For most of us the hardest part of nutrition is knowing what to buy? We walk into a grocery store and there are pretty boxes that say “ONLY 100 Calories”, or cool logos, items labeled “gluten-free”, “South Beach Diet Approved”, “Organic” etc….
Where do we even begin?
Here are a couple of good key points when going to your local grocery store:
Always stay on the outside perimeters of the store, this is where all the “nutrient enriched” foods are. i.e. fruits and veggies, and meats. They also have all the raw nuts and unsweetened dried fruit, etc. located by the fruits and veggies as well.
Also don’t buy anything in a box… if it’s in a box it’s bad! Most foods that come in a box contain many processed chemicals and a lot of “junk” that is not the most beneficial for our bodies.
Here is a great shopping list that I found from www.themeanestmomma.com. The list breaks down all the items to buy when you are at Trader Joes. I know many of you do not have a Trader Joes near by but use this as a reference and most stores will have the item, it will just may be a different brand. If you get to flustered just ask your local grocery store clerk and they will be more than happy to steer you in the right direction!
This really was helpful for my clients and I, and I know it will be a great resource for you!
Best Paleo Purchases at Trader Joe’s
General Grocery Items
- *Coconut Milk (Light) .99/14 oz can Ingredients: coconut milk, water. I wish they carried regular coconut milk, but this price is less than half of what I pay for the regular stuff at the Asian markets.
- Unsweetened Coconut Milk Beverage 1.99/32 oz carton Not quite the same as coconut milk in a can, but close. Ingredient list includes some funky stuff: filtered water, coconut cream, tricalcium phosphate, carrageenan, gellan gum, sea salt, natural flavors, vitamin A palmitate, ergocalciferol (vitamin D12), cyanocobalamin (vitamin B12)
- *Coconut Oil (Organic virgin) 5.49/lb Haven’t tried it yet, but will when my current stash runs out — it is the best price I’ve seen for coconut oil.
- Grapeseed Oil 3.49/17oz
- Fire Roasted Red / Red & Yellow Peppers 1.99/7.4 or 1.99/12oz jar
- Sun Dried Tomatoes 3.29/8.5oz jar
- *Sea Salt 1.49/26.5 oz This is a great price! TJ also carries a smaller spice jar that is .99/3.9 oz
- Assorted Spices TJs has a decent selection of spices, some organic and all much cheaper than regular grocery store prices
- *Taco Seasoning Packet .79 / 1.3oz Ingredients: sea salt, cumin, cayenne pepper, cane sugar, paprika, onion, garlic, black pepper, red bell pepper, oregano, chili pepper, smoked paprika It’s always better to make your own, but we love this package. We can get 3 meals out of one packet. Note the ingredients include sugar, but it is less than one gram per serving (12 servings per packet, so ~4 grams per meal for us).
- *Dijon Mustard with White Wine 1.69/13oz Ingredients: water, mustard seed, vinegar, wine, salt, citric acid We love this mustard and you can’t beat the price!
- Canned Tomatoes 1.49/28oz Comes in BPA free cans
- *Fire Roasted Diced Green Chilis .79/4oz Great price!
- Almond Butter 4.99/16oz jar They have several varieties: smooth, crunchy, salted, and unsalted
- Free Range Chicken Broth 1.99/32oz
- Fair Trade Organic Dark 72% Chocolate Bar 1.99/3.5 oz bar Ingredients: organic cococa mass, organic cane sugar, organic cocoa butter. Haven’t tried this yet, but am looking forward to trying it as a post-challenge treat!
Produce
Note: prices will vary seasonally — these reflect what I recently paid. Items are conventional (non-organic) unless otherwise noted.
- Bananas .19/ea
- Organic Pears 2.49/2lb
- Apples — assorted varieties and prices We’ve been enjoying the Organic Pink Lady variety — they have been small which is perfect for school lunches.
- *Romaine Hearts 2.29/18oz bag Contains 3 hearts, great price.
- Kale 2.29/10 oz bag Already cleaned and cut — I use this for kale chips.
- *Wild Arugula 1.99/7oz bag Mike loves this “Rocket Arugula.”
- Baby Spinach 1.99/6oz bag
- Baby Carrots 1.99/ 24oz bag
- Organic Carrots .89/16 oz cello bag
- Cauliflower 2.49/head
- Celery Hearts Conventional: 1.69/bag; Organic: 2.29/bag Celery is at the top of the “Dirty Dozen”, so it’s better to buy organic, though I rarely do.
