HEALTHY IN A HURRY
and special offer emails.
|
HEALTHY IN A HURRY
The Well-Stocked Pantry
From condiments and canned goods to spices and freezer basics, a shopping list for a well-stocked pantry.
Using a few choice convenience items, like canned broths, tomato products and beans, you can get a healthy meal on the table fast. Keeping your refrigerator, freezer and pantry stocked with the basics will help you whip up quick, satisfying meals. Looking for some quick dinner recipes? Don't miss our Quick and Healthy Dinner Recipes and Ultra-Quick and Healthy Recipes collections.
Oils, Vinegars & Condiments
- Extra-virgin olive oil for cooking and salad dressings
- Canola oil for cooking and baking
- Flavorful nut and seed oils for salad dressings and stir-fry seasonings: toasted sesame oil, walnut oil
- Butter, preferably unsalted. Store in the freezer if you use infrequently.
- Reduced-fat mayonnaise
- Vinegars: balsamic, red-wine, white-wine, rice (or rice-wine), apple cider
- Asian condiments and flavorings: reduced-sodium soy sauce, fish sauce, hoisin sauce, mirin, oyster sauce, chile-garlic sauce, curry paste
- Kalamata olives, green olives
- Dijon mustard
- Capers
- Ketchup
- Barbecue sauce
- Worcestershire sauce
Flavorings
- Kosher salt, coarse sea salt, fine salt
- Black peppercorns
- Onions
- Fresh garlic
- Fresh ginger
- Anchovies or anchovy paste for flavoring pasta sauces and salad dressings
- Dried herbs: bay leaves, dill, crumbled dried sage, dried thyme leaves, oregano, tarragon, Italian seasoning blend
- Spices: allspice (whole berries or ground), caraway seeds, chili powder, cinnamon sticks, ground cinnamon,coriander seeds, cumin seeds, ground cumin, curry powder, ground ginger, dry mustard, nutmeg, paprika, cayenne pepper, crushed red pepper, turmeric
- Lemons, limes, oranges. The zest is as valuable as the juice. Organic fruit is recommended when you use a lot of zest.
- Granulated sugar
- Brown sugar
- Honey
- Pure maple syrup
- Unsweetened cocoa powder, natural and/or Dutch-processed
- Bittersweet chocolate, semisweet chocolate chips
Canned Goods & Bottled Items
- Canned tomatoes, tomato paste
- Reduced-sodium chicken broth, beef broth and/or vegetable broth
- Clam juice
- “Lite” coconut milk for Asian curries and soups
- Canned beans: cannellini beans, great northern beans, chickpeas, black beans, red kidney beans
- Canned lentils
- Chunk light tuna and salmon
Grains & Legumes
- Whole-wheat flour and whole-wheat pastry flour (Store opened packages in the refrigerator or freezer.)
- All-purpose flour
- Assorted whole-wheat pastas
- Brown rice and instant brown rice
- Pearl barley, quick-cooking barley
- Rolled oats
- Whole-wheat couscous
- Bulgur
- Dried lentils
- Yellow cornmeal
- Plain dry breadcrumbs
Nuts, Seeds & Fruits
- Walnuts
- Pecans
- Almonds
- Hazelnuts
- Dry-roasted unsalted peanuts
- Pine nuts
- Sesame seeds
- Natural peanut butter
- Tahini
- Assorted dried fruits, such as apricots, prunes, cherries, cranberries, dates, figs, raisins
(Store opened packages of nuts and seeds in the refrigerator or freezer.)
Refrigerator Basics
- Low-fat milk or soymilk
- Low-fat or nonfat plain yogurt and/or vanilla yogurt
- Reduced-fat sour cream
- Good-quality Parmesan cheese and/or Romano cheese
- Sharp Cheddar cheese
- Eggs (large). Keep them on hand for fast omelets and frittatas.
- Orange juice
- Dry white wine. If you wish, substitute nonalcoholic wine.
