I actually get asked this question quite a bit - What foods do I keep in our pantry? And I kinda understand why. My pantry is relatively small and I don't stockpile as much as many people expect. Especially for a family that depends on their pantry stock for a lot of our meal ingredients.
The Reason we can operate with a smaller pantry since making the change to Clean Eating, is simply this: We don't buy a lot of pre-made goods. 80% of the things I stock are just ingredients that I use to make up other food. And you tend to use the same basic real food ingredients to make up a wide variety of recipes.
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If you think of a Supermarket. 90% of the shelf space is taken up by processed, packaged goods made by big brands pretty much selling the same thing. Real food ingredients only take up the remaining 10% of shelf space. They have an entire aisle dedicated to breakfast food and another just for confectionery and soda. Once you stop stocking these goods, you will find you have a lot more space in your pantry.
Types of Food to Keep in your Real Food Pantry
This is not an all inclusive list, but gives you a good idea of what you should be shopping for and stocking in your pantry. You can print out and keep a copy of the list here.
Baking Goods
- Wholewheat Flour
- Organic White Flour (Yes I still use this. It's minimally processed but necessary for some recipes likes birthday cakes and crepes)
- Baking Soda and Baking Powder
- Nuts and Seeds
- Cocoa Powder
- Dark Chocolate
- Arrowroot Powder
- Corn flour
Fruit and Vegetables
- Beans and lentils
- Canned Goods - fruit, vegetables, tuna and salmon (read the ingredients to make sure their are no additives or nasties)
- Jars of Pasta Sauce (Again, read the ingredients)
- Unsweetened Apple Sauce
- Dried Fruits - all kinds
- Organic Vegetable Stock, Chicken or Beef Stock
- Unopened Jars of pickles
Condiments
- Organic Peanut Butter
- Honey
Wholegrain Goods
- Wholewheat pasta, Organic pasta
- Rice - Brown Basmati is our favourite at the moment
- Whole Grain Cereals - Rice Puffs, Wheat Bix (Yup, we still eat this one), puffed wheat
- Oats
- Couscous
- Quinoa
- Coconut dried
- Wholewheat wraps and tortillas
- Brown Rice Cakes
- Wholegrain Crackers
- Popcorn seeds
Other Pantry Goods
- Spices and Dried Herb
- Vinegar - apple cider, brown malt, balsamic and white vinegar
- Oils - coconut, sesame and olive oil. Sometimes Avocado, but not often.
- Salad dressings - most of the time I make these, but I like to try these out when I find a good one.
- Unopened Organic Mayonnaise(because I never get round to making it)
- All unopened fruit jams
Whew. That pretty much sums it up. You can Download the full pantry list here.
Hope that helps you get an idea of what you should be shopping for. The fun thing about real food is that you can make so many different recipes using just a few basic ingredients.
