A typical shopping list

I live 5 minutes away from a Whole Foods. I know not everyone shares my opinion, but I love Whole Foods. True, there are certain things they don't sell, like my low sugar ketchup, and they don't usually have specials like 10 avocados for $10 (found last night at Shaws-SCORE!). But I generally find the quality of their produce, including their frozen produce, to be higher and I can get grass fed beef and other organic meats for relatively reasonable prices. 

Now, I used to stop by WF every night on my way home. Why plan ahead when I could just grab whatever I was feeling like that night? But as it got colder, and I started working later, stopping by the grocery store every night became a hassle.

So lately I have been experimenting with actually *planning* a week's worth of meals and shopping for them on the weekend. Revolutionary, no :)? And I'm proud to say I've been pretty successful. So here's what the SO and I consume over the course of a week, more or less:

8oz smoked salmon

1 package organic smoked sliced turkey breast

1 package organic sliced ham

1 lb ground beef 

1.5 lb ground turkey 

1 package spicy italian chicken sausage

1 lb frozen salmon fillets

1.25 lbs chicken breast 

1 package Trader Joe's Chili Lime Chicken Burgers (SO GOOD)

1 package bacon

3/4 lb provolone

2 cartons eggs

1 bag of onions

1 package of mushrooms

1 bag frozen asparagus

1 bag frozen brussels sprouts

1 bag frozen spinach

1 bag frozen strawberries

1 bag frozen peach slices

1 spaghetti squash

1 cabbage

2 avocados

Breakfast is eggs and bacon most days, with the cold cuts and cheese  or the smoked salmon subbing in sometimes. Lunch is usually leftovers from dinner. I like to kick off the week by making a big pot of chili on Sunday nights, since it takes a long time but pays great dividends. I really despise frozen broccoli, peppers, onions, and mushrooms because I think the freezing process totally screws up the texture. But for some reason, the above listed veggies don't seem to suffer. 

Actually, looking at the list is interesting-I realize that I would like to incorporate more fatty fish (love those omega 3s), but otherwise I feel pretty good about it. I try to be flexible in order to take advantage of sales. For example, last week chicken breast was on sale, but this week I'd like to add in some pork for my B1. I also find that, particularly with the dearth of fresh produce where I live at this time of year, frozen veggies are the better bet, but I would buy more fresh seasonal veggies if it were warmer. And I find for my sweet tooth, snacking on frozen fruit is a great solution. It slows me down (hello brain freeze) and I really enjoy the texture of frozen fruit. 

We don't get through all of that in a week, necessarily, but it's a pretty good approximation. Sorry, this might be really boring, but I know when I first started eating the way I eat now, I had no idea what to buy for myself, and it's kind of neat to see how far I've come :)