My Healthy Food Staples

Even though I'm nowhere near my goal weight, there are a few healthy foods I eat routinely. Here are a some of my staples.

Diet Soda: My husband and I have been strictly buying diet soda for about 6 years now. It was a tough switch. I hated the taste at first, but have tried enough brands to know which ones have the least aftertaste. My favs are sprite zero and diet cream soda. Least fav is diet coke or pepsi, even though I'll drink it with lemon.

Splenda: I take splenda with just about every coffee. My husband and I go to diners a lot (I know, bad habit) and we always have to ask the waitress for splenda. I despise equal/nutrasweet.

Olive Oil: I cook with olive oil (or cooking spray) about 99% of the time. I love using different oils such as sesame and peanut to cook with (I'm a foodie) but olive oil is the staple. It burns easily at high temperatures so keep an eye out for smoke.

Granola: I love granola...even if it's eaten with ice cream. One of my fav desserts is sliced, fresh strawberries with granola and a dollop of whipped cream. My fav breakfast at work is a McDonald's parfait (with granola!)

No Pudge Fat-Free Brownies: These are sinful, and I'm not even a "chocolate" person. I buy them at trader joe's but have recently seen them at my local pathmark for the same price.

Nuts: I buy raw almonds, pecans and walnuts by the pound from TJs. They're very nutritious, curb my appetite and are a great snack.

Seafood: I rarely ate seafood as a child. It was sort of a luxury for us. I found as an adult that I love fish, especially shellfish. I keep large bags of seafood mix (for pasta), shrimp and tilapia in our freezer. I love white, boneless fish and have hooked my husband on it too.