Whole Living asked a few renowned chefs and nutritionists what healthy things they keep in their kitchens, and then created this list of 34 items for a natural pantry. Most of the list is pretty generic like frozen fruit and herbs with a couple specifics like soba noodles and pomegranate molasses of all things.
The list overall is a good one so do check it out. For everyday eaters who live in the 'hood, and are not renowned experts like myself, I thought I'd share 10 items I use regularly to help keep me vibrant and in the skinny jeans.
- Trader Joe's Organic Herb Salad Mix: For bagged salad this stuff is awesome and for me it makes about four salads. I eat something green everyday, but lately, I've been eating this stuff because it the mix includes four of my favorite things: dill, frisee, arugula, and radiccchio.
- Sparkling Water: I used to drink Diet sodas all the time because I love the carbonation. But, then I weaned off the sodas because I wanted to stop consuming any artificial sweeteners, and let me tell you that was one of the best decisions I ever made. I still love carbonation so I drink the sparkling waters as a way to get bubbly and water (hydration!) in without any kind of sugars. I'll squeeze in fresh lemon or tangelos for flavor.
- Agave nectar: Agave has a lower glycemic index than honey and it's vegan, no bees involved. I am not a vegan, but I do eat plenty of vegan foods because of my cow milk and chicken egg allergies. I use agave nectar in place of syrups too like on pancakes. I just like that agave is lighter but adds a more subtle sweet to things like my afternoon tea.
- Edamame: Fresh or frozen, in the shell or shelled, edamame is one of my favorite foods to eat plain as a snack or to use in dishes, salads and hummus like this edamame and sweet pepperdew hummus I make often.
- Nut butters: My favorite are peanut and cashew. When I talk about nut butters, I'm talking about just freshly ground nuts and salt...that's it. I really don't understand the need to add anything more than that because ground nuts on their own are simply delicious. My local Whole Foods has honey roasted peanuts that can be ground, and yes, it is one of my favorites.
- Frozen shrimp: I keep a bag of frozen shrimp in my freezer always because shrimp are so easy to cook and toss on top of salad, rice, or pasta as well as in tacos and burritos or on top of pizza. One of my recent shrimp additions was this sauteed garlic shrimp on top of wait for it...Trader Joe's herb salad mix :)
Briana's Poppyseed Dressing: If Brianna's ever discontinues this flavor I will surely have a broken heart for months. Because I can't have mayo because of the chicken egg allergy and I'm not a fan of most vegan mayos, I use this Brianna's Poppyseed dressing as my mayo replacement as well as a green salad topper. When I make tuna salad or chicken, mandarin orange, and walnut salad sandwiches, I use the Brianna's.
- Coconut milk based yogurt: Besides for breakfast and snacks, I use the coconut milk yogurt as a sour cream replacement like using the mango yogurt on top of enchiladas. I've also used the coconut yogurt as a way to help moisturize vegan banana nut muffins.
As far as cow milk free yogurt go, I like the So Delicious brand of coconut milk based yogurt the best because it tastes good, and it has a nice consistency. I'm not a fan of rice yogurt because they're typically runny. Soy is alright but I really try to minimize my soy consumption because it does affect my metabolism, and sheep and goat milk based yogurt taste too much like a barnyard. I am still open minded to trying any of the above, it's just the brands I've tried were not a hit with me besides the coconut milk yogurt.
- A bar of organic dark chocolate: You gotta have something sweet as a staple in the kitchen, yes? Since, I started this going sugar little journey this year, instead of eating cookies and cupcakes, I've been eating pieces of dark chocolate so I can satisfy my sweet tooth and not deprive myself. As soon as my Inner Resistance Monster hears, "Can't have..." watch out, he sets us on a sugar rampage. So, the dark chocolate is a nice compromise, and besides dark chocolate has health benefits.
- Can of pumpkin pie mix: I know it sounds odd but I don't think any odder than Pomegranate molasses. My favorite brand is the Farmer's Market brand Organic Pumpkin Pie Mix. I LOVE pumpkin anything and don't like to wait until the Fall or the holidays to enjoy pumpkin flavor.
In fact, I actually don't make pie with the can of pumpkin pie mix. I use the mix in yogurt like this pumpkin, gingersnap granola, banana parfait. I use the mix in pancakes, muffins, ravioli, soup, and lattes. Instead of using pumpkin syrup, you can stir in the pumpkin mix with the espresso and milk. The latte also becomes a little thicker which I think is cool.
So there you have a peek into my kitchen. What are some staples in your healthy kitchen?
