Organic Pantry: Easy Tips For Stocking Your Shelves

Keep Your Pantry Constantly Stocked with Essential Green Goods

Each celebrity chef on Supper Club with Tom Bergeron has the luxury of planning eco-meals well in advance, but sometimes we regular folks have to pull a meal together with little time to spare. Avoid last minute freak out sessions by stocking your pantry with a few essential items so that you can pull together quick and healthy green meals in a flash.

Organic rolled oats: Rolled oats are full of whole grains and keep you satisfied for long periods of time. They are great for breakfast, in cookies, or in homemade granola. Pair with fresh berries and yogurt from the farmers' market and you've got an environmentally responsible parfait.

Organic rice syrup: Rice syrup is one of the least processed sweeteners that you can buy. Use it in all your baked goods as a healthier substitute for the devil of all sweeteners, high fructose corn syrup. High fructose corn syrup is often an ingredient in cheap foods that are mass produced and shipped all over the country.

Quinoa: Quinoa is a complete protein and can substitute for less sustainable proteins like non-organic meats. Compared to other grains, quinoa is higher in calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, iron, copper, manganese, and zinc. It's great in stews, curries, salads, and pilafs. Serve your guests a great eco-curry just by pairing the quinoa with tons of local vegetables and your favorite curry recipe.

Organic canned adzuki beans: Adzuki beans contain some of the highest levels of protein and lowest levels of fat in any variety of beans. They also contain high levels of potassium, fiber, B vitamins, iron, zinc, and manganese. They're great in soups, dips, and casseroles.

Homemade almond butter: Use organic almonds to make your own almond butter or purchase it at the farmers' market. Almond butter is one of the most nutrient dense butters; it lowers cholesterol, and is high in the antioxidant vitamin E. It's a great ingredient in vegan baked goods, like cookies, energy bars, and truffles.

Organic pine nuts: Pine nuts are a staple because they are a necessity in any fresh pesto. Just pick up some fresh basil from your local CSA or at the farmers' market and you're good to go. Enjoy a farm fresh green meal while supporting your local sustainable farmer.

Comments

[ruffmama]

08:47 AM on 06/19/2008

As a family of 5, my husband and I would both have to get 2nd jobs to afford a totally organic pantry. The cost of groceries has gotten so high that pretty soon we are going to be eating nothing but ramen noodles and PB & J sandwiches.

[wolfgangmo]

10:43 PM on 06/22/2008

Actually I teach some classes in how to cook organically without a lot of added expense. What we have found is that a whole foods diet can be just as inexpensive [although these days inexpensive is relative] as a normal meal. Which is not to say it is easy, but every little step is a good one for your health

The added bonus to whole organic foods is that you tend to eat less food less often because those foods actually fill you up and you are not as hungry as often as when you are eating over processed crap.

It can be done.

And I would kill for a pantry like that. Mine is a tenth of that size.

[mamacat]

08:06 AM on 06/17/2008

Looking at the picture accompanying the article, I immediately thought of two things. First, how much better those foods probably taste than most of the food I would purchase in my supermarket, and secondly, how prone to complete destruction those foods would be in even a moderate earthquake.

The Southwest gets a lot of earthquakes, and those bottled fruits would not be much fun to clean up after the we get our next one.
In designing the pantry, one might consider shelves that are resistant to falling over, and also shelves that are designed so that the food does not fall off at the first sign of a minor tremor.

[The Hedonistic Pleasureseeker]

08:47 PM on 06/21/2008

Gee, when I saw that pantry I though wow, look at how RICH PEOPLE LIVE!

Honestly. Who has that kind of space in their homes?

[EinChicago]

07:50 AM on 06/17/2008

There's an interesting story in today's guardian about how organic and sustainable or free trade produce and food is likely to pretty much collapse for the next few years due to the economy. It's obvious and blatently true. Th emarket as a whole will support an expensive "premium" to eat or purchase in accordance with principles when teh market feels it has enough spare cash to do so. But so long as the economy declines, that premium will evaporate pretty quickly.

[querencia]

09:32 PM on 06/16/2008

How you stock an "organic" pantry is by buying whatever you generally keep in your pantry- except buying an "certified organically grown" version of it. You do not need to substitute for your usual foods, unless there is not an organic alternative for what you want to eat and you are not willing to eat anything that is not.

Rice syrup? Oatmeal? Yogurt? .... no wonder people buy conventionally farmed food- I would too if this list was all I could eat and still stay organic.

[Checquoline]

06:20 PM on 06/16/2008

HFCS + artificial caramel and butter flavor = pancake syrup. Pay a little more and get pure maple syrup. At least it is REAL.

[Sumocat]

01:22 PM on 06/16/2008

"Use it in all your baked goods as a healthier substitute for the devil of all sweeteners, high fructose corn syrup." -- Only problem with that statement is it can't be substituted; HFCS is not sold as a consumer product. It's only offered mixed with something else, including regular corn syrup, but not as a standalone product, even though it's the sole sweetener in so many things. You can substitute rice syrup for something that has HFCS in it, but a direct substitution is technically impossible.

[msblynne]

01:37 PM on 06/16/2008

Plus NO liquid sweetener, like honey or syrup, substitutes 1/1 for solid sweeteners like sugar...