Pantry Essentials: Medicinal Herbs and Whole Foods

A well stocked kitchen pantry can be a foundational key to success in maintaining a sustainable, healthy diet.

Keeping up with a haphazard pantry can feel overwhelming, disorganized and frankly, time consuming. Believe it or not, having the right pantry essentials on hand can support literally dozens of recipes that can be put together in a pinch. 

This well stocked pantry will provide at least one portion of a meal to be minimally processed and most of these foods can be found in bulk at your local health food store to stock up with on a budget.

Legumes, Nuts & Seeds, Stored in Mason Jars

Lentils (red + green)	Black beans	Chickpeas	Mung Beans	Kidney beans	Flax seeds
Sunflower seeds	Cashews	Walnuts	Almonds	Hemps seeds	Chia seeds

Dried Herbs, Stored in Small Glass Jars

Turmeric	Cumin	Garlic	Sage	Thyme	Oregano	Curry
Garam masala	Mustard seed	Cinnamon	Nutmeg	Allspice	Basil	Red chili
Rosemary	Kitchari Spice	Dill	Ginger	Clove	Cayenne

Cooking Oils, Vinegars & Condiments

Olive oil	Coconut oil	Sesame seed oil	Braggs liquid aminos	Balsamic vinegar	Apple cider vinegar
Rice wine vinegar	Dijon Mustard	Tahini	Ghee	Hot sauce

Whole Grains

Oatmeal	Steel cut oats	Brown Rice	Basmati Rice	Quinoa	Barley
Millet	Amaranth	Buckwheat	Pastas	Crackers	Breads

Perishable (Refrigerated) Basics

Eggs	Hummus	Spinach	Kale	Carrots	Broccoli
Sprouts	Lemons	Apples	Blueberries	Avocado	Banana
Fermented foods (Kraut/Kimchi)	Romaine lettuce	Tempeh / tofu	Dairy or nut milks	Maple syrup	Meats

Pantry staples and basics should change as the season changes, and as you start to curate recipes and go-to meals, you’ll find that you keep in stock certain things more than others. The foundational take-away from this pantry essentials list is that keeping simple, whole foods on hand will always allow you to throw together something that is nutrient dense, minimally processed and (with the right spices) flavorful enough to add to any meal.