Never open up your fridge and wonder what you have to make a meal with again when you’re prepared with these 11 foods every millennial woman should have in the fridge!
Stock your fridge for success to help build simple, healthy and fun meals by having a few staples that are always going to be there for you to start with! These 11 fridge staples that I believe every millennial women should have in her fridge work in a variety of ways in different meals and snacks! Wine gets honorable mention too! 🙂
A clean, organized fridge can make building quick and healthy meals a no brainer, and help prevent food waste. These 11 foods every millennial woman should have in the fridge are things that can work in a variety of ways across many different types of meals and diet types. They will help add more nutrition to your meals and snacks!
Below I also list some fridge organization tips and produce storage tips that are helpful for keeping your fridge tidy, and making sure your fruits and veggies don’t go bad before you can get to them!
I’ll be the first to admit that my fridge is not always the cleanest, however when I commit to cleaning it out once a week and seeing what I have, it tremendously helps me save time and money when prepping meals for the following week!
Stock up on these 11 foods every millennial woman should have in the fridge and take the guesswork out of making meals during busy weeknights, because you will know where to start!
11 Foods Every Millennial Woman Should Have in The Fridge
- Eggs. So versatile and nutritious, eggs are a fridge must have for breakfast and those nights when breakfast for dinner is inevitable. Oh, and did I mention baking?! Eggs are a good source of protein and vitamins and minerals like vitamin D, choline and more. Not sure what type of eggs to by at the store? I must say off the bat some egg labels might not exactly mean what you think they do. For example the term pasture raised is not FDA regulated and can mean that the chickens were on pastures for a small amount of time, not necessarily their whole lives.I LOVE this page that breaks down egg labels and their meaning! And click here to lean more about the nutrition benefits of eggs plus 75 RD approved egg recipes!
- Plain Yogurt. When it comes to yogurts, opt for ones that are lower in sugar and higher in protein. My personal favorites are siggi’s — they are made with simple ingredients and not a lot of sugar and come in some pretty amazing flavors like coffee and strawberry rhubarb. Not doing dairy? siggi’s still has your back. They just launched their new plant-based line that are delicious and taste just like the real thing! My favorite thing to do with plain yogurt is mash half of an avocado into a cup of it and use that as a dip for veggies like carrot stick and pepper slices. This avocado yogurt crema recipe is awesome on tacos too!
- Greens. Adding greens to all of your meals is an easy way to give them more nutrition with very little effort on your part! I always have spinach for things like smoothies and then another salad green like kale, arugula or a spring mix to diversify and liven up my salads. Microgreens are also awesome for sprinkling on literally everything — they’re the baby versions of vegetable plants and packed with nutrition! Try the green base trick next time you have leftovers. Leftover pizza? Cut it up and put it on a bed of greens to jazz it up and add more nutrition.
- Tortillas. Tacos, quesadillas, enchiladas, wraps, oh my! You can do so many different things with tortillas, which is why I always recommend keeping them on hand. Wrapping up leftovers in a tortilla is great for reducing food waste and just making foods new again the next day. I like Siete almond flour tortillas for a grain free option, and as a rule of thumb for others, corn tortillas are great and usually are just made of corn. When it comes to flour tortillas, I like sprouted varieties like these from Angelic Bakehouse, or ones that have a fairly simple ingredient list, no added sugar, and some fiber.
- Veggies You Actually Like to Eat! Gone are the days when you ate veggies just because you felt you like had to because they were good for you. Now it’s all about actually enjoying our veggies and eating them in fun ways. Stock your fridge with the basic veggies you know you’ll actually eat to prevent food waste, and save money. It’s easy to be ambitious when you’re shopping and we all buy things with the intention of eating them to be healthy, but I hate when a lot of veggies go to waste at the end of the week because I didn’t get to them! If you’re looking to expand your vegetable horizon, I recommend grabbing a few in season veggies while shopping and challenge yourself to incorporate those into your meals for some diversity! This recipe for zucchini noodle stuffed peppers might help with that!
- Unsweetened Nut Milk. I’m currently on an oat milk latte kick, which means I’m stocked up on this oat milk and I like having unsweetened almond milk on hand for things like smoothies, baking or eating with granola. I look for ones with no sugar added for these purposes!
- Herbs. Sprinkling them on your meals not only gives things flavors but makes it look super fancy — the perfect MO for the strong independent millennial woman you are! Add them to your salads, roasted veggies, homemade dressings and more! Hot tip: carrot greens can be chopped up and used just like you would any other herb. They’re peppery and elevate roasted veggies, chicken or seafood in an instant.
