For me, a big part of growing more and more into an intuitive eater (that I am very much not perfect at and there are times when I am far less than intuitive) was filling the pantry and fridge with satisfying + fun foods. I think it’s important to open up the pantry and be able to pick from so many different flavors and textures and have those available so you can be intuitive with snacking or meals.
I realize that intuitive eating is a journey and when starting off, for one reason or another, having a pantry filled with a variety of foods could be very overwhelming. I also realize that having a full pantry and all kinds of fun foods isn’t feasible for everyone either for multiple reasons. That’s okay. Intuitive eating will look different for each person based on so many factors (social, cultural, financial etc etc) so know there is now one size fits all but rather figuring out what works best for you.
So this is just to hopefully inspire you and to encourage you to add some foods to your pantry that you’re excited to have the option to eat. Foods that satisfy your hungry + tastebuds. I opened up my pantry yesterday evening and picked out some foods that I’m loving lately. So here they are!
TJs peanut butter rounds. These are like thick peanut butter cups and amazing. If you like Reese’s eggs (or pumpkins which are out right now) pick up these from Trader Joe’s. I actually prefer the milk > dark chocolate rounds.
Peanut butter powder.(if you buy this the 2 lb bag is a much better bang for your buck) I actually was introduced to this on the peanut trip last week and have been putting it in smoothies. I’ve learned through working with clients and patients that pb powder mixed with water is a common replacement for pb since it has less calories/fat and that is not what I recommend using this for – the fat in peanut butter is satiating, nourishing for your body cells and your brain and satisfying for the taste buds. In smoothies though, this stuff is awesome because the pb taste is so much stronger. When I put regular pb in smoothies I can’t taste it as much. Now I put both pb powder and pb so I get the taste from the powder and healthy fats from the pb. Win win!
Annie’s graham crackers. I spread peanut butter on these and snack on them all the time. It reminds me of being a kid because my mom would spread frosting or peanut butter on graham crackers and pack them in our lunches.
It’s back! Seasonal pumpkin pancake mix from Trader Joe’s makes having pancakes on weekday mornings super easy. I want to make Kylie’s pancake mix cinnamon rolls with this over the weekend.
Cailler chocolate. DREAM. I bought 8 bars of this when we were in Switzerland at the Callier factory because I love their bars with almonds and hazelnuts so much. It’s a thick chocolate bar with loads of whole almonds or hazelnuts. I actually prefer the hazelnut but I already ate all of those 🙂 You can find them on Amazon here but it’s about 5x the price. I think you can find similar bars that are thick with chunky hazelnuts at Trader Joe’s
This is from my fridge but I wanted to share because it’s what I’ve been putting on salads for lunch this week to make them more exciting. I’m always looking for a different type of cheese or dressing or other fun thing (like roasted butternut squash which is super good too) to add to salads. Best part about this – I don’t have to cut or shred it from the cheese block. This week’s salad is kale rubbed with olive oil + apple cider vinegar and topped with cucumber, bell pepper, radishes, rotisserie chicken, parmesan cheese and walnuts with honey mustard dressing.
And lastly, spicy almonds from the Whole Foods bulk bins! I’m not sure if WF carries these everywhere but if you can find them pick them up –> I’m obsessed. They are a little pricey but so tasty so I need to learn how to make them myself. When I want a savory, crunchy snack these hit the spot.
Now you’re turn – in the comments share some favorite things in your pantry right now, I’m always looking for inspiration!
So many great ideas! Thanks for sharing! I’m loving TJ’s Almond Butter Granola. There are big chunks so you can eat it by itself, or it’s really great on yogurt.
OMG That salad sounds all kinds of dreamy! Loving these snack options. Some of my fave snacks are dried roasted edamame (where the nuts are in WF), popcorn, and Oat My Goodness chunky monkey granola (I literally just eat it by itself, and it’s the most wonderful combo of banana, pb, and chocolate).
I really enjoyed this post. Eating foods from childhood is something I also find great pleasure in. I’ve been incorporating more “fun” and random foods into my life over the last several months. Shopping at Trader Joe’s helps me expand my horizons because I always find some new product to try out.
This week, however, I’ve been feeling guilt around food again and shame about my body. I’ve been hearing a lot of thoughts in my head like, “sure it’s okay for SMAL, pretty women to have fun with food, but it’s not okay for me because I am too big.” I’m trying not to attach too much to those thoughts and just stay the course of intuitive eating.
Can you explain a little bit about what you meant when you said in the first paragraph, “there are times when I am far less than intuitive” ?
I’m a big PB powder fan for smoothies or overnight oats too but I’ve learned if you buy it as peanut flour (link below) you get the same exact thing for half the price!!!
