Pantry Staples

There are not many things worse than going to your pantry and realizing you do not have what you need to make a delicious meal or snack. To create quick and easy meals, it is helpful to have a pantry stocked with the essentials.

You may have heard that shelf-stable ingredients are not the healthiest and that filling the fridge with fresh foods is more important, but that is not always true. By cooking from your pantry, you can save time, money, and a whole lot of stress. These healthy, shelf-stable ingredients are affordable and deserve a designated spot on your shelves.

The Staples

Carbs

Let’s start with our grains. They make an excellent side dish or can be combined with proteins and veggies for a well-balanced meal. Whole grains provide us with essential fiber, vitamins, and minerals.

• Oats – are hearty and versatile. Add berries, nuts, seeds, or nut butter to your oatmeal for an even more filling and nutritious breakfast.
• Rice – an inexpensive and easy carbohydrate to pair with protein and veggies.
• Quinoa – contains filling fiber and protein. Try making this quinoa salad for a light and flavorful meal! AWHealthy Recipe: Greek Quinoa Salad | ArchWell Health
• Whole grain bread – a flexible staple easily incorporated into any meal. Make a sliced turkey and cheese sandwich for lunch, avocado toast with Everything Bagel seasoning for breakfast, or top with a nut butter (peanut, almond, sunflower, etc.) for a tasty snack.
• Whole wheat pasta –Increase your fiber even further with veggies, and top with a protein such as chicken or a turkey meat sauce.

Canned and Jarred Foods

• Canned goods are sustainable, as they have a long shelf life. The options are endless, from canned soups, proteins, fruits, veggies, stocks, beans, and sauces! Canned proteins – make easy lunches with canned chicken, tuna, or salmon. Beans also fall into the protein category and contain healthy fiber, which can be added to taco meat, soups, and stews, or eaten on their own.
• Canned fruits and veggies – eat fruit as a sweet snack, or as part of a sweet treat after dinner. Look for fruits packed in 100% fruit juice. Canned veggies are easy to add to any plate or recipe, such as a casserole or soup.
• Canned tomatoes or jarred tomato sauce – rich in vitamin C and antioxidants. Add jarred sauce to a pasta dish or make your own sauce with canned tomatoes.

Oils

Cooking oils like olive, canola, and avocado oil contain heart-healthy fats. These help to lower unhealthy cholesterol levels and improve heart health. Top salads or cereals (hot or cold) with nuts and make healthier dressings with oils and vinegars, and roast vegetables in the oven with oil and seasonings.

Snacks

When wanting a healthy snack, don’t fear the pantry. Nuts and nut butter are great to keep on hand for heart-healthy fats, protein, and fiber, and can be paired with fruits, whole grain breads, or crackers. When choosing chips or crackers, try a healthier alternative that is lower in fat, such as whole-grain crackers, black bean chips, or sweet potato chips. Pairing these chips with guacamole or hummus will add some flavor and extra nutrition to the mix; or keep a packet of ranch seasoning or French onion soup mix in your pantry to mix in with some plain, non-fat Greek yogurt and make your own high protein dip.

Mediterranean diet pantry staples:

The Mediterranean diet is a fairly flexible diet with no strict guidelines. It can help protect your heart, manage your weight, and maintain stable blood sugars. It encourages people to eat more plant-based foods, along with whole grains and heart-healthy fats.

Pantry staples for this diet include:

• Canned fruits - 100% fruit juice, no added sugar
• Canned vegetables - look for low sodium
• Whole grains - brown rice, quinoa, whole grain bread, whole grain pasta
• Beans, legumes, and lentils (try garbanzo beans and green lentils)
• Nuts and seeds - chia seeds and flax seeds can top your dishes
• Cooking oils - olive, canola, avocado

DASH diet pantry staples:

The DASH diet stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, which is high blood pressure. This diet is similar to the Mediterranean diet as it encourages more plant-based foods and whole grains. but it has more strict guidelines for limiting sodium, specifically. Reducing sodium intake to 2,300 mg/day is recommended, and depending on your goals and your doctor’s advice, it may need to be reduced further to 1,500 mg/day.

Pantry staples for this diet include:

• Canned fruits - 100% fruit juice, no added sugar
• Whole grains - brown rice, quinoa, whole grain bread, whole grain pasta
• Low-sodium or sodium-free canned goods - beans, soups, vegetables, tomato sauce, broth
• Low sodium or sodium-free seasonings – ex: garlic or onion powders, Mrs. Dash,
• Chips or crackers stating low-sodium or light in sodium (50% less sodium than regular version)
  • Sodium-free: contains less than 5 mg per serving
  • Very low sodium: contains 35 mg or less per serving
  • Low sodium: contains 140 mg or less per serving

*Tip: Check the Nutrition Facts Label for sodium content. Foods with 20% or more Daily Value (%DV) of sodium are considered high sodium foods.

Pantry staples for diabetics:

A diabetic-friendly diet does not cut out carbohydrates, but instead, it encourages the complex carbs, which are high in fiber and protein. People with diabetes can still keep bread, pasta, and rice in their pantry, but make sure they are whole wheat or whole grain for better blood sugar results. Oatmeal makes for a filling breakfast, which can be topped with nuts, seeds, and nut butter for healthy fats and stable blood sugars. Canned fruits, vegetables, beans, and soups are all still welcome here, but make sure to lessen foods with added sugars. And don’t forget to pair a protein with it! Canned chicken, tuna, beans, or chickpeas make for easy and affordable protein sources.

*Tip: Check the Nutrition Facts Label for added sugar content, especially in the cereal and breakfast bar aisle. Foods with 20% or more Daily Value (%DV) of added sugars are considered foods high in added sugars.