You wanting to make the switch from processed foods to whole foods and don’t know where to begin? Here is a quick list of basic whole-food ingredients to have on hand for beginners. FREE PRINTABLE AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS POST!
If you haven’t checked the “21 Tips For Switching From Processed Foods To Whole Foods” post out, I highly recommend reading that as well, if you are just getting started.
Just know, you should not try to do it all at once, in fact, I HIGHLY recommend NOT doing it all at once but, to use these lists as a guide to slowly switch over things in your pantry. Here is where I would start if I were a beginner making the switch.
I do recommend buying as much as you can organically without breaking the bank. You can check out my “6 Tips For How To Eat Healthy On A Budget” for inspiration.
Don’t Try To Switch Everything Over At Once
You can create SO many healthy meals just by having these basic real food ingredients on hand. The best way to go about making the switch is to go through this list and add the whole food ingredients to your list as you use up the old ones.
What do you use for dairy products? The next time you go grocery shopping get the healthier version of that dairy product. Your goal is to think of easy ways you can implement whole foods into your daily life until you are eating all whole foods and little to no processed foods.
Cutting Out Whole Food Groups
I personally do not think it is wise to cut out whole food groups. There may be times when you lighten up on animal products for a season and focus more on plant-based foods or vice-versa. However, if you do that too long, you will find that you may gain a lot of nutrition in one area of your health but lose it massively in other areas of your health. The goal with whole foods is to have the food you consume in its most natural state.
Health Is Wealth
Firstly, I recommend ditching vegetable oils, they are little toxic intruders.
Secondly, realize when you invest in whole-food ingredients you are investing in your health insurance. The best part is, you can eat your health insurance in a delicious meal, or you can pay money for health insurance for someone to give you medication to stop the symptoms of not eating well. We get to choose what route we take!
And let me tell you, clean eating does NOT have to taste terrible, you get a well-stocked kitchen you can cook better than most five-star restaurants!
That brings us to our list! I am including a FREE PRINTABLE for this list at the bottom of this post, so you have easy access to it!
Grains and Starchy Foods
Whole grains are definitely what I would start by recommending for flour and baking. However, if you are just beginning and are not ready to make the switch, a great way to start in this area is to just buy the organic whole-wheat flour from your grocery store, as that is the next best thing from grinding your own fresh. If they don’t have organic grab some regular whole wheat flour, we all start somewhere.
- Brown Rice
- Quinoa
- Rolled Oatmeal
- Whole Wheat
- Ground Cornmeal
- Sweet Potatoes
- Red Potatoes
Fresh Fruits
- Apples
- Bananas
- Oranges
- Melons
- Any in-season fruits
- Your favorite Fruits
Berries
- Strawberries
- Blueberries
- Blackberries
- Raspberries
Fresh Vegetables
- Lettus
- Spinach
- Bell Peppers
- Cucumbers
- Tomatoes
- Cabbage
- Organic Frozen Vegetables
- Carrots
- Green Beans
- Your favorite Vegetables
Oils
- Olive Oil
- Avocado Oil
- Coconut Oil
- Toasted Sesame Seed Oil
- Grape Seed Oil
Fresh Herbs or Dried Herbs
- Parsley
- Minced Garlic
- Garlic Powder
- Minced Onion
- Onion Powder
- Sage
- Thyme
- Rosemary
- Dill Weed
- Basil
- Oregano
- Your favorite herbs
Dairy
- Eggs
- Milk (Raw if you can get your hands on it) Read Is raw milk illegal to your health? I link a website in there that should help you find raw milk near you.
- Real Butter
- Mozzarella Cheese
- Cheddar Cheese
- Heavy Cream
- Cottage Cheese
- Sour Cream
- Yogurt (you can add your own sweeteners and mixes to this)
Meat
- Chicken
- Beef
- Deer
- Turkey
- Fresh Caught Salmon
Legumes
- Lentils
- Black Beans
- Chick Peas
- Kidney Beans
- Red Kidney Beans
- Pinto Beans
(I recommend canned beans when just starting out)
Seeds and Nuts
- Sunflower Seeds
- Walnuts
- Pecans
- Cashews
- Pistachios
Condiments
- Healthy Salad dressings
- Organic Ketchup
- Avocado Mayonnaise
- Mustard
Extras
- Nutritional Yeast
- Celtic Sea Salt
- Himalayan Pink Salt
- Black Pepper
- Everything Seasoning
- Your favorite Seasonings
- Sauerkraut (very gut healthy)
- Liquid Aminos
- Cocoa Powder
Sweeteners
- Honey
- Real Maple Syrup
- Coconut Sugar
- Organic Raw Cane Sugar
- Monk Fruit
I know there are MANY more things that can be added to this list, I just don’t want to overwhelm but rather share an easy starting point. These are all things I know that if I have on hand, I can pull off cooking almost anything!
Your goal is just to get as many unprocessed foods as you can. Using fresh foods in your home-cooked meal will make a HUGE difference in yours and your family’s health.
Just by choosing a healthy lifestyle, you are way ahead of many Americans when it comes to health!
Again though, DO NOT overwhelm yourself, give yourself LOTS of grace and go ahead and check out some more of my post relating to this topic. The less time you spend on stressing over this, the more fun you will have making the switch.
21 Tips For Switching From Processed To Whole Foods
6 Tips For How To Eat Healthy On A Budget
Leave a Reply