healthy Pantry essentials

You know that you want to eat healthier and have healthier foods in your house. Sometimes you just don't know where to start.

Here is a go-to guide of things you would find in my pantry and fridge. Some things I use in baking, and some things are for quick easy snacks and meals.

The key is to be organised. Put things in containers, and over time, change over to glass jars, but for now, just get started. Having everything visible will make it easier for you to find and then be inspired to use, and who doesn't love an organised pantry?

FLOURS & STARCHES

• Coconut Flour

• Almond Meal/Flour

• Buckwheat

• Brown rice flour

• Gluten-free flour

• Quinoa flour

• Potatoe Starch/Flour

• Besan/Gram flour (made from brown chickpeas) or Chickpea/Garbanzo Flour (from white chickpeas)

• Sorghum Flour

• Tapioca starch/flour (for thickening and binding)

• Arrowroot (for thickening and binding)

• Bi-carb soda

• GF baking powder

• Xantham gum (a binding agent, made from the fermentation of corn and basically replaces the gluten in GF bread etc)

GRAINS & PULSES

• Brown Rice (and different brown rice varieties ie. basmati brown)

• Quinoa ( is a complete protein source)

• Chickpeas (cans or dried)

• Black beans (cans or dried)

• Pinto beans (cans or dried)

• Cannellini beans (cans  dried)

NUTS, SEEDS & FRUITS

• Psyllium Husk (a fabulous fibre for gut health too)

• Nuts - the ones I always have in the pantry are.. Almonds, Brazil (super magnesium), walnuts, cashews (for cashew cheese and slices), hazelnuts and macadamia

• Pepitas (pumpkin seeds - high in minerals & iron)

• Sunflower seeds

• Goji berries

• Buckwheat groats (here is a nice little recipe for a sweet snack)

• Dates

• Sultanas (unsweetened, organic)

• Sour cherries

• Cranberries

• Chia seeds (add to porridge, cereals, smoothies, overnight oats or even to make jam)

• Hemp seeds (highest protein source of seeds - great for protein smoothies)

• Flaxseed

Sweeteners

• Honey

• Maple Syrup

• Dates

OILS & VINEGARS

• Organic Olive Oil

• Coconut Oil

• Sesame oil

• Apple Cider Vinegar - the one 'with the mother'

• Balsamic Vinegar

• Red Wine Vinegar

• Pomegranate Molasses

• White Vinegar (for cleaning)

SPICES & HERBS

• Cayenne pepper

• Seaweed salt - iodine from the seaweed helps to support a healthy thyroid (make your own by adding dulse flakes to sea salt or Himalayan salt)

• Black pepper

• Cummin seeds/ground

• Coriander seeds/ground

• Turmeric ground and fresh (a must for anti-inflammatory purposes)

• Paprika (smoked and sweet)

• Oregano

• Garam Masala

• Chilli Flakes

• All Spice

• Ginger ground and fresh

• Garlic dried and fresh

PACKAGED ITEMS

As with all packaged items, it’s super important to read the labels, making sure that you are not inadvertently buying foods that have needless flavourings, preservatives or added sugar. MSG is definitely one to be avoided, especially for those with known sensitivities. The MSG code on foods is #621. If there are unknown ingredients or strings of numbers, I put them back on the shelf and choose something else. It’s always better to now what you are eating.

• Organic tinned tomatoes

• Tinned chickpeas

• Tinned black beans

• Coconut chips

• Organic corn chips

• Rice crackers

• Gluten-free oats (oats don't contain gluten but are more often than not processed where they process wheat, barley, and rye, so therefore becoming 'contaminated')

• Cacao

• 70% and above chocolate (for nibbling and cooking)

Nondairy MILKS

• Coconut milk & cream

• Almond milk 

IN THE FRIDGE

• Sauerkraut

• Kimchi

• Kombucha

• Organic Yogurt (good quality with probiotic cultures)

• Homemade tomato sauce

• Tomato Paste

• Dates

• Broth

• Tamari

• Butter

• Feta (sheep or goat)

• Mustards 

Remember you don't need to do a clean sweep, you just need to start somewhere.