Go from S.A.D eating to the G.L.A.D. eating
How can you build a pantry that promotes a healthy, GLAD “Gain Life American Diet” and gets away from the SAD “Standard American Diet”? I spent a long time trying to figure out what should and should not be in my pantry. Let’s just say that it was hard to sift through the mountains of information available on the Web. This is one of the big drawbacks of the Internet Age-too much information. I hope this post helps you success in building the healthy pantry for your family.
I’ve taken cooking classes, healthy eating classes, taught the CHIP program (Complete Health Improvement Plan-vegetarian/vegan diet) and been to a fabulous conference called “Food as Medicine.” I’ve met Dr. Mark Hyman, MD, the founder of the Institute for Functional Medicine and author of over ten books on eating for health. I love to eat, but have changed my eating a lot over the years. My perspective on food and eating is pretty broad. I’ve raised two children who are now adults and like most parents in the 80’s and 90’s, I fed them Taco Bell without flinching! Yikes-that scares me to think about it. It’s been years since I had anything at McDonald’s besides an iced tea, but back in the day, Happy Meals were a regular event.
I’ve struggled, as you probably have, with what is “healthy”. Now that more is known about food, and we have an epidemic of weight problems, most people are at least more conscious of food. But there is still a lot of misinformation. I’ve distilled what I’ve learned from the “experts” and adapted it to the real world. Knowing the facts about nutrition and implementing those concepts are not the same. According to a 2016 NPR poll 75% of people think they eat “healthy” but 80% don’t eat enough fruits and vegetables! I’m going to guess that a lot of that problem is due to misinformation about building the healthy pantry.
Building the Healthy Pantry Guidelines
So here is my best effort at what to put in your pantry-and be healthy. This is NOT an all-inclusive list! There are many more items that you could include, like other nuts, seeds and grains. Just be sure you’re getting whole foods without additives. READ the LABELS-not the front of the package! Adding more plants to the diet is something almost everyone needs to do! The pantry is your friend; it will be there even if the power goes out and can provide you with quick meals when your day goes to ___! You know what I mean. If there’s anything in the list that you’re allergic to or just don’t like, then don’t buy it. You may not be familiar with all these items, but if you get to know them, they’ll add a lot of interest to you cooking. They are all real food-no “food-like substances”.
Purchasing guidelines for building the healthy pantry
- Buy in glass containers when possible-avoid as many plastics as you can, even the BPA free plastics.
- Buy in bulk only if it makes sense. Consider this: bulk bins are very germy, and nuts, seeds and grains can become rancid.
- According to the Eat this Not that website, some items to definitely buy in bulk are berries, oat, and dried beans. Berries freeze well and you can use oats for breakfast and add to a lot of dishes.
- “Eat this not That” says you should definitely avoid buying certain things in bulk, and mostly, I agree: nuts and seeds, flour, spices, condiments, coffee, produce, baking powder, yeast, oil, canned goods and bread. The only one I disagree with is nuts and seeds, since you can freeze them for up to a year, although you’re never sure how long they’ve been in the bins and could be rancid. This would not be building the healthy pantry!
Nutritional guidelines
No additives, artificial preservatives, no artificial colors, ideally no sugar added, no artificial sweeteners, monitoring sodium with no salt ideal, no MSG, no canola oil (inflammatory), corn oil, sunflower or vegetable-only oils listed
Organic preferred (more about that in future posts) and in some cases, non-organic is not an OK choice , for instance, peanut butter, since peanuts are very “dirty.”
Non-gmo: GMO foods can be made from “Round-Up Ready” ingredients. Non-GMO are not. More on the health effects of the chemical glyphosate later. Let’s just say, it’s been linked to a number of health problems, specifically in children.
The Healthy Pantry List
*=ESSENTIAL ITEM
Seafood
*Canned tuna (in water, smaller varieties like Tongol-more on this later)
*Canned salmon
Sardines
Anchovies
Mackerel
Nuts
*Almonds
*Walnuts
Pecans
Macadamias
Cashews
Pistachios
Seeds
Pumpkin
Sunflower
Sesame
Chia
Oils (not stored above stove!)
*Extra Virgin Olive Oil-in glass. This is to be used COLD.
*Unrefined Coconut Oil
*Avocado Oil (not necessary to buy organic) Good for higher temperatures(400⁰+)
Sesame Oil
Walnut Oil
Notice that canola, corn, sunflower and vegetable oils are NOT included!
Vinegars
*Apple cider
*Balsamic
*Rice wine vinegar
*Red wine vinegar
Sweeteners (limited amounts)
None of these is “essential. ” I admit to using pure stevia drops, xylitol and Swerve for baking occasionally, although Dr. Hyman would disapprove! There is good reason to avoid all sweeteners, but if you treat them like the “treats” they are, most people don’t have problems with them. Do avoid ALL artificial sweeteners: Equal/aspartame, Splenda/sucralose and saccharine. More about those later. That goes for drinks with these sweeteners too-and you know what I’m talking about!
Honey-raw and preferably local
Maple syrup
Date syrup
Coconut sugar
Pomegranate molasses
Molasses
Organic Cane sugar (non-organic cane sugar is often sprayed with herbicide. “Sugar” is from sugar beets, a highly sprayed product.)
Whole Grains
Rice: I always buy organic rice. Rice, even organic rice, should not be eaten often due to arsenic contamination. There are methods of cooking that can reduce arsenic levels-more on that later.
