Stocking a Healthy Pantry

In the interests of good health, you want to clean out unhealthy foods from you kitchen and then load up your kitchen cabinets and cupboards with fresh, healthy foods, such as:

• Non-starchy veggies are freebies. Eat as many as you like! Limit fruits because they increase your insulin levels. Berries are your best bet. When possible, choose organic, seasonal, and local produce.
• Dry foods. These staple foods usually have a longer shelf life and include raw or lightly roasted nuts and seeds, quinoa, and gluten-free grains.
• Herbs, spices, and seasonings. You’ll want to have a range of pantry ingredients, including seasonings and spices, on hand. Buy organic when you can. Because you only use a little of some of these, they tend to last a long time so you get a lot of value from them.
• Among my favourite pantry items are extra virgin olive oil, extra virgin coconut OIL, sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, and seasonings and spices. Just read your labels to ensure they don’t contain hidden sugar, gluten, or other problem additives.
• Fresh foods. Get in the habit of keeping your fridge and freezer stocked with these items. When selecting beef or meat, choose grass-fed, hormone-free, or organic, whenever possible.

Optimal protein choices include:

1. Boneless, skinless chicken and turkey breasts
2. Ground chicken and turkey
3. Lean cuts of beef, lamb
4. Free range eggs
5. Wild or sustainably farmed, low-mercury seafood like sardines, salmon, herring, flounder, clams, crab, oyster, perch, prawns, sole, squid, trout, whitefish etc.).

 These strategies will help you get well on your way to detoxing not only your pantry but also your health!