One of my favorite things in the world is when I spot a recipe I need to make ASAP and realize I have all the ingredients in my pantry and fridge. Or when I don’t have time to make dinner and am able to whip up something delicious and healthy with whatever is in my pantry or fridge. I can’t even tell you how much I value keeping a well-stocked fridge and pantry.
We often get questions about what we always keep stocked in our pantries and fridges. So, when Heather from Whole Foods asked if we wanted to do a giveaway for their Healthy Starts Here program, I jumped at the chance. After all, I think one of the toughest things about keeping your pantry stocked with healthy whole foods is getting started. If you’re living from grocery store trip to grocery store trip, stocking it up can cost a little bit of money. That’s why Whole Foods is stocking one of our readers’ pantries with $140 worth of goodies! Check it out:
I was also excited to hear that judging by what Whole Foods says, I already follow many of their Healthy Pantry guidelines. Go me!
Here are their 4 steps to a healthier pantry:
Step 1: Focus on whole food
Keep the pantry and fridge stocked with whole, fresh foods and avoid refined, highly processed foods with artificial ingredients and hydrogenated fats. Stock it with cans of diced tomatoes and frozen veggies. Unsweetened, 100 percent fruit juices and apple sauce are kid favorites. Instead of white rice, go with brown rice. Keep whole wheat and brown rice pasta in the pantry for a quick pasta dish.
Step 2: Stock more plant-based foods
Your fridge should be full of fresh and frozen fruits and veggies. Keep the pantry stocked with beans (canned or dried) and whole grains like quinoa and barley. Whole grain flatbreads, rice crackers and tortillas are perfect for snacks and wraps. Keep raw almonds, walnuts and sunflower seeds on hand to make salad dressings and to add a nutritious crunch to all kinds of dishes. Choose apricots, dates and raisins as natural sweeteners.
Step 3: Consider nutrient-dense foods
Make sure to keep the pantry full of foods rich in vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients and antioxidants.
This includes easy-to-prepare lentils, kidney beans, and oatmeal as well as quick snacks like nuts and seeds, 100 percent fruit juices and nut butter. Fresh nutrient-dense foods should pack the fridge, including greens, carrots, strawberries, blueberries and oranges.
Step 4: Switch to healthy fats
Keep the pantry stocked with nuts, avocados, seeds and unsweetened, no-salt peanut and almond butters for healthy fats.
Do you already follow the steps to a healthy pantry? If you win this giveaway, you’ll get all those awesomely healthy shelf-stable goodies from Whole Foods!
I’m totally proud to stay I have most of the suggestions in my pantry! And now I’m going to tell you what else I have… all the non-shelf stable stuff 
Admittedly, I have a lot of stuff. My pantry can actually get kind of scary at times. But don’t worry, it’s an organized mess! I swear.
In the Fridge:
-Eggs
-Soy milk ( I like Silk Light Vanilla)
-Butter, unsalted (always at least 8 sticks)
-Whole milk (usually a little container for baking)
-Heavy cream
-Yogurt (most always Chobani)
-Big container of light vanilla or plain yogurt
-V-8 (I don’t drink a lot of juice, so if it’s not water, coffee, or tea [or wine], it’s usually low-sodium tomato juice)
-Apples (I almost always have a bag of granny smith and a bag of macs in the fridge)
-Pears (for chopping up and putting in yogurt)
-Lemons and limes
-Baby carrots, cucumbers, baby spinach (good for snacking or quick salad)
-Other fruits and vegetables (whatever looks good, is on sale, or is involved in the week’s recipes)
-Parmesan cheese
-Shredded cheese
-Maple syrup
In the Pantry:
-Whole wheat pasta (my go-to for quick dinners)
-Whole wheat bread
-Olive Oil (regular and extra virgin)
-Quinoa
-Oatmeal
-Beans (black, kidney, etc)
-Rice (brown and jasmine)
-Peanut butter
-Granola for topping yogurt
-Honey
-Chicken broth
-Vegetable broth
-Low-sodium soups
-Bread crumbs (regular and whole wheat)
-Lentils
-Orzo
-Vegetable oil
-Vinegar (white and red wine)
-Dijon mustard
-Frank’s Red Hot
-Light mayonnaise
-Jam or preserves
-Soy sauce
-Garlic
-Yellow onion
-Sweet potatoes
In the Freezer:
-Meat (I always have at least some chicken and ground turkey frozen)
-Frozen peas (to put in whole wheat pasta)
-Ice cream (just in case)
-Frozen blueberries
Baking:
-Flour (I always keep all-purpose unbleached white and whole wheat)
-Sugar
-Brown sugar (both light and dark)
-Confectioner sugar
-Baking soda
-Baking powder
-Vanilla (made from scratch by mom)
-Cocoa powder
-Chocolate chips (and white chocolate chips and butterscotch chips)
-Bars of good quality chocolate
-Coconut flakes
-Dried cranberries
-Yeast
-Corn starch
-Molasses
I own just about every spice in the book, too Your spice cabinet is definitely something you can build up as you continue cooking- no need to go out and buy everything at once!