- Avocado. I say put these guys into the fridge because there is nothing worse than when you wait for one to get ripe on your counter only to realize it’s gone too mushy. Putting avocados in the fridge will slow the ripening process which gives you a little more control over making sure it doesn’t go bad before you can use it. Avocados are a good source of healthy monounsaturated fats, vitamins and minerals as well as fiber. I’ll avocado toast to that!
- Kombucha/ Green Juice/ Coconut Water. Let’s be honest, all of us could strive to drink more water throughout the day. For those times when water just ain’t cutting it I stock my fridge with Harmless Harvest coconut water, kombucha and green juice like this one from Evolution Fresh. Coconut water is my favorite post-workout rehydration drink, or when I wake up a little parched and dehydrated from a wine night. Kombucha contains beneficial probiotics that help feed our guts with the good stuff they need, and I find it super refreshing too! As you know I’m not a fan of juice cleanses, but I do like adding them to my daily routine and they definitely help quench your thirst!
- Tahini. Tahini is sesame seed paste, nut free and super versatile to use in probably more ways than you knew! I really like using it as a base for salad dressing, hummus, obviously, and in baked goods like brownies!
- Marinara Sauce. A good marinara sauce can be used in a wide variety of ways — from pasta to eggplant parmesan! Not to mention if you are in a pinch one weeknight how clutch pasta with red sauce is! My favorite this one from Rao’s with no added sugar. Tomatoes naturally have sugar, which is what you’re seeing on the label.
Honorable Mention
- Organic Wine. For impromptu girls nights and bachelor watching viewing parties, of course! I say organic wine because it’s made more sustainably without as many sulfates and chemicals, which could mean less of a hangover for you the next day if you’re sensitive like I am!
- Peanut Butter / Almond Butter Cups / Bars. Perfect Bar has an awesome selection of refrigerated bars and nut butter cups. They are nut butter based and as a nut butter lover, I love their texture and consistency and they definitely satisfy my sweet tooth with flavors like dark chocolate chip peanut butter, chocolate mint and pumpkin pie (my personal favorite!).
Fridge Organization Tips
- Safely wrap up halves and pieces of things. I’m a huge fan of stasher bags to throw a half of an avocado in, or cut up veggies. Also this beeswax wraps hugs any shaped leftovers to help keep them fresh.
- Fruits & veggies in the front! So you can see and find them quickly! Put things like fruits or veggies that are already a little old in the front where you’ll be more likely to use them up first before they go bad.
- Commit to a weekly clear out. Things can get a little scary in the back of your drawers if you forget about them for who knows how long (not throwing shade, this has definitely happened to me too!). And some mold can spread through the air so it’s important not to let fuzzy foods linger! How do I wash the inside of my fridge? I like using these cleaners from Branch Basics because they don’t contain harsh chemicals, are better for the environment and safer to use in an area where you’re storing food.
Kitchen & Fridge Organization Tools
Produce Storage Tips
- Water Your Herbs. Think of herbs like flowers, and store them in a water to increase their shelf life. Now I always used to store herbs in the fridge, however lately feel like they last longer on the counter. Maybe that depends on the type of herb. Watering them definitely helps either!
- Don’t Wash Things Ahead of Time. Washing ahead of time can make things deteriorate faster, so I say wait to wash until you’re ready to use it.
- Cut the green, leafy tops from radishes, carrots, beets, and turnips. This prevents the moisture from leaving the vegetable part. But don’t throw the tops out! You can easily blend them into smoothies or use the carrot greens as you would any herb — it’s very flavorful and a little bit peppery!
- Take things out of the grocery bags. Those thin plastic bags you get at the grocery store are not the best for keeping produce fresh.If you’ve pre-washed any of your produce, put a dry paper towel in a plastic bag with the veggies to wick up excess moisture. If you have not washed the veggie, put it in a plastic bag with a wet paper towel to give it that moisture it needs to stay fresh. Don’t seal the bag all the way, or poke a fell holes so the moisture isn’t trapped. You can absolutely re-use your plastic bags too! Just rinse them out after using if needs and use them again for less waste.
More Nutrition Tips and Recipes for Millennial Women
- 6 Fitness Studios in Chicago I Love
- Mexican Cauliflower Rice
- Butternut Squash Flatbread Pizza
- Pumpkin Chickpea Blondies
- How to Politely Deal With Comments About Weight or Food
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