- Water-packed tofu
Freezer Basics
- Fruit-juice concentrates (orange, apple, pineapple)
- Frozen vegetables: edamame soy beans, peas, spinach, broccoli, bell pepper and onion mix, corn, chopped onions, small whole onions, uncooked hash browns
- Frozen berries
- Italian turkey sausage and sliced prosciutto to flavor fast pasta sauces
- Low-fat vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt for impromptu desserts
Stay current with the latest issue of EatingWell. Subscribe Risk-Free Now!
More EatingWell Resources:
Advanced Healthy Recipes Search
Today's Featured Recipes
100 + Healthy Recipes Collections
EatingWell Homepage: News, Recipes, Health
EatingWell's BEST Menu Ideas
| USER COMMENTS — Add Your Comment |
This looks wonderful, I'm going to print it out and keep it in my purse for all store trips.
Brooke, Ft. Worth, TX |
This is a great reference. I'll use it when I go to the store.
Joyce, Tavares, FL |
Great list, I already have most of these items but your list will make shopping much easier.
Helen Daniel, Vandalia, OH |
I have a very well stocked pantry but some of the suggestions were so helpful in making my next trip to the grocery a breeze.
Ann Kendrick, Paintsville, KY |
Excellent list, getting back into cooking, and will carry this list with me. Friends who are dietiticians and will pass this excellent site onto them. Thank you, Rose Ann.
Rose Ann James, Birdsboro, PA |
Very helpful list. I will add to my half stocked pantry! Thanks.
April Day, St. Augustine, FL |
Reminds me of my pantry before Hurricane Katrina. Not fully recovered, but we're getting there.
Mary Walker, New Orleans/Houston, LA |
I'm just a beginner cook so this well help me a lot thank you very much.
Sandy, Winona, TX |
Hmmm. Sounds good!
Karina, Hesperia, CA |
Great list for inclusion with a cookbook or gift basket for a bridal shower. Thanks.
Alecia, Bellflower, CA |
Thanks so much for this list! It is just what I need to help me stock my kitchen as I begin my goal of cooking and eating healthy.
Susan, Raleigh, NC |
Great list but starting from scratch would be quite costly!
Robin, Huntington Beach, CA |
This list includes everything I'm always kicking myself for not having when I'm feeling creative! Thanks!
Hannah, Santa Ana, CA |
My pantry/related "basics" was quite "basic". thanks for the extensive listing to help me prepare for a more varied, healthy menu.
Gunsmoke, Durango, CO |
Try Bragg's Liquid Amino Acids instead of soy sauce. Better for you and tastes great!
Cam, Laguna Beach, CA |
Great list, but some of these things I find very difficult to get, considering the cost (ie. pine nuts). I agree with this list, though, for the basics of healthy cooking. Don't be afraid to buy Fully Hydrogenated Peanut butter either (JIF). It's not trans fat like partial hydrogenation.
Elizabeth, St. Charles, MO |
Do you have a list of foods that gives the calories? I would love to have and or make a list of foods that will equal 1000 calories a day.
Lourdes, Miami, FL |
I find the best way to stock a pantry is a little bit at a time. Make recipes each week that use a few new items and add them to your pantry incrementally. That way, you only buy what you need and you won't spend too much money all at once. Your pantry then becomes a true collection of supplies that represents your style of cooking, and not a hodgepodge of crap you'll end up throwing away. And too, by stocking incrementally, you're more likely to buy high quality items which cost a little more instead of flaking out on the cheapo stuff (esp. wrt oils and vinegars).
Jenny, Fort Lauderdale, FL |
I don't eat pork and mainly eat chicken, sometimes fish and shrimp. As I am trying to eat healthy and lose weight, I am supposed to only consume 1700 calories a day; so what foods would you recommend.
Paula Nash, Marquette, MI |
I didn't see cornstarch on the list. A little butter can go along way if it is mixed with a cooked and thickened sauce of water, cornstarch, and a few grains of salt (think vegies or noodles). Same for juices drained from canned fruit. Thicken the fruit juice with low-cal cornstarch, add a pinch of cinnamon or ginger, pour over the fruit, and have instant desert rather than plain canned fruit.
Pamala, Little Rock, AR |
|
EATINGWELL EDITORS' PICKS
|
