Hey hey 
Hope you had a fantastic almost-Friday <3
My day was a blasty, but crazy as usual.
It started off with CRP cert- check out the “face” I got to use for the mannequin
Our instructor was a firefighter and firefighters are very… knowledgeable… so class was better than my last experience 
I feel fully-equipped with my CPR skillz, but hopefully will never, ever have to use them.
Also at work, I supervised the weight room, assisted Zumba, did 30 minutes on the Stairmaster (and was sweating buckets! It’s been a while), and also got to act as a human metronome for the drumming class- banging two sticks together for 45 minutes to help the class keep the beat. That’s always a good time, but my brain hurt when I got home.
So much in fact, that I needed a brainless, yet delicious dinner
Breakfast cookie dough cereal to the rescue! (with organic blackberries, cinnamon and heated up for a minute in the microwave)
See that chocolaty blob in the middle?
That’s melted vegan dark chocolate truffle that I made the other night. (Melted chocolate chips with a little almond milk, chill in the fridge a little while and roll into balls. Easy peasy)
Cuddle time with Bell was just was the doctor ordered, too
So I get quite a few questions about my favorite grocery staples and standards I keep on hand, so I thought it would be a good Reader’s Request for this week.
Here are the things that I like to have on hand, at all times in the casa:
Grains and breads:
-Brown rice
-gluten-free oatmeal
-brown rice farina
-quinoa
-1 type of pasta: I love mung bean fettuccini and black bean spaghetti the best
-brown rice bread + one “fun” bread (like brown rice tortillas, gluten-free English muffins or gluten-free bagels)
Dairy:
-organic butter or ghee
-organic eggs
-goat cheese
-goat cream cheese
Meat/fish
-frozen Wild-caught salmon (fresh is better, but since I live in Arizona, frozen is the same thing as the “fresh” stuff at the deli)
-frozen organic chicken breasts
-canned albacore tuna
-Deli meat or tofu is a great option, but there more occasional treats
Beans/legumes and canned food
-organic chickpeas
-organic kidney beans
-organic lentils
-raw cashews
-diced tomatoes
-pasta sauce
-artichoke hearts
-kalamata olives
-sundried tomatoes
-tomato paste
-tomato sauce
Condiments
-Almond butter
-Dijon mustard
-One salad dressing (Goddess dressing and balsamic are my faves)
-hummus
-Nama Shoyu or Tamari
Produce (all organic)
-salad greens- I switch it up every week. If I got romaine last week, I’ll get spinach this week, arugula the next and so on
-green apples
-grape tomatoes
-bell peppers
-baby carrots
-cucumber
-lemons
-zucchini, squash, asparagus or eggplant- whatever looks fresh and in season
-onions
-berries (fresh and frozen for smoothies)
-baby bananas- I pick the smallest ones, since a large banana is usually two servings
Snacks
-Seaweed snacks
-Dark chocolate
Extras
-Extra virgin olive oil
-Coconut oil
-Sun Warrior protein powder
-Decaf espresso powder
-cacao powder
-Spices
So there ya go!
And guess what? That’s the tentative shopping list for the first week of Summer Shape Up- it starts on Monday!! If you’re planning to follow along, check out your pantry and see what you may like to pick up this week to set yourself up for success. The meal plan is never set in stone, but rather a TON or breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack ideas that you can mix and match as you see *fit*
Hope this helps a little!
xoxo
Gina
Hi, I'm Gina. Welcome to The Fitnessista! I love blogging about my adventures as a new mom, military wife and fitness instructor, as well as sharing new workouts and recipes. Check out the About page for more info - thanks for stopping by!
You are so beautiful! And I’m probably way behind on this, but the new layout is excellent too!
*blushes* thank you, i’m glad you like it
Where can you find decaf espresso powder?
Starbucks has their instant “Via” powder in decalf (single portion sizes
Thanks for sharing cant wait for summer shape up…, that picture of you and bella is precious by the way
i bet you are happy to live next to a trader awesome’s now!!!
