What's in the Pantry

This was an original blog post from 2009.  It might help give you a starting point of what is in our pantry.


I’m going to try this. I’m going to give you the list of what’s in my pantry right now – all of it approved (or I’m hopeful that if Dr. P sees something we have wrong, he will let me know!) After I give you a potential shopping list (this is not an exhaustive list – it’s just what’s in there now), we can talk about what I put together with all these items.

Couple notes – if there is a brand that is important, I will list what I use. I use many store brands, mostly Kroger brand, because the quality is great! But if I am specific for a name brand, I’ll let you know that too.

The most “specialty” type store where I shop is Earth Fare, and that is limited, but important. We are budget conscious and this way of eating is expensive – I won’t try to fool you on that – so I only get the things from Earth Fare that I can’t get elsewhere. 80% of my groceries come from Krogers, maybe 15% from WalMart, and the rest from Earth Fare.

I am overly impressed with the organic and “natural” foods Krogers carries and their store brand organics are impressive as well. I wish they would expand their organic produce but when they have a decent supply, I am impressed with their prices.

You might find the same item I’ve listed, like salsa maybe, that is OK to eat in *your* favorite brand but be sure to check the INGREDIENTS first before you buy! Reading the list of ingredients is the starting point to approving any food. If the word FLOUR is in the ingredients, we can’t eat it. Simple. I think you will be shocked how much stuff is bulked up with flour!

My next step is to look and see if sugar (or any of the many words that mean sugar) is an ingredient because that means EXTRA sugar has been added to the item. It’s OK for the nutrition panel to have sugar because it might be natural sugar from the tomato, for instance, or from the apples, so don’t rely on the number next to the sugar line – read the INGREDIENTS. Remember all the words that mean sugar such as corn syrup, cane juice, etc. If sugar has been *added* to the ingredients, we don’t eat it either. One of my first blogs had a list of sugar word substitutes.

I also do NOT use many “sugar free” products because that usually means it’s a sugar-substitute like nutrasweet or splenda and I stay away from that as much as possible. So, just because I can get “sugar free” pudding for the kids lunches, for instance, I DON’T because I don’t want them eating a container of chemicals. I’d say I skip most of the items down the middle of the grocery store aisles. If I’m going to do all this work to make the family healthy, I’m not going to add artificial sweeteners – it negates my mission. No, I am not 100% faithful to that. I will add splenda to my tea if I’m at a restaurant and I’m out of Stevia, but that is the exception, not the rule. We don’t eat it if making it “sugar free” adds artificial chemicals.


I also am 2000% against ANY foods that have the words “partially hydrogenated…” in the ingredients. This is an absolute deal breaker for me. And my kids know that as well and they are EXCELLENT ingredient readers! They have learned about all of this right along with me. I NEED them to know WHY we are doing this and HOW to do it so when I am not around, they have the tools to make the best decision they can. I could almost guarantee that if anyone took my kids grocery shopping and gave them a new item that we don’t normally eat and if you asked them if they should buy it, they KNOW to look for sugar and flour in the ingredients and they will look for the words “partially hydrogenated (oil)” and will put it back if the food doesn’t qualify. I have completely grossed them out with what the partially hydrogenated stuff will do to them and they skip it. Even my 8yo! He’s probably the best! He walks down the isles with me reading labels and will tell me, “we can have this”, or “nope, full of junk.” I love it! And I sure hope it sticks!

Surprise! I’m rambling again… back to the grocery list!! 

