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What to look for when shopping for snack foods

Whether you have energy drain on the job, you need a pre-workout pick-me-up, or you’re packing up lunches for the kids, snacks come in handy. Keep your pantry packed with snacks, and you’ll always be prepared for fueling the family on the go. Sugar-free, high-protein, gluten-free, and keto — snacks these days come in many forms. To find the tastiest options for any type of eater, take advantage of these shopping tips.

Lunchbox snacks for the kids

A number of snacks make great lunchbox additions, and any leftovers provide fuel for kids between the end of school and extracurricular activities like music lessons and sports practice. When you’re packing lunches for your children, consider adding fruit cups filled with applesauce, peaches, or mixed fruit. Or try carrots and celery sticks, yogurt tubes, pretzels, or granola bars. More ideas for the kids include fruit snacks or fruit roll-ups, potato chips, and cookies. For the healthiest options of these snacks, purchase dried fruit or fruit leather, baked potato chips, or whole grain fig cookies. The fiber in these healthy snacks helps keep kids full.

On-the-go snacks

Great options for on-the-go snacks include cereal bars, trail mix, pita chips, apple chips, snack mix, crackers, and cookies. If you’re watching your calories, choose crackers or cookie crisps that come in pre-measured, 100-calorie packs. If you’re having breakfast, lunch, or dinner on the run, combine a satisfying snack or two with a healthy meal-replacement drink.

Sugar-free snacks

Sugar-free snacks are a must-have. For snacks with loads of taste and little to no sugar, choose mixed nuts, raw veggies and dip, plain or buttered popcorn, sugar-free pudding cups, and whole grain crackers. When shopping for whole grain crackers, always read the label for nutritional information. Look for cracker products featuring 2 grams or less of sugar and at least 2 grams of fiber for a snack that’s both low in sugar and satisfying.

High-protein snacks

High-protein snacks make the perfect between-meal bites. Eating protein helps boost metabolism and reduce hunger, so high-protein snacks are perfect for athletes and people who are hoping to drop a few pounds. If you’re looking for snacks packed with protein, try dried meats. For the healthiest dried meats, purchase jerky or meat sticks made from grass-fed organic beef or free-range turkey.

For more protein-powered snacks, pack your pantry and fridge with peanut butter squeeze packs, protein bars, grain-free granola, portable tuna packets, dry-roasted edamame, and single-serving Greek yogurt cups.

Keto snacks

The keto diet involves eating higher amounts of fat, medium amounts of protein, and low levels of carbohydrates. This diet is popular for weight loss, and research suggests that it may also work well for people with certain health conditions like epilepsy and autism. If you’re considering going on the keto diet, it’s wise to check with your doctor before you start stocking up on snacks and low-carb meal ingredients. Good keto snack choices include string cheese, cheese crisps, dried coconut flakes, keto bars, pork rinds, and all kinds of nuts and seeds, including peanuts, walnuts, pistachios, cashews, sunflower seeds, and pumpkin seeds.

Gluten-free snacks

While people with celiac disease and gluten intolerance need to avoid foods that contain gluten for health reasons, other people choose not to eat these foods as a matter of personal taste. Whether you can’t have gluten or choose not to, it can be hard to find tasty snack options that don’t contain wheat or other glutinous grains. Fortunately, many food manufacturers have jumped on the gluten-free bandwagon, and good snacks are easier to find. The next time you go to the grocery store, pick up some crackers made from nut, rice, potato, or quinoa flour. More snack foods to throw in your cart include raisins and other dried fruits, chickpea puffs, kale chips, corn tortilla chips, and rice cakes. Always check ingredients lists carefully before purchasing these items.

Use convenient, quality ingredients to create healthy meals

Sometimes it’s hard to take the time to make an elaborate meal for those you love or even just for yourself. When it comes to whipping up something delicious, any opportunities to take a shortcut or two can mean less time in the kitchen and more time relaxing or taking of what you need to do around your house. Save money on staples like pasta, rice, canned goods and other meal solutions to stock up your pantry and cupboards with all the food you need to make tasty home-cooked meals.

