What’s In My Pantry
I love having a pantry that's full of healthy food. Snack's that are minimally processed with limited ingredients. Food that is actually beneficial to the body and not harmful. I tend to not keep "junk food" in the house, otherwise I would be too tempted to eat it. My self control is not that strong at times, so out of site out of mind works for me! However, there is one snack that I pretty much always have.
I love to organize my pantry staples with glass jars. They are so esthetically pleasing to the eye and you can actually see the food you have. I hate when there are bags and boxes of food scattered all over the pantry and you don't even know what you have or what's even still good or expired
So here's a list of all my essentials ...
1. Nuts, Seed & Dry Fruit
This probably takes up 1/3 of my pantry. Nuts and seeds provide you with those healthy fats as well as vitamins and minerals. As you know moderating is key when eating them. I also love to make my own trail mixes, so it helps to have a variety of ingredients on hand.
Dry fruit or freeze dried fruit is a great little snack if you're craving sweets. Dates are great with some peanut butter on top. Prunes are full of fiber and will help with digestion. Dry mangos are super tasty and raisins are great in oatmeal.
My go to grains are brown rice, quinoa, lentils or whole grain pasta. Also if you haven't tried miracle noodles or kelp noodles, you need to give them a try. They're basically zero calorie noodles made of konjac yams that are a great substitute for the real thing. I love to make an avocado type sauce for kelp noodles, it's so delicious.
Of course beans are a must to add protein and fiber to your diet. I get the ones in tetra paks instead of cans to stay away from BPA. Because even though it will say BPA-free, the cans still have another form of "BPA" that is not safe for our health.
3. Rice Cakes: I love these instead of bread. They are great with avocado on top or almond butter and bananas. My favorite ones are by "Lundberg Red Rice and Quinoa Thin Stackers".
4. Bars: they're great when you are out and about and need a quick snack. My favorite are the Rx Bars and Elemental Bars (found in the refrigerator).
5. Granola: great to top yogurt or chia seed pudding. My favorite is the Paleonola, Kind and Purely Elizabeth with probiotics.
6. Dark Chocolate: I have a sweet tooth, so I have a square or two or three of dark chocolate almost every night. It's rich in flavanols, which can protect against sun damage and improve brain function among its many other benefits. I store it in the freezer for that extra crunch.
7. Pickled things: such as olives, pepperoncinis, artichokes, jalapeños etc. Most of this stuff I use in salads to add more depth and flavor.
8. Other: vegetable broth is always a staple because not only do I make soup with it but I also use it when I sauté my veggies. Canned tune, salmon and sardines and also great in salads or tuna melts and are just a great overall option for a quick protein. Salsa such as salsa verde is great to make pulled chicken in the slow cooker. And canned veggies are always good to have on hand.
I can't not talk about nut butters. They are so delicious and so so good for you. Those are my favorite ones in the picture to the left. Peanut butter is great on top of dates as a snack or in smoothies. I love adding the NuttZo butter (made of different kind of nuts and seeds). And the Artisana raw almond butter is really tasty. It's also great in homemade power balls, made of oats, chia, dates etc. Just be mindful of the serving size you eat, its one of the easiest foods to overeat. You'll be wondering why you're not losing any weight, so measure it out every time you eat nut butters.
So there you have it, those are just some of my staple items I keep in the pantry. I try to not buy too many of packaged foods and focus more on whole foods. But when I do buy packaged food I make sure the ingredient list is not long and the ingredients are ones that I can actually pronounce. But in terms of packaged foods, a quick rule of thumb is this. Stay away from cheap and unhealthy oils such as sunflower, canola, palm oil as well as "natural flavors" because there is nothing natural about that and can be detrimental to your health.
