Healthy Pantry Staples

clausendriver
clausendriver Posts: 3 Member
edited November 14 in Food and Nutrition
Please share your fav healthy pantry items. I am just learning to use coconut flour and coconut sugar. Any ideas/tips appreciated.

Replies

  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    Write a list of what you will be eating/cooking, and buy those foods/ingredients.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    edited January 2017
    "Healthy" is so subjective. I wouldn't have either coconut flour or coconut sugar in my pantry. I use white flour & sugar (whole wheat flour if I'm making bread).

    Some regulars item on my shopping list:
    oats
    nuts
    sweet potatoes
    frozen veggies
    Greek yogurt
    eggs
    chicken
  • bethannien
    bethannien Posts: 556 Member
    I think my most important staples are spices. I use Cumin and chili powder like crazy so I always have that on hand.

    Also hot sauce (almost always zero calories and makes just about anything more delicious).

    Frozen steamer bags of veggies are great if you're trying to round out a meal.
  • AigreDoux
    AigreDoux Posts: 594 Member
    I've never used coconut flour or coconut sugar.

    I always keep rice, pasta, canned beans, canned tomato products in various forms, canned tuna, and lots of spices around. I limit crackers, chips, cookies and candy as I am prone to overeat those.

    Not in my pantry, but I keep plain greek yogurt and cottage cheese in the fridge since they are good sources of low fat protein. I keep shrimp, ground turkey, and boneless chicken breasts and thighs in the freezer, also for the lean protein. I buy fruits/vegetables and seafood weekly.
  • clausendriver
    clausendriver Posts: 3 Member
    thanks everyone...very helpful tips. I appreciate them.
  • earthnut
    earthnut Posts: 216 Member
    edited January 2017
    I try to keep only whole grain products. Whole wheat flour, masa meal, brown rice, rolled oats, popcorn, whole wheat pasta, whole grain crackers. I've used coconut flour and almond flour for the Paleo aunt when she visits, but not really for us. Almond flour is high in omega 6 anyway. Occasionally we have exotic grains like quinoa.

    For sweeteners, i actually looked up the vitamin and mineral content of various sweeteners. Like the rest of my diet, i try to use the most nutritious option.

    #1 Molasses. Really more of a flavoring than a sweetener but i use it in bread.
    #2 Dates and date sugar. This is a whole fruit so it's got a lot of fiber which reduces sugar cravings. Grind some up with a little water for a fruit paste that can replace jam. Dates are the sweetest, but other dried fruits are nutritious too.
    #3 Concentrated fruit juice. Like dried fruits but more liquid and without the fiber. Frozen concentrates work well.
    #4 Raw unrefined sugar. Not "Sugar in the Raw" which is partially refined. Real raw sugar is dark. Sold under many names, some of which are sucanat, muscovado, jaggery, panela, rapadura, and piloncillo. I buy mine from Indian or Mexican markets, where it's much cheaper compared to the natural food store. This is what i use most often.
    #5 Brown sugars. The usual American brown sugar is white sugar with molasses added back on.

    All the other sweeteners that i looked at are pretty negligible in nutritional content. I do have a little honey, maple syrup, and white sugar for occasional uses where i want their particular tastes, but nutritionally they're pretty much a wash. (This includes coconut sugar)

    Other things in my pantry are glass jarred fruits from Trader Joe's, fruit sweetened jams, unsweetened applesauce, canned olives, various pickled vegetables, salsa, tomato sauce, canned beans, tuna, sardines, clams, nut butters, coconut milk, various better than boullion flavors, nuts, nutritional yeast, vinegar, oil, various sauces, rice milk.

    And in the freezer, peas, corn, spinach, beans from Trader Joe's, mixed berries, peaches, cranberries, salmon, grated parmesan, butter, liver, sliced bread. Seasonally, I'll have homemade tomato sauce, pesto, and broths in there too.
  • Chadxx
    Chadxx Posts: 1,199 Member
    Pantry -
    Spices
    Rice
    Tomatoes and green chilies
    Coffee
    Zero calorie sweetener
    Sweet Potatoes
    Carbon balance tortillas
    Olive oil
    PB2
    Whey protein
    Coconut flour

    Cold items -
    Steak
    Turkey
    Chicken
    Shrimp
    Swai fillets
    Tuna steaks
    Salmon fillets (wild caught)
    Chicken sausage
    Pork chops
    Blackberries
    Asparagus
    Okra
    Spinach
    Mushrooms
    Egg whites
    Cottage cheese
    Cashew milk
    Greek yogurt
    Gold Peak diet tea
    Salsa
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