Great habits are formed more easily by building an environment that is conducive to them. If you need help deciding what goals to set and habits of your own to form, then read this. When it comes to optimizing overall health, performance, appearance, and longevity, there's no question that having healthy eating habits is critical. Make the habit of eating healthy nearly fail-proof by stocking your fridge and shelves with high-quality foods and eliminating any sort of temptations that will interfere with your goals. You will avoid decision fatigue, save time, and even avoid stress by stocking up on the same nutritious (and delicious) foods every time you visit the grocery store, or better yet, farmers market.
I will share with you what's in my fridge and on my shelves to show you what I'm eating regularly to stay lean and healthy while feeling my best. This will be a recurring series featuring other AlphaNerds' refrigerators and pantries in the future so you can see what works for different athletes, entrepreneurs, physique competitors, and other high-performers. I'm certain we will find many similarities between all of them, but I'm very interested in seeing the differences and getting insight into what works for different people. If you're interested in receiving a very useful (and very free) AlphaNerd Grocery Shopping Guide that will be sent out soon, please make sure you're signed up for the newsletter (we promise no spam - in the grocery list or in your inbox).
On the top shelf of my freezer, I have frozen organic broccoli, vegetable stir-fry (with carrots, green beans, peas, red bell peppers, mushrooms, broccoli, water chestnuts, baby corn, and yellow onions...no other ingredients added), and berries (with blueberries, raspberries, blackberries...very rich in antioxidants). On the bottom, I have frozen organic chicken, wild-caught Ahi tuna steaks, and wild-caught sockeye salmon filets (all with no other ingredients added). Hanging over the top shelf on the door is some turkey bacon waiting to be thawed. Also pictured are my ThermiPaq freezer pads (used for cold therapy applied to sore muscles or joints) and a box of baking soda designed to keep the freezer fresh. You may have noticed that basically everything in my freezer is from Costco (bravo on your astute observation). From an economical standpoint, it makes sense to buy foods I'm eating all the time in bulk, especially if they can be frozen so they won't be at risk of spoiling. Also, Costco continues to surprise me as they keep expanding their organic and healthier food options, even featuring local brands now. Just make sure to avoid the 90% of aisles that have cheese puffs and other junk in quantities that could feed a small nation.
Inside my fridge on the top shelf, I have organic brown eggs, chicken breast (thawing out in the bowl for dinner that night), and some cut up lemon and bell peppers from earlier in the day. Below that, there are cups of Greek yogurt (with whole fruit at the bottom), tupperware with leftovers from the night before, and some turkey bacon thawing out. In the hanging drawer, there are some organic apples. Below that, organic spinach and avocados. In the bottom drawers, bell peppers and asparagus. I like to use plastic containers to keep my fridge organized and make it easier to access foods and keep things clean (and maybe I'm a little OCD). Also, another baking soda fridge freshener of course.
Starting with the top left are some beautiful bricks of Kerrygold grass-fed butter (unsalted and salted). Below that are half a dozen cartons of egg whites (a la Costco). Next to that is some (hard to see) frozen wild-caught sockeye salmon thawing out, an almost empty bottle of Sriracha, and Bulletproof truffled chocolate coffee beans. On the middle shelf are some organic lemons and Roma tomatoes. On the bottom shelf, a bag of Bulletproof coffee, Bulletproof Glutathione Force (the master antioxidant - looks weird, tastes terrible), and some coconut balsamic vinaigrette.
In my pantry (ok, it's a cupboard), I have some of my favorite teas (Tazo Green and Sleepytime) on the top shelf with a couple bottles of cabernet sauvignon. And of course a couple Star Wars lunch boxes and water bottles! On the middle shelf, organic chia seeds, unsalted mixed nuts (cashews, pistachios, almonds, pecans), oatmeal, quinoa, an AirScape container filled with Bulletproof coffee beans, and my coffee bean grinder and French press. On the bottom left, there's some avocado oil, organic coconut oil (cold pressed, unrefined), Himalayan pink salt, Mediterranean sea salt, oregano, parsley, and other spices (partially covered by the divider). On the bottom right, organic wheatgrass juice powder, organic kale powder, raw honey (locally sourced), cinnamon, and 3 bottles of Bulletproof Brain Octane oil. I also have a bag of organic rice and sweet potatoes that are under the cabinet, so they didn't make the cut into the picture (I eat some carbs, I swear), and a big dispenser of spring water.
Just for good measure, I've included a picture of the outside of my fridge as well. Other than my awesome Star Wars notepad and Hard Rock Rome magnetic bottle opener, there are only a couple things worth noting. For one, the big Diet Roadmap based on Dave Asprey's book The Bulletproof Diet. Read my review of the book here. Although I don't follow the roadmap to the letter, it is a great visual guide to quickly glance at as a reference. You can download a PDF version of this roadmap for free here. I also have a flyer reminding me of the weekly local farmers market, which is where I try to grab some fresh produce or locally raised proteins whenever I can.
I hope this helps guide you with some of your eating and/or shopping decisions. Like I mentioned earlier, please sign up for the newsletter (below) and you'll get a useful grocery shopping guide (many of the foods above will be on there along with some that I was out of or didn't make it into the picture). I'm looking forward to bringing you the contents of more AlphaNerd's fridges soon, so stay tuned and stay healthy!