- Snap Peas 2.99/12oz
- Snow Peas 2.69/9oz
- *Mini-Pearl Grape Tomatoes 2.50 – 3.29/lb We love these mini tomatoes and use them for everything from snacking to guacamole. The price varies but it’s always a great deal
- *Avocados — Conventional: 2.99/4pk Organic: 3.49/4pk You can’t beat TJs avocado prices (they will fluctuate from what I posted, but are always the lowest I find)
Meat
TJs does carry a good selection of grass-fed and specialty meats, but it’s not cheap. We buy most of our meat direct from farmers, so I don’t purchase much of this stuff, but there are a few items that I like.
- *Spicy Jalapeno Chicken Sausage $3.99/12 oz package (5 links) Ingredients: skinless chicken meat, water, roasted red peppers (red peppers, water, salt, citric acid), seasoning (sea salt, turbinado sugar, spices, jalapeno pepper, onion powder, garlic powder), jalapeno peppers (jalapeno peppers, water, citric acid) Love this spicy chicken sausage!
- Classic Sliced Dry Rubbed All Natural Uncured Bacon 4.99/12oz Antibiotic, nitrate, and preservative free.
- *Apple Smoked Uncured Bacon 3.99/12 oz This is my new favorite bacon.
- Ground Turkey 2.99/lb
Frozen Foods
- *French Cut Green Beans — 1.99/24oz We love these green beans
- Sliced Peppers Bag – 1.69/lb
- Brussel Sprouts – 1.19/lb
- Chopped Spinach — 1.49/lb (organic is 1.99/lb)
- *Salmon — 8.99 – 10.99/lb TJs has several varieties of wild caught salmon and is a really good price.
Refrigerated
There’s not a lot in the refrigerated/dairy case for Paleo folks but here are a few items we’ve bought.
- *Kellygold Grassfed Butter 2.79/8 oz We do dairy if it is from grassfed cows, which Kellygold is.
- Plain Goat Yogurt 5.49/32 oz
- Eggs — large, white 1.99/dozen We get our eggs from a chicken farmer, but this is a decent price on regular eggs.
Nuts
Costco is the best source for almonds (3.33/lb) and pecans, but when I run out, I will buy them at TJs to tide me over. Here are some other nut items that I like to get at Trader Joes, especially if I’m making paleo bars.
- Raw Almonds — 4.49/lb
- *Sliced/Slivered Almonds — 2.49/8oz
- *Raw Sunflower Seeds — 1.99/lb
- Raw Pepitas (pumpkin seeds) — 5.49/lb
- Pistachios
Salsas
Trader Joes has a pretty good selection of salsas and many of them are free of icky ingredients. I usually make my own salsa instead of buying store bought, but here’s a few that look decent:
- Organic Tomatillo Roasted Yellow Chili Salsa — 2.29/12oz Ingredients: organic tomato puree (water, organic tomato paste), organic tomatillo, organic roasted yellow chili, organic onion, salt, organic cilantro, organic dried garlic, citric acid.
- Salsa Autentica — 1.69/12oz jar Note: this contains a corn derivative Ingredients: tomatoes, fresh yellow chile, distilled vinegar (from corn), salt, onion, spice.
- Salsa Verde 1.99/12 oz jar Ingredients: fresh tomatillos, green chili, water, onions, fresh jalapenos, salt, spices.
- Trader Jose’s Chunky Salsa 2.29/15.5 oz jar Ingredients: tomatoes, tomato puree (water, tomato paste), green peppers, onion, jalapeno peppers, distilled vinegar, salt, garlic coriander, paprika, oregano.
- Hot Chipotle Salsa – 1.99/16oz Ingredients: diced tomatoes, tomato puree (water, tomato paste), cider vinegar, onions, chipotle chile peppers, distilled vinegar, garlic, cilantro, red pepper.
- Organic Tomatillo Roasted Yellow Chili Salsa– 2.29/12oz Ingredients: organic tomato puree (water, organic tomato paste), organic tomatillo, organic roasted yellow chili, organic onion, salt, organic cilantro, organic dried garlic, citric acid.
Now you have all the tools that you need to make this your healthiest year yet!
Fit Chic