“How can we make our kitchen pantry healthy?”
January is always about “Dry January” and following a healthy eating plan. What’s the saying… “new year, new you”. You don’t really want to go back to bad habits, so by reading this blog you will keep your pantry healthy in no time at all. Start new in February.
The kitchen consists of lots of lovely things like wine and chocolate, but if bad eating habits take their toll, there are a few tweaks you can make to your larder contents to keep you eating healthily all year round. It isn’t always about what’s inside your pantry, it’s how your organise it and store it too.
How can we keep the pantry as healthy as it can be?
Remove all out of date ingredients
The pantry will need a spring clean from time to time, so the first mission is to spring clean the pantry. Take everything out and give it a good scrub. It may not be a task you enjoy, but once it’s done sit back and relax and know that your pantry is sparkling clean and filled with an array of new healthier foods organised in a special and attractive way. You will certainly have your cooking mojo back!
Once the pantry has been cleaned and sorted out, don’t be tempted to just throw everything back in. Check expiry dates on all tins and chuck if past its best, then look at “are you going to eat that?”. There is no point putting it back if you know you are not going to eat it. Put everything back in an organised way too.
Use glass storage jars
Easy access and clear through jars makes you want to cook from scratch, and also helps you buy only what you need, aswell as stock it up if you are running low. It’s great to have so many ingredients in the pantry to try out new recipies. How you organise the pantry is key to eating, cooking and staying on track with healthy eating. Top tip- glass is actually a healthier way of storing ingredients than plastic.
Organise in an attractive way
Cooking is an exciting experience to try new things. Having a larder full of exciting new healthy ingredients will inspire you to cook. Keep them at the front for easy reach, and healthy snacks in a grab-to-go position.
Use baskets, cannisters and glass jars to keep everything organised, with lots of healthy ingredients. This means it will also be much easier to prepare your shopping list. If you haven’t got enough room for a pantry, make one of the cupboards and the space you have a mini pantry with shelves.
Fill with easy-to-reach healthy foods
A healthy larder means sticking to more wholefoods, but there are so many delicious healthy snacks you can snack on like, nuts, seeds and dried fruit. You could even make your own granola bars. Grab an oatcake and spread some delicious peanut butter on the top and fill the fruit bowl up.
Make sure the pantry is filled up. If it is empty then your stomach will become hungry and you may think about that “naughty” takeaway.
Purchase foods with non-GMO
We need to say goodbye to processed and GMO foods. We all know that processed foods are full of nasties and not good for us. They contain chemicals and toxins, which are bad for our health. They also have much lower nutrient content. So make up a batch of healthy snacks to last you the week.
Processed foods are pumped full of GMOs (genetically modified organisms). These are engineered rather than grown naturally. If you love baking, there are other healthier alternatives to sugar. Maple syrup, honey, stevia and coconut sugar are great healthier ways to add sugar to your baking.