Pantry Clean Out

The first step to eating healthy is having a well-organized and uncluttered pantry. Do you find yourself searching for ingredients that you know that you have but can’t locate? Do you have the staple ingredients to prepare quick and healthy meals? Conversely, do you have tempting processed foods that are too hard to resist when you are short on time? 

The key is to go through your pantry and identify the foods that need to be tossed and replaced. Look to eliminate the foods that are packed with harmful additives and preservatives, and ones that are lacking in nutrient density. Learn to read labels and how to store produce so that it lasts. Then create a shopping list to build your nourishing pantry, stocking it with healthy and nutritious real food that you can use to create quick snacks and meals.

Guiding principles

  • Effectively read packaged food labels

  • Store produce so there is less waste

  • Use organized meal planning and shopping lists to help stock a healthy pantry and refrigerator

  • Identify healthier options for processed food

  • Create a shopping list of nourishing foods

Clean out

Have a trash bag in one hand and a clip board in the other. When something is tossed, make note of a replacement.

  • Look at expiration dates – toss

  • Remove processed foods – donate or toss

    • Foods with excess processed sugar

      • Consuming sugar leads to a lot of chronic diseases including diabetes and obesity, hypoglycemia, a weakened immune system, yeast infections, hyperactivity, ADHD, mental and emotional disorders and chemical imbalances in the brain. These diseases are showing up in record numbers of children. 

      • Consuming excess sugar will ultimately lead to excess stored fat. 

      • Sugar addiction can cause you to have mood swings, crave carbohydrates and sugar-laden foods and reach for caffeine to give you a boost. 

      • Sugar is lurking where you would least expect to find it: in cereals, crackers, bread, pasta sauces, salad dressings and, of course, candy and junk food. Sugar is highly addictive, and manufacturers know it so they add it to their products so you will buy more.

    • High fructose corn syrup

      • This is a sweetener made from corn and has replaced cane sugar in many processed foods. It is more rapidly absorbed into the bloodstream because your digestive system lacks enzymes to break it down properly. The fructose in HFCS goes to the liver and causes liver damage. The glucose goes into the bloodstream and spikes insulin. Both of these reactions lead to an increased appetite, weight gain, diabetes, heart disease, cancer and dementia. Once you read labels, you will notice that high-fructose syrup is sneaky and lurks where you least expect it. Most foods containing HFCS are high in calories and low in nutritional value. 

    • Trans Fats (Hydrogenated and partially-hydrogenated oils) and saturated fats: The food scientists came up with a way for fat to have a long storage life when creating these fats. They are solid at room temperature and liquid when heated so visualize how they will be in your body—they will clog everything up. These unhealthy fats can be found not only in the obvious butter and oils but also in chips, cookies, cereals, breads and just about any highly processed food item. 

    • White flour: This starts as a whole grain flour that has been processed and literally been stripped of its vital vitamins, minerals, fiber and enzymes leaving just starch and has no nutritional value. 

    • Foods with more than 10 ingredients

    • Foods with more than 3 unrecognizable ingredients. If you don’t recognize the ingredient, look it up.

    • Foods that contain a number in the name—this means it was made in a lab.

    • Foods with any of the following additives:

      • Artificial flavors

      • Artificial colors—made from petroleum

      • Artificial sweeteners: saccharin, aspartame, sucralose, neotame, acesulfame potassium

      • MSG

      • Preservatives—prevents the growth of mold and bacteria: BHA, BHT, EDTA, TBHQ, sulfites

      • Emulsifiers—keeps food from separating

      • Stabilizers—used to thicken foods

    • Cured meats

    • Frozen convenience foods

Replace

  • Shopping list – what to add

    • Produce (vegetables and fruits)

    • Herbs/spices

    • Beans

    • 100% whole grains

    • Dry/bulk

    • Canned/jarred

    • Oil/vinegar/condiments

    • Nuts/seeds

    • Natural sugars

    • Non-dairy milks

    • Meat substitutes