For many of us, eating healthy on a daily basis is quite the challenge. This is usually because we only have so many go-to foods and go-to meals. The first step to a healthy AND desirable diet is having a healthy and versatile grocery list. If you get your shopping list down, you’re yourself covered at home and have no excuse not to eat well and tasty!
You have to consider what sorts of nutritious foods you can picture eating for a variety of meals. Successful grocery shopping doesn’t just mean picking out all the healthiest foods you see. Trust me, I’ve been there, done that!
I heard how healthy bok choy was so I picked some up only to make one meal with it. Wasted. When the big fad was “celery shakes” for weight-loss, great skin, etc., I jumped on that ban wagon too. Well, the “celery shakes” weren’t my cup of tea and aside from dipping in ranch, I just wasn’t eating celery. Wasted. Even kale is a versatile item for many who love it in salads, smoothies, or made into chips. I personally don’t love the flavor of kale so it doesn’t get used. If you do, more power to you! Kale is a great super food with many health benefits. Anyways, let’s get to this list!
You’ll need to get a little creative with your favorite foods and consider how to incorporate them into more meals. The more you tap into this smart shopping, the more satisfied you’ll be. The worst thing is throwing out old food that you promise yourself you’re going to go through, but never do. Don’t set yourself up for failure. Be a smart shopper!
I am listing the foods that I think are the most versatile which are included in my weekly shopping. This is not an exhaustive list! We are all different and all love different foods. What matters is that you’re picking out nutritious, whole foods, that you find in a variety of meals.
This list will give you a good starting point and spark some inspiration when you shop!
Breads and Grains
I love to start with breads and grains because the versatility of these items is pretty endless and obvious. These types of foods are great for us beginner chefs who don’t get super fancy in the kitchen. Breads, pastas, and oatmeal can be used for SO many different meals.
- Whole grain bread
- Whole grain pasta (whatever shape you prefer)
- Brown rice
- Oatmeal (steel cut or rolled oats)
Find a whole grain bread that you love and you can make a variety of toasts, sandwiches and paninis. I love to include oatmeal, pastas and rice on my list because their shelf life is long-lasting. Even if you don’t use them frequently, you wont waste them. I use oatmeal in smoothies, breakfast bowls and healthier dessert options.
Pasta is about as versatile as it gets! You add whatever you want to it and you can make hot or cold dishes! Who doesn’t love pasta, right?? Just be sure to go with the whole grain option to get that fiber.
Rice is similar to pasta but can also go great as a side or a base with some meals. You can serve rice under chicken or fish with veggies. Try adding rice to your chili to make it more filling! All these are not hard to work with and go with everything.
These staple items were probably already on your weekly list but if they weren’t, they are now!
Vegetables
Here’s what I believe is the most important category. Don’t be like me with my bok choy and celery! Unless you LOVE lots of meals with bok choy and celery; thats the point. But this section can really influence how well you are going to eat. We are supposed to have at least five servings of veggies a day which can be very hard! Especially when we buy veggies that we aren’t going to use frequently. Fill your shopping cart with veggies you can fill your day with! Let’s break it down.
This list may feel long to those of you who aren’t big veggie fans. I get it; I used to just eat broccoli. That was it. Broccoli was my only veggie. BUT, when you start to expand your palette you see how many great, tasty meals you can make with all these veggies. Then you can master the five serving veggie minimum and you will look and feel great!
I’m going to list some ways you can use each of these veggies to spark your imagination…
Avocados
Avocados are such a great veggie (they’re technically a fruit, but nutritionally we’re calling it a veggie)! There are packed with healthy fats that we don’t get from many other vegetables so they’re a great addition to many meals.
You can add chucks of avocado to salads to make it more filling and give it some creaminess. I am sure you have heard of avocado toast, which is a great breakfast idea because you can serve it up however you want. Some people top it with hot sauce and others top it with a sunny side up egg! Another great way to use avocados is actually adding it to smoothies. Many people don’t realize that avocados are great in smoothies because they give it a creamy, thick texture, and add more nutrients! I also make an easy, homemade guacamole that’s great for about a week in the fridge.
Broccoli
As I stated before, I LOVE broccoli. It was my first veggie so it holds a special place in my heart, but many people love broccoli! It’s a great, fibrous vegetable that pairs well with any dinner.
I eat broccoli as a steamed side or I bake it in the oven with some olive oil to give it some crunch. Broccoli can also be served raw with some ranch as a refreshing side dish. Many pasta dishes also include broccoli in the mix. The versatility of broccoli comes from its ability to go with any meal. Like I said before, if it’s something you like, get creative with where and how you incorporate it!