Oh wait, I guess this is an important pantry shelf to have, too
Anyway, those are the essentials I keep in my kitchen. Yes, it’s a lot, but when you’re cooking and baking all the time, you want to be ready!
How to enter to win the Whole Foods Healthy Pantry Makeover:
Want Whole Foods to give you the ultimate healthy pantry makeover? All you have to do is comment on this post and tell me why you need your pantry to be stocked with these healthy goodies from Whole Foods (everything from the first photo at the top of the post; listed here).
Anyone in the U.S. can enter, as long is your entry is in by Monday, February 14 at 11:59 p.m. (Valentine’s Day!!). And, of course, you can get an extra entry by tweeting about this giveaway and commenting again to let us know!
Good luck! You pantry could soon be super stocked!
[Sues]
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We could use a pantry makeover! We’re trying to cut out high fructose corn syrup and lots of other additives in our diet and have pitched out/given away much of our store of “just in case” canned goods!
I could definitely use a makeover. Last summer, I moved across the country to begin graduate school, AND – to my chagrin – soon discovered I had to cut out all gluten in my diet. Granted, I had healthy eating habits before getting the news (whole wheat everything, fruits, veggies, lean proteins, you know). But, now that I don’t have the wheat staple (and since so many foods inexplicably contain wheat and/or were processed in wheat-y plants), I’m still trying to figure out how to grocery shop and cook meals without breaking the bank – gluten free food is wicked expensive! – and without spending hours cooking, since I’m supposed to be reading or writing or something. Long story short, it’s been hard to reboot my eating habits and still get all the necessary nutrients, and the current sparse state of my fridge and pantry reflect that – I don’t know what I should be going for. I think this makeover could help me get on the right path to figure that out.
I could definitely use this pantry makeover! As someone who is recently trying to eat healthier, I am slowly building up a supply of basics but its too expensive to do all at once! There are tons of new cooking techniques and swaps for healthier ingrediends I would love to try!
I could use this pantry makeover because I am trying to get my husband to eat healthie. Right now he eats like a 5 year old: ellios, poptarts & popsicles.
I tweeted about the giveaway!
I could use a pantry makeover. We almost ran out of our pantry staples during pregnancy and now with a new baby at home, just dont have time to put thought into rebuilding it again. We try to eat healthy home cooked meal as much as we can..this will help us get back on track.
I would love a pantry makeover…am 15 weeks pregnant and have been working to eat healthier and to learn to prepare more nutritious things in ancticipation of cooking for me, my husband, and baby!
I just tweeted about the giveaway! Good luck everyone!
I could use the pantry make over because my grocery store of choice.. let’s call it Seller Bob’s… is always out of something essential when I need it! I love Seller Bob’s and its convenience and low prices. But my word is it annoying when they are out of things that a grocery store should never be out of!
Because my current pantry looks like a four year old stocked it (cereal, pretzels, cheese, peanut butter..)..sigh.
http://threehautemamas.typepad.com/
We have so much junk in our pantry, it’s not even funny. We even have expired crap in there because we live with my future in-laws, and my MIL REFUSES to throw anything away.
But that’s another story.
My fiance and I really need to lose weight so we can look good for the wedding, and this would be a great way to start us off right!
My pantry may be pretty “full” but clearly I need the make-over because so many times I just stare into it and have “nothing” to eat!! I want to be better at throwing a dinner together with things I already have! I think this would help us bring our grocery bills down!
My pantry is also really full most of the time, but I use it as a working mom to make quick meals for my family! Healthy eating habits start early and this would be huge to continue on the path that we’re on!
I could really use this pantry makeover!! My son just moved out and now I’m only cooking for 2 – and we are going a bit healthier. I would like to clean it all out and start over!!!!
Holy moly, girl! You have a ton o chocolate chips in there. I guess it can’t hurt to have them on hand…just in case.
This food all looks awesome. I tend to have fresh veggies and such but I need to be better about stocking a variety of beans/rice and healthy snacks. I hate going to work and not having anything good for me to munch on.
I could use a pantry makeover because I have been trying to eat healthier and cook at home more often instead of relying on takeout or prepared meals.
All I seem to have in my pantry is pasta – at least it’s whole wheat, but HELP me!
Wow! That is an awesome give away. I’ve been working on my new years resolution of getting healthy. So far I’ve lost 10 pounds! I also am really working on eating organically, but it gets so expensive to stock your pantry! I would love a helping hand, since I normally wouldn’t be able to afford to stock my pantry with all the amazing Whole Foods pantry staples. As a young, newly married couple, we’re still struggling to get on our feet and get healthy! So we’d love some extra help. Hope you all had a lovely Valentine’s Day!
I need to be well-stocked so I don’t always default to eating out because I “don’t have any food.” It’s becoming an unhealthy and expensive habit!!!
Looks great. We sometimes get into a debate on whether to have any red sauce or not. I usually lose and this will only further hurt my argument.