Canned goods and soups

Having a supply of canned goods on hand means that you can make quick, wholesome meals without using anything out of your refrigerator or freezer. Some items like soups, beans and canned meats are meals in themselves. Items like beef stew, corned beef hash, chicken and dumplings, and beef tamales make ideal main courses that you can pair with other pantry items.

If you want to make sandwiches, there are plenty of canned choices available, such as tuna, ham, chicken, pulled pork and corned beef. Use these items as-is, or mix them with condiments and fresh vegetables to make complete meals. Some canned spreads liked deviled ham have everything combined in one can so all you need to do is open the can and add the spread to bread or crackers. Open a can of soup and heat it up to have with your sandwich, and you have a delicious, wholesome lunch or late-night snack.

To make your meals complete, you have many different options in canned vegetables and fruits. Everything from corn, peas and green beans to asparagus is available in cans, or you can choose less-common items like artichoke hearts, hearts of palm and succotash to add some variety to your dinner table. If you’re having tacos, try canned refried beans, green chilies and jalapenos to add some flavor and spice things up a bit. If you’re cooking something from scratch, you can use certain canned vegetables to save yourself a few steps. Diced tomatoes and sliced mushrooms can help you make a marinara or spaghetti sauce that everyone craves. Heat up some canned yams, and you have one less thing to prep when making a holiday meal.

Canned fruits make having a nutritious, sweet snack as simple as opening a can or a jar. Fruit cocktail is a sweet mixture of many favorite fruits combined in syrup or their natural juices. If you’re a baker, there are many canned fruits you can use to bake pies or serve as toppings on cakes or other pastries. Save money by buying your canned vegetables or fruits in bulk packages or family-size cans.

Boxed meals

Boxed meals are terrific convenience items because they either have everything you need to make a great meal included in the box, or you only need to add a protein, such as ground beef or shredded chicken. Everyone in your family probably loves macaroni and cheese, and you can make great-tasting mac and cheese in a matter of moments with one of our prepared boxes. If you have the protein taken care of, such as roast chicken or steak, but need a quick side to make, you have many options available, including stuffing mix or au gratin potatoes. Some of our boxed meal solutions require nothing more than water, which you can use to whip up mashed potatoes or red beans and rice.

Grains and rice

Speaking of rice, the possibilities are endless when it comes to the rice dishes you can make for your family in just minutes. Some of our rice options require cooking, but some only require a pot with boiling water or a microwave. You can whip up some Spanish rice or quinoa and brown rice in a couple of minutes but have them taste like you worked hard in the kitchen to make these dishes.

If your family loves pasta, mac and cheese is only the beginning when it comes to making great noodle dishes. In the time that it takes for you to boil some spaghetti, ziti, penne or egg noodles, you can mix them with a jar of sauce such as meat-flavored spaghetti sauce with real ground beef or sausage, or a creamy sauce like Alfredo and have a wholesome meal ready to go in about 20 minutes. If time is really an issue, we have canned pasta that you can heat up in a pan or microwave for a full meal within minutes. If someone in your family is allergic to gluten, we even have gluten-free pasta and noodle options for you.

Other meal solutions

To complete your meal options, you can stock up on everyday essentials like condiments, salad dressings and peanut butter and jelly. It’s always a good idea to keep a supply of mustard, ketchup and mayonnaise on hand because these are staples for making sandwiches, but they also serve as flavor enhancers for sauces. For example, if you’re making pork loin or pork chops, a sauce made with mustard, honey and spices that you rub onto the pork before cooking can add great depth of flavor.

Having sweets like honey, peanut butter, jams, jellies and fruit spreads on hand means that you have a quick meal ready to go anytime as long as you have some bread or crackers in the cupboard. Other items that you may want to have as part of your fully stocked pantry include pickles, olives, salad dressings, syrups, vinegars, oils and premixed sauces.

