Top 3 tips for Keeping Your Kitchen Pantry Clean and Stocked

Our kitchen pantry might just be the most important closet in our home. It has the potential to massively derail our upcoming week's eating plan simply because what we keep stocked dictates what we eat. If we keep junk in the house, we eat junk. We often hear the 80/20 rule which implies we should eat 80% healthy/clean and 20% for fun/pure enjoyment (or 90/10 depending on how strict you strive to be). We are most in control of our meals that come from our home. For me, breakfast, lunch, and weeknight dinners are all prepped at home (which is about 80% of my overall eating, let's say). The other 20% is food purchased outside the home such as grabbing dinner with friends or going out for ice cream. It's much easier to eat healthy 80% of the time if we keep healthy food in the home because that is where we spend most of our time.

Simply stated: We have the most control in our home environment, so let's make it benefit us. Here are some easy tips to get you started:

1) Know what to ditch:

Expired foods: This seems obvious, but after a long time of pantry-cleaning avoidance, these foods get lost. So go ahead and sift through what is rotten or past the expiration date and out they go in the trash (or compost). No one likes to throw out food, but it has to be done. Don't look back. Think of this as a fresh start.

Highly processed foods: A healthy diet includes foods with the least amount of processing as well as few additives & preservatives. Highly processed foods often add little nutrition, don't fill us up, and keep us wanting more! To keep it simple, look at the food and ask yourself: Is this good for me? I often think of a lot of snack type foods: crackers, chips, candy. Some in the house can be fine, but if you find your pantry full of treats and "empty calorie" foods, you're certainly more inclined to reach for those than an apple or almonds.

2) Know how to organize:

My pantry is very small; so I have to maximize use of space. Ideally, I keep any snack foods away from eye level because I don't want them to be the easiest item to find especially if I'm bored. Having a child does change some things, but I try to stick to this as much as I can.

Utilize FIFO: first in, first out - AKA remembering to put the newest jar of pasta sauce, for example, in the back of the pantry. This should help you avoid keeping foods past their expiration date.

3) Know what to buy:

These are my kitchen staples that we are constantly replenishing and may give you some ideas (but there are plenty more options). These foods are often the start of a balanced and nourishing meal. (And remember, these foods listed are just the ones in your pantry, so it excludes produce that belongs in the fridge!)

Grains/complex carbs: Oatmeal, brown rice, quinoa, whole wheat pasta, canned beans, sweet potatoes, canned chickpeas

Fats/Oils: extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil

Snacks: nuts (although we keep a lot in the fridge), unopened natural nut butters, whole popcorn kernels (making homemade popcorn is so easy), chocolate chips, raisins, tortilla chips, Toasted O's cereal

Other: vegetable broth, hot sauce, honey, pasta sauce, seasonings

Do you struggle to keep your pantry organized??

Enjoy your weekend!

~Beth