My current Pantry List:
Cans of…
Black olives
Black eyed peas – non flavored
Black beans – kroger, unflavored
Tomato sauce and tomato paste
Ragu spaghetti sauce – light, NO SUGAR ADDED
Apple sauce, no sugar added, (large jar and individual containers for lunchboxes)
Pears, canned, light, in pear juice, Kroger brand
Pink Alaskan salmon – wild caught, Double Q
sliced mushrooms
Rotel
Baby carrots, Kroger
Green beans
Asparagus
Del Monte whole kernel corn (check the ingredients of what you buy – don't get if there's sugar added)
Lite yellow cling peaches, sliced, in pear juice – Kroger brand
Lima beans
Pineapple, 100% juice
Great northern beans (for white chili)
Red beans (for chili)
Kidney beans
Chick peas
Butter beans

Triscuits – cracked pepper and olive oil flavored as well as thin crisps, reduced fat
Old El Paso taco shells
JIF natural peanut butter
Agave nectar light (equivalent to honey – in Kroger near honey)
Honey
Polaner All-Fruit jelly
Quick grits - in canister, generic brand, plain
Yellow corn meal (we use this to “bread’ chicken fingers)
Steel oats oatmeal - plain
Quick cook oatmeal - plain
Success Boil in Bag brown rice
Brown rice, plain bag
Quinoa (pronounced Keen-wa) – I buy it at Earth Fare in bulk section, looks like a mini-rice, you can buy it
         at Krogers in a box but twice as expensive
Bag of lentil beans
15 bean soup bag
Sunflower seed kernels, dry roasted, Kroger
Sesame seeds (add to stir fry)
Walnuts, shelled,
Almonds, shelled
Tuna Fish
Velveeta cheese, but rarely use it – use cheddar mostly
Hidden Valley Ranch MIX for dips - have not tried yet but will add to fat free sour cream for veggie dip )
Kikkomen soy sauce – regular (not reduced sodium)
Ezekiel 4:19 sprouted whole grain cereal – Almond , and cinnamon raisin
Shredded wheat – plain, Kroger brand
Red wheat cereal - bag
Snack box size raisins
Fritos (Fritos makes a $2 bag of Tortilla chips called Santitos and we eat those too)
Tostitos chips
Brown Rice Cakes, organic, lightly salted, in plastic sleeve in natural section of Krogers – Lundberg.
Lemon juice
Green tea bags, white tea bags, and black tea bags
coffee
Stevia (Sweet Leaf brand – natural section of Krogers)
Spicy brown mustard
Regular yellow mustard
EVOO liquid and spray
Vinegar
Red wine vinegar
Heinz reduced sugar ketchup (this has 1g sugar but I can't find anything else.  we don't use often)
Newmans Own Olive Oil and Vinegar dressing

Skim milk
OJ – we do juice in moderation and only OJ at breakfast. We don’t do any other sweet juice since I don’t want the kids to be drinking their calories.
Tomato juice (tom likes this occasionally)
Eggs – I keep hard boiled ones in the fridge as a snack too
Cheese – all kinds, parmesan cheese too
Swiss Cheese block -- this is my fav quick lunch -- swiss slices on cracked pepper triscuits.
Fruits, veggies,
Hummus – garlic (yum on triscuits)
Salsa - Pace Picante does not have added sugar.  Some do - check label!
Sour cream – low fat
Horseradish
Large jar of fresh garlic
Mushrooms
Ezekiel bread and tortillas
Fat free cream cheese
butter, salted - we use sparingly

Shrimp
Chicken
Burger (we get 93/7, usually Laura's Natural beef)
ham
Pork chops
Canadian bacon – Hormel naturals, nitrate free
Sausage, natural w/o nitrates when I can find
Bacon – Hormel, no nitrates
Any meats are OK
Frozen veggies too – steam in the bag are so fast. We eat edename at least 2x week
Sweet potatoes (we cannot have white potatoes) – sprinkle butter and cinnamon on them. We also slice into French fry like strips and broil – kids eat like fries.
Lettuce, bags of mixed greens
Shredded Coleslaw
Purple cabbage – love to stir fry this with squash, zucchini, walnuts and soy sauce, and mushrooms


I think that's it for now. I'm constantly looking at labels to find what other things we can eat.

I'd love to know what YOU have found that fits the rules we have to follow! I'll be working on posting recipes next so be thinking if you have a few you like that fit our rules as well!! I'd love to have them!

til next time -
Jennifer