Being the food lover that I am, I get excited to try new recipes that sound delicious to me, experiment in the kitchen or dine out at a new eatery. While this blog perhaps should have been named something to do with being a picky foodie due to my propensity to eat mostly high-quality, healthy foods and never eat anything that once had a mother, I am most definitely a girl who loves to eat good food.
Just saying! 😉
Although I like to get creative with my meals and try new foods and dishes, I definitely also have some favorite foods and go-to meals that I eat nearly every day. These are foods that I keep in my house all the time and feel like my kitchen is incomplete without. I thought I’d share the list with you guys, so here we go!
An apple a day keeps the doctor away…
Both my hubby and I are apple lovers. I even got him in the habit of cutting up an apple and sprinkling it with cinnamon as a nighttime snack! We each tend to eat an apple pretty much daily. I also like my apples with nut butter, or chopped up and topping a yogurt bowl – always with cinnamon, which I eat every day sprinkled on something as well.
Apples provide the body with fiber and lots of antioxidants to fight disease and boost your immune system.
Based on my constant stock of 7-10 different jars of it, I cannot deny that I’m a nut butter lover. Cashew butter, almond butter and the classic peanut butter top my list of favorite nut butters.
Nuts contain a lot of monounsaturated fat, aka the “good” fat. Eating this kind of fat in moderation, as I do with my daily nut butter intake, has proven to have a ton of benefits, including helping to build strong bones, keep brain function at optimal levels, reduce inflammation and help lower risk for heart disease and cancer. Eating moderate amounts of good fat is also said to help balance hormones, aid in recovery from intense exercise, and actually to help increase metabolism… so don’t be afraid to eat nuts and nut butter!
Bananas for bananas…
An acai bowl topped with lots of fruit, including banana, bee pollen & shredded coconut
They’re an interesting fruit to me, because I eat them every single day in some form – usually within smoothies, pancake batter, or with the above mentioned nut butter – but I never eat them all on their own. I actually have probably eaten a banana plain only a few times in my entire life, but they’re a part of my diet almost every day in some way. Is that odd?!
Chocolate chip banana bread… one of my favorite things to bake!
Every time I go grocery shopping, I buy a ton of bananas. Half of them I cut in half and throw in the freezer for smoothie use, and the other half get eaten 1/2 at a time by me… or a whole at a time by my chocolate peanut butter protein shake loving hubby.
You probably know that bananas contain potassium, but did you know that they also provide the body with Vitamin B-6, which strengthens the nervous system and protects against illness, help to regulate blood sugar, and also contain high levels of tryptophan, which is converted into the feel-good neurotransmitter called serotonin? And that’s just naming a few of their benefits…
My sweet tooth loving self also eats dark chocolate nearly every day. Eating just a tablespoon or two of chocolate chips, or just a couple small squares of dark chocolate usually satisfies my chocolate cravings. I often throw some on top of yogurt + fruit bowls, in pancakes or waffles, or in berry banana sorbet creations.
Did you know that dark chocolate is really good for you? It contains lots of antioxidants and minerals, and research has also found that dark chocolate protects against heart disease and helps lower cholesterol. The key is eating it in moderation, and eating dark chocolate. Here’s a neat infographic I found via Prevention here that talks about the general differences between milk and dark chocolate:
Protein powder is also something I incorporate into my diet almost daily. Since I exercise a lot and eat a vegetarian diet that tends to be somewhat high in complex carbs, I always want to make sure that I’m eating enough protein to help build lean muscle. I get a lot of my protein from more natural sources like beans and grains, but I also like to supplement with protein powder.
Lately I’ve been eating only vegan protein powder, and my pick has been Puritan’s Pride soy protein in both their natural and chocolate flavors. I most often mix 1/2 scoop into my smoothies, cereal, or pancake batters to give my meal a protein boost.
Last but not least on my list is almond milk.
Even though I eat dairy, regular milk kind of freaks me out, so I started substituting it with almond milk awhile back. Almond milk is a great lactose-free milk alternative, and I often buy either Almond Breeze or Califia Farms brands.
Tell me… what foods do you eat daily or almost every day?
I’m all about ALL of these, HA. We should just eat all day together. Yup sounds good to me.
Um, YES. That sounds like an amazing plan. Since you’re a coffee connoisseur and I love wine, we’ll have to compromise and visit both coffee shops AND wineries together, while eating the whole time… obviously!
Ah, I go through phases with apples .. either I love them for months, or forget about ’em for a while! I’m definitely with you on bananas. I’d have to add sweet potatoes to this list 🙂 and typically Greek yogurt, when I’m not doing a vegan thaangg.
I’m a Greek yogurt fan too!
I am obsessed with almond milk and almond butter!! I imported a ton of it to Brazil so I would have my own little stash!!
Ooohh, nice! So now you don’t have to go without…that’s awesome. I’d need to import almond milk too if I lived somewhere that didn’t have it!
SALMON! EVERY SINGLE DAY! Seriously – I am OBSESSED. I also eat SPINACH every single day!!!
Eyyyy Popeye… good for you!
You were so right with what you said on my blog- we do eat a very similar diet! I have just as many nut butter jars, haha! And I eat an apple almost every day too. Makes me feel like a champ!
I know it!!
Argh, you’ve reminded me to bring apples back- I always forget them! I’m actually disappointed with my nut butter stash- I think it’s 3 types of plain peanut butter- unsalted, salted and salt and sugar filled lol!
Haha. Come on now, you have to step up your nut butter game, Arman!
I eat eggs and avocado pretty much every day. I get a bit jittery if I don’t have them haha
I’m with you on the avocado – so good! My problem lately has been that they go from hard to overripe so quick. It’s so annoying when I cut into an avocado and it’s all brown. Grrr!
Ahh!! I love this! Great post idea! …and I’m with ya on the “dairy, but milk freaks me out” thing!! haha, I switched to almond milk and I LOVE it! I drink it all the time! 🙂 Also, you love nut butters! So healthy! …that graph about dark vs. milk chocolate is so cool! I’m a dark chocolate lover myself! 🙂
Haha, some people think it’s weird.. They say, “So wait, you eat dairy, but you don’t like milk?” and I’m like, “Umm yup. Pretty much!” Almond milk is where it’s at!
Love this! Like you I eat and apple with peanut butter everyday! I used to drink smoothies daily but since the weather has been colder, it doesn’t sound as good. I’ll get back into that routine once the weather warms up for sure!
I’m sure you will! Nothing like a frozen fruit smoothie when it’s a warm day.. always so refreshing!
I eat most of the things you mentioned (haven’t hopped on the protein powder bandwagon yet) regularly too. I also typically have yogurt on a daily basis, and egg whites, though that’s not a daily thing. I’m also a big arugula fan – I eat it most days of the week! I’ve only bought protein powder once because I honestly don’t know much about it, but I didn’t love it and didn’t end up trying it again. But I’ve actually been searching for a brand since seeing your delicious looking pancakes and wanting to mimic them! Would the brand you mentioned work for them, or do you recommend another kind?
I know what you mean, as protein powder can be very hit or miss – I’ve had protein powders that I love because they just sort of blend into whatever I’m putting it in, and ones that have very distinct tastes that I don’t care for. Yup, I use Puritan’s Pride vegan protein in my batters all the time! Sunwarrior and Manitoba Harvest are other brands that make vegan protein powders that I like, and if I’m eating whey protein, I’ll use Designer Whey. When trying different protein powders, I’ve become more picky because some brands have a lot of extra stuff in there that isn’t necessary (like artificial sweeteners) so just be on the lookout for that.