It’s Friday!

My day started off with this…

I couldn’t decide if I wanted bananas on my pb toast so I decided just to put them on half! I love variety. It was a good decision. 😉 Banana and peanut butter is such a winning combo. What a great way to start the morning.

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Last night was a “wing-it” night, so I decided to throw together a kitchen sink salad.

Which brings me to the topic of kitchen staples. You will notice that my salads have a lot of the same ingredients almost ALL THE TIME. I apologize if it gets boring but I have found that there are certain foods that we almost have on hand. Items that we always seem to keep stocked because we use them so often, which can easily be made into a meal.

Kitchen staples in our house

• Huge container of mixed greens lettuce
• Black beans, usually canned
• Frozen veggies: peas, corn, broccoli, mukimame (soybeans)
• Tilapia (frozen)
• Chicken Breasts (frozen)
• Oatmeal
• Peanut Butter
• Eggs
• Insane amount of condiments–like I said I LOVE sauce
• some sort of bread or tortillas
• We generally have quite a few fresh fruits and veggies on hand as well, but get low toward the end of the week

With these staples on hand, it makes tossing together a quick and healthy meal a pretty easy task.

Options from these staples:

• Crockpot pulled chicken
• Salad
• Tilapia and roasted broccoli
• Full o’ veggie hash with an egg on top
• Stir fry
• Bean burritos
• Fried egg sandwich
• Peanut butter wraps
• Etc., Etc., Etc.

So colorful! I often go straight for the salads because they are fast, they help me increase my veggie intake for the day, they taste great, and I don’t think I have ever regretted eating a big ol’ salad. You can switch them up and make them a million plus different ways which keeps things exciting. Plus, I am a gal who likes volume when it comes to my food. I like snacks like popcorn, dinners like soups and salads, breakfasts like yogurt loaded with fruit. You know, the kinds of meals and snacks where you can get more bang for your buck; a larger quantity of food versus a very calorie dense food like pizza (but I do love pizza), and where you can eat a larger amount of food but not suffer the calorie consequences. This is probably because I truly enjoy eating; but not in an obsessive way. I love exploring foods and trying new recipes, as you have probably noticed by now.

Alright, I am off to finish getting ready for work. Happy Friday!

What are YOUR kitchen staples? Feel free to comment!