First off I want to say thank you so much for all your kind comments on here and Instagram on my One Year Postpartum check in! It was so so nice to read all of them! You ladies are the best! Sticking with the healthy and clean eating kick… as promised my eating clean grocery cart check in.
As mentioned in yesterdays post I have been eating this way for over 8 years now. It was a little bit of an adjustment in the beginning but nutrition has been a big passion of mine for FOREVER so I think that helped. Some of you who have been following The Honeybee for awhile now may remember I was going back to school to become a registered dietician before I became pregnant. That dream has been placed on the back burner for the time being as I want to focus all my energy on Ava (and believe me she takes a lot of it ;). Im hoping to follow through with that dream in a couple years! For now I may try an online program to get certified but i’ll fill you in more on that after I research it a little more. Okay back to the grocery cart! These are all pretty much staples I buy every week (switching them up a bit so we don’t get burned out). All of these were purchased at Trader Joe’s and cost around $100!
We all know if we have a healthy stocked fridge we’re much more likely to make better food choices. I do try to purchase mainly organic but note not ALL of it is. Having quick and easy protein packed snacks on hand are a must for me! Hardboiled eggs, string cheese, hummus, tuna fish and chicken sausage are all great lean protein options!
Next up veggies veggies veggies! You can’t go wrong with veggies in our house! They are super filling, have tons of nutrients and are low in calories….win win! I cut them up to munch on before dinner, steam them for ava, or use them for juicing. The more variety and color the better! Load em up ladies!
Berries are a great snack as well! A cup of strawberries is only around 50 calories and a cup of blueberries is about 80 calories! I am a huge fan of greek yogurt! It has probiotics, protein and much less sugar than regular yogurt. We’ve been hooked on this FAGE brand for years!
bookmarked and added to my grocery list! you give me so much inspiration with your clean eating!! thanks to you, my body feels better..but my cheat days are still insane )=
oh yeah so glad LC! Don't worry I DEFINITELY have cheat days too! I also have to have something sweet everyday!
Thank you for this Andee 🙂 We eat much of the same foods! I keep most of this on hand, but I do need to buy some kale! That's one thing I need to try!
yeah! Glad your on the healthy bandwagon too 😉 Hope you like the kale…my hubby hates it as he thinks its to bitter or intense but its SO good for you! xo
LOVE LOVE LOVE these posts!
Style in the City
;)) So glad you enjoy them too!
I saw those Fiberful bars from Trader Joe's on an earlier post of yours and had to buy them! So delicious, I just ate one ten minutes ago! I love them for my desk at work too.
oh yes aren't they SO good! Sometimes i have them after dinner for a little something sweet 😉
Our cart at TJ's has absolutely everything you have on your list too!!! They have so many great options and great prices to eat healthy! you should try their plain kefir to add to smoothies or soups too . . . great source of protein and my girls drink the strawberry and pomegranate ones!
oh yes good call on the Kefir! My hubby loves that stuff!
So sad we don't have Trader Joe's here in the Midwest! 🙁 But I could buy those foods despite that fact. 🙂 Thanks for sharing! It's really cool to see what healthy beautiful people eat! hehe I love these posts!!
bummer! Hopefully you'll be getting one in your area soon! But yes you can def get most of these items at any grocery store! xo
Hmm, I'm in the midwest and there are plenty of TJ's around here. Maybe if it's a smaller city (I know Canton, OH doesn't have one yet) they don't. But yeah, you should still be able to get the same foods at a regular grocery store!
I've gotten some remarks from people I know after finding out I shop at TJ's that they think it's "too expensive"….uh, after actually shopping there, my grocery bill is always lower than when I go to the regular store. Now, I can't get EVERYTHING I need at TJs, but they still have a good variety.
oh my gosh no i think TJ's is super affordable! I love shopping there! I agree I can't get everything there but I try to buy the majority of our groceries there.
Great post 🙂 I NEED clean eating inspiration since i can't seem to make it through the day without something sugary ahh! x
glad you liked this! Don't worry I def have some kinds of sweets each day too! I just TRY to keep it around 200 calories.
Hi Andee, do you count calories or have a calorie range that you like to stick to? If so, what do you try to aim for? Thanks! Love these posts!!!
I used to count calories before pregnancy but now I'm not as diligent about it. I used to aim for 1700 hundred but realistically was always more like 2000. Now I aim for 2000. You can actually calculate your BMR online to see how many calories you should consume to maintain your weight if your interested.
