Happy Sunday!!! Today marked STEP 2 of my Fridge Makeover ~ Restock my fridge with fresh, healthy food that will most likely include a new recipe with the fresh taste of butter, the healthier way.
If you missed out on STEP 1 and all the details of my Fridge Makeover Challenge, Click HERE and read all about it 🙂
To help make STEP 2 happen, the ever amazing people at I Can’t Believe it’s Not Butter provided me a a $100 Grocery Gift Card!! Thanks again ~ you all rock!!!
I started out by doing a little research on refueling my fridge.
I got down to business and created this HEALTHY MEAL PLAN plus my SHOPPING LIST before I headed out the door.
BREAKFASTS:
* Egg Foo Young
* The usual round up of whatever sounds good 🙂 Egg white fluffies, oatmeal, protein pancakes, wafflewiches, yogurt, fruit, etc.
LUNCHES:
* Sesame Chicken Noodles
* Sandwiches with Muenster, Turkey, Ham, Spicy Hummus and maybe Cranberry Orange relish
* Curried Chicken Salad with Grapes
SNACKS:
These are just things I like to have on hand and in SIGHT so I grab them ~ I typically pair a protein with a healthy carb and/or grain.
* Yogurt, Fat Free Cottage Cheese, LF Cheeses, Fruit, Nuts, Veggies, Hard Boiled Eggs, Hummus, Crackers, Nut Butters
* I might make up some Deviled Eggs too
DINNERS:
* Caramelized Apple Salad with Grilled Onions
* Shrimp Scampi with Asparagus over Whole Wheat Pasta
* Island Soyaki Chicken Shish Kabobs over Brown Rice
* Chef Salad with Homemade Tomato Basil Soup
* Grilled Flank Steak with Mashed Potatoes and Greens
* Healthy Walnut Fettuccine over Spinach
* Optional ideas: Mini Turkey/Veggie Meatloaves, Homemade Pizza
TREATS:
* Healthy Bananas Foster over ICE CREAM!
* For Easter ~ Healthy Holiday Butter Sugar Cookies or Lemon Cookies
More recipes to come and my menu is always totally subject to change of course 😀 LOL
I did 99% of my shopping at my FAVORITE STORE ~ Trader Joe’s and picked up a few things at my local Raley’s that TJ’s didn’t have.
THE PRODUCE HALL! TIP I try to buy organic whenever possible, but, 100% for anything that had skin on that you will eat. Anything you peel, I do not worry about since you can peel away any residual pesticides.
TIP Whenever I buy fresh herbs, I like to put them in my HERB KEEPER because it will keep my herbs fresh for about 2 weeks versus 2-3 days. This is AWESOME because fresh herbs can be expensive.
I start off by cutting the bottom stems off.
Then, I add 1/2 cup of water – to the fill line.
Then, place my herbs in my container. I LOVE the top part (green) because it is a separate small attachment you can keep already chopped/prepped herbs in. I got mine at Pampered Chef, however, I did put an awesome looking Mini and Full Sized Herb Keeper in My Open Sky Shop in case you are not going to a Pampered Chef Party and want one (the one is my shop is cheaper I think LOL).
The REST of my groceries, plus some Shrimp I picked up at Sam’s that you don’t see.
Here are all ‘”THE REPLACEMENTS”
Healthy PURE Maple Syrup and Organic Grape Jelly for The Husband.
They both do NOT contain any bad ingredients – woohoo!
I can’t Believe It’s Not Butter Baking Margarine for my cookies!
I LOVE that they add Omega’s to there buttah! You will notice that their 0 transfat is true if you add up ALL the fat grams ~ 11 Total = all the mono. poly, sat, etc.
Trans Fat Free White Chocolate Chips ~ I may have to make cranberry bars with these!
This wasn’t a true replacement, but a great TIP for all you out there whole LOVE Coffee Mate. CM has transfats, but this flavored Vanilla Half and Half does not!
Pretty decent stats too which is important to me since The Husband using like 1/4 cup each day in his coffee LOL.
I fully restocked our fruit drawers. I always keep lemons and limes on hand for cooking with ~ they are awesome replacements for salt in recipes and they add great flavor to homemade dressings or water.
Not much else changed on Door #2!
No changed to door #1 either other than my GREEN move for the batteries 🙂
Most of the “changes” happened in the middle of the fridge.
I added lean lunch meats that were cut at the deli (less sodium and preservatives), low fat cheese and new baking goodies!
