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Danielle Minnebo

Nutritionist & Food Photographer

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Blog Posts  /  September 20, 2021

What every healthy pantry should have

by Danielle Minnebo
What every healthy pantry should have

Taking the time to set up your pantry and having some key ingredients on hand can make it much easier to prepare healthier meals. I make sure I have the ingredients below in my pantry or fridge, this means I can put together a healthy meal when I’m running short on time. All I have to pick up are the fresh ingredients and some protein.

This healthy pantry list below may seem overwhelming and I certainly don’t intend for you to go out and buy everything all in one go. Instead you can build your healthy pantry basics gradually, try the recipes I have suggested and before you know it you will have grown a great pantry and have a range of easy recipes on hand to prepare quickly with your pantry ingredients.

Spices + Seasonings

There are so many wonderful spices available and my pantry basket is packed with many! To keep things simple though I have listed below the ones I use most frequently.

  • Sea salt
  • Ground cumin (try my Garlic & Cumin Buckwheat Cracker recipe)
  • Smoked paprika
  • Baharat spice blend
  • Cinnamon
  • Dried thyme
  • Dried rosemary
  • Turmeric

Flours

These are my go to flours for when I am baking muffins, cakes or pastry. Most of these flours are gluten free and are nutrient dense (with the exception of potato starch but I use this in small quantities to lighten mixes). Please note spelt flour isn’t gluten free.

  • Blanched almond meal
  • Coconut flour
  • Tapioca starch
  • Potato starch
  • Buckwheat flour
  • Spelt flour (try my Spelt Feta Cheese Rolls recipe)

Sweeteners

This section requires a much longer blog post about which sweeteners to use instead of refined sweeteners and the whole fructose issue. But for now to keep things simple, this is what I use in my diet and have on hand in my pantry. But to be clear I use these sweeteners in desserts which I don’t consume every day, these are occasional foods.

  • Raw honey
  • Coconut palm sugar (try my Coffee & Hazelnut Cakes recipe)
  • Rapadura sugar
  • Medjool dates (try my Thyme, Mustard & Apple Cider Dressing recipe)

Nuts + Seeds

There are so many nuts and seeds, all with wonderful health benefits. The ones below are what I use most frequently and make sure I always have on hand.

  • Pine nuts
  • Flaked almonds
  • Hemp seeds (try my Hemp & Chickpea Hummus recipe)
  • Walnuts
  • Hazelnuts
  • Almonds
  • Cashew nuts
  • Brazilnuts

Healthy Cooking Fats:

I don’t have all of these oils on hand all of the time. I always have olive oil and butter as I use these in cooking. But I mix it up between the other oils, which I use for salad dressings. So at the moment I have hemp seed oil in the fridge and when I’ve used this up I’ll switch to flaxseed oil. I love making my own mayonnaise so will always have either avocado oil or macadamia oil on hand.

  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • Butter
  • Hemp seed oil (store in the fridge)
  • Flaxseed oil (store in the fridge)
  • Avocado oil
  • Macadamia oil

Other:

These basics didn’t fit into any of the above categories but are still important in any basic pantry.

  • Dijon mustard
  • Wholegrain mustard
  • Concentrated Bone Broth
  • Balsamic Vinegar
  • Apple Cider Vinegar
  • Capers

Tags

  • healthy pantry

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2 comments

  • Tamara Sheeran
    November 17, 2021

    Such great post Danielle – everything except the Medjool dates. What’s the best way to use Flaxseed Oil it has such a pungent flavour?

    Reply
    • Danielle Minnebo
      November 18, 2021

      Hi Tamara, flaxseed oil shouldn’t have a pungent flavour, this probably means it has gone rancid. Make sure you buy flaxseed oil from the fridge in a store and never from the shelf. And keep it in the fridge at home. I’ll be sharing a yummy salad dressing soon using flaxseed oil : )

      Reply

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About Me

Welcome to my blog. I am a passionate foodie who loves sharing my creations with you and your family. I love nothing more than creating delicious and nourishing recipes using whole food ingredients. You'll find most of my recipes are gluten free and easy to put together.

I am a university qualified Nutritionist, co-founder of Food to Nourish and a self taught food photographer. I hope you enjoy cooking my recipes as much as I have enjoyed creating them for you.

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