imprompTuesday - Foods We Keep on Hand at ALL Times

Happy Tuesday Everyone,

I hope today isn't feeling like a second Monday for you!

Recently I was thinking about how everyone tends to have those staple foods that they always keep on hand. Sometimes these can be very healthy food options, other times not so much.

As I've mentioned before, we have really adjusted our diet over the past few years and now have some healthier items on hand at all times. I wanted to share these items with you to give you some ideas of other items you can have on hand as well (if you don't already keep these on hand).

1. Flat of Eggs - We buy these at WalMart and always buy in bulk since we eat eggs for breakfast and lunch...and even use them in a healthy dessert recipe we put together. Good source of protein.
2. Beans - I'm not talking canned beans, I'm talking bags of beans that you have to soak over night and cook for 1.5 - 2 hours.  These are very healthy for you and don't contain the large amounts of sodium and additives that you get with canned beans. This is another thing that we'll eat for breakfast and lunch. We will also throw it into dinner depending on what we're making. (Chili, tacos, beans and rice as a side...)
3. Brown Rice - We don't buy instant rice any more, we buy bags of brown rice and then cook about 6 cups each week to use for, you guessed it, breakfast and lunch.  We'll also use it for dinners such as chicken and rice, Asian meals that utilize rice, etc...
4. Squash & Zucchini - This has become a huge staple for us. We've been adding it to our breakfast and lunch bowls as well as for a side at dinner. We'll lightly salt them and add pepper and other seasonings to enhance the flavor.
5. Onions - We always buy about two nets worth at the beginning of the month and that will typically last us for the whole month.  We'll utilize them for our breakfast and lunch bowls as well as adding them to almost every dinner recipe in some form or fashion.
6. Fresh Garlic - We tend to add minced garlic to almost all of our dinners to just add some flavor. Thank goodness my husband and are kids love the flavor of onions on garlic!
7. Sara Lee 45 Calorie Bread - We love this stuff! 45 calories per slice and they have a few options to choose from.  We always get the 100% Whole Wheat with Honey. We don't eat sandwiches all the time, but will substitute the bread for our rice on occasion for breakfast or lunch.  Plus, especially during the summer, sometimes you just want to eat a tasty cold sandwich!
8. Protein Powder - This one goes in waves...we'll hit a time period where we'll drink a lot of them throughout the week and then go through a period where we won't eat a lot of them. It really depends on our mood. We like the Body Fortress brand from WalMart and enjoy the fact that there are different flavors to choose from.

Now I'd like to hear from you, what foods do you like to keep on hand? What are your must-have items in your fridge, freezer or pantry?