I am looking to help you find ways to make healthy snacks that are also tasty. However I am also looking to show you the right foods to help you on your way to getting that rock hard body that everyone wants. Throughout this article, I am looking forward to sharing with you ideas for healthy food in ways you might not expect. For now, I will tell you exactly what you should be putting your cabinets and refrigerator.

You may feel the need to eat junk if you have junk food in your house. Because of this, you will eat the healthy food that you have because junk food won't be available. Steps to eating better is through making the right choices and helping yourself not be tempted as you go through the grocery store. Most of what I am about to share with you are opinions on things that I enjoy, and I hope you will like them as well.

Let's begin by talking about your refrigerator. Every week I try to stock my fridge with many types of fresh veggies. Though during the winter seasons I may have to use grocery store produce, I usually try to get local grown produce. I try to keep the usual line up of veggies such as red peppers, zucchini, spinach, onions, broccoli and some fresh mushrooms. I use them in my eggs I have for breakfast. It's also great to cut up some turkey sausage or lean chick to put in my eggs. A bit of jack, Swiss, or maybe even some goat cheese in the eggs too is always nice. When I do use goat cheese I prefer to find raw grass fed if possible.

Oh yes, I use the whole egg, not just the white. Yolk is the most dense in nutrients out of all of the egg. Not eating the egg white is causing you to miss a lot of nutrition. Though many complain that the egg yolk is bad for you because of the cholesterol, this is not the case. The cholesterol in the egg yolk will actually help out your good cholesterol. The best eggs to get are the organic free range type. This is a whole article I wrote on the topic about egg whites versus whole eggs.

Another great thing I keep in my fridge is coconut milk. It's great in oatmeal, smoothies , and even yogurt. It adds a nice rich creamy taste to anything you add it to. The coconut milk is not only a great way to add a creamy flavor to food but it also has healthy saturated fats inside it. And yes, I did say healthy saturated fats. The health saturated fats include many types of medium chain triglycerides such as lauric acid also known as MCT.

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More staples from my fridge:

• Pecans, almonds, walnuts, all chopped to give me a great source of healthy fat.
• Ricotta and cottage cheese along with yogurt. I mix them all together and put in some berries and mixed nuts for a morning to afternoon snack.
• Chila seeds and whole flax seed: Using a mini coffee grinder I chop them up fine to put in salads and yogurt. It's best to always grind them right before using them due to the highly unstable omega-3 fats that are very easily oxidized. This can lead to high levels of free radicals in the unground flax.
• Whole Eggs: One of the best sources of nutrition in nature. Do not fear the yolks, they will raise good cholesterol in your system.
• Salsa: I always try all kinds of crazy varieties of salsa to keep things interesting.
• Avocados: I simply love these, they are a great source of fiber, healthy fats, and many other nutritious components. I always put them in salads, sandwiches, and wraps.
• Butter: In small quantities butter can actually be a great way to add flavor to food. What you need to worry about is margarine, this is incredibly unhealthy and will lead to you having a nasty heart attack.
• Nut Butter: I have gotten a bit sick of the usual peanut butter, so I decided to try something new by mixing sesame seed butter along with almond butter
• Leafy lettuce along with spinach and shredded carrots is a great choice for a dinner salad.
• Home Made Salad Dressings: Mixing extra virgin olive oil with balsamic vinegar and a some of Udo's Choice oil blends. The storage bought type salad dress is made of mostly incredibly refined soybean oil which is full of free radicals.
• Whole grain breaks and whole grain wraps are a great choice as well, it's best to looks for the ones that have around 3-4 grams of fiber within each 20 grams of carbs.
• Wheat Germ and Rice Bran: A lot of people may thing this food is a bit TOO healthy. However they have a nice nut like crunch flavor that goes well in smoothies and yogurts. And tastes great in muffins and breads you may make for extra fiber and nutrition.