Totally restocked both our veggie drawers.
Plus a little produce over flow….You are more likely to use it if it’s at eye level, right 🙂
The fun new things for The Husband…Plus my herb keeper and I am giving the I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter Spray another go now that it’s Transfat Free too ~ can’t be 0 calories!
AHHHHHH!
Not much changed on the Freezer side other than the addition of some slow churned 1/2 the fat French Vanilla Ice Cream.
I feel like our Fridge is all brand new again and we only just got it this past June when our old fridge broke. I do LOVE our Fridge ~ you all are right – this is my DREAM fridge and now it’s stocked up and healthy the way it deserves to be! I think our next mission will be to work on eating our “supply” down 🙂
Are you all ready to do your own Refrigerator Makeover???? Check back tomorrow because I will be hosting a GIVEAWAY for ONE LUCKY READER to do their very own Makeover!
It’s movie time ~ NIGHT ALL!!!
The fridge makeover looks great 🙂
I didn’t know that coffeemate had transfats. Thanks for the info… we go through that stuff pretty quickly in my house.
What an awesome re-stock! You picked some great stuff! I’m absolutely drooling over all those fresh fruits and veggies!
I will never cease to be amazed at how many items have hidden junk in them such as trans fats and HFCS, but I am really glad that I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter has taken Trans Fats out! I love their butter spray, but I still have some major guilt about using it, oh well!
OMG! Your fridge looks BEAUTIFUL!! I know, it is only a fridge but it does. I am a neat freak and really appreciate a well, organized refrigerator. I love how you can see everything you have – that way you don’t buy double (happens in my house TOO often,) you use what you buy and you can see evrerything. It is so clean and spacious and loaded with great stuff…I love the double doors and the fruit drawers…so cool. I can’t wait until I am “old” enough to buy my own fridge!!! hahahaha
Oh, I made your banana berry muffins tonight. Instead of using 1 cup of flour, I used 1/2 cup of flour and 1/2 cup of almond meal, choped figs and dried blueberries…everything else was the same. I found the almond meal at trader joes and wanted to use it. They are not super sweet but PERFECT FOR ME. I probably screwed some other things up with them – they didnt look like YOURS – but they are still tasty. hehe
Hope you had a good weekend!
What a great fridge makeover! Love all that fresh produce =D
Can I be the mood-killer and point something out, though? I know this is sponsored by ICBINB, however, they DO have trans fats in their margarines, and it makes me, as a future nutritionist, a little angry at their misleading advertisement to consumers. “Hydrogenated oils” by any standards are trans fats. By food labeling standards, if it is under .5 g per serving (that could be .4 per serving, almost a whole gram per 2 servings, and the recommendation is less than 2 g/MONTH) they can say “0g” trans fats.
It IS a better choice than, say, margarines that are ALL trans fats, or say “1 g trans fats” etc. But myself? I’ll stick with Earth Balance =D
xo
K
Hi Kristin,
Thanks so much for voicing your opinion and commenting – always feel free to do that because I LOVE hearing what everyone is thinking good/bad or indifferent.
I actually was curious about that because it didn’t say “hydrogenated” and I thought that was the part that made it Transfat like. I tested out the total fat grams and they added up too. Good to know that it’s STILL in there!
Thanks,
Danica
Danica
Wow, what a great fridge makeover! I love the abundance of vegs and fruit! it all looks delish for your planned week of eats!
Look at all that fresh produce – and such a sparkling clean fridge!! Great job!! 😀
you have got to be the most organized meal planner on the face of the earth! love this post!
Wanted to know where you found vanilla flavored NF half and half? I live in Northern Calif and have never seen it in a store. I have been looking for an alternative (healthier) creamer for my morning coffee. BTY, the fidge looks marvelous!
Paulette
Hi Paulette,
I found the creamer at Trader Joe’s. They have plain and French Vanilla only. I WISH they had more flavors. They do have soy creamers as well but I haven’t tried them.
I never thought of it until now, but, I suppose you could also check Whole Foods.
Good luck and Thanks!
Danica
Hey your frig looks amazing! I enjoy Trader Joes and can’t imagine not having one to shop at. We are spoiled by them.
I would like to win the refrigerator makeover because I am a mother of 5, wife, work full-time and am ashamed to say have fallen to the convenience not so healthy foods. My refrigerator just needs a clean and fresh start as well as my families eating habits. Good luck to all…