Last year a visit to a friend’s house had me feeling as if I could appear in an HGTV show about organizing and stocking a healthy pantry. It never occurred to me that I could help someone with a pantry redo – but I guess it’s like cleaning out and organizing your office – you just don’t know what piles to start with! I’ve read about people hiring a personal trainer or dietician to eradicate their kitchens of all bad-for-you foods, but usually it’s in the context of losing weight and getting fit.
With Kara Noel it was about organizing her pantry so she could find things and offering tips on nutritious foods that she could stock that would make it easier for her to prepare simple but healthy meals for her kids without making several trips to the grocery store. Kara is an amazing mom who manages to juggle three children, community and school activities, a thriving business of children’s hats called Eli’s Lids and a her craft blog, She’s Crafty at OCFamily.com. At that time, Kara and her husband were expecting their third child, and with one in school and one nearing school age, she really wanted to start cooking more meals at home and having a more traditional dinner time. I was glad that this was important to her and that she was taking steps to avoid falling into the weeknight take-out or drive-thru mode that happens to many busy parents and can be unhealthy as well as expensive.
In 2011, many of us have vowed to take charge of our health and the first place to start is your kitchen. I took pictures, so that Kara, and now you, can see the way that I organize my pantry; at a glance I know what I have on-hand and can find stuff easily. I’m sure there are other ways, but I keep like-foods on the same shelf; for example, all baking ingredients together, all pastas and rice together, all canned goods like beans and tomato paste together, etc. When we remodeled our kitchen I had our old fashioned closet-like pantry divided into half and installed roll out shelves which, to me, is practically the best thing about our entire house 🙂
Here’s a list you can print of what to buy for a Healthy Pantry; from Food Network, with a few additions and my suggestion to buy organic if it’s available to you and economically feasible.
Oils, Vinegars & Condiments
- Oils: extra-virgin olive oil, canola oil
- Trans-fat-free margarine
- Vinegars: distilled white, cider, red-wine, balsamic, rice
- Dijon mustard
- Ketchup (with no high fructose corn syrup)
- Barbecue sauce
- Reduced-fat mayonnaise
- Reduced-sodium soy sauce
- Prepared pesto
- Salsa
- Hot sauce
Seasonings
- Sea Salt, not the Iodized stuff
- Black pepper
- Dried herbs and spices: ground cumin, cayenne pepper, chili powder, crushed red pepper, rosemary, thyme leaves, oregano, Italian seasoning blend, tarragon leaves, ground cinnamon, ground ginger
- Vanilla extract
Canned Goods & Bottle Items
- Canned tomatoes, tomato paste
- Reduced-sodium broths
- Canned beans: cannellini, kidney, chickpeas (garbanzo beans),
- black beans, refried beans
- Chunk light tuna and salmon
Grains & Legumes
- Assorted whole-grain or whole wheat pasta
- Regular and instant brown rice
- Whole-wheat couscous
- Regular and quick-cooking barley
- Bulgur
- Rolled oats
- Dried lentils
- Dried peas and beans
Baking Products
- Whole-wheat flour and whole-wheat pastry flour. (Store in the refrigerator or freezer.)
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Flaxseed meal
- Cornmeal
- Quick-rising yeast
- Cornstarch
- Brown sugar
- Granulated sugar
- Honey
Nuts, Seeds and Dried Fruit
- Walnuts, pecans, sesame seeds, almonds
- Dried apricots, dates, cranberries, raisins
- Peanut butter (natural, no added high fructose corn syrup)
Refrigerator Basics
- 1% or skim milk
- Reduced-fat sour cream
- Fruit juice (100% fruit juice, not fruit drinks)
- Large eggs
- Cheese: sharp Cheddar, feta, Parmesan, mozzarella
- Nonfat or light vanilla yogurt
Freezer Basics
- Frozen fruit
- Frozen vegetables: edamame (soybeans), broccoli, corn, bell pepper-and-onion mix, peas, spinach
- Low-fat ice cream, frozen yogurt and/or sorbet
- Frozen cheese ravioli or tortellini
Coming next week: recipes for healthy dishes from the pantry!
That’s really TIDY!
great and well thought out post
Wow. We have EVERYTHING but the bulgur and the frozen vegetables. Thanks for putting this list together! Confirms I’m somewhat on the right track. 😉
[K]
This is awesome!! That was such a fun day. And my pantry is still organized11
I miss having a pantry (a real one)… it was always so nicely organized like yours, and well-stocked. Now I’m a nomad in kitchens and in life, lol. Someday I’ll get my own kitchen again, and I bet you’ll be proud of my pantry 😉 haha
maintaining a good pantry is so important, having ingredients at your finger tips helps you create better meals. Making your pantry more healthy really makes you eat better, its a good way to get started!
Thanks for sharing you list!
Cheers
Dennis
This is really helpful. This is my first visit to your blog and once I bookmarked this entry I began to browse through some of your earlier posts. I really like the food and recipes you feature here. I’ll definitely be back. I hope you have a great day. Blessings…Mary
Hi, Priscilla,
It was so nice to meet you today at Pam’s:)
I love this post – it’s so important to have a stocked and organized pantry. It makes cooking a breeze. I agree on all of your “must haves” ( I am missing only bulgur wheat for the moment and frozen fruit; and the dairy and cheese in my fridge are all full fat)
Looking forward to getting to know you better through your blog and IRL.
(And if you ever need a shoulder to cry on and bemoan the absence of your daughter, I’m here – my oldest is a sophomore at Berkeley:(
great tips… tx..
It’s terrific to see your list of items and the organization strategy. Keeping a tidy pantry can help prevent over purchashing. It clears your mind so you can create delicious dishes… Who wouldn’t like that?
Great post, and helpful to many! I’ve been thinking about a similar post for low carbers, with all the basics and where to buy them.
This post was really cool! I read through it and I was “check, check, check!” I’m glad I have almost everything. Now if only I could have a new kitchen 🙂
Great post! Thank you for sharing this list. I have a list taped to my pantry door 🙂 and I check things off as I use them up so I can remember to buy them the next time that I’m at the store.
That is a great list! And a perfect way to know what you do and do not have on hand…
Now I will never let you see my pantry though, lol
Great Post, I was just thinking I need to clean out my pantry. This is a great place to start with the restocking. Hope you have a great week.
-Gina-
What a great post and fantastic tips! Thanks for sharing.
I’m always looking for inspiration and good tips. Thanks for posting this!
I love that list. Found myself nodding along as I read. Missing a couple of those things. Think I’ll have to pick them up at the grocery this weekend. So much easier to cook healthy when everything is right there.
This is a great idea! I TRY to do it but my pantry is teeny tiny!!!