What Does Your Shopping List Look Like?

[Rivet Kitty]

I'm stumped with what to buy when I go to the grocery store. I'm still learning how to cook so oftentimes we just buy frozen stuff. (Also, I work and am a full time student, sometimes mac and cheese is the only option!) So I'm wondernig what everyone else buys (hopefully IC friendly) and what they do with it. I'm hoping to get some ideas, because you can only eat pasta with olive oil and garlic before you want to give in and eat, well, anything else!!

Lol. And we can leave out toilet paper, toothpaste, dogfood.

Hopefully this thread can help others out there like me who are not yet domestic goddesses that can cook without making our bladders explode.

Kitty

[kadi]

Safeway Shopping List

http://www.ic-network.com/forum/show...ghlight=trader

[kadi]

Trader Joe's Shopping List

I love love love Trader Joe's...

Here are a few of my favorite (TJ's) things...
Bread section:
Trader Joe Shepherd's Bread
Trader Joe mini bagels (plain)
Trader Joe mini pita breads (plain)
Trader Joe blueberry scones (also freeze well)
Trader Joe Lavash bread (makes excellent wrap sandwiches)
Trader Joe Cinnamon Raisin bread (thin slice one only, thick slice one has soy in it)
Trader Joe's oatmeal raisin cookies in the tray, not the bag. (bag ones have ingredients I'm allergic to)
Trader Joe's Truly Handmade Tortillas (be careful to get the ones that are just flour & water!)

Treats:
Vanilla meringue cookies
Fat Free Caramel popcorn
Light popcorn
Mini Rounds Tortilla chips (check the ingredients to make sure no lime juice!)
Inka Chips (plantain chips)

Dairy
Organic milk
Extra Omega 3 eggs
Rice pudding

Freezer section:
Frozen blueberries
Brown rice (comes in a freezer box of 3 packets) - 3 minutes in the microwave & voila! yummy brown rice!
Double Rainbow blueberry ice cream

Fruits/Veggies
Trays of zucchini
bags of spinach
bags of cauliflower
4 packs of pears
Trays of bell peppers
Mushrooms
If you can tolerate Asian pears, they are very inexpensive at TJ's
Salad for One or Two-romaine or baby greens

Other
Pizza dough (regular one only, the one with no acids) - I use this to make pizza with a spinach or pesto sauce instead of tomato OR calzones! Yum.
The chicken broth you want to check out is in the green label can - 99%fat free (just chicken, salt, water!)

Some IC patients can tolerate plain peppermint tea & some plain chamomile tea. Trader Joe also has a low acid coffee (not decaf, so have not tried it myself-my bladder hates caffeine).

I LOVE their french vanilla liquid hand soap.

Have a fun time shopping!

[RobinD]

Kadi, Thanks for all that info, I needed help too. I always got tired of grocery shopping, but after IC I have just gotten more confused and still tired. Thanks for the help

[stacey79]

I don't have a Trader Joe's in my area.

My biggest triggers are caffiene, vinegar products and citrus. Here are a few things I buy often:

Lipton Sides (these pasta dishes can be made in the microwave and haven't bothered the old bladder)

Frozen French fries (I do OK with these; on busy nights, I'll stick a cookie sheet full in the oven for a while. Once they're crispy, I fill a plate with them and top w/some shredded cheese. After a minute or so in the microwave, they're a melty goodness. I've found that I"m able to eat them with Hidden Valley Ranch dressing with has a super low vinegar content.)

Spaghetti-Os (easy to make; tomatoes and their products don't bother me, but if they're a trigger for you, then omit these)

Frozen waffles (had these for dinner even!)

Precooked bacon (I've found I can get it just as crispy in the microwave. It's great to top those cheese fries with or make a bacon sandwich. Mayo is out for me, so sometimes I'll toast bread, butter it, smear on a bit of jelly that I can handle and add the bacon. Delicious to me!)

Frozen Friday's cheddar/bacon potato skins (I'm guessing these would bother some bladders, but I buy them every so often for a treat with some sour cream)

Bagels w/cream cheese

Hot dogs (I do OK with these; they cause problems for others. I just avoid condiments - aside from sometimes potato chip dip or shredded cheese and onion)

Potatoes (My hubby and I will have baked potatoes with rolls for dinner sometimes. My mom taught me a trick of poking holes in them and microwaving them for a few minutes then sticking them in the oven for 10-15 minutes to finish baking. We have a variety of toppings to put on them. Sometimes we "spice" it up with some mac and cheese, too.)

I hope that helps some. Diet is so different for everyone, so it takes some experimenting. I've been OK with some frozen entrees and stuff, too, like Healthy Choice fettucine alfredo.

Breakfast is a great stand-by, too. Aside from those I"ve mentioned, sometimes for lunch or dinner, I'll make eggs and toast or an omlete with cheese and bacon.

Quick and easy is my style of cooking most times. I don't have time to do more than that usually.

[kadi]

Just a word of advice, we all have different levels of dietary sensitivity. A lot of what Stacey can eat would trigger my symptoms. You might want to print out the list from the patient handbook, diet section & stick only with foods in the left hand column to start, then add in middle column foods one at a time. That's what I did & it made really clear what I can & can't eat...

Wishing you better days soon-

[Rivet Kitty]

Yay! These are some great replies! Bummer for those of you that don't have a Trader Joe's nearby. They're my favorite (although I'm always tempted to make a beeline for everything that I'm not supposed to have because it tastes soooo good.)

We recently purchased their low acid french roast (with caffeine as a last ditch attempt to stay up in the morning) and while I've noticed that it bugs me a bit, it's not nearly as bad as say, drinking something from Starbucks.

I also buy their garlic oil and frozen garlic and basil cubes and ohhh man. When it's pasta night, that stuff is the yumminess.

If I think of more yummy stuff I'll post.

[stacey79]

Oh, one more thing I thought of.

I'm OK with tortilla shells so I'll use them to make my own quesadillas in the oven. Since they're individual serving, you can fill them with only ingredients that work for you. Because I do OK with them, I usually use shredded cheese, onion and bacon.