Love the list!! I’ll deinfitely keep it in mind next time I shop
i have been looking for mung bean or black bean pasta and to this day, have not found one! ugh. i go to different wf’s all the time too. there’s like 5 all 30 mins away from me.
cannot wait for ur summer shape up!!
Wow, that drumming class sounds like a lot of work! I’m pretty sure I’d walk out of there with a headache
And that picture of you and Bella is ADORABLE–you both are such pretty ladies and so, of course, any picture with you both is going to be a winner!
I love seeing all the trader joe’s groceries. Trader Joe’s is my favorite for weekly grocery shopping trips. I love all of their fun little extra goodies that somehow end up in my cart
I have to try some of the Trader Joes Seaweed Snacks! I love that the have that available now.
Love your grocery list girl! It’s always nice to see how other people shop..
I have a question for you: Why do you like to use goat’s dairy instead of cow’s dairy or soy based products?
hey gina! i love your site and am a regular reader. Just a quick suggestion. I live in Australia so I don’t know what its like in the US, but here you can get seaweed snacks super cheap at asian grocery stores ! the same goes for goji berries!
Gina,
Thanks for the list and looking forward to the summer shape up! Can I put in a reader request for your skin care routine/ products? Thank you!
ah the cpr dummies always freak me out a bit!
Our pantries are twins! We have a lot of the same stuff- though I’ve never had black bean pasta- I’m excited to try it!
Thanks for sharing your staples and your grocery finds and what you tend to keep on hand. I’ve done posts like this before and I love seeing what other people buy and keep around.
Your list is lacking in the agave, sugar, chocolate chips, nutella, and 17 versions of nut butter that I tend to keep on hand in case I get a wild hair at 3am to make some crazy concoction of a dessert. Which has totally been known to happen….lots
You probably have that stuff too but just didnt mention it. then again, I do have a wicked sweet tooth that not everyone has or stocks up for..haha!
love the list!
Thanks for the ideas! I am gluten free as well, and I need to find some of those gluten free bagels. I also didn’t know I needed to buy gluten free oatmeal. Is the quaker not gluten free? My stomach gets really sensitive to gluten, but I’m still having issues, so maybe I’m still getting gluten in hidden foods.
oatmeal can have traces of gluten in it if it’s not made at a dedicated facility. it could be that you’re getting a trace amount of gluten from your oatmeal, or you could be sensitive to oats in general – some people have trouble digesting it. but hopefully that’s not the case for you!
thanks for answering this!
i love the feeling of a stocked kitchen
wanna come stock mine 
hi Gina, i love the picture with Bella! she is such a cute dog and makes me want to get one just like yours! have a awesome friday.
Ok drumming for 45 minutes would make my brain hurt too! You need earplugs or something!
I have staples that I need to keep on hand too — lots were on your list but another is chips and salsa. We eat that as a snack so often that we *need* that in the house!
Gina, where do you get your goat cream cheese from? I’ve been wanting to try it since the first time I saw you mention it!!
Yes, this! I can’t seem to find goat cream cheese either. :/ I’m still needing to try goat cheese too!
trader joe’s! it’s life-changing
That CPR face is creepy – I think I need to get re-certified because mine expired, boo. Thanks for sharing your shopping basics – I think it’s interesting to know what other people keep in stock.
I’ve always hated CPR dummies. I find myself thinking about all of the people that have used them before me and I get really upset. I mean, I’m sure they clean and disinfect them very well between uses… but it’s just something that gets in my brain whenever I’m near one. I’ve never seen just the nose and mouth part of one before, though. That’s new.
Hi Gina! I’ve been a silent reader of your blog for some time now, and I just wanted to tell you that you are so beautiful! I love reading your blog every single day. We have similar pantry staples already, but you have given me some more ideas! I’m so looking forward to reading your suggestions for meal plans! Have a fabulous weekend, girl!
hey jessica,
thank you so much!! so nice to *meet* you and hope to see you around more often
have a great weekend!
