A Kitchen and An Apprentice

What Is A Whole-Ingredient Pantry?

It’s simple.  Whole ingredients are foods in their natural state.  Think tomatoes, beans, rice, flour, honey, vegetables, fruits, herbs, etc.  Now some of these are processed, but they’re very minimally processed so that they can be used as intended. Flour is wheat that’s milled or ground.  Rice and beans are processed to remove outer layers, dried, etc.  Honey is removed from the comb.

WHOLE INGREDIENTS

• Foods close to their natural state
• Minimal processing
• Ingredients you recognize

How & Where To Start?

Anytime you’re making a significant change, be it a diet, a financial habit, a workout routine, or a lifestyle change it can be tempting to go all in.  While it’s ok to go all in, it’s also ok and sometimes more sustainable if you make thoughtful, meaningful changes in small doses over time.  Focus your newfound energy and motivation away from the extreme practices (like eating only cabbage soup) and toward developing an understanding of why you want to make these changes.  Change is hard and having a why will keep you motivated to keep going.  I find it’s more sustainable if you can implement smaller changes on a regular cadence.

As you stock your pantry, don’t throw everything out and replace it overnight.  You might not know how to use the ingredients you buy yet and the food you do have is valuable.  Use it up and as you do, slowly replace the least healthy and most processed items with whole ingredients.

Whole-Ingredient Pantry Staples

• Olive Oil (Extra Virgin)
• Sea Salt or Kosher Salt
• Black Peppercorns + Pepper Grinder
• Jasmine Rice (or starch of choice – beans, polenta, couscous, etc.)
• Dried or Canned Beans (Pinto, Black, Cannellini, Garbanzo, Kidney, etc.)
• All Purpose Flour (buy the best you can)
• Canned Whole Peeled Tomatoes
• Tomato Paste
• Broth or Stock (Chicken, Beef, or Vegetable)
• Spices: Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Chili Powder, Paprika, and Cumin (buy in the bulk spice section to save money)
• Baking Powder
• Baking Soda
• Cane Sugar or Maple Syrup
• Honey

Fresh Ingredients To Complete a Whole-Food Kitchen

• Fresh Rosemary and/or Thyme Sprigs
• Yellow or Sweet Onions
• Garlic Bulbs
• Fresh Shallots
• Carrots
• Celery
• Potatoes
• Lemons
• Eggs (buy the best quality you can)
• Greens (Broccoli, Spinach, Kale, Brussel Sprouts, etc.)
• Meats (Whole Chickens, Chuck Roast, Ground Beef or Ground Turkey, Chicken Thighs, etc.)

What To Know About these Staples:

• Oils & Fats
  • If you can only upgrade one thing at a time, start here. The reason is, you use these nearly every time you cook. Additionally, heavily processed oils (seed oils) can be one of the most unhealthy things in your pantry.
  • Olive Oil is versatile and fairly inexpensive. Start with a quality oil – you can find this at your local grocery or club store.
  • After this, you can add Avocado Oil or Butter. Avocado oil is extremely versatile as it’s neutral in flavor and has a higher smoke point than olive oil. It’s great to use in vinaigrettes, baking, and mayo. Butter is great for sauces and for cooking things that have complementary flavors, like eggs.
• Herbs & Seasonings
  • Upgrade these next. Again, you use these nearly every time you cook so they’re a good bang for your buck.
  • Quality salt is critical for seasoning food. Looking for something that’s pure Sea Salt or Kosher Salt. I like Baja Gold sea salt or Diamond Crystal kosher salt. Each have different uses, but both are great salts. Pick up whatever looks good at your local grocery store. A fine or medium grind will serve most of your needs.
  • Black Pepper is the second most versatile seasoning. You can do a lot with just salt and pepper, especially if you have high quality ingredients. Look for either a medium grind or even better, whole black peppercorns and yourself up a pepper grinder as well.
  • Fresh rosemary or thyme sprigs.  These will be available in the produce section.  Pick whichever ones you prefer.  You can use them fresh and whatever you don’t plan to use, simply dry by hanging with some string for a week or so.  The flavor you’ll get from the fresh or the freshly dried will far exceed anything in a jar in the spice aisle.

How Stocking A Whole-Ingredient Pantry Makes Cooking Easier

• Means fewer trips to the grocery store
• Makes weekly grocery shopping simpler & easier
• Allows you to cook from your pantry, without shopping at all
• Saves you money by buying staples in larger quantities, allowing you to be choosy with brands you like

Easy Meals You Can Make From These Pantry Staples

Spinach Salad with Grilled Chicken & French Vinaigrette

Minestrone Soup

Chicken Cacciatore with Polenta

Egg Frittata

FAQs

What should beginners buy first?
Start from the top of the list.  I’ve purposely ordered them by priority.

What foods count as whole ingredients?
Whole ingredients are foods in the natural state.  Think tomatoes, beans, rice, flour, honey, vegetables, fruits, herbs, etc.

Is canned food okay?
Yes, you’ll often find things like whole tomatoes or beans in cans. This is perfectly acceptable.  I’d avoid or limit things that are intended to be eaten out of a can as a meal, however.  Things like canned chili, soups, etc.

How long do pantry staples last?
This is a tough question.  It varies dramatically depending on the item.  When in doubt, trust your sense of smell.  Things like oils will start to smell rancid as they go bad.  Most pantry staples (aside from the fresh ingredients) are intended to last a good while.  Often longer than the expiration date.  If it’s in the pantry and it smells ok, the risk is low that you’ll get sick from eating something that’s gone “bad.”  It’s more likely that it won’t be as effective any longer.  Things like spices start to lack the vibrancy of their original flavor.  Flour will lose its ability to rise with yeast or maintain adequate gluten structure.  These things happen slowly though, so don’t be afraid to use it if you have it.  Oils are going to likely be the items that go stale first.

Disclosure

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. No obligation to make purchases through the links, let it simply be helpful in pointing out products I use in my own kitchen.