What’s in My Kitchen Right Now

February 18th, 2008 | by Lisa |

If you have ever watched that MTV show Cribs, where they tour celebrities homes, then you know one of the best parts is seeing what is in their fridge. I decided to share with you some of the things that you would find in my kitchen right now if you looked. I am hoping this will motivate some of you to really look in your own kitchens and see what’s there. For me, if I have junk in the house, I will eat it. So I don’t buy junk food. We recently had some family stay with us that brought two children. We had to take a special shopping trip, just to make our pantry seem more “normal” for the kids.

Figuring out what foods to have around your house is one of the hardest things to do, with companies selling “low fat, diet breakfast bars,” that are full of sugar and processed grains, and the belief that milk, sugar, flour, and bread are “must-haves” for each household. I am by no means a nutritionist or dietician, but I eat pretty healthy. So here’s a list of some of the foods I couldn’t live without.

Meats:

Boneless skinless chicken breast- a staple in our house, great on a big spinach salad.

Canned chicken (like tuna)- I add a bit of light mayo, walnuts and a bit of dried cranberries for a great chicken salad.

Turkey bacon- a must have with my eggs.

Turkey meatballs- I buy them frozen, a quick and easy lunch.

Rotisserie chicken from grocery store- I love these. Use them for dinner, in salads, for chicken salad, and in soups.

Ground turkey or chicken

Lean beef

Eggs- I usually do one regular egg and some egg beaters (equivalent of one egg) for my breakfast.

Egg beaters

Vegetables:

Raw baby spinach- I have become a huge fan of spinach salads, to the point that I can’t eat regular lettuce anymore. Spinach is full of great vitamins and minerals, and will really fill you up, for not many calories.

Carrots- For snacking

Green beans

Broccoli

Bell Peppers (all colors)- I either make stuffed peppers, or cut up the red, orange, and yellows for a snack.

Celery- for natural peanut butter, or with cream cheese.

Lima beans

Nuts: I always keep a bag of nuts in my desk drawer at work. They are an easy snack full of good fats. Just don’t go crazy with them because they are high in calories. A handful will do you.

Raw almonds

Mixed nuts

Natural peanut butter- It has no sugar in it, so at first, may taste a bit weird, but after you get used to it, Skippy tastes too sweet. Mix with some sugar free jelly.

Fruits: - I love fruits, but when I am trying to cut fat, I have to be careful with them because of the sugar content. Yes, it’s natural, but sugar is sugar. Since I live near so many farms, I tend to go crazy with them in the summer (can’t beat Jersey peaches) so I cut back in the winter.

Apples

Berries

Dried Cranberries

Be careful with fruits like bananas, grapes, oranges, etc. which all are pretty high in sugar.

Dairy: Notice that there is no milk listed here. I do not drink milk. The first reason is that it has a high sugar content, and even if you are drinking fat free milk, you may still be putting in more calories than you want (I try to never “drink” calories). The second reason is, it is terrible for allergies. I find I get a lot less “stuffy” when I cut out milk.

String cheese- Great quick snack

Havarti cheese with Jalapeno bits- This cheese is soooo good, but I only eat it once in a while because it is pretty high in fat.

Light cream cheese

Light feta cheese- I love feta cheese. It is great to sprinkle a little bit in certain recipes to give them a boost.

Shredded mozzarella

Light and Fit Yogurt- Yogurt is really good for you, but be careful, even the fat free ones are usually LOADED with sugar. Light and Fit has no fat, and uses sweetener, so it has less sugar. One cup is only 60 calories.

Low Fat cottage cheese- I have to eat it with fruit, so I usually pair it with an apple.

Complex Carbohydrates: Notice that my list is small here. I have not had a loaf of bread in my house for two years (except for when we have company). I think most complex carbs are just, well… crap. First of all, the stuff we get is so processed, it has almost no nutritional value. And I think that eating wheat gluten, one of the main ingredients in breads and other processed wheat products, is as bad as putting something toxic in your body. Anytime I eat lots of carbs, I feel awful. And, if I am trying to lose weight, it absolutely will not happen unless I cut out most of these carbs. So other than small wraps and oatmeal, you won’t see these things in my house during a slim down phase.

Small tortilla wraps

Oatmeal

Brown rice

Brown rice pasta

Beverages: For the most part, I drink water. Other than my cup of coffee in the morning, it is water all day. My students actually tease me about the bottle I carry around school. Here are some other things in my house that I will drink on occasion.

Diet Coke

Diet Snapple

Iced Tea

Coffee

Green Tea

Condiments:

Newman’s Own Olive Oil and Vinegar salad dressing- This dressing is awesome, almost pure olive oil, so it doesn’t even need to be refrigerated. Sure, it’s not “low-fat,” but olive oil can actually help you burn “bad fats.”

Light Ranch dressing (for veggie dip)- Fat free is ok, but they usually put more sugar in it, which I don’t like.

Fat free or Light Mayo

Reduced sugar barbeque sauce

Olive oil- We use olive oil on everything. Like I said earlier, it’s a “good fat.”

What you Won’t Find:

Milk

Bread

Chips, crackers, pretzels

Cookies (desserts of any kind for that matter)

Candy (except my boyfriend’s 85% cacao dark chocolate in the freezer)

Bagels, rolls, pastries, etc.

Frozen microwave meals- Meat and vegetables shouldn’t come in a box. I don’t like anything that processed.