One of the largest components of the 21 day fix exercise program is the nutrition and color coded portion containers that are meant to be followed alongside the workout videos. While following the nutrition plan, you’ll need to have a clear idea of what you can eat while on the program which is why you’ll need the 21 day fix food list and meal shopping ideas so you can get started.

Let’s break down each of the containers and the foods that you can have alongside the program.

21 Day Fix Approved Shopping and Food List

Green Container: Vegetables

Each day you’ll eat a number of green containers depending on your calorie bracket level found on the tally sheets and container tracking printables you are assigned.  For the 1200-1499 calorie bracket, you’ll eat four green containers or four servings of vegetables a day.

Popular Vegetable Shopping List Options: Lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, celery, spinach, green beans, squash, bell peppers, brussel sprouts, cabbage

It’s important to note that potatoes are NOT considered a vegetable in this program, they are considered a carb.  This includes sweet potatoes!

Purple Container: Fruits

You’ll eat less fruit than vegetables on this program because fruits naturally have more sugars and calories than vegetables.  For the 1200-1499 plan, you’ll have two purple containers/servings of fruit.  The 1500-1799 plan requires 3 servings.

Common Fruit Food List Options:  Apples, oranges, grapes, watermelon, kiwi, bananas, pears, berries

Get the full shopping list from this shop on Etsy in a 5 page bundle pack. This is what I use and have printed and laminated on my refrigerator:

Red Container: Proteins

While following the 21 day fix program, you’ll eat plenty of protein to help you build lean muscle.

Protein Shopping List items include: Fish, Skinless Turkey or Chicken, Lean Beef, Lean Pork, Cottage Cheese, Plain or Greek Yogurt, Protein Powder Isolate (low-fat and sugar-free), eggs, egg whites

Try to include protein throughout your day rather than just at the beginning or end, it’s important to be incorporating all food groups throughout the day to keep your body properly energized.

Yellow Container: Carbohydrates

Most people will get the yellow container for the first time in their package and think “What on earth is this?”. I even saw a review online of a woman returning the containers and complaining that they were “too small”. Haha! Well, that is how you will lose weight! By eating smaller portions. If the containers were huge, you’d be gaining weight and that is the whole purpose of the 21 day fix program!

Common Carbs Shopping List: oatmeal, raw oats, wild brown rice, whole wheat pasta, one slice of bread, legumes, red, white or sweet potatoes

Blue Container: Fats and Cheeses

Healthy fats are good and important for your weight loss progress.  Healthy fats have mono-saturated or poly-saturated fats which are good for you and help trim the waist line.  What we want to avoid is saturated fats and especially trans fats.

Common Blue Container Ideas: Avocado, hummus, almonds, peanuts, pistachios, cashews, (note: all nuts are not created equally! You can have a certain number of nuts per serving, don’t just fill the blue container!) Light cheeses such as cheddar, mozzarella, Parmesan, etc.

Orange Containers: Seeds and Salad Dressings

For the orange containers, I generally don’t follow any specific recipe. Sometimes I’ll make a protein ball recipe and use an orange container full of coconut and other times I will fill it with a light vinaigrette low-calorie dressing.  Some dressings have less calories than others.  Italian Light has only 5 calories per tbsp, so I use two orange containers. Whereas Balsamic Light has 15-30 calories per tbsp, so I will only use one orange container which equates to around 2 tablespoons.

I hope this 21 day fix food list has helped you with some ideas of the most common foods you’ll eat throughout the day on the program.  What foods do you always get at the shops? Comment below and share your ideas!

You can use the full 21 day fix shopping and food list along with tally sheets to track your progress in various bundles offered in this other Etsy shop:

Portion Control Container Tally Sheets

If you click on the image above, you’ll be directed to an Etsy shop that has super affordable bundle packs of worksheets you can instantly download and use to help you on your weight loss journey with the 21 day fix. You’ll get the appropriate tally sheets for whichever calorie bracket you are following, a results tracker, workout calendar and the 21 day fix food list!