Today, I am going to share five food staples that make their way into my shopping cart every single week. I am always interested to read about other people’s grocery and cooking habits, so I thought I’d share some of the things that I eat regularly with you.
Bread
Could I be any more of a cliché German? As you might know, I also bake my own (sourdough rye) bread, but I also always have package of this European Whole Grains & Seeds Bread in the fridge. It’s super-filling, healthy and delicious. It often substitutes for my lunch, and sometimes even dinner.
High-protein plain Greek yogurt
As a middle-aged woman, the importance of protein in my diet is driven home on every second social media post these days. Luckily, I usually don’t have a problem getting enough protein, and one of my favorite protein sources is plain yogurt. I think I might be one of the few people who love to eat plain yogurt straight from the container (without any fruit, sweeteners, or other toppings). I enjoy the creaminess and slightly tart flavor. I do, however, often sprinkle a little bit of granola on top, or add berries or an apple. It’s also a great snack with pineapple pieces (but make sure you get canned pineapple – fresh pineapple and dairy doesn’t mix well and can taste bitter.)
Tomatoes
I love, love, love tomatoes. I’d say they’re my favorite fruit … or are they vegetables? (Science Notes says that botanically tomatoes are fruits, but they’re considered vegetables for culinary uses.) Either way, I am a big fan of tomatoes. I love tomato salad, I like them sliced on a piece of bread with cheese, and in any cooked form. Or, you know, just as simple snacks all by themselves. Grape tomatoes are delicious!
(Unsweet) Soy Milk
I love my soy milk and only Silk’s Unsweet Soy Milk will do. I tried them all. It adds just the right amount of creaminess to my morning coffee, it’s a good source of protein, and it’s delicious. I have to ask though: why do I have to specifically look for “unsweet”, if I don’t want added sugar in my plant milk? Why isn’t the “original” the unsweetened version?
Coffee
No shopping trip without getting coffee. It’s one of the things for which I would probably keep paying more and more if the prices go up (which I hope will not happen) because it’s such a comfort drink for me in the morning. I am currently enjoying Trader Joe’s Wake Up Blend (I often buy the 28 oz can of whole beans and grind them myself, but sometimes I am lazy and buy the ground, bagged option).
What are five food staples in your fridge/pantry? Have you tried any of these items?
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magiceye
November 8, 2025 at 5:45 pmAll so healthy!
Lisa’s Yarns
November 9, 2025 at 4:37 amI also love high protein Greek yogurt but I can’t eat it plain. I need a fruit mix in or vanilla flavoring!
Our staples are eggs, yogurt (Greek and non-Greek varieties), cottage cheese, milk and a fruit of some sort depending on the season (currently apples) plus a berry for my yogurt.
San
November 10, 2025 at 1:47 pmWe buy a lot of apples and berries, too!
Noemi
November 8, 2025 at 8:03 pmOur kids are “selective eaters” and I’m not someone who needs a lot of variety in my diet, so we end up with the same stuff in our cart all the time too. I will say coffee has gotten crazy expensive. I heard it was going to go up, so I got a bunch of our favorite big bags from Costco a few months ago. It used to be $19 and then it was $23 and now it’s $26! I’ve never seen it that high! I told the husband we need to put less in the grinder every morning. Sigh.
Tina
November 8, 2025 at 8:51 pmI think I would be too embarrassed to list my 5 items. I’m not sure if I could, but they would definitely not be as healthy as yours. I wish my cart were healthier. I try, but honestly, don’t go out of my way too much. I’m happy that I cook mainly from scratch and try to stay away from too many boxed and canned foods. You are amazing.
Melissa
November 8, 2025 at 9:42 pmHigh protein yoghurt would have been on my list last year, but this year: bananas, sour dough bread, eggs, The Alternative Dairy Co Oat Milk, nut butter (almond preferred, but will do peanut butter)
Anthea
November 8, 2025 at 11:58 pmI have never tried soy milk but am keen to give it a try as I see many people use it.
Coffee is also on our shopping list – we love our coffee!
San
November 10, 2025 at 1:46 pmI purposefully wanted to switch from regular milk to a plant based milk and I tried different ones. Soy is my favorite.
Tobia | craftaliciousme
November 9, 2025 at 12:45 amOh I love it all.
Tomatoes is a staple in my fridge.
I have moved from greek yoghurt to skyr as it has even more protein.
I often buy bread similar to yours or we get protein bread lately.
Maybe I pull up a post like this. You keep me thinking.
San
November 10, 2025 at 1:46 pmProtein bread. I am intrigued. What kind of bread is it?
