What staples do you keep in the pantry or on your shopping l

Chicken breasts - I cook some up every Sunday so I can use them in salads or in meals. Egg whites in the carton, oatmeal (rolled oats, the kind you slow cook without sugar), bag of baby spinach to sautee in garlic and olive oil for breakfast, lunch or dinner, cherry tomatoes, bananas, apples, mandarin easy-to-peel clementines, light cheese sticks and nuts. I do NOT buy junk food because if it is in the house, I WILL EAT IT.

I always have brown rice and black beans along with some kind of homemade salsa (I make one with corn and black beans and one with mangos and avocados). I always have tons of fruit (mostly apples and clementines right now) along with fresh avocados, celery, and nuts. I also buy Fiber One bars to get in my chocolate fix and I usually keep dried cherries/cranberries for salads. And keep stuff handy for protein shakes!!

organic brown rice! it's probably what i eat most!

you can serve with practically any meat and/or veggie and it even serves as a breakfast food.

sometimes i use it as cereal (stay with me here)

i take it out of the fridge and warm in microwave for a mere 10-15 seconds. add a dash of cinnamon about an ounce of raisins and pour some rice milk in the bowl.
SO GOOD!

that's my staple.

I'm not really a home cookin' guru, but I've been trying to do better too! I like to keep fresh veggies and fruits around always and chicken of course. Wheat breads, eggs, extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), light butter, non fat milk...etc.

My go to is Brown Rice! I love it. It is easy, you can make it in big batches and bag it up, re-heat it up and enjoy it with butter and salt or add it ANYTHING. Last night alone, I browned up some garlic, onions and ground turkey meat. I added the rice to make it a meal or a snack, my choice.

Another one is healthy peanut butter. This is easy and when I want something sweet I eat one spoonful or put it on celery.

Green Smoothies are my salvation.
Apples. When was the last time you enjoyed one? This sweet taste, revitalizes my sweet tooth and there are so many varieties that my taste can get satisfied each time.

Want something sweet? Flour-less peanut butter cookies! Who knew? Delicious, period.

Salsa and chips.

----thanks for the barley reminder!

I agree with the spices. Make your food TASTE delicious and you will not want anything else.

Hi!! I TRY to cook healthy as much as possible. I the two main meats I cook are salmon and chicken then just vary the recipes. It surprising how many ways you can cook something. I keep a variety of vegetables (broccoli, asparagus, corn, green beans, zuccini, squash) and fruits. I put the veggies with my meals (lunch and dinner) and use the fruits for breakfast and snacks. as far as pantry staples, I keep a load of seasonings to use on my chicken or fish. some of them off the top of my head are lemon pepper, smoky bbq rub, cajun, southwest, sweek hickory...and tons more, just look in the seasoning isle. I keep wheat flour, corn muffin mix, canned veggies for in a pinch, pam spray, sauces like Franks red hot (0 cals) Mustard (also 0 cals) bbq sauce, soy sauce, olive oil (very healthy for cooking). whole wheat pastas, ingredients for homeade tomato sauce (canned tomatoes, tomato sauces, onions garlic) brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, pepper.... Sorry i cant thinkg of much off the top of my head. when I get home I will look and add more!! good luck!

Things that I always have on hand,

Canned toamtoes, whole wheat pasta, onions, garlic, milk, eggs, egg whites, sardines, chick peas (for hummus), quinoa, brown rice, frozen shrimp, frozen chiken breasts, all natural peanut butter, whole wheat bread, healthy cereal, bag of frozen fruits (for smoothies).

Things I buy if I go the grocery store,

Fresh protein (lean beef, fresh fish filet),
fresh vegetables: broccoli, bell peppers, sweet potato. those are my go to veggies, I can stir fry them with garlic and some greek seasoning in 15 minutes for a healthy large portion of vegetables. Any other good looking vegetable that is affordable i will pick up and try as well, i bought endives this week for the first time, yummy. Green beans are excellent as well.

Balsamic vinegar
Olive Oil
Sea Salt
Pepper
Basil
Oregano
hot Chilli powder
Cumin
Paprika
Cayenne Papper
Chinese All spice

Fresh lemons
Fresh garlic
Fresh chilli
Red Onion
White Onion
Peppers (green, red and orange)

Passata

You can make even the most bland of food taste amazing just using one or two of the above...

amazing lists here,

Its cool how similar all the lists are and goes to show what healthy eating people have on hand to make their most commond meals.

With a little practice, all those items become second nature manipulate and cook with.

Pantry:
Canned salmon
Wasa crispbread
brown rice
canned beans (black, pintos, cannellini, I like a variety)
oatmeal

Perishables I always have on hand:
Fresh broccoli (my fav)
Plain Greek yogurt
Boneless/skinless chicken breast and thighs
Ground turkey
Ground cornmeal (for polenta)
Skim milk
Laughing Cow light wedges
Multiple varieties of hot sauce

my pantry is about as basic as it gets:

dry pantry

whole wheat flour
unbleached white flour
brown sugar
white sugar
nuts / nut meal
baking powder
baking soda
dried egg whites (just in case)
molasses

dry beans of all sorts
oatmeal
pasta
rice

coconut milk
olive oil
vegetable oil

coconut
cocoa powder
bulk granola (for when i'm in yogurt mode, otherwise this isn't a staple)

whole bean coffee - absolute staple

---

spices

dry mustard
tumeric
oregano
paprika
basil
mint
salt, pepper (all sorts)
cayenne
summer & winter savory
herbs de provence
anise
ground ginger

ginger
garlic
onions

---

freezer

booty from the garden (currently, tomatoes, tomato sauce, roasted tomatoes, peppers of all sorts, & some berries)
store-bought frozen vegetables: corn, peas or anything that doesn't get gross when you cook it
soup stock
home made bread (i usually make 2 loaves at a time, halve them and then freeze 1/5 loaves and pull out what i need when i need it)
active dry yeast & instant yeast

---

fridge

eggs
whole milk (from this i make yogurt or cheese)
cheeses that i can't make
real butter
buttermilk
soy sauce
vinegars
mustards
at least one kind of jam at all times
hot sauce

i can't think of anything else i would consider a staple (by definition for me, it is something that stores well enough to not be in the seasonal category, kept in the house at all times and can be made into a multitude of things).

from this we base most of our food. we don't buy meat, so that's never an issue and we eat only seasonal vegetables, preferably local. so there aren't any real produce staples except for maybe what i've been able to store from the summer.