Staples to Always Have on Hand for Healthy Meals

Do you ever just stand in the kitchen or in the pantry and don’t know what to make?  These are some easy pantry ideas to create meals with basic ingredients.  Most people have these in their kitchen.

Always keep salt + pepper on hand!

Weeknight Pasta (“pantry pasta”)

Whole wheat pasta – keep a variety

Pasta sauce, marinara sauce, pesto – look for low sodium and low sugar

Cheese – preferably parmesan but really any type

Dried or fresh herbs and spices

Onion

Garlic

Lemon – for the zest or bottled lemon juice

Soup (“pantry soup”)

Broth or stock – any kind

Whole wheat pasta – keep a variety

Chicken or lean ground meat

Dried or fresh herbs and spices

Variety of veggies

Leafy greens

Onion

Garlic

Breakfast for Dinner

Eggs

Flour or gluten free flour

Little bit of sugar or honey (or use mashed bananas)

Baking powder and baking soda

Bananas

Milk or non-dairy milk alternative

Berries – fresh or frozen

Lean ground meat – make your own sausage patties

Dried or fresh herbs and spices

Potatoes, veggies, and eggs for a breakfast hash

Sloppy Joe’s – meat or vegetarian (also can be a crock pot meal)

Ground meat or lentils

Ketchup

Worcestershire sauce

Brown sugar

Mustard

Garlic and onion powder (or the real thing garlic + onion)

Hamburger buns or simply bread

Optional – bell pepper

Tuna or Chicken Salad

Canned tuna or chicken (or the real thing)

Mayonnaise

Mustard

Onion

Celery

Optional – almonds or walnuts, parsley, lemon juice

Kitchen Sink Cookies (“pantry cookies”)

Unsalted butter

Brown sugar or white sugar

Egg

Vanilla

Flour or gluten free flour

Baking soda, baking powder

Salt

Chocolate – any kind, chips, chop up a bar of chocolate

Pretzels

Nuts

Really dump in any good cookie ingredient – such as coconut flakes, toffee bits, dried fruit (raisins, cranberries), oats

More ideas and “recipes” to come!!  The pantry is always overflowing with ingredients + refrigerator + freezer.  Let’s use up ingredients and create more space.

Photo Credit:

Photo by Luisa Brimble on Unsplash

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

Photo by Adonyi Gábor from Pexels