Stock your pantry with everything you need to feed your family well

A well-stocked pantry is a necessity for anyone who likes to cook at home. Having everything you need at your fingertips allows you to create the tasty, wholesome meals that will keep your family from stopping at the drive-thru on the way home from work, school or elsewhere. It is a good idea to know what staples make up a properly stocked pantry, including the right spices and herbs, sauces and condiments.

Spices and herbs

There are certain spices, herbs and seasonings no pantry should ever run low on. Some herbs like parsley, basil, oregano, cilantro and thyme are good to have fresh, either growing in your garden or indoor planter, or bought from a grocery store. But these have a limited shelf life and will go bad if not used within a few days of picking or purchasing. Dried herbs and spices, however, can last for up to a year when kept out of direct sunlight and in a cool, dry location.

The must-have spices, herbs and seasoning for every kitchen include salt and black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, dried oregano, dried basil, dried thyme, parsley flakes, dried rosemary, paprika, chili powder, bay leaves, cayenne pepper, crushed red pepper flakes, ground white pepper, ground cumin and curry powder. For baking, the items you should have include ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, ground ginger, ground cloves, cream of tartar and vanilla extract.

Other items that are nice to keep on hand include cinnamon sticks, vanilla beans, black peppercorns, kosher and sea salt, yellow mustard powder, wasabi powder, Cajun seasoning, Creole seasoning, ground allspice, Chinese five-spice powder, turmeric and coriander. Premixed seasonings like taco seasoning, fajita seasoning, poultry seasoning, steak seasoning and jerk seasoning are timesavers, but they sometimes have additives like monosodium glutamate that negate their usefulness. You would be better off making your seasoning batches and storing them in tightly sealed containers.

Marinades and sauces

In addition to spices and seasonings, marinades and sauces are good items to have at your disposal to improve or add to the taste of your dishes, or even serve as bases for them. Certain cuts of beef are tough or have less inherent flavor than other cuts do, so marinating them for a few hours before cooking helps break down the muscle fibers and add flavor, making for tender, juicy, tasty meats. Although there are bottled marinades that do the trick, you can also make your own marinades using items like Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, teriyaki sauce and more, combined with spices, seasonings and oil.

It is a good idea to have some sauces handy in case you need to whip up a hearty meal at a moment’s notice. Although homemade tomato and pasta sauce is ideal, there are many jarred and canned sauces out there that taste just as good as homemade, especially if you add your own small touches to them, like a dash of dried oregano or basil or a spoonful of granulated sugar. Jarred Alfredo sauce and pasta creates a tasty meal in mere minutes.

Condiments

Anyone who loves to eat sandwiches, hot dogs and hamburgers knows that condiments are some of the most important additions you can have in your pantry and refrigerator. The basic staples are ketchup, mustard and mayonnaise, but you don’t have to settle for just plain when you can select condiments that will set you meals apart.

For example, in the mustard category, yellow mustard may be king, but there are many contenders for the crown, including Dijon, whole-grain, honey-mustard, spicy brown and sweet hot. Ketchups are no longer a single-flavor option, either. There are ketchups that have sriracha sauce, jalapenos, onion, bacon and balsamic vinegar flavors added, too. There are also low-sugar, kosher, gluten-free, no-salt and organic versions available. For mayonnaise, there are those that are olive oil- and canola oil-based; light, reduced-fat and low-fat versions; and even some flavored with bacon, chipotle or sriracha sauce.

Other important condiments to have on hand include pickles and pickle relish, jalapeno peppers, hot peppers, banana peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, roasted red peppers, salad dressings (which come in a multitude of flavors and are available in full-fat and low-fat versions), as well as tartar sauce, hot sauce and barbecue sauce. Barbecue sauces and hot sauces come in many different varieties and tastes, often dependent on the part of the United States you are from. Most barbecue sauces are tomato based, but some are mustard or vinegar based as well. Hot sauces can be mild to excruciatingly hot depending on how hot of a pepper is used for the sauce (based on its ranking on the Scoville scale). For example, jalapeno pepper-based sauces are going to be much milder than those that use habanero peppers or ghost peppers as the base. Be sure to read the labels to know what you are getting yourself into.

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