Creativity in the kitchen begins with a well stocked pantry. Once you begin down the road to eating whole foods, you will be amazed at the variety of choices there are! So much of the learning curve to improved nutrition is product knowledge. One of my goals in teaching is to minimize how intimidating dietary changes can be for people. My cooking class guests get to see, smell, taste and touch ingredients that are new to them which makes the transition to shopping, cooking and eating more enjoyable.
Since you all can’t be in my kitchen with me, here is a list of staples I keep on hand to cook up nourishing meals at our house.
Whole Grains:
Any of these grains can also be made into freshly ground flour with the help of my NutriMill home flour mill.
Brown Rice (which includes short grain, long grain brown basmati, and sweet brown rice)
Barley
*Buckwheat or Kasha
*Bulgar Wheat
*Cous Cous
Millet
Oats (steel-cut or rolled)
*Quinoa
Wheat Berries
Wild Rice
Other whole grains that I have yet to explore; Amaranth, Teff.
* quick cooking grains
Flour:
Freshly Ground Whole Wheat Flour
Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
Brown Rice Flour
Almond Meal
White Sorghum Flour
Corn Meal
Unbleached White Flour
Pasta:
Udon Noodles
Soba Noodles
any variety of small whole grain pasta for soups and salads
Quinoa Gluten Free Pasta
Legumes: I store the following assortment of dried beans and I keep a few canned beans on hand to whip out a quick meal when needed. Alot of people shy away from the use of legumes because of their unpleasant side effects. Taking care to cook them properly eliminates negative side effects and you get the health benefits that make them a sought after high quality source of protein.
Aduki Beans
Black Beans
Black Eyed Peas
Chick Peas or Garbanzo Beans
Great Norhtern Beans
Kidney Beans
*Lentils
Pinto Beans
*Split Peas
*do not require presoaking
Nuts and Seeds: These add variety and nutrients to any meal, any time of day and are a welcome addition to desserts and snacks.
Almonds
Cashews
Ground Flax Seeds
Pistachios
Pumpkin Seeds
Sesame Seeds
Sunflower Seeds
Walnuts
Pecans
Nut Butters:
I like to have a variety of these on hand for flavoring soups, sauces and spreads;
Almond Butter
Cashew Butter
Peanut Butter
Sesame Butter
Concentrated Sweeteners:
Agave Nectar
Barley Malt
Brown Rice Syrup
Coconut Sugar
Honey
Maple Syrup
Molasses
Sucunat
Sea Vegetables:
No other foods offer such a rich supply of minerals… in our pantry I have..
Agar
Arame
Dulse
Kombu
Nori
Wakame
Baking Supplies:
non-aluminum baking powder
baking soda
natural vanilla
spices
cocoa powder
chocolate chips
Miscellaneous:
Assorted dried herbs and spices
Assorted dried fruits – without sulphur dioxide
Sun dried tomatoes
Extra Virgin olive Oil
Grapeseed Oil
Toasted Sesame Oil
Coconut oil
Arrowroot powder, a natural thickening agent
Apple Cider Vinegar
Balsamic Vinegar, red and white
Red Wine Vinegar
White Cooking Wine
Brown Rice Vinegar
Rice Milk
Almond Milk
Coconut Milk
Kuzu, a medicinal root soothing to the stomach in powder form.
Mirin
Miso
Sea Salt
Soy Sauce
Red Curry Paste
Organic Chicken Stock
Not Chicken Stock by Imagine
Tomato Sauce, a few cans on hand for soup ingredients
Tomato Paste
Repunzel Vegetable bullion
and I forgot to include…a few boxes of Rye Crisp crackers for a quick snack 🙂
This list pretty much sums up what is in my dry goods pantry. I hope I didn’t forget anything. And just as I wrote that I remembered what I forgot! For more information on contacting resources for quality whole foods please refer to the Resources tab on this blog and checkout the Shopping Guide for Organic and Natural Foods.
Feel free to inquire or comment,
Amy