Stock Your Pantry Series: Intro to pantry must haves for anticancer method cooking

 
Stock you pantry 1.png

Stock Your Pantry Series

Welcome to the Stock Your Pantry Series!

In this series we will explore how to stock a healthy pantry to make whole food plant based cooking successful and easy. In this intro, we will explore healthy components every pantry should have. We will also go through how to improve the storage and organization of your pantry without breaking the bank.

The subsequent posts will dive into specifics on each pantry component. We will explore SPICES in our next post.

Key Components to a Healthy Pantry for whole food plant based cooking

  1. Good selection of fresh spices: Fresh spices make all meals more exciting.  I use small glass spice jars to keep my pantry tidy and organized. 

  2. Whole grains: consider stocking up in bulk and transferring to glass jars for storage. 

  3. Lentils: consider stocking up in bulk and transferring to glass jars for storage. 

  4. Canned foods: some key canned ingredients for your pantry.

  5. Baking Items: some tips on ingredients to make baking recipes healthier.

  6. Vinegars: great additives to many recipes

  7. Oils

  8. Condiments

  9. Dips and Spreads

Upgrade Your Pantry Storage

Cooking and baking is so much more feasible when you can see what you have and know where to find it! Glass container storage is a fun way to organize your panty and also has the benefit of making your food visible.

What about the health aspect? Have you ever thought about what chemicals might be coming in contact with your food in the plastic container it is sold in? Plastic is made of many chemicals, some of which may have detrimental health effects such as bisphenol A (BPA). BPA is a weak synthetic estrogen which can be found in rigid plastics as well as the lining of some food packaging to keep it from corroding. As BPA has estrogen-like activity, it has been shown to be a hormone disruptor with potential effects on our hormonal systems, possibly carcinogenic and also has effects on brain development in utero. Avoiding this chemical (and possibly others) is key to a healthy kitchen. Glass, steel or ceramic storage is much safer.

A good pantry storage system is key for organization, utilization of what you have, and food safety. Avoid the unhealthy plastic everything is sold in and transfer what you can to reusable, non-toxic storage containers. Glass jars are easy to find, cheap when bought in bulk, and make your pantry a place you enjoy accessing.

We recommend 3 key sizes to set up your pantry goods (3.5-4 oz for spices, 32 oz for lentils, 72-78 oz for grains)

Benefits to glass storage:

  • Avoid plastic - unknown exposure to chemicals from plastic storage containers and wrappers

  • Reusable - environmentally friendly

  • Organization

  • Pantry items are more visible and easier to find

Below are some options for glass storage. To add to organization, consider labels for your jars. The spice jars below come with labels but larger chalkboard labels are available on amazon (or other sites) to make organization even easier.

Spice Storage

 
 
 

32 oz Glass Jars

 
 
 

64 oz Glass Jars