Kitchen Essentials- Stocking your pantry
Every great cook has his/her essentials sitting in the pantry ready to use at a moments notice. Have you ever returned from the grocery store with all the main ingredients you need to prepare a meal and realize you dont have simple stock items? It can get aggravating.
Here is an idea of what I keep on inventory.
Baking Goods
All-purpose flour and whole wheat flour
Panko Bread crumbs
Baking powder
Baking soda
Quick-rising yeast
Cornstarch
Brown sugar
Granulated sugar
Honey
Splenda or Stevia (if you’re into artificial sweeteners, these are the best)
Oils-Vinegars & Condiments
Extra-virgin olive oil (Not for cooking but perfect for salad dressing and has tons of healthy fats and antioxidants)
Virgin Olive Oil or canola oil for cooking
Sesame Oil
Ghee- Clarified butter
Balsamic and cider Vinegar
Dijon mustard
Ketchup
Barbecue sauce
Reduced-fat / fat-free mayonnaise
Low sodium soy sauce
Prepared pesto (This item I always buy without pine nuts as my son has an allergy)
Salsa
Hot sauce
Fat free salad dressings
Real maple syrup (Be sure to avoid the sugary syrups like Mrs. Butterworth’s “syrup” that you can find at your local grocery store – those don’t provide any of the antioxidant health benefits that real maple syrup has, and they are often super high in sugar & HFCS)
Jelly and Jam
Seasonings
Black pepper (Freshly ground is my favorite)
Salt (Sea salt is better than regular salt because it’s less refined and has more minerls)
Lipton Onion Soup Mix- Great as seasoning for many beef based menu items. ( Meatloaf, pot roast, stews )
Dried herbs and spices: Hungarian paprika, cayenne pepper, chili powder, crushed red pepper, rosemary, thyme leaves, oregano, onion powder, garlic powder, ground cinnamon, adobo seasoning, fennel seed and bay leaves
Vanilla extract
Canned and Bottled Items
Tomato Paste
Chicken and Beef Stock ( Get stock, not broth- Broth has no taste in comparison)
Canned beans: cannellini, kidney, chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
Low calorie canned soups
Solid white tuna in water
Worcestershire sauce
San Marzano Tomatoes
Grains
Whole wheat pastas
Brown and minute rice
Quinoa – so easy to make and the only complete protein on the list! You can substitute it for anything you’d use rice for.
Cereal, cereal and more cereal. It looks like Jerry Seinfelds cabinet
Stacey's pita chips ( Hummus in the fridge )
Rolled oats – steel cut oats are also great.