I just got recertified too except our new CPR guidelines completely removed the breathing in the person’s mouth part because it only increases the oxygen level in their blood by maybe 2%, and is a big reason why people DON’T jump in to an emergency situation to help — they’re scared they’ll do it wrong! So basically, you check the person’s pulse, check their airway to make sure it’s not blocked, check to see if they’re bleeding anywhere, tilt their head back gently and make sure their mouth is open, and then just start pumping on their chest and don’t stop til help arrives/someone relieves you (it gets tiring VERY fast!). By pumping their heart, you’re moving oxygenated blood around their body anyway. It’s a lot less steps to remember, there’s no counting, and hopefully that way people won’t feel too intimidated to help when there’s an emergency situation that calls for these procedures.
And you don’t have to put your mouth on an insanely creepy dummy! Or a stranger.
I work in a hospital and just got recertified a couple of weeks ago, and we learned those changes as well. I think the new guidelines say that you can do the rescue breaths, but the most important part is the chest compressions because it takes like 15 compressions to begin to perfuse (deliver oxygen via the blood) the heart adequetely, and by the time you give a breath, a lot of the momentum has been lost. So the heart is better “fed” if you keep doing compressions. Of course, the blood only has so much oxygen in it that it can deliver, so I think you still need to give breaths to reoxygenate, but make sure you are emphasizing the compression portion.
But I don’t think you need to give breaths at all unless you are doing CPR for a long time on the person =)
yes, they told us about that too! they said if it’s not a family or friend and we don’t want to do the breaths in between, they’re not necessary
I can’t wait to start the summer shape up… in a workout rut and I think this might break me out of it!
Our instructor was a firefighter and firefighters are very… knowledgeable… HAHA! sounds like a *fun class
In my CPR class in college I was partners with the most disgusting boy ever. Even the alcohol swabs they gave you didn’t make me feel better about making out with that mannequin after him. So gross!
Ooo I love looking at shopping lists
Those seaweed snacks are so addicting!
i need to work on stocking my kitchen better!
my staples lately have been cucumber and broccoli, i’ve been eating it everyday for supper. And also apples and instant oatmeal at work.
I like your variety though
I love this post! I am the queen of making lists and then forgetting to bring them with me to the grocery store! It’s easy to forget things and this makes it easier!
We have those exact same counter tops. I’ve been waiting for our Trader Joe’s to start carrying the brown rice tortillas. No luck yet!
I want to start studying to become a personal trainer… and I bought all the books and everything, but I am actually most nervous about taking the CPR cert test! lol! Even though I did it in high school or something… it makes me nervous!
it’s really painless, just long
Can’t wait for Summer Shape Up! I followed it last summer and loved!
I love hearing about your staples!! Mine are very similar. Are seaweed snacks worth it?! I’ve always seen them, but I never buy them beause I am skeptical!
Good items! I’m learning how to eat/cook with less bread/grain, so this helps.
That CPR dummy face was super scary
hahah! for real
I can’t wait for summer shape-up! I need it. Winter kicked my butt and I lost major inches, but I’ve probably packed them all back on : ( I love being able to read other reader’s experiences with the shape-ups, it’s so encouraging.
Trader Joe’s rocks my world. This time of year I get most of my produce from the CSA, but I love their vanilla honey chevre!! On everything.
Looks like a lot of great groceries! I wish there was a TJ’s near me….I would definitely take advantage of their cheeeeap prices! PLus their products are so yummy! I love their hummus’!
I keep a lot of those same TJ’s staples around too! I just put up a post today on how Trader Joe’s meals helped me survive my crazy busy week. SO delicious, healthy, and fast!
Hi Gina! I was just wondering where you get your decaf espresso powder, I’ve never heard of that before. My hubby isn’t supposed to have caffeine and misses espresso dearly. Thanks!
whole foods and tj’s has it
Trader joe’s pre-made lentils! The best. I eat them practically every day for lunch, topped with scrambled eggs, roasted sweet potato and fresh salsa. Yum.
that sounds AMAZING
any particular reason you eat only egg whites and not the yolk. All the good stuff is in the yolk.
i eat eggs multiple times a day, so it wouldn’t be healthy for me to eat the yolks every time. i eat 1 yolk per day
I’m so excited for summer shape up! I really want to get my muscles back!