Things I keep in my freezer:

• Frozen Berries: I will usually only get fresh berries when I can. But a majority of the year I try to keep raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, cherries and strawberries frozen. They add great flavor to oatmeal, yogurt, high fiber cereal, smoothies, and cottage cheese.
• Frozen Fish: I usually try a variety of different types every week. Because of the amount of different types of fish, you won't get sick of them easily.
• Frozen Chicken Breasts: Great for wraps and sandwiches and highly convenient, can't beat it.
• Ground Beef, burgers, Steaks from Grass Fed Cows: Meats derived from grass fed animals have incredibly high levels of omega-3 fatty acids that are comparable to salmon. You will find also there is much more CLA(conjugated linoleic acid) in grass fed than the grain fed beefs. Go to www.healthygrassfed.2ya.com for great grass fed meats that will be delivered straight to your front door in a cooler that's been air tight sealed.
• More Exotic Lean Meats Such As: Venison, Buffalo, Ostrich. Yes it sounds weird, but these are actually very healthy meats that can contribute to a lean healthy body. They are much better than most of that hormone injected hyped up pork, beef, and chicken that you will find at your grocery store. Even though it is a bit weird it is totally worth it.
• Frozen Vegetables: Once the veggie season is over I try to keep good frozen veggies in my freezer. It's the best way to get them when I need them if I can't get them fresh. They sometimes even have better nutrients in them than the fresh ones which have been shopped for many miles and sitting for a few weeks.

Things I Keep In My Cabinets:

• Antioxidant Rich Tea such as oolong , green , rooibos, and white are all the best ones.
• Whole Grain/Wheat Pasta: Quite a bit more fiber than regular pasta.
• Steel Cut Oats and Oat Bran: Instant oat fiber doesn't come close to these.
• Coconut Milk In Cans: The ones that have not made it to my fridge.
• High Fiber Rice Such As Brown rice: Never Eat White Rice
• Various Tomato Sauces: A great source of lycopene and they taste great. Avoid the brands which have a lot of high fructose corn syrup.
• Stevia: A sweeter which is calorie free and natural. A great way to avoid chemical covered sweeteners like saccharine, sucralose, and aspartame.
• Raw Honey: It's a lot better than processed honey. It has much more benefical enzymes and nutrients. It has been proven through studies that it helps you metabolize glucose, helping your body process carbs better. I put a teaspoon or so in my teas when i wake up.
• While it may be pure sugar, it does have some nutritional value. And consider a tea spoon of sugar vs a tea spoon much much healthier raw honey consisting of 5 carbs. There is nothing for you to worry about.
• Organic Maple Syrup: Do not get that nasty high fructose laden corn syrup that Aunt Jemima pumps out. That is not real syrup. And the only reason this ever sees any use is in my post-workout smoothies to be used as a sweetener. It also boosts insulin to help get nutrients in your muscles.
• Unsweetened Organic Cocoa Powder: It goes great into smoothies for a burst of antioxidants. I might even make some hot cocoa using a low sugar recipe with some hot milk and stevia. A few melted dark chocolate chunks go great in these.
• Kidney Beans And Black Beans, Canned: A few scoops of these in a Mexican wrap is a great way to add some more nutrition and fiber to my meals. Beans are also known to be one of the better sources for anti-aging antioxidants!
• Dark Chocolate: Using the darkest chocolate possible, I use these to sate my sweet tooth. It also has a load of antioxidants in them. While it may be a bit calorie dense, I will only do a few squares at a time. This is plenty to get the job done to prevent me from making a cake or ice cream run to put my sweet to to rest.

Last of all, one of the better things to keep around is a fresh assortment of berries and fruits. The main ones being pears, orange, bananas, and apples are always a good choice, but it can be fun to try some of the other stuff like mangoes, kumquats, pomegranates, star fruit, pineapple, papaya, and many others. One of the best fruits you can eat for antioxidants are the blueberries, blackberries and cherries.

Written by Michael Geary: Certified Personal Trainer and registered specialist of Nutrition. 

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