How to Stock Your Pantry with Real Food
Choosing to stock your pantry with real food is the best decision you can make for your health and your budget. It also keeps you prepared in case of emergency or illness, so you always have healthy food on hand when you need it most.
Stock Your Pantry with These Real Food Staples
Why focus on a real food pantry? Whether you’re trying to get healthy or stay healthy, real food is the best choice. It’s nutrient-dense and supports every system in your body: from your digestion to your immune system, from your hormones to your moods.
These real food staples should make the list when you stock your pantry:
Broth Bones
Instead of relying on store bought soup, I highly recommend making your own bone broth. Bone broth is rich in minerals and gelatin, nutrients that support your immune system and overall health.
The best place to source broth bones are local farmers markets and butcher shops that have bones from pasture-raised livestock. These will make the most nutritious broth.
Healthy Fats
Healthy fats keep for a long period of time and are an important ingredient for creating nutrient-dense meals. The best fats will be minimally processed and have mostly monounsaturated and saturated fats.
I recommend the following healthy fats:
- Ghee, butter, and cream from pastured cows (learn about these healthy fats)
- Olive oil
- Avocado oil
- Coconut oil
- Coconut milk (learn to make coconut milk & coconut flour)
- Tallow and lard from pastured livestock (learn to render lard)
Baking Ingredients
When you’re going back to basics, you can’t get better than old-fashioned baking. Baking ingredients stay fresh for long periods in the pantry and can be used in a wide variety of delicious, nutrient-dense recipes.
Choose baking ingredients like:
- Honey, real maple syrup, and coconut sugar for sweeteners
- Almond flour, coconut flour, other GF flours (If you’re not gluten-free, look for ancient grains like Einkorn wheat flour)
- Vanilla extract
- Canned pumpkin
- Dark chocolate
- Aluminum-free baking powder
- Baking soda
- Sea salt
- Cocoa/cacao powder (hot cocoa recipes)
- Coconut flakes
I’ll admit I wasn’t much a home baker before we went gluten-free and I’m even less now. But I do have a couple of yummy gluten-free recipes!
Cooking Ingredients & Tasty Condiments
Stock your pantry with a wide variety of cooking ingredients and condiments so a delicious, nourishing meal is always easy to make. Try to stick with organic, if possible. Here are some of the best items you’ll want to have on hand:
- Tomatoes (canned or sun-dried)
- Beans, lentils, and chickpeas
- Wild-caught canned tuna, salmon, sardines, oysters (favorite seafood)
- Nuts & Seeds
- Rice
- Vinegars (apple cider vinegar, balsamic, coconut)
- Olives
- Coconut aminos
- Salsa
- Low-sugar ketchup
- Mustard
- Avocado or olive oil mayonnaise
- Salsa
- Your favorite unrefined salt, pepper, spices and herbs
- And don’t forget you can use your doTERRA CPTG essential oils for flavoring
Produce That Keeps
If you want a well-stocked pantry, then it’s best to stick with produce that’s budget-friendly and keeps for a long time. Remember to focus on organic options. Here are your best options:
- Apples
- Onions
- Cabbage
- Winter squash
- Garlic
- Ginger (easy storage of ginger)
- Beets (learn to make beet kvass)
- Potatoes
- Carrots
- Peppers
- Melons
Ferment + Dehydrate
Make foods last even longer by fermenting or dehydrating them when possible. This is especially helpful when you’re overstocked with in season produce.
Great fermented foods to try making:
- Sauerkraut (learn how to make sauerkraut)
- Kimchi (learn how to make kimchi)
- Root vegetables (learn how to ferment radishes)
- Pickles
- Yogurt
- Kefir (learn how to make kefir)
Bonus: fermented foods are rich in enzymes to aid digestion and probiotics to keep your gut flora healthy!
Foods that are easy to dehydrate:
- Meat (make your own jerky)
- Apples
- Bananas
- Mangos
- Tomatoes (learn to dehydrate tomatoes)
- Berries
- Pears
- Figs
- Papaya
- Peppers
- Mushrooms
Grow Your Own
You don’t have to garden to grow your own nutrient-dense foods! These nourishing foods can easily be grown indoors, or in pots on a patio or porch:
- Sprouts
- Microgreens
- Mushrooms
- Peppers
- Herbs like basil, rosemary and more
Get Creative When You Stock Your Real Food Pantry
This isn’t a complete list of real food pantry items – but it’s enough to get you started on the right foot. Are there any more real food staples you’ll include on your pantry list? Share in the comments!