It’s no secret that I’m a big believer in feeding your body the best foods you can to keep you in tip-top condition year round, and making sure you’ve got the tonnes of energy you need to do the things you love in life!

I personally like to eat as clean as possible, meaning that I love whole, healthy foods that are closest to their natural state- think a whole lotta veggies, fruit, whole grains, healthy fats, plant-based proteins… you get the idea. :)

Eating clean is definitely not a diet by any stretch of the imagination, it’s simply a lifestyle of eating healthily 80% of the time to nourish your body.
Don’t get me wrong, 20% of the time I’m totally down for a cupcake or two… or four. With a side of Dairy Milk chocolate. (And maybe a sneaky hot chip session thrown in too...).

Everything in moderation, kids!

There are so many incredible benefits both physically and mentally, to eating clean most of the time:

• Increased energy
•  Easy weight maintenance
• Improved overall health and immunity
• Healthy skin
• Increase in lean muscle
• Decreased instances of certain diseases, like cancer and diabetes
• Less impact on the environment, as the foods are minimally processed
• Less expensive than buying lots of packaged foods
• Sustainable- unlike fad diets, clean eating is a holistic approach you can keep up for life!

I thought I’d include a bit of a list of all the things I typically (read: always!) buy when I hit up the supermarket.
I swear every time I go, I grab the same food, I even have a specific route through the supermarket and I don’t even have to think; just grab! Super convenient, and no brain power necessary. Perfect. ;)

Fruit:

Bananas
Apples
Mixed frozen berries
Grapes
Avocado (still refuse to believe this is a fruit… I will fight to the bitter end!)
Dates (okay so they kinda snuck in here and don’t really fit… but they needed a mention because they’re so damn good.)

Veggies:

Cucumber
Capsicum/bell peppers
Tomatoes
Broccoli
Carrots
Brussel sprouts
Baby spinach
Pumpkin
Sweet potato
Snow peas
Green beans

Nuts, seeds, oils & nut butters:

Peanut butter
Almond butter
Almond, brazil nut and cashew nut butter (try saying that one three times fast, I dare ya!)
Tahini
Almonds
Chia seeds
Sunflower seeds
Walnuts
Coconut oil

Poultry & fish:

Salmon
Tuna (in cans it makes life a billion times easier!)
Chicken
Free range eggs

Grains:

Rolled oats
Wholemeal bread (Helga and Burgen are hands down my favourites!)
Quinoa

Beans & lentils:

Chickpeas/garbanzo beans
Lentils

Plant-based milk:

Almond milk (Almond Breeze is delicious! Great for baking, oats, pancakes…)

Dairy:

Cottage cheese
Natural yoghurt (Chobani is incredible, if you see it, nab it, ASAP! I’m telling you)

Baking stuff:

Vanilla extract
Stevia
Wholewheat flour
Almond meal
Baking soda
Cocoa powder

Treats:

Dark chocolate
Larabars

Things I’m dying to try:

Nutritional yeast (apparently tastes just like cheese?! I’m sold.)
Kale
Spaghetti squash
Tempeh
Agave syrup

What's on your shopping list?

This article originally appeared on http://runningshoeschocolatemousse.com. It has been shared with the author's permission and has been edited from it's original content. The original article can be found at: http://runningshoeschocolatemousse.com/foodie-faves/.