Cauliflower
Similar to broccoli, cauliflower can be served many different ways which is why it’s so great. Obviously cauliflower can be served raw with a veggie dip or you can cook it like you would broccoli. These are both great. Cauliflower can also be mashed up like a potato and served as a side similar to mashed potatoes. I cook cauliflower in my air fryer with some olive oil and buffalo sauce to make cauliflower wings. They are so satisfying and serve as a healthier option to regular wings.
Many people are also make “cauliflower crusts” now for pizzas and flatbreads. If you want to get fancy and have some time on your hands, play around with making your own cauliflower crust! Top it with tomatoes, mozzarella, and some basil and garlic for a healthy margarita flat bread!
Garlic
Forget about the “bad breath” stigma because garlic is AMAZING! It doesn’t just add a punch of great flavor to any food. It’s also considered a superfood because it’s packed with tons of vitamins and antioxidants that help build up your immune system.
Honestly, I add garlic to whatever I can because I just love the flavor. I have a bruschetta recipe that uses garlic and its SO good and easy to make! I also add garlic to chicken when I cook it on the stove or bake it in the oven. You can add garlic when you’re pan frying veggies or you can cook the garlic on its own to add to pastas. Garlic also goes great in potatoes or topped on flatbreads!
Onions
Another favorite of mine, onions go in alot of my dishes. Onions are also considered another superfood! So try your best to incorpoate these into your daily or at least weekly diet.
I make a lot of omelettes. They are one of my favorite breakfast dishes and I almost always use onions as one of my toppings in them. Sautéed onions and mushrooms make a great side dish (and you can add garlic to these!!). Onions also go well chopped up in many pasta dishes. The guacamole recipe I mentioned earlier also has onions in it. If you want to start small, just slice up an onion and top it on your sandwiches and paninis!
Peppers
Peppers, similar to avocados, are actually considered a fruit but we’ll ignore for these purposes. They have a lot of vitamins and they’re very low calorie so it’s a great food to add to your diet. They do have a sweeter taste than most vegetables so they make a good addition to many meals.
The omelettes that I make also always have some chopped peppers in them. I also think peppers are so good on their own, dipped in some hummus or ranch. Similar to onions, peppers go great in so many cold or hot pasta recipes. If you want to have some fun you can try making stuffed peppers! These have become really popular and they’re a great meal. You save yourself carbs by stuffing the pepper with meat rather than slapping the meat onto a roll!
Spinach
Heyo, another superfood here! Also another one that can be easily added to your diet. I choose spinach over kale because it doesn’t have as strong a flavor as kale. Because of this, even if you dont really like it, you can add it to stuff without even really noticing it.
I add spinach to pasta’s and omelettes and when its cooked it shrivels up to about 1/4 it’s original size. You can also use spinach as your base for salads of course or top it on a sandwich. I add spinach to smoothies because, again, you can’t even taste that it’s there but you’re getting all those great nutrients!
Tomatoes
I actually used to hate tomatoes and they still aren’t my favorite vegetable but they can go in a lot of stuff so I buy them often. There are many different types of tomatoes but aside from grape tomatoes, I wouldn’t stress over the difference between the rest.
Once again, I have to bring up my guacamole recipe because tomatoes are the final main ingredient besides lime juice! Tomatoes are also great sandwich toppers or salad additions. I’ve also mentioned those homemade margarita flatbreads which you would top with some sliced tomatoes. You can also chop up some tomatoes to add to pasta recipes.
Zucchini
Zucchini are bit more underrated than the rest of these veggies but I think they are one of the most versatile because of what you can do with them! Yes, of course you can just chop ’em up for pasta dishes or as a side dish. But zucchini can also be a great carb savor when it mimics pasta!!
“Zoodles” are another more recent fad, where people string out zucchinis to be like spaghetti noodles! I personally love them and they aren’t hard to make. You can just run a zucchini through a cheese grater to get some homemade zoodles. Most stores also sell pre-made zoodles now. Zucchini’s are also sliced very thin, longways to make into lasagna noodles. It’s a great versatile veggie that can save you some carbs next time you want some pasta or lasagna.
Okay, now that we got through the important part, lets move on!
Fruits
When it comes to versatility and fruits, it’s going to depend more on your taste. Fruits aren’t often cooked with meals, usually they are just a sweet addition to a meal. With that being said, I do think they are fruits that are more well-rounded when it comes to how you can serve them up! MY list of versatile fruits are…
- apples
- bananas
- blueberries
- strawberries
- mangos
- lemons (mostly just to squeeze on top of meals or in water/tea)
There are so many more amazing fruits that I buy a lot but these are the most versatile and frequently bought. Aside from being eaten on their own, these fruits are great in smoothies, yogurt parfaits, topped on salads, or frozen for desserts. I also add many of these to different oatmeals I make, or top onto different breakfast toasts!