All great picks! How handy are those hard boiled eggs!?! I have to try those!!! How do you cook and eat the chicken sausage?? Will have to try that too!! Thanks so much as always! Xo
yes! As easy as it is to make your own hard boiled eggs I never do it especially when I'm the worst at peeling them lol Love these because they are ready to go! As for the chicken sausage i usually just sauté them and have them with brown rice and veggies, put them in an omelet or make a healthy pasta with them !
Thank you so much for posting! I'm headed to TJ's after work to try some of these!!
your so welcome!
Looks good!
We try to avoid processed food too – 'clean' eating makes you feel so much better.
amen!! So glad people are becoming more health conscious now!
I think you'd loooove our open-air farmers' markets – they come from their farms with fresh produce, you cant't find a single pre-packed thing and you can choose your own fruit and veggies and meat and eggs.. oh and of course the best thing is that the produce looks and smells and tastes home-grown and doesn't look like something factory made (i.e. all totally identical). try googling "trznica dolac" – it's amazing because it is right next to the main city square in zagreb (which is the capitol of croatia) 🙂
all the best and btw that last post was amazing inspiration!
Thanks hun! I do love a farmers market and they also have some new farm fresh organic delivery services now that come straight to your door I'm thinking about looking into!
Wow, this is amazing. Thank you so much for doing this post as I think posts about your shopping cart are my favorite, although I love a little bit of everything 🙂 Anyway, when you say it cost around $100 dollars – do you mean only the first picture or everything you purchased? I have seen trader's joe few times as I was driving through this city, but I never go in, as for some reason I always think it is a rich people store, hahaha. I know crazy, but for some reason it strikes me as rich people store, so I stick with stop n shop for now…
trader joes is soooo cheap!!! LOL not a rich person store at all! Im a broke student who spends all my money on university and clothes and thats where I get my groceries
yes yes Trader Joes is definitely budget friendly! Love shopping there!
I love seeing people's grocery list. At first I thought the first picture alone was $100 and I was thinking there is no way I can shop at Trader Joes…then I saw the rest. Not too bad and eating healthy is worth it. Thanks.
Great post! I love eating clean, too! I noticed that you didn't include a large variety of fruit like apples, oranges, bananas etc as well as nuts like almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts etc. What are your thoughts on those?
oh yes I definitely eat those as well! This isn't a post on EVERY thing in my fridge just what i happened to come home with from the grocery store last week. We usually always get bananas and apples. I also get almond trail mix but only have it in moderation.
Great! Thanks for your response! Your blog is fantastic! 🙂 x
I am a Registered Dietician, and if I may offer my unsolicited advice… you'd be better set to wait utilize your time, energy and money towards becoming an RD when the time is right for you and your family. Becoming any type of health care professional requires a lot of hoop jumping and a lot of red tape; if you get side-tracked with certificate programs it will only take you longer to reach your goal.
It's more beneficial to you to work solely on the RD education requirements than to spend time on a certificate that you will not get any academic credit for at the university level. Other classifications of "nutrition experts" cannot work legally in different states and countries because they are not licensed, and they are not part of a recognized profession. As an RD you will have more autonomy and versatility professionally (RDs work in hospitals, clinics, schools, write for peer-reviewed journals…). At least in Canada, you WILL NEVER find a certified nutritionist/health expert/whathaveyou working in an ICU, oncology, in pediatrics, with diabetic patients or in any hospital/clinic setting because they're not regulated and do not have the knowledge, skill, training or judgement to work with those populations.
As far as academics is considered, some people choose to become certified nutritionists in hopes of "bridging" to become an RD later on. Unfortunately, the courses a certified nutritionist/health expert takes are not equivalent for academic transfer. This means that you will spend 1-2 years getting a nutrition certificate, and you will still be required to go through the addition of a 4-year baccalaureate program to be considered eligible to write the RD licensing exam with your State's RD regulatory college.
The most pragmatic option would be to figure out what university electives in the RD degree program you can chip away at while you are at home with Ava. This way, when you are able to resume your education your course load will be drastically reduced, and believe be it makes a great difference when you're doing clinical in a hospital and not having to worry about dozens of essays and exams. There might be some prerequisites that you can even do online!!
You're obviously a very smart gal and passionate about health and food science. This is all my unsolicited/unwarranted advice, but I am writing this because I hope to save you from the headaches I had to deal with as a certified nutritionist who later became a registered dietician. I did exactly what I think you are considering with "getting certified" and it just made my journey to becoming an RD that much longer and more arduous. It's better to just focus solely on your original goal of becoming a registered dietician. Chip away at some or your electives and see what pre-requisites you are permitted to take now.