P.S. Teddy Grahams are my snacking love affair lately. Yummo.
https://www.amazon.com/Protein-Plus-Roasted-Natural-Peanut/dp/B0052OOYOW/ref=sr_1_1_s_it?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1508337730&sr=1-1&keywords=peanut%2Bbutter%2Bflour&th=1
Right now I’m loving braided wheat pretzels, woven wheat crackers (Triscuits), and frosted animal crackers. Oh and adding cheese too even though it’s from the fridge 😀
Such a fun post!!! Right now in my pantry I have some TJs pumpkins bread&muffin mix, red hot blues tortilla chips for dipping in salsa or making into nachos, dark chocolate peanut m&ms, cape cod potato chips that remind me of home and Goo Goo clusters (such a Nashville thing!!)
Favorite things! I love this post. I also have those peanut butter roundels from TJ’s and they are AMAZE. In the chocolate department I almost always keep the TJ’s tubs of dark chocolate pb cups and dark chocolate covered raisins around. Perfect for “a little something sweet” before bed.
Things I have in the pantry now that I NEVER kept around when I was restricting: potato chips!!! I love the salty crunch with sandwiches or salads; orange juice; TJ’s “everything” flavor pretzel thins;
Have you tried the “mixed” nut butter from TJ’s? Obsessed. Been eating it with apples lately.
I am loving trader joe’s pumpkin waffles, guac, and frozen lemon bars, ohhhhh and TRUFFLE ZEST (Sabatino Tartufi brand) from amazon. It is the bestttt for umami flavor in stir fries or on basically anything.
Umm, I need those peanut butter roundels…:)
Also, I had a thought today and was wondering if you’re open to a post topic suggestion?!
Everyone has days where they just don’t have an appetite…whether they are sick, tired, stressed, or for whatever reason foods just don’t sound good. Using an IE approach, what is your recommendation (generally) in these circumstances? Do you truly just listen to your body and not eat much? Or, is it more advantageous to try and eat as normally as possible (with regards to caloric intake/amount of food) despite what it seems like your body is telling you so your body continues to have it’s income of energy? Would love to hear your thoughts!
I’ve been wondering the same thing as well! As a college student, I get very overwhelmed and stressed some days to the point that I lose my appetite. I then wonder if I should continue to eat, despite my lack of appetite, or not?
This is such an important post for Intuitive Eating. I know when I first began intuitive eating I had not “allowed” myself to have anything other than my “safe” snacks for a long time. It was such a fun (and challenging) experience to begin to incorporate all kinds of snacks back into my diet again. My favorites included sandwich cracker packs, pudding cups, cheese cubes with grapes and oatmeal cookies.
I have been loving roasted butternut squash on salads lately too! My most recent “fun” addition to our pantry was coconut butter. AMAZING. I love a big spoonful or two before bed!
I’m a big fan of Lindt dark chocolate or salt and dark chocolate. My boyfriend and I are from France and he very kindly brought me back 10 blocks from his recent trip!
Thanks for this post 🙂 It’s kind of cool to see the snacks you have in the US – I’m from Australia, and it’s very different! Some of the snacks I regularly keep around are homemade tahini granola to have by itself or with yoghurt, homemade salted caramel slice (I think it’s called millionaire’s shortbread in America?), grab-and-go prepackaged bliss balls/fruit an nut mixes, and Mother Earth chocolate baked oaty slices. Funnily enough, most of my regular go-to snacks now were huge fear foods when I first started incorporating them back into my life. I’m very much still at the start of learning to eat intuitively so some of them still cause me guilt and anxiety, but it’s getting less and less and I’m learning to manage it better as I keep eating them and normalising delicious foods 😀
I keep seeing people making pumpkin pancakes/waffles, and I really gotta try! It sounds soooo yummy.
I’ve been eating a lot of oatmeal lately, the kind that comes in the little instant packets. The really, really sugary kind. I think where it’s getting a bit colder out I’m always craving something warm and sweet and in a bowl. Mmmmm
you do have to try 🙂 those packets bring me back to child hood – love it 🙂
I love how varied your eats always are Robyn, and those thick peanut butter cups sound absolutely amazing! Also, honey graham crackers with one of those pb cups in between sounds really good to me for some reason.
oh man that combo sounds dreamy!
It’s perfect how you asked for breakfast suggestions and then mentioned powdered pb because my newest discovery involves both! Make a waffle (I have been loving Aunt Jemima’s WW mix) and then in a bowl mix powdered pb with milk and stir, then add vanilla extract and actual pb and you get this thick sauce/cream you can smother on a waffle with berries/banana on top!
Love all of these! (especially love how so many are associated with PB 🙂 – my favorite items right now are Kodiak cake pumpkin pancake mix, Cracklin’ Oat Bran cereal (take me back to childhood), and Lite Protein Cookies & Creme (from Target)