You’ve made the decision to eat more healthfully — now what? How do you know what basic groceries you’ll need to prep healthy meals and stick to your nutrition goals?

Grocery shopping can be overwhelming as it is — according to the Food Marketing Institute, the average supermarket has around 30,000 items to choose from.

So we asked nutrition experts to explain the best methods for coming up with a basic grocery list of healthy staples you should always have on hand in your kitchen.

How to Create a Basic Grocery List

“It’s always best to go to the grocery store with a basic grocery list in hand — this can help prevent impulse buys and keep you on budget,” says Krista Maguire, R.D., C.S.S.D. and Nutrition Manager for Beachbody.

The good news?

Once you take the time to nail down a good basic grocery list, it’ll only take only a few minutes to figure out what you need on future shopping trips.

“I find the best way to go about building a healthy grocery list is to plan out your meals for the week,” adds Maguire. “When you have an idea of what you’ll be eating, you’ll know exactly what you need to buy.”

Use the basic grocery list below as your baseline, then add whatever additional ingredients you’ll need for any healthy recipes you plan to try this week.

Most recipes yield multiple servings, so if you live alone, plan on using the leftovers as meal prep.

For example, say you want to make spaghetti with spinach and ground turkey: “You’ll likely buy one box of pasta, one package of ground turkey, one jar of pasta sauce, and one bunch of spinach,” says Maleah Staton, R.D.

That’ll yield enough food to cover 4 to 6 of your meals for the week.

Creating a Basic Grocery List on a Budget

It’s expensive to eat healthy — or is it? Healthy food has a reputation for being a wallet buster, but you can eat well on a budget if you plan ahead.

“If you’re on a budget, you can opt for recipes and foods that are less expensive,” says Maguire. “For example, choosing chicken over steak should save some money, or eggs instead of fish.”

Bulk foods are usually more affordable than pre-packaged foods, so Maguire recommends buying pantry staples like grains, beans, nuts, and spices in bulk.

And don’t pay for the convenience of pre-chopped fruits, veggies, and salad mixes.

“Sticking to whole foods instead of packaged items is a great way to lighten the total grocery bill,” Maguire says.

It may take some extra time to prep your foods, but your wallet will thank you.

The Best Staple Foods to Add to Your Basic Grocery List

There are certain healthy foods you should always keep on hand, so they’re there when you need a snack or a last-minute healthy meal.

“There are so many things you can do with chicken breast, ground turkey, eggs, and organic tofu,” says Maguire.

“Also, [stock up on] a variety of canned beans — like garbanzo beans to make hummus, or black beans to throw in a breakfast taco or on top of a salad or into a mixed grain and veggie bowl, she adds.

And make sure you always have the ingredients you need to make the healthy treats you (and your taste buds) love.

“Some staples I find myself always buying include oatmeal, bananas, almond milk, nut butter, walnuts, eggs, avocado, and sprouted bread,” says Maguire.

Here are the healthy staples you need.

For the refrigerator and freezer:

• Fresh fruit (“It’s nice to have some you can grab for on-the-go snacks like bananas or apples,” says Maguire.)
• Frozen fruit
• Fresh veggies
• Frozen veggies (“My freezer staples include frozen riced cauliflower, frozen kale, and broccoli,” says Staton.)
• Protein of choice (chicken, fish, steak, organic tempeh, organic tofu, canned tuna, or salmon)
• Milk or an unsweetened non-dairy milk alternative
• Unsweetened plain Greek yogurt
• Eggs (ideally local or pasture-raised eggs)

For the pantry:

• Non-refrigerated fruits and vegetables (sweet potatoes, avocados, tomatoes)
• Dry whole grains (oats, quinoa, brown rice)
• Canned beans (garbanzo, pinto, black)
• Dry pasta
• Bread (sprouted or whole grain)
• Nut butters
• Condiments (olive oil, vinegar, mustard, salad dressing, salsa)
• Natural sweeteners (honey, maple syrup)
• Snacks (air-popped popcorn, whole-grain crackers, dried fruit, nuts)

For the spice rack:

Spices can really amp up the flavor in healthy dishes without adding calories or sugar.

“I love using basil in Asian or Italian dishes and cilantro, curry, and cumin in Mexican or Indian dishes,” says Staton.

Keep these on hand:

• Sea salt
• Pepper
• Basil
• Cilantro
• Curry
• Cumin
• Garlic powder
• Onion powder
• Chili powder
• Cinnamon
• Thyme
• Oregano
• Rosemary

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If you’re looking for something to talk about, few things are as useful as knowing the other person’s random likes and dislikes — particularly those you share with them. 

“So, I hear you have a special love for bees.” And you’re off and running.

This could be the start of a unique and lasting friendship. 

Even if you don’t know their particular leanings, though, the likes and dislikes list in this post will give you plenty of ideas.

311 Likes and Dislikes 

We’ve broken up this list into two to focus separately on common likes and dislikes. That said, what one person likes might repel another, and vice-versa.

We’ve done our best to make the following lists as useful as they are entertaining. 

List of Likes

Some of the items could just as easily end up on the dislikes list for some people.

If you bring any of the following up as conversation starters, remember to respect the other person’s opinion (even if it makes you rethink the idea of a second date).

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List of Dislikes

Some of these common dislikes might be something in which your conversation partner takes an interest. One person’s dislikes list can contain another’s buried treasure. 

What would you add to our list of likes and dislikes?

Now that you’re armed with these generous lists of likes and dislikes, which ones stood out for you the most?

Which ones echoed your own leanings? And which made you think, “Wait… why is this on the likes (or dislikes) list?” 

At the very least, we hope you found the list entertaining as well as useful. If it got one laugh out of you, we consider the time writing it well-spent. 