Just keep persisting and NEVER give up. You will get there!!
~Shaunna
just curious, do you ever have coffee? I used to only drink water or homemade juices, but now with my new job, I find I drink 1 cup of coffee every day.. how do you think that effects my body?
So, Ive been wanting to make the trade from a local grocery store chain to trader joes for a larger choice of healthier options, but have been hesitant because of the price…. So, everything pictured was purchased for just around $100 ?????
Honestly this could be my TJs shopping cart! Would love to see how you put some of these things together. Working mom of three girls with husband who shares my healthy lifestyle so always looking for meal ideas! BTW, my oldest who is 9 is an Ava … beautiful name and adorable baby you have!
Natasha
This is so inspirational!! Thank you for showing me the way! Do you drink coffee ever? I was wondering what your typical Starbucks or coffee bean order is. There are so many temptations at coffee shops, and I would love to hear what your go to is!
Thanks for this! I'm always overwhelmed when I walk into a grocery store, so these kinds of posts are helpful. We're moving next month and it's close to a Trader Joe's, so I'm looking forward to getting lots of my grocery shopping done there. Follow-up question: Do you buy a lot of food there for Ava?! Now that our babies are older and can have more "adult" food, I'd love to see what kinds of healthy recipes/groceries you normally get for your little one to help her get started on the same healthy track as her parents 🙂
LOVE this, so helpful. Recipe post! Recipe post! ;);)
Love the review, I always learn something new.
Our grocery carts are almost identical, lol. I've found, that once I established clean eating I didn't miss those foods with processed sugars or salt additives. In fact, I rarely crave "junk food" now. I'm not sure if you feel the same, but ever since I started clean eating (i.e. began several years ago) if I ever eat a cupcake these days, it almost tastes too sweet. Now that I've let my tongue adjust to live without the acquired taste of salt and sugar, I (happily) can't tolerate the taste of them 🙂
hey girl, sorry to bother you again, but I tried the layouts on sugar pop, created one, copied the code to my blog, but when I click on the individuals items it takes me to the edit part of the same layout instead of the actual link of the product… anything I am doing wrong?
Andee! This pictorial overview is simply BRILLIANT!
As humans we are strongest as visual learners and this blog is as innovatingly creative as it is insightfully contributive!
Kudos on your postpartum success- Highly evocative of what wisdom, incentive and determination can achieve!
Andee- might I ask if you wore retentive/Spanx like foundation garments in your efforts to help the body-memory kick into high gear? Recently, Jessica Alba revealed that subsequent to Haven's birth she wore double corsets around the clock for "3 brutal months"- in an effort to externally help the re-configuring of her postpartum self. I also know that in some northern European cultures- ie. the Swiss- have their new moms sleep inverted over hard bed rolls to help compress the abdominal area.
Thanks for sharing your documentary-esque findings! It is so incentivizing to see women paving new and effective weight reduction/maintenance programs-
Cheers from Vancouver!
P.S. Ava is simply a beautifully telegenic baby:)
It takes a lot of discipline and dedication to adhere to healthy eating habits but its well worth the efforts
dressed2dnines.blogspot.com
I made the Tuscan kale salad this past week! Even my boyfriend had some and the next day I took some to work with grilled chicken. Super yummy. Thanks for the idea 🙂
Really nice!! I love it!!
You're such an inspiration!! Wondering though – how do you eat when you're feeling yuck? Whats your go to comfort food when your stomach just doesnt feel right or you need something yummy but dont want to ruin your whole day?
I don't visit my Trader Joes enough since it's on the other side of town, but these pics make me want to take a visit over there!! You eat SO much better than I do, I actually feel guilty (but inspired!) by looking at your grocery cart!! Ha! That chicken sausage and Jarlsberg cheese are calling my name…
I wish you the best of luck in your dreams of doing the dietician thing – you seem like you're already on your way with how in tuned you are with healthy eating. Good luck girl!
Love this post! So helpful!
I love Trader Joe's and do much of my shopping there. I'm very small, 4'11", 102 lbs, so every calorie counts. I would love to know what you eat, day to day, for a week. I get so board with eating the same things, and at times that derails me. I’m trying to eat more cleanly, but have noticed I do take in more calories. Keep the posts coming I look foward to them every day.
Oh I have never seen those sun dried tomatoes chicken sausages before! Could you tell me the nutritional information on those?? I haven't seen them at my Trader Joe's and would love to look for them, but only if they're worth the buy haha.
How often do you eat whole grains (brown rice, oats, bread)?
How often do you eat whole grains (brown rice, oats, bread, cereal, etc.)?