The Essential Guide to Building a Wholesome, Homemade and Healthy Pantry

alt text: Organized pantry shelf with glass jars labelled quinoa, chickpeas, almonds, etc
image source: smitten kitchen

Nowadays, almost everything that you consume is unhealthy in one way or another. Not to mention the junk food that we gorge ourselves on. Almost all packaged food sold in the market is not good for us and our family. Companies label their food as healthy, but it is anything but healthy. Even the prepared food in restaurants, stalls, and street vendors is like a slow poison, killing us over time.

Hence, it is important that we start making our own food using nutrient-dense whole grains, plant-based proteins, healthy fats, herbs, spices and natural and organic grown fruits and vegetables. So that you have a whole range of different items that you can use to create healthy meals and snacks for yourself or your family.

That is why, in today's day and age, having a well-stocked pantry filled with wholesome and nutritious foods is crucial in leading a healthy life, and it is also needed in order to maintain healthy eating habits and enjoy delicious home-cooked meals. Most of us have yet to get that; hence, we have created this guide in order to let you know how you can create a pantry and get the best use out of it.

Our aim today is to help readers learn how to build or transform their own pantries to align with Whole Truth's commitment to mindful, transparent eating.
Let’s dive into the important points one needs to remember in order to create a healthy, well-stocked pantry.

alt text: Bowl of oatmeal, bowl of brown rice, bowl of buckwheat
image source: 123RF

Processed food is just not good for your health, it mostly includes unhealthy levels of added sugar, sodium and fat which as you guessed it are slow poisons killing us over time. You should always go for intact minimally processed whole-grain products like Brown rice, quinoa, oats, and whole-wheat pasta. You can create a superfood mix with these foods. Always make sure to look for a label that says 100% whole grain, if it says that it is 100% whole grain then that means that it has 16g of whole grains per serving which is far better for our gut and our health than any other processed food.

Whole grains like brown rice, farro(khapli), and buckwheat(kuttu) are great for your health than simple white rice and wheat. You can add high-carb low-fat snacks like healthy granola, oatmeal, muesli, or whole-grain toast to provide lasting energy to your breakfast. You can also add healthy on-the-go snacks like high protein food like high protein bars.

alt text: Plant-based proteins including chickpeas, mixed nuts, pumpkin seeds, and boiled lentils.
image source: iStock

Adding plant-based proteins to your meals is a great way of eating healthy. You can get proteins, fibre, vitamins, minerals, and healthy fats from foods like beans, lentils, edamame(soya ki phali), nuts, and seeds.
Lentils cook quickly and there are a variety of lentils available in the market so you have something new in lentils almost all the time, you can also mix and experiment as per your palate as well.

Canned or dried beans have a long shelf life so you can use them over a long period of time. There are many types of beans available in the market to keep you interested as well.

alt text: Abundant fresh produce including apples, lemons, carrots, peppers and leafy greens
image source: 123RF

Finding the best fruits and vegetables to eat every day can be a tough little challenge but not impossible. Spinach, Carrots, Broccoli, Green peas, Blueberries, Raspberries, Apples, Oranges etc are some of the best fruits and vegetables to eat every day. Filling your pantry up with these fruits and vegetables can be great to get a wide range of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.

Try to always seek out Organic locally grown fruits and vegetables at your grocery store or market and make sure to buy fresh. Make sure to wash the fruits and vegetables thoroughly before storing them in the pantry and before using them in the kitchen as well. They are also known as healthy pantry staples.

alt text: Infographic showing photos and benefits of healthy fats like avocado, olive oil, coconut
image source: canva self-designed

You need to hear this trans-fats are bad, not just bad they are terrible for your health in more ways than one. Try to add healthy fats to your diet and use healthy fats while cooking food as well. You can find trans-fat in yes you guessed it mostly processed foods. Healthy fats are far better for the human body they help the body absorb vitamin A, vitamin D and vitamin E. Did you know that peanut butter has 80% unsaturated fat which makes it healthy in many ways? Healthy fats like Ghee, Olive Oil, Fatty fish, whole eggs, coconut, avocados etc are great for your health in more ways than one.

alt text: Top-down view of bulk spices in jars - cinnamon, cumin, turmeric, oregano
image source: Freepik

Spices and seasonings make or break the food in Asian dishes, without spices and seasonings food seems incomplete. You should add fresh or dried herbs, spices, different types of vinegar, garlic, ginger, and lemons in the pantry to make it more homily. Replace processed salt with rock salt or black salt which are much healthier. Replace red chilli powder with freshly ground pepper. Add spices like cumin, cinnamon, oregano, basil, cayenne, and black pepper.

Most herbs and species have many antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits, for example, turmeric contains something called curcumin which has soothing properties. Also change your processed sugar to raw sugar, jaggery power.

alt text: Bunch of healthy snacks including trail mix, roasted walnuts, apple, and peanut butter.
image source: Fastweb

Always keep ready to eat healthy snacks in the pantry so that when hunger strikes you do not go for any unhealthy snack options. Snacks like trail mixes, roasted chickpeas, air-popped popcorn, roasted nuts, apples with peanut butter, or carrots can be great to calm the beast that is hunger.

Also, promoting healthy snaking with roasted foxnut (Makhana) can be a great healthy snack, whole truth also has some ready-to-go healthy snacks like protein bars, energy bars and mini protein bars which are a great source of energy and are great at keeping hunger away.

alt text: Glass of infused water with lemons, limes, mint
image source: Clean Eating Kitchen

Staying hydrated is important in order to stay healthy, hence stock up on purified and alkaline water. Today you also have the option to infuse water with fruits like lemons, limes, strawberries and cucumbers or fresh herbs like mint, basil and rosemary and get water with different flavours.

Caffeine is not at all good for your health in the long run hence caffeine-free herbal tea can provide antioxidants and keep you hydrated and alert as well. If you still drink caffeine in any shape or form then drink herbal tea and water to stay properly hydrated.

alt text: Neatly organized pantry shelves with containers, baskets and bottles
image source: The Spruce

Once you are done with stocking up the pantry with food our next step is to keep it organized, neat and clean. Use clean and transparent containers to store the beans, grains, pasta, and baking ingredients so that everything is visible clearly. Categorize the shelves as per preference and family.

Clean and dust the pantry regularly and keep checking and replacing the expired items. Keep on-the-go snacks at places east to reach. Organizing the pantry will make cooking and snaking more fun and better.

alt text: a couple cooking together in a kitchen with aprons on.
image source: OutWitTrade

In the end, keeping a well-stocked and well-organized pantry filled with healthy whole foods can not only help you create a healthy eating habit but a healthy lifetime for you and your family.

Keep the steps mentioned in the article in mind while building a pantry and you should be good to go. However, one thing to note is that creating a healthy pantry is an ongoing process, you cannot just build it and be done with it, you need to keep checking up on the pantry, and organize it, it is a lifelong process. But it will be very fulfilling to know that you are keeping yourself and your family healthy. So, why not start today and slowly start building your dream pantry?

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