Dietitian Recommended Must-Have Pantry Staples

Posted On November 27, 2021

Wanting to cook healthier meals at home? Unsure of where to begin? Below are some must-have pantry staples to help you stay on track.

Healthy Canned Items

Wait what? Canned foods can be considered healthy? Some canned items like pasta, sauces, and soups can provide entirely too much sodium, but there are canned items that you can feel confident about buying to contribute to your health. Look for words like “no added salt”, “unsalted”, and “low-sodium” on the label when you’re in the grocery aisle. Here are some low sodium canned items you want to keep stocked

• Canned beans-they can be added to salad, soup, or pasta for a boost of fiber and protein

• Canned tomatoes-use in soups, homemade sauces, braised meat, or risotto

Low Sodium Broth

I love having vegetable, chicken, and beef base or broth on hand, it has so many uses. One of my favorite ways to utilize broth is to cut up greens (like chard or kale) and simmer them in a little bit of broth to make them tender. Broth not only adds flavor but it doesn’t provide excess fat and calories like using butter or oil to saute the greens.

Low sodium broth is great to use in soups, pasta, and sauces as well. This kind is my personal favorite to use.

Whole Grains

Choosing whole grains to have stocked in your pantry helps provide fiber, which is great for digestive health and beneficial to fight high cholesterol. When looking at a nutrition label on a whole grain product try to aim for items that have 5 or more grams of fiber per serving. Whole grain items to keep on hand

• whole-grain pasta
• Brown Rice
• Quinoa

Olive or Avocado Oil

Olive or avocado oil is beneficial for your heart compared to stick butter, margarine, or lard because it is unsaturated. Use olive or avocado oil for sauteing, roasting, in salad dressings, or use it in place of butter in recipes.

Kinds of vinegar

• Balsamic
• Apple Cider
• Red Wine
• Rice
• Specialty vinegar (for vinaigrettes, sauces, and desserts)

A 2015 study in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that vinegar may be considered beneficial for improving insulin resistance and metabolic abnormalities” in people with prediabetes. Another reason vinegar is a must-have healthy pantry staple is its ability to add a burst of flavor to food without adding salt. Drizzle balsamic vinegar on vegetables when roasting or add red wine vinegar with extra virgin olive oil to a cucumber tomato salad with chopped basil for a mouth-watering combination.

Nuts and Seeds (and their butter)

Nuts and seeds provide heart-healthy fats, fiber, and vitamins, and minerals. Choose unsalted nuts like almonds, cashews, or pecans to add to salads or cereals. Seeds (like sesame or chia) can be sprinkled over vegetables when roasting or thrown in a smoothie.

Onion and Garlic

I always have garlic and onions (red, white, and yellow) in my pantry, they are the foundation of so many dishes and add flavor without adding excess sodium. If you are pressed for time the grocery store has onions already sliced and garlic chopped in a jar.

Want to know how to dice an onion like a professional chef? Click here

Dijon Mustard

Add flavor with gentle acidity and tanginess without adding excessive calories or cholesterol. Dijon mustard has many applications, my personal favorite way to use it is in homemade salad dressings or in a sauce for chicken or roast pork.

Keeping the above items on hand will ensure you have the staples you need to cook healthy meals at home. Are there any items you would recommend adding to the list above? I would love to hear from you.