Stocking up Your Pantry, Fridge & Freezer: Shopping List

Pantry:

Starches:

  • Different kinds of whole grain rice: brown rice, black forbidden rice, wehani, wild rice, black japonica, brown jasmin rice
  • Quinoa
  • Different kinds of pasta: whole grain, spelt, regular, rice, quinoa

    Well stocked pantry

  • Soba Noodles
  • Bulgur (cracked wheat)
  • Whole wheat couscous
  • And for the more adventurous souls: spelt, millet, barley, farro

Legumes:

  • Dry black beluga lentils (they cook fast)
  • Dry green or brown lentils
  • Dry yellow lentils (fastest cooking time of all lentils)
  • Canned lentils
  • Canned black an/ or kidney beans
  • Dry black or kidney beans (they take a long time to cook, only buy if you are up for that)
  • Canned garbanzos (or dry if you are up for cooking them from scratch = takes time)
  • Any other canned beans that look good to you; I like black eyed peas, cannellini and navy beans. Eden Foods has a huge selection.

Dried foods:

  • Dried mushrooms
  • Sun-dried tomatoes
  • Raw nuts and seeds: almonds, walnuts, pumpkin, sunflower, sesame and whole flax seeds, pine nuts
  • Oats: steel cut or regular
  • Granola
  • Pancake mix
  • Dried fruit: cranberries, raisins, figs, prunes, apricots, coconut, etc. (preferably without sulfides)

Prepared foods:

  • Pasta sauce in glass jar
  • Tomatoes in glass jar (Eden Foods)
  • Salsa
  • Chutney
  • Sauerkraut
  • Broth

Miscellaneous Canned Foods:

  • Canned fish: Wild salmon, herring, trout, tuna
  • Corn
  • Green chilli pepper (great for black bean soup)
  • Light coconut milk
  • Soups (watch sodium content)

Canned foods: note that the majority of cans are made with  a plastic lining that contains BPA. Eden Foods and Trader Joe's cans do not. The exception to that are tomato products. Because tomatoes are acidic, the lining is requires otherwise the metal would be "eaten away". Alternative: Eden Foods tomatoes in glass jars.

Fridge:

  • Mustard
  • Soy sauce or Bragg's Amino Liquid or Coconut Aminos
  • Miso
  • Hot Sauce
  • Cornichons
  • Pickles
  • Nut butters: almond, tahini (sesame), etc.
  • Certain oils: toasted sesame oil, flax oil
  • Olives and olive tapenade
  • Tofu, Tempeh (left un-opened it will last for 10 days to two weeks, check expiration date.)

Freezer:

  • Brown Rice
  • Miscellaneous veggies: peas, mixed veggies, chard, edamame etc
  • Berries: blueberries, raspberries, etc.
  • Healthy prepared foods such as Kashi Pizza, Amy's foods
  • Seafood: wild shrimp, scallops
  • Chicken breast, turkey meat

GMO FOOD ALERT: Make sure to buy only organic corn and soy products (incl. Edamame). Non-organic soy and corn are GMO foods.

Spice Cabinet:

  • A variety of dried herbs: oregano, marjoram, dill, basil, rosemary, thyme, sage, bay leaf.
  • A variety of spices: turmeric, coriander, cumin, cardamon, cayenne, curry, pepper, safran, allspice, cinnamon, red pepper flakes, paprika, fennel seed, mustard seed, cloves, vanilla,nutmeg.
  • Healthy bouillon (like veggi bouillon cubes from Rapunzel)

Cold & Flu Drink

Cold & Flu Drink

cold drink1

If you got sick despite all the precautions you took, here is a great drink that will boost your immune response and relieve your congestion. Now if you, like everyone, after the ingredient list go " oh, gross!" bear with me! Everybody I have come across has that same reaction. Then I make the drink for them, convince them to try a sip and they go "wow, that's not bad, wow, that's kind of good, I like it"....

So give it a try, you can always ditch if you really don't like it, all you have to lose is an orange and your cold...

Ingredients:

  • 1 orange
  • 1 teaspoon of honey
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • 1 piece of ginger (about the size of 1 clove of garlic)
  • 1 pinch of cayenne pepper
  • hot water
Finished Drink
Finished Drink

Preparation:

  • Squeeze orange, pour juice and pulp into glass or cup
  • Squeeze garlic, add to cup
  • Peel and grate ginger on fine grater (lemon zester), add to cup
  • Add one pinch of cayenne pepper
  • Fill remainder of the cup with very hot water
  • Add 1 teaspoon of honey
  • Stir well

Enjoy!

Make sure to swallow all the bits and pieces. Stirring as you drink will make that easier.

Feel better soon!

Try Something New for Breakfast: Balinese Coconut Rice

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Balinese Coconut Rice

This is a delicious breakfast dish I learned how to make when I visited Bali many years ago. It is easy to make and liked by all! I changed the ingredients just a bit to make it really healthy. Instead of using coconut milk only, I use coconut water and just a bit of coconut milk. If you want more creaminess without the fat, use a bit of vanilla soymilk. Because it takes a bit of time to make it, (about 45 minutes) I recommend you plan to  make it on a leisurely weekend morning.

Ingredients:

  • 1 Cup Black forbidden rice (in bulk at whole foods)
  • 1/3 can light coconut milk (trader joe's)
  • 1 cup coconut water trader joe's)
  • Unsweetened vanilla soymilk (optional)
  • Walnuts - handful
  • 1 large banana - sliced
  • Dried,shredded coconut - handful
  • 1 cup Water

Preparation:

  1. Put rice in medium size pan
  2. Add coconut water and water
  3. Put on full heat, almost bringing it to a boil ~ lower heat, just like you would if you made regular brown rice
  4. Add coconut milk
  5. Add more water as needed or vanilla soy milk (soy milk makes it creamier)
  6. After about 30 minutes add walnuts, banana and coconut.
  7. Continue to cook until rice is soft, about 10-15 more minutes

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I don't add any sweetener to the dish, I don't like foods that are overly sweet, and the bananas give the dish a natural sweetness. If you need to, you can add a tad of maple syrup at the end.

The dish can be served warm or cold.

Enjoy!