(Photo: seeks2dream)
Who doesn't love a well-stocked pantry? An inspired cupboard or closet with high quality, multi-talented ingredients. Follow along with these fresh-and-foodie resources for a total pantry makeover:
1) Mark Bittman hit a home run with his pithy NY Times article (free registration required) on what's "in" and "out" for your pantry, along with some must-haves. I love that he includes ideas for how to use the ingredients. My favorites include:
- Out: Canned beans / In: Dried beans (His reason: more economical and saves space)
- Out: Tomato paste in a can / In: Tomato paste in a tube (His reason: less waste)
- Out: Minute Rice grains / In: "Genuine" grains (His reason: none given, only labeled "critical")
- Out: Dried parsley and basil / In: Fresh herbs (His reason: taste the difference)
2) One of my favorite food bloggers, Heidi Swanson, compiled five posts to create a more healthful, natural pantry with Build a Natural Foods Pantry @101 Cookbooks. An accomplished photographer, she manages to make even the most mundane foods look incredibly edible. The collection of posts is rounded out by a bit of a manifesto, Cooking with Natural Foods. Much of this content is in her popular cookbook, Super Natural Cooking. Her posts cover her favorites:
- Ingredients - Includes chives, dried beans, sea vegetables and tempeh.
- Grains - Includes amaranth, quinoa, barley and wheat berries.
- Fats and oils - Includes butter, clarified butter and ghee, coconut oil, olive oil and sesame oil.
- Sweeteners - Includes agave nectar, blackstrap molasses, brown rice syrup and date sugar.
- Canned fish - her top pick is sardines (omega-3s, hello!)
- Eggs - farm-fresh
- Condiments, including tahini
- Soy milk
On a practical note, at the blog Chive Talkin', she talks about a pantry makeover for her mother (with her mother's permission, of course). She removed all "white stuff" and food with artificial ingredients and sweeteners and stocked up on real food. Check out her pantry makeover with pictures.
On my list: swapping my canned beans for dried beans and experimenting some more with natural sweeteners. Any upgrades in your future? Let me know in comments below...
