Let’s Move Quad Cities’ Diet Blogger, Jeni Tackett, takes us inside her Hampton, IL fridge.
I’m a registered dietitian and a mother of 2. My life is busy with 2 jobs, sports and family life. Of course I also have to juggle the things we all share, including laundry, grocery shopping, cooking, and cleaning!
While I’m a vegetarian, I have plenty of meat eaters in my family. To accommodate my family’s preferences and keep my sanity every week at the store, my goal is to KISS – yes, keep it simple, stupid!
I don’t have weird things in my refrigerator like sheep’s milk, and I don’t have time to prepare all homemade condiments. I shop at local stores like Aldi, Walmart, and HyVee. I shop the ads, and I strive for healthy foods most of the time.
Here’s what’s in my fridge:
Fruits and Vegetables: I stock my fridge with lots of fruits and veggies and plan meals with plant foods. I have a bowl full of grapes which are rinsed and taken off the vine so that my family can easily grab a healthy snack.
I also have mini sweet peppers, blueberries, strawberries, peaches, carrots, snap peas, broccoli, cauliflower, mushrooms, spinach, garlic, and chopped salad.
One of my crisper drawers is full of apples.
Protein: I strive for lean protein sources. We have 97% lean ground turkey, salmon, sliced turkey for sandwiches, tofu, eggs, and a variety of hummus. Red pepper and pine nut hummus are staples in our house for dipping carrots and sweet peppers.
Dairy foods: We love Laughing Cow and Babybel light cheese. They are portion-controlled and delicious.
I also buy grated 2% cheddar cheese to sprinkle on recipes or use with bean tacos. I keep skim milk for adding to oatmeal or recipes that call for milk.
We use light vanilla soymilk in smoothies.
Chobani Greek yogurt is a go-to for lunches. We also keep Reddi-wip whipped topping available to encourage the kids to eat berries for dessert.
Condiments: In the door of my refrigerator you will find ketchup, mustard, olive-oil-based mayonnaise, Promise margarine, pesto, salsa, lite sour cream, whipped cream cheese, and balsamic vinaigrette salad dressing.
Grains: Most grains are in the bread basket or pantry, but I keep 100% whole wheat tortillas in the refrigerator. They are delicious when paired with cream cheese and lots of vegetables for a wrap.
Beverages: We have filtered water, flavored water, and seltzer water for beverages, along with my favorite beer: Bent River’s Mississippi Blonde.
Leftovers: We have lots of leftovers in our refrigerator. They make great lunches and dinners on busy nights when there is no time to cook.
What’s in YOUR fridge?
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Meet Jeni Tackett, Let’s Move Quad Cities Nutrition Blogger. Jeni is a registered and licensed dietitian for Rock Valley Health. Jeni counsels her clients on weight loss and nutrition. You can read Jeni’s bio and other blog posts by clicking here. |
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