Tobia | craftaliciousme
November 10, 2025 at 1:48 pmIt’s with chia seeds I think. I would need to check and report back.
Daria
November 9, 2025 at 4:12 amStaples…
Cottage cheese
Yoghurt
Tomatoes and cucumbers
Instant coffee
Bread (I’m Russian after all lol)
Milk (for coffee and for the kids)
Cheese
Prosciutto
Lox
Chicken nuggets :/
Broccoli and zucchini
Edamame
San
November 10, 2025 at 1:47 pmThat’s more than five… (I admit, we have more than 5 staples, too! ;)) We love prosciutto and cheese, too!
Suzanne
November 9, 2025 at 4:56 amI love getting this glimpse at your regular purchases! Tomatoes are a must-buy in my house, too — those exact cherry tomatoes you pictured. But not for me, as I hate tomatoes. My kid, though, she can go through so many tomatoes! She ate so many of our former neighbor’s homegrown tomatoes that the neighbor has grown us our own tomato plants to plant in our yard for the past two years.
I love Greek yogurt, but I am one of those people who needs a little sweetener in it. I prefer honey and granola. I have never seen the Oikos pro around here! I usually buy plain fat free Fage, which has 18g of protein per serving. Pretty good, but not as good at the Oikos pro! We also buy a loaf of sourdough bread every week and about three quarts of high protein skim milk. Those are definitely our staples!
San
November 10, 2025 at 1:48 pmOh, I love to hear that (picky) Carla loves tomatoes! :)
Barbara
November 9, 2025 at 5:56 amHoney in my coffee (I guess that’s two). Breads of all kinds. Bananas. Blueberries and yogurt. Does water count? I have to drink it constantly! Thanks for this fun conversation!
San
November 10, 2025 at 1:49 pmYou put honey in your coffee? I have never heard anybody do that. Might have to try (although I usually don’t put sweetener in my coffee.)
Ernie
November 9, 2025 at 6:19 amI do not drink coffee. Weird but true. My mom was a very picky eater, so I was not exposed to a ton of foods (like fresh veggies and many fresh fruits). I have branched out, but some things I just do not like- often it’s a texture thing. I grew up hating tomatoes and now I like them so long as they are diced in a salad, or diced in other food. Popping a grape tomato in my mouth is not something I would ever do.
My cart each week includes my fav Greek yogurt, black cheerey light and lively (I think that’s the brand). Bananas. I hate bananas. My grandma made me eat one when I was young. Ew. I do add them to my protein shake and the rest of the family eats one a day so we eat a ton of them. Since diagnosed with SIBO, I started drinking silk almond milk with added protein. I buy a ton of berries- I put them in my oatmeal. And usually chicken. We eat a lot of chicken. Baby spinach – I have a salad every day for lunch. And eggs. I bake a lot. OK, that’s more than 5.
San
November 10, 2025 at 1:50 pmI’ve heard from other people that they like tomato-taste, but not the texture of a fresh tomato. I actually love the juiciness :)
I am not a fan of bananas either – it’s a texture thing! LOL – but I will occasionally buy some.
Martha
November 9, 2025 at 7:46 amYou definitely have some healthy selections there! I won’t mention mine because they aren’t nearly as healthy. I really should try to do better.
San
November 10, 2025 at 1:50 pmOh, I am sure you have some healthy staples as well. Rest assured, I do buy not-so-healthy stuff, too ;)
SHU
November 9, 2025 at 10:14 amCOFFEEEEEE!
I have weirdly converted from yogurt to cottage cheese lately! (also super high in protein :) ). I love your picks but also almost never leave TJs without the mini dark chocolate pb cups!!
San
November 10, 2025 at 1:51 pmYES! I also have started to love cottage cheese. And those mini dark chocolate pb cups are so good!
Nicole MacPherson
November 9, 2025 at 10:18 amMy husband eats a lot of plain Greek yogurt so I always buy it. I don’t know if I can limit my list to five things! I buy so much and it’s all weekly. I guess the things I cannot live without are bananas, spinach, and cashew milk for smoothies, tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, cucumbers, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower…what else, what else. Those are all regular purchases. I always have chickpeas, lentils, and black beans in my pantry along with nuts and nut butter. Pasta and various Asian noodles are also staples around here.
San
November 10, 2025 at 1:52 pmOh, no worries, there are more than 5 staples on my list – I just limited it to 5 for the purpose of this post! I buy a lot of veggies weekly and I LOVE nut butter.