Brown Rice
Black Rice
Quinoa
Farro
Couscous
Oats
Legumes (dried are called pulses-who knew?)-canned or dried, but dried are preferred. Watch for BPA in cans.
*Lentils
*Chickpeas
* Black beans
Black-eyed peas
*White beans-navy, cannellini
Lima beans
Shelf Stable Items-Miscellaneous
*Tomatoes
*Tomato Sauce
*Tomato Paste
Olives
Pickles
*Broth (chicken, beef, vegetable)
Coconut milk
Capers
Roasted Red Peppers
Raisins, currants
Shredded Coconut
Nut Butters
Organic Peanut Butter
Almond butter
Flavor Builders
Fish sauce
Soy Sauce/Tamari/Coconut Aminos-no sulfites, colorings or sweeteners
Curry paste
Hoisin sauce
*Mustard
*Ketchup-organic and no sugar if possible
*Mayonnaise made from avocado oil (most has canola, sadly)
Tahini
Miso
Hot sauce (watch out for strange ingredients)
*Fruit spread-all fruit
*Sea salt
Siracha
*Pure Vanilla extract
Noodles/Pasta
Buy whole grain. Don’t eat too much! Organic is better. Non-GMO is better
Aromatics
*Garlic
*Onions (keep in a dark bag)
Ginger root
Shallots
Other produce not refrigerated
Potatoes
*Sweet potatoes
*Tomatoes-chill just before using
Bananas
Mangoes
Avocados
Pineapples
Produce that may be refrigerated
*Apples
Bananas
*Oranges
*Lemons
Pears-refrigerate after ripening
Herbs (dried) and Spices-Be sure to refrigerate any fresh herbs or dry them properly.
Allspice-digestion aid, antimicrobial
Basil-has antioxidant properties
Black pepper-helps with absorption of nutrients
Cayenne and all hot peppers-increases metabolism and circulation
Cinnamon-improves circulation, helps to lower blood sugar
Cloves-anticancer properties
Coriander and cilantro-detoxify and lower blood sugar
Cumin-immune support
Curry Powder
Dill
Ground Ginger-helps digestion, anti-inflammatory
Nutmeg-digestion aid, nausea reducer, anti-inflammatory
Oregano-antimicrobial, antioxidant
Paprika
Parsley-anti-tumor properties, antioxidant OR FRESH
Red pepper flakes/crushed red pepper
Rosemary-immune support, improves OR FRESH
Sage-brain support, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory
Thyme-antioxidant, antibacterial OR FRESH
Turmeric-anti-inflammatory, anticancer, benefits the heart
Baking Supplies and Miscellaneous Pantry Ingredients
Whole Wheat Flour-organic
Other flours if gluten free is required including gluten free all-purpose flour
Almond Flour
Baking Soda
Baking Powder
Cocoa Powder-fair trade
Shredded Coconut
Chocolate Chips-Fair trade, 70% is ideal
Cornstarch or arrowroot powder
Yeast (needs refrigeration if container is open)
Dark Chocolate Chips
Beverages
Bottled Water
You will avoid possible contamination with BPA if you get a water filter and glass bottles or a glass pitcher. Most filter systems on refrigerators are not very good, so I wouldn’t rely on them. You yourself might keep plastic bottles of water cold, but you have no idea how warm they’ve gotten in transit. I’ll go into filtered water in a later post. I love my Berkey filter!
Coffee
I only buy organic. My research into the growing of coffee beans told me that coffee is a highly sprayed product. Not only will you be doing yourself a favor by buying organic, but you’ll also be treating the folks who work in the fields in a kinder way. Workers are exposed to lots of pesticides in commercial growing. You can do your part-and help the planet.
Tea
Same comments as for coffee. While the conditions tea are grown under can make some nonorganic tea better than some organic teas; at least if you buy organic, you’ll avoid glyphosate. Like most things, there’s no simple answer.
Sparkling water (no sweetener added) :
It’s not a perfect food. The liner of the can is often plastic, but it’s definitely better than a soda: those usually contain 10 or so teaspoons of sugar. And way better than a diet soda!
Emergency Pantry Items
The US Government has great information on emergency preparedness. Here are some items they suggest for emergency food rations:
- Ready-to-eat canned meats, fruits, vegetables and a can opener!
- Protein bars
- Fruit bars
- Dry cereal or granola
- Peanut butter
- Dried fruit
- Canned juices
- Non-perishable pasteurized milk
- High-energy foods
- Food for infants
- Comfort/stress foods (I say don’t forget the chocolate!)
In my emergency closet, I have crackers, peanut butter, canned veggies and fruits, soup, granola bars, nuts, dried fruit, oatmeal, tuna and canned chicken. Oh yes, also coffee and tea with creamer and sweetener. So you won’t be unpleasantly surprisded, be sure you think about any food allergies or other food considerations when building your emergency pantry.
I live in Florida, so we hear a lot about emergency preparedness. Not only do we have hurricanes, but power outages sometimes happen. This could happen anywhere, but when you’re the lightning capital of the country, you know to be prepared! Plan on at least three days of food and water for each person. A gallon of water per person per day is the minimum.
In a future post, I’ll cover how to deal with refrigerated items during power outages. Next read all about how you can minimize your time in the grocery store and maximize your results in my SAVVY GROCERY SHOPPING TIPS post.