles mixed with some natural pizza sauce? MY LIFE.
8. Spinach/lettuce etc. – Keeping SOME kind of leafy green makes it easy to throw together a quick meal like a salad or wrap. I prefer spinach to lettuce as it’s FULL Of nutrients and has much more taste, but whatever YOU like best!

   

9. Hummus – Hummus is chock full of healthy carbs to keep you full until your next meal, and it’s mighty tasty! And, if you think hummus is only for dipping things into, thing again! I love topping it on salads (see below for recipe link) or using it as the “sauce” component in a warp.
10. Whole grain tortillas – Like I just mentioned, I love wraps for a quick lunch. Fill them with your precooked chicken, some of that spinach and hummus that we just talked about and you’ve got a perfectly balanced meal, that took you about 2 minutes to make!

Well, I hope that some of you found this helpful! Of course, I always keep much more than this in my fridge, but I have found that with keeping these items on hand I always have SOMETHING to make a healthy meal out of! 🙂

Now, tell me what your refrigerator staples are!

See ya tomorrow!

The recipes I mentioned:

Healthy Peanut Butter Cheesecake

Healthy Almond Joy Cheesecake

Panera Hummus Chicken Power Salad