Shop the Perimeter

I was listening to Mark Bittman on NPR a while back, and he was talking about how when we grocery shop our goal should be to shop the perimeter. The perimeter of the grocery store is where you find fruits, veggies, dairy products, meat and poultry and fish; it's where the unprocessed stuff lives. I really like this approach. I am in this because I want to fundamentally change the way I nourish my body, so I've got to adjust the way I shop and prepare foods.

I am lucky in that I work from home, and during the summer I have a lighter schedule. This means I am only going to eat what is in my house (no free cookies at the office, no lunches out with co-workers). So I make a point to buy only foods that are healthy and then, for me, that's the only option.

With this approach in mind, here is a list of foods I always have in my fridge/cabinets these days:

• veggies, veggies, veggies
• fruit (my favs are apples & bananas)
• hummus (oh, the hummus!)
• black beans
• whole wheat wraps
• almonds
• cottage cheese
• yogurt (low in sugar, and not filled with that fake sugar crap. i end up with slightly more expensive yogurt from whole foods but it is worth it.)
• brown rice
• chicken breasts (grilled with my trusty george forman)
• cheerios and other similar cereals (except for special k. that stuff is cardboard if you ask me.)
  
• eggs (i make scrambled eggs with one yolk and two whites)
• seltzer water (I have a sweet tooth like nobody's business, so I'm trying to reduce it's hold over me. Turns out juice has lots and lots of sugar.)

My basic approach is as follows: Surround myself with really good, healthy food. I aim for three meals a day, with two snacks. This part was a hard adjustment for me, because I was more used to three big meals, but now my meals are smaller and I snack throughout the day. As much as this was an adjustment, I really like it because the focus is on nourishing your body. Also, it keeps your metabolism up.

What do you stock your fridge with? I'm afraid that my list of fall-back foods is small and I might start getting a little bored, so I welcome your suggestions!