Sam
November 9, 2025 at 10:23 amI want to try the bread you buy! We also often buy yogurt. Like you, I enjoy the plain kind, but I always add peanut butter, cinnamon, and berries. Other regular items in our cart are tortillas, berries, peanut butter, and cheese (right now we are eating a lot of unexpected cheddar).
San
November 10, 2025 at 1:52 pmWe love cheese in this house (and we eat it with the whole grain bread – just if you want to try that :))
NGS
November 9, 2025 at 10:49 amWe have some Greek yogurt and tomatoes right now. That’s about all from your list.
Chickpeas, eggs, yogurt, grapes, and cucumbers are probably about the only things we buy literally every week. Never bread or coffee in our house!
San
November 10, 2025 at 1:53 pmNever bread (I know your husband can’t eat it) and coffee :( that makes me so sad. (Haha. Not judging – we all have our things!)
Jenny
November 9, 2025 at 11:28 amYes, we get that soy milk all the time. But you know which one we like better- the soymilk from Trader Joe’s. The only ingredients are “organic soybeans and water” and it’s creamy and delicious. It’s in the non-refrigerated milk section.
I like tomatoes but they tend to irritate the inside of my mouth! boo.
San
November 10, 2025 at 1:54 pmI think I had TJs shelf-stable soy milk and it’s quite good, but I like the Silk brand a little better.
J
November 9, 2025 at 1:27 pmI like yogurt, but I like to add some fresh fruit to mine. Sometimes I will add a swirl of raspberry jam, but not always. We have to buy yogurt made with A2 milk, regular milk upsets my husband’s stomach. So far there isn’t a high protein option, but maybe someday! If I ate it more often myself, perhaps I would buy my own tub. Mostly it’s my husband and daughter though.
San
November 10, 2025 at 1:54 pmUh, a swirl of raspberry jam. That’s an idea!
Michelle G.
November 9, 2025 at 1:42 pmIt’s so fun to know what people like to eat! That bread really looks delicious. I love dairy. Regular milk, cottage cheese, sour cream, yogurt, cheese, and butter are always on my list. I can give up sugar, but please don’t make me give up dairy!
San
November 10, 2025 at 1:55 pmGIVE ME ALL THE DAIRY! I also love butter (and don’t think it’s the enemy if used in moderation! It’s actually good fat!)
Natka
November 10, 2025 at 5:34 amI love this – thank you for sharing!
That bread looks delicious (I am going to see if our TJ carries it).
5 things we buy weekly in every season: milk, buttermilk/kefir, eggs, bread, bananas. Right now, we are also getting pumpkins, apples, and pomegranates every time we go to a produce market.
San
November 10, 2025 at 1:56 pmOh yes, give that bread a try. And I love kefir! I buy that quite often too. How do you use the pomegranates? I sometimes add the seeds to salads.
Natka
November 13, 2025 at 4:39 pmPomegranate – yes, sometimes I add it to salads. A lot of the time, I just eat the seeds :)
Sarah
November 10, 2025 at 9:36 amI buy versions of those things, too!
San
November 10, 2025 at 1:56 pmHigh five!
Allison McCaskill
November 10, 2025 at 9:40 amI use to hate dense bread with bits in it and now I love it. I love Greek yogurt but I do often drizzle a bit of maple syrup in. I don’t drink coffee and I don’t like raw tomatoes – my every week would be apples and broccoli.
San
November 10, 2025 at 1:56 pmI love that you love the grainy bread. It’s good for you! We love apples around here, too!
coco
November 10, 2025 at 10:32 amwhat a great idea for post!
few things that come to mind for our household:
1. broccoli
2. pumpkin
3. eggs
4. tofu
5. milk/almond and cashew milk
San
November 10, 2025 at 1:57 pmThat’s a great list – I love all these things, too!
Irena
November 10, 2025 at 12:42 pmTell me you are from the Eastern Europe without actually saying it:
Our five staples are:
1.Eggs
2. Apples
3. Cabbage – the coleslaw is my go-to salad
4. Beets
5. Salmon
San
November 10, 2025 at 1:57 pmLove cabbage and beets! They’re underrated!
Stephany
November 10, 2025 at 6:36 pmI need to get back on the Greek yogurt bandwagon. I just need to get used to the taste of yogurt that isn’t super sweet – the flavored kind is SO sugary!
San
November 10, 2025 at 6:42 pmYou can always add a little sweetener of fruit yourself – a lot better than buying the flavored kind!
Natka
November 11, 2025 at 3:32 amCould you please share the recipe for your sourdough rye?