Let’s talk about things that I could live without:
Double Stuffed Oreos. Why do we need twice the hydrogenated oils?
Dora the Explorer. Are they playing a joke on the whole wide world with Dora and her talking map and backpack friends?
Hipster Mustaches. I know they’re cool. I just don’t get it. They look weird.
But then I think about the ingredients that I use nearly every day, those items that are so versatile they are on this sort of automatic refill system I have for grocery shopping. They are my absolute faves, so I’ve included them here for you along with the recipes I enjoy them in the most. And so…
In no particular order:
1. greek yogurt
An excellent substitute for sour cream, I use greek yogurt as a healthy base for dips and spreads, a topping for taco salads, and the base for granola. The nonfat version always has more protein than the full-fat, but we typically go with the full fat to keep meat on my kids bones 
2. avocados
Breakfast, lunch or dinner, I will always find ways to put avocados to use. Whether mashed up into guacamole or sliced and diced on eggs, toast or salads, we nearly always have avocados sitting on the counter.
A little caveat – I live in California so I apologize if your avocados are horrendously expensive 
3. eggs
Like the aforementioned avo, we eat eggs just about any time of day. My absolutely favorite way to make them is scrambled with goat cheese, but egg bakes and frittatas are wonderful too.
4. goat cheese
If you’ve spent any time here you can see my longstanding love of goat cheese continues to unfold, as I regularly find new ways to add it to recipes (such as these roasted apricots, a new take on biscuits or this pizza).
5. semisweet chocolate chips
I love chocolate. What woman doesn’t? So I often keep semisweet chips (not those awful milk ones…blah) in the cupboard to add to trail mix, cookies, granola bars, or a decadent dessert. And my favorite brand? Trader Joes, of course.
6. nut butter
Our family may have an unhealthy obsession with peanut and almond butter. I spoon it over bananas, my daughter dips her carrots in it, and we often stuff it into celery and top it with raisins (I’m channeling my inner 8 year old). I’ve also been known to drop peanut butter into brownies, swirl it into energy bites, and make these gluten free cookies with it.
7. granola
My favorite breakfast is granola, mostly because I can switch it up (nuts? no nuts? chocolate? no problem), and especially because granola can easily be made gluten-free and I can easily toss in extra flax seed meal for extra fiber. I like to do what I want to do. There you have it – the real me.
8. coffee ice cream
There may not be anyone who loves strong coffee ice cream more than I do, with the exception possibly of my mother who painted my nursery walls the color of melted coffee ice cream while pregnant. I suppose I came from the womb ready to love it. And while I don’t keep ice cream regularly in the freezer, this is my go-to for Friday nights.
9. almonds
- A crunchy addition to salads? Check.
- A nutty flavor for granola? Of course.
- The perfect base for a homemade sweet and salty nut butter? You bet.
I love almonds, most especially roasted with a little salt.
10. cumin
I’m not sure why I love cumin as much as I do, I just know that my love for it started in high school when my mom turned me on to cooking Southwestern food. And since then I add it to just about anything I can get away with, including this black bean salad and this tortilla soup.
So now that you’ve seen my list, what are some of yours?