Dairy (and non-dairy substitutes)
Whether it be milks, cheeses, or yogurts, there are a lot of varieties in the dairy isle. A lot of what is versatile for you may come down to your preference. When it comes to health, I tend to stray away from dairy milk and actually only buy it when I know I need it for a recipe, so it isn’t on my versatile grocery list. Over all, I try to pick items that I know I will use for many different meals. With cheese, that can be hard because we all love so many different cheeses! My versatile dairy list is as follows…
- Almond Milk
- Greek Yogurt (plain or vanilla)
- Butter (whatever kind you prefer, dairy or not)
- Sharp Cheddar Cheese
- Provolone Cheese
- Mozzarella Cheese (I try to buy the balls because they’re less processed)
- Parmesan Cheese (Try to get a block because it’s less processed)
These are versatile to ME because…
I use almond milk in my smoothies, oatmeal, cereal, and sometimes as a replacement to recipes that require dairy milk. Yogurt parfaits are one of my go to meals and greek yogurt is much healthier and offers more benefits than regular yogurt. Greek yogurt is a great addition to smoothies too. Butter because, well, everyone needs butter! The cheeses are versatile to me because no matter what kind of sandwich I make, I personally will use provolone. That may be different for you so buy your favoirte. Cheddar cheese is what I use in my omelettes and when I want to make a little casserole or shepperds pie.
I think Mozzarella and Parmesan cheese are versatile for everyone because they can be used on pizzas, in salads, in lasagnas and pastas or for chicken or eggplant Parmesan!
Meat & Seafoods
Now to the filling stuff! These are our meats, fishes, eggs, poultry! All these can be pretty versatile if you find some you love, but when it comes to easy and common meals, some of these stand out…
- Eggs
- Shrimp
- Salmon
- Chicken
- Ground turkey (save your red meat consumption for steaks)
- Steak
- Deli meats (no nitrates added!)
Finding the healthiest meats can be tricky. I include these items on my list because they are the healthiest and most versatile. When buying deli meat be sure to buy ones that had no nitrates added and when buying chicken, steak, or ground turkey, look for ones that are antibiotic free and low in fat. I also want to point out that consuming a lot of eggs can be bad for your cholesterol. The part of the egg high in saturated fats is the yoke so I will cook one egg whole egg and then any additional eggs I add will just be the egg white.
I use eggs hard boiled in salads or to make deviled eggs. I also have scrambled eggs and omelettes for breakfast of course! Steak can be great because you can make it for dinner and then use any left overs in a salad, as a steak wrap, or for a fancy “steak and eggs” breakfast. Chicken can be served up almost any way! Chicken salad, chicken parm, chicken noodle soup, chicken, chicken alfredo, the list goes on and on. I use ground turkey for chili or taco salads. Salmon and shrimp are too very healthy seafood options that also go in many pastas, main dishes, or a salmon salad or shrimp cocktail!
Pantry Items
What would a kitchen be without all the little bottles that make our meals amazing. There are some pantry items that are necessary in a kitchen, like salt and pepper obviously! Some items are used every day and others not as much. Luckily pantry items have a MUCH longer shelf life so we don’t have to worry about wasting them. The following items are the healthy, or healthier, pantry items that I keep stocked up…
- EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
- Salt and Pepper
- Italian Seasoning
- Cinnamon
- Paprika
- Chili Powder
- Mayonnaise
- Natural Peanut Butter
- Chia Seeds
- Flax Seed Meal
- Whole Grain Flour
- Tomato/Red Sauce
- Almonds
- Low Sodium Soy Sauce
The list could go on and on but I include these to the list that I think gets most used. You can really add any seasonings that you love and add to lots of your meals. The same goes for nuts and seeds, you just want to be eating enough of them. I add them to oatmeal and yogurt parfaits. When it comes to condiments, mayonnaise is surprisingly a healthier choice to many others because it’s just made from eggs. I also always like to keep a red sauce in my fridge for when I want an easy pasta dinner.
The Bottom Line
There you have it. My version of a healthy AND versatile grocery list. Of course there are SO many more nutritious foods to include in your diet, but some items tend to be a one and done. Meal prepping can you help you in these instances because you can go to the store with a plan and know that you are going to use all your bok choy on a nice asian noodle recipe. Aside from that, its always great to have osme go-to healthy choices that you can fall back on week to week.
I hope my list will help you during your next visit to the grocery store and at least give you some inspiration for your own versatile list. Just remember to make healthy choices that make sense for you!