As bizarre as it sounds, I am a healthier-eating person in college than I ever was before college. Disclaimer: I do not count macros, calories, and I am not on any sort of diet.
My aim, when eating, is to fill my body with foods that will keep me fuller longer. This includes some sort of protein at every meal such as chicken or ground turkey, healthy fats such as peanut butter or avocado, and carbs such as whole wheat bread or a banana. I also do not believe in restricting myself — in other words, I eat chocolate every day. So, for all you semi-healthy eaters like me, this is my weekly, semi-healthy grocery haul.
Proteins:
Ground turkey
I literally buy ground turkey every single week. I make it into taco meat and eat tacos every other night of the week.
Frozen chicken
This may be every other week depending on how much I eat out or stay in for dinner. I bake my chicken at 450 degrees for 20 minutes, and it yields juicy, tender chicken breast that I eat all week. I pair it either with pasta or ravioli when I'm feeling fancy.
Lean Cuisine frozen dinner
Let's be real. Sometimes we just don't have time to make something, have the money to eat out or have the energy to clean all the dishes after making something. I always have a Lean Cuisine package in the freezer. My favorites are the chicken enchilada suiza, the chicken ranch club flatbread melt, and the thin crust BBQ recipe chicken pizza.
Eggs
I used to gag at the smell of eggs in the morning. Well, that changed, and now I could probably eat scrambled eggs for every meal.
Fats:
Shredded cheese
I do not consider cheese as incredibly nutritious because you can definitely live without it, but the fact of the matter is, I don't want to live without it. I put it on my scrambled eggs in the morning and tacos at night.
Peanut butter
This is probably more bi-weekly, but I do go through it fast. I am one of those people you would find sitting at home alone, and instead of eating ice cream, I would have a peanut butter jar. I eat it on my pancakes and rice cakes.
Avocados
This one is a little iffy for me. Sometimes I want to throw up when I eat avocados, and sometimes I want to eat two at a time. So, I have them in stock, but they are not always eaten.
Carbs:
Kodiak Cakes
I go through these like no other food. You could label them as carbs or protein because they're protein pancakes. I eat them with peanut butter, syrup and coconut flakes on top.
Apple cinnamon rice cakes
I used to think rice cakes tasted like air, but when you pair them with the right thing, they are the best snack. I put peanut butter and chocolate chips on top.
Bananas
I. Love. Bananas. I use slices in my cereal or a fruit smoothie.
Broccoli or squash
I do not like vegetables, but I know my body needs them. I will buy a head of broccoli and eat some with my dinner. Squash, on the other hand, is when I'm feeling fancy.
These are the main things that go into my cart on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. I am not the healthiest and I am not a trained dietician, but I'm not eating Velveeta for lunch every day either. My biggest advice is to read the labels! I always look at the grams of protein, fat, and carbs. That is how I decide if it goes in my cart. Start off with one thing that needs to be taken out of your diet, and the week after that, try one more thing that needs to be taken out.