May it lead to many conversations worth having. 

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What supplies do you need for a vision board?

You’ve heard so much about the benefits of creating one.

Maybe you’ve even searched Pinterest for ideas. 

And now that you’re ready to make one of your own, you want to know more about the materials you’ll need.

With this post, you’ll finally be able to create your vision board supply list. 

You can’t simply buy a vision board ready-made, after all.

Each one is deeply personal, and buying the materials for it is half the fun. 

7 Vision Board Supplies 

Welcome to our simple but comprehensive list of vision board materials — simple because we want this process to be as enjoyable and straightforward for you as possible. 

The comprehensive bit is there because you deserve a generous helping of high-quality, affordable options.

We want your favorite vision boards to last for years — whether you make several and store the old ones or make a few you update as you go. 

Look through the main supply categories for ideas, and make a list of your own. 

1. Your Vision Board Background

Posterboard is a popular option for vision boards because it’s inexpensive and easy to hang on the wall or store in an art folder for future reference. 

If you’d rather not use poster board, you can also create your vision board using any of the following durable options: 

Corkboards, like this one, offer the following advantages over posterboard: 

• More durable and higher quality
• Pushpins allow you to update your board to reflect changing goals
• Availability in a variety of sizes, colors, and frame options

If you’d like to dress up your board’s background a bit more, you can use patterned scrapbook paper, fabric, or kraft paper. Use whatever you’d like to see peeking out behind your arrangement of images, words, and phrases. 

Or you use stencils and ink to decorate a plain cork background. 

If you’re looking for something more portable, consider a hardbound sketchbook or a spiral-bound sketch pad. If you enjoy drawing, you can even design your own artistic background or border for each page. 

2. Scissors

If you’re using magazines or other print media, you’ll need something to cut out the images, words, and phrases you’ll want for your vision board.

And depending on how fancy you want your edges to be, you have two choices: 

A basic pair of craft scissors is probably all you’ll need for this project, and you’ll want something comfortable to hold and to use repeatedly. 

This pair has soft grip handles and works well for both right-handed and left-handed use. The titanium-fused blades stay sharp for over 100,000 cuts. 

Aside from scissors, you might find other scrapbooking tools useful or fun to use when decorating your vision board. 

3. Fasteners 

Your choice of fasteners will depend on your background. For posterboard, go with double-sided tape or glue sticks rather than messy bottles of school glue. Double-sided tape or foam squares make it easier to attach your pictures without tape showing. 

You can also use washi tape in a variety of colors and patterns. 

For corkboards, you can use decorative push pins or thumbtacks in a variety of colors and sizes. You can even find push pins with tiny clips if you’d like to add images without putting holes in them. 

Or find push pins or thumbtacks representing something you love, whether that’s butterflies, owls, bees, or something else. 

For whiteboards, use magnets or magnet clips. Washi tape also works. And don’t forget to pick up some fresh dry erase markers in a variety of colors. 

4. Markers

Use markers with tips bold enough you’ll be able to read your writing from across the room. Think Sharpie markers and calligraphy or brush pens in all the colors you’re likely to use. For extra sparkle, try these glitter brush pens. 

Depending on the look you’re going for, you might stick with a mix of metallic colors (gold, silver, and bronze) and shiny black. Or maybe this will be a more colorful display. 

Go with your leanings and create something that complements your home or workspace. 

5. Clippings of Pictures, Words, and Phrases

Pick out a stack of magazines or other print media with images and text that relate to your goals: 

• Health and Fitness
• Home improvement
• Career
• Finances
• Travel

Carefully cut out your favorites and set them aside until you’re ready to arrange them on your board. If you have a practice space handy, you can arrange the images in various ways before affixing them to your vision board. 

If you’d rather not buy a pile of magazines, try this Vision Board Clipart Book, which has over 400 pictures, words, and phrases to look through and either add to this board or save for future projects. 

6. Stickers 

These can be fun to pick out, whether you’re shopping for them on Amazon or browsing in a craft or office supply store. You can either choose stickers that fit a preplanned color scheme or let your choice of stickers guide the design of the whole project. 

Depending on your mood or the overall aesthetic you’re going for, you have a wide variety of options to consider, including the following: 

You can even create stickers of your own with this machine. Or buy sheets of adhesive-backed vinyl sheets and use scrapbooking tools to create the shapes you want before decorating them with markers, glitter, or both. 

7. Inspirational Quotes

You can find plenty of these online, some of which you can print out and attach to your board. You can also find stickers and postcards with quotes on them. 

When you have neither of those available, use a brush pen or chisel-tip Sharpie marker to carefully write the quotes you want on your board before you arrange the pictures. 

If you’re using a corkboard, an added backing of kraft paper or construction paper in lighter colors can make your quotes easier to see. 

If you’re looking for inspirational quotes, you’ll find plenty here as well as on sites like BrainyQuotes and GoodReads. 

8. Optional Supplies

Now that you know the basics and have a better idea of what you’d like to collect for your vision board, think about what you’d like to have on hand to make the process more enjoyable for you and your co-creators. 

Some of these you’ll likely have on hand already: 

• Snacks or beverages 
• Music to set the mood 
• A tablecloth to protect your work surface 
• Containers to save spare clippings
• Fresh flowers to brighten your space

If you’d rather have company for this, you can even throw a vision board party and invite family or friends to join in the fun. 

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Time to put your vision board supplies to use.

Now that you know what you’ll need for your vision board check out this guide to get started making it. And if you’re not sure what to focus on for this project, this post has you covered. 

Looking at your vision board should bring a smile to your face. If it doesn’t, be honest about what isn’t working. It’s not unusual to think you want something and later realize it does nothing for you. 

Take the time to really connect with yourself. Then try again. 

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