Jamie’s Suggestions for a Healthy Grocery Shopping List

Proteins

• Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast
• Tuna (water packed), or White Meat Chicken (water packed)
• Fish (tilapia, cod, halibut, and on occasion salmon and sea bass)
• Shrimp
• Extra Lean Ground Beef or Ground Round (92-96%)
• Protein Powder (lactose free)
• Egg Whites or Eggs
• Eye of Round (Cube Meat, Stew Meat, Bottom Round , 96% Lean Ground Round)
• Extra Lean Ground turkey, Turkey Breast Slices or cutlets (fresh meat, not deli cuts)

Complex Carbs

• Oatmeal (Old Fashioned or Quick Oats)
• Sweet Potatoes (Yams)
• Beans (pinto, black, kidney)
• Oat Bran Cereal (watch sugar, less than 6 grams)
• Brown Rice
• Ezekiel Bread (frozen healthy section of Kroger’s or Whole Foods)
• Farina (Cream of Wheat from box)
• Multigrain Hot Cereal
• Pasta (Whole Wheat, Ezekiel brand – watch serving, very dense)
• Rice (jasmine, basmati, Arborio, wild, brown)
• Potatoes (red, baking, new)
• Kashi Low Sugar Cereals (less than 6 grams of sugar)
• Whole Wheat Pita (Low Carb Variety)
• Carbdown Flatbread (Wal-Mart)
• Corn Tortillas (Food for Life Brand is best, microwave to make crispy)
• Whole Wheat Tortillas
• Rice Cakes (lightly salted only)

Fibrous Carbs & Veggies (Fresh 1^st , frozen 2^nd , canned last choice)

• Green Leafy Lettuce (Green Leaf, Red, Leaf, Romaine)/Bagged Salad
• Broccoli
• Asparagus
• String Beans
• Black Beans
• Spinach
• Bell Peppers
• Brussels Sprouts
• Cauliflower
• Celery
• Mushrooms
• Pickles
• Cabbage
• Sprouts
• Cucumber
• Green or Red Pepper
• Onions
• Garlic
• Tomatoes
• Zucchini
• Squash
• Spaghetti Squash (my fav)
• Pumpkin

Fruit

• Berries (blueberries and raspberries)
• Lemons or Limes
• Melons (not watermelon)
• Grapefruit
• Apples
• Grapes
• Oranges
• Eat bananas, strawberries, peaches or plums sparingly (lots of natural sugar)
• No dried fruits, including raisins (loaded with sugar)

Healthy Fats

• Natural Style or Organic Peanut Butter, even better, Peanut Wonder (Whole Foods Market)
• Olive Oil or Safflower Oil
• Nuts (peanuts, almonds)
• Flaxseed Oil
• Avocado

Dairy & Eggs

• Low-fat or fat-free cottage cheese
• Eggs
• Low or Non-Fat Milk (eat dairy only occasionally)
• Non-fat yogurt (look for low sugar only)
• Fat-free String Cheese
• Fat-free Cream Cheese

Beverages

• Bottled Water
• Iced Tea (decaf)
• Coffee (decaf)
• Diet Soda
• Crystal Light or Wal-Mart Brand Sugar-Free Drink Mixes

Condiments & Misc.

• Fat-free Mayonnaise (on occasion)
• Reduced Sodium Soy Sauce
• Reduced Sodium Teriyaki Sauce
• Balsamic Vinegar
• Balsamic or Raspberry Vinaigrette
• Salsa or Fresh Pico De Gallo
• Stevia (no calorie all natural sweetener)
• Sugar Free Maple Syrup
• Sugar Free Jelly (Polaner or Smuckers)
• Chili Paste
• Tomato Paste (low sugar)
• Mustard (yellow or Dijon)
• Extracts (vanilla, almond, etc)
• Low Sodium fat-free beef or fat-free chicken broth
• Plain or reduced sodium tomatoes sauce, puree, paste (look for low sugar)
• Worcestershire Sauce
• Fat-free cooking spray

Other Items to Purchase

• Sugar-free Jell-O
• Sugar free applesauce

Now, does this Instant Wrap Away product actually work?  Let’s look at the before and after claim! This is always the fun part. If this company can honestly say all this woman did was use this product, I’M SOLD! But they can’t, because it would be a big fat LIE. For anyone to get these kinds of results, one would need to drastically reduce their calorie intake. They would need to drastically increase their fitness lifestyle. If this product comes with an exercise and nutrition plan, THEN I might believe the results…but again, the results of the entire package, not the wrap alone.  Please people, don’t be fooled!  At the end of the day, we all want to look good but don’t be sold by marketing gimmicks out to make a dollar off of you. Do your research and you’ll see it always comes right back down to the tried and true:  Healthy eating and exercise!

Write down a list of both the positive AND negative people in your life who have any kind of influence on you whatsoever.  The positive ones stay, the negative ones GO. It’s really that clear cut.  Perhaps you’re saying that the negative person is your mother, your sister, your spouse? Limit your exposure to them in regard to your goal. If you have to be around them on a regular basis, keep your goal to yourself. Protect it! Tell ONLY the people on your positive influence list.  They are the ones you need on your journey to the top. If you don’t have positive people on that list, join a group and start searching for them.  They exist- WE are two of them!

Second, providing the negative people aren’t in your living space on a daily basis, write your goal on a big piece of paper and plant it RIGHT on  your refrigerator.  You have to eat several times a day so where better than there? Not to mention, if it’s a weight related goal, the constant in your face placement of it will be a pretty good reminder when you reach for a not so desirable food item.  If you share living quarters with the negativity, STILL write it down and keep it in your car, your wallet…your bedroom mirror, your sock drawer!! Wherever you feel you can expose yourself to it.  You need a commitment, from yourself!

Finally, reward yourself!  Just because it’s a new year, doesn’t mean you have to suddenly wake up PERFECT.  That’s NOT reality.  Reality is trying to achieve a goal and in the process, having a few obstacles but getting back on track as soon as they’re recognized. Good friends in your circle who know your goal will help to remind you about it in a positively healthy way.  If you set SMALLER goals, and reward yourself as you go, you’ll be much happier along the journey to the destination.  Say for example you want to lose 50 lbs before June, try saying you’ll lose about 8 lbs a month in a natural healthy way. Every month when you’ve met your 8 lb goal, celebrate! Not with food, but with some personal pampering…go away for the weekend, buy yourself a new piece of clothing; something to say ‘hey, you’re doing just fine!’

And guess what, you are!  I found the following on the internet…print it…post it…say it! Do whatever you need to do to keep you on track, but remember it starts with what YOU say, think and feel…once you’ve decided you won’t let negative voices stand in your way of success, the rest is just Doing.