DIET NUTRITION YOUR HEALTHY QUARANTINE GROCERY LIST
(author Cassey – Blogilates)
Hey guys!
I hope you’re all doing well and staying healthy!
COVID-19 has us all hunkering down at home, and the whole situation is changing by the hour. If you haven’t already, you probably want to head to the grocery store to stock up on some things to eat at home while we ride out this quarantine.
To make sure you’re only buying what you need (no hoarding please!) and getting the most out of the food you buy, you need to plan ahead and make a grocery list! Not sure where to start? Let me start with this – NO you don’t have to survive off of nonperishable, processed food during the quarantine. You can totally keep eating healthy…and you should! Let’s keep our bodies as healthy as possible!
Here’s what the Internet says about emergency quarantine essentials
There are PLENTY of articles online about what to stock up on for emergency situations like this. Most of them suggest canned goods like beans, veggies, fish, pasta sauce and soup. They also recommend pantry staples like pasta, rice, cereal, oats, dried fruit, popcorn and chocolate.
For the freezer, they briefly suggest freezing fresh meat, but mostly focus on freezing bread and lunch meat, while buying frozen fruits, veggies and things like frozen pizza. For vegetarians…they really only mention frozen bean burritos and veggie burgers. Hmm…
Here are my healthy grocery list suggestions
Articles like that one has some great grocery list suggestions, but it kind of makes it seem like people are limited if they’re avoiding grains, gluten, dairy and sugar. And no, vegetarians and vegans don’t have to live off of frozen foods for this whole thing! Here’s some things that I grabbed to get me through the quarantine that might help you too:
Protein: first of all, meat! You can freeze pretty much any meat like chicken breast, turkey and fish. If you’ve never frozen meat, don’t be intimidated! Just read up on how to thaw it safely. Eggs will stay fresh for a couple of weeks too.
Grab some beans (canned or dried), nuts and seeds for some shelf-stable, plant-based protein options. Meat alternatives like tofu and tempeh stay fresh in the fridge for a while too if they’re unopened.
Fruits and Veggies: Our immune systems need all the support they can get right now, so PLEASE don’t skip the produce! I’d suggest getting some fresh that you can use in the next week or so, and also some frozen fruits and veggies for later. Fresh produce like sweet potatoes, tomatoes, carrots, oranges and apples tend to last a little longer than things like berries and lettuce.
Frozen veggies and cauliflower rice are big ones for me. BTW – frozen fruits and veggies are just as nutritious as fresh! Did you know you can even buy frozen avocado?!
Staples: Here’s where you can make your food go a long way while you’re stuck at home. Make sure you have plenty of staples like almond milk (or whatever you like), quinoa, broth, soups, condiments (don’t forget the sriracha!), oils, baking essentials, spices, etc etc. Don’t go overboard here – just do a quick inventory of your pantry and grab whatever you’re low on.
Snacks: OBVIOUSLY we can’t forget the snacks if we’re gonna be stuck in our houses. I know the sweets and chips are tempting, but they’re not necessary. Of course you can go for a treat if you want, but make sure you’re grabbing healthy snacks like nuts, plantain chips and salsa, coconut chips and dairy-free ice cream (What? It’s healthy-ish!). I totally plan on baking some yummy, healthy snacks like these Apple Cinnamon Muffins during the quarantine too.
Here’s your grocery list!
FRESH PRODUCE:
Potatoes
Carrots
Celery
Tomatoes
Peppers
Cabbage
Spaghetti
Squash
Onions
Apples
Oranges
Lemons/Limes
Garlic
PROTEIN:
Meat
Chicken breast
Fish
Salmon
Shrimp
Tofu
DAIRY/EGGS:
Almond milk or oat milk
Eggs
Yogurt
CANNED/DRIED:
Beans
Canned Vegetables
Tomato sauce
Almond butter
Cashew butter
Vegetable broth
Plantain chips
Coconut chips
Dried fruit
Lentils
Almonds
Cashews
Pistachios
FROZEN:
Cauliflower rice
Strawberries
Blueberries
Mango
Broccoli
Green beans
Butternut squash
Corn
Dairy free ice cream
EXTRA:
Extra virgin olive oil
Salsa
Tabasco sauce
Salt
Pepper
Cinnamon (spice)
Cumin (spice)
Cayenne (spice)
Rosemary (spice)
Sugar
Baking powder
Let’s make our health a priority NOW!
If you’re constantly wishing for more time to change your lifestyle, now you’ve got it!
If you’re stressing because your gym is closed and the grocery store is insane, you can adapt and come out stronger in the end.
We’re figuring out how to keep moving our bodies at home, and we can totally keep eating healthy when we’re stuck at home too. Remember this isn’t forever! It’s just a temporary new normal. Making our health a priority will help us keep those immune systems in tip top shape! Eating healthy will help your mental health too, which is SO important right now.
So take a deep breath, grab the things you need (don’t go crazy and overdo it) and let’s make the best we can of this situation!