Ever opened your cupboards and felt overwhelmed? Me too.
There are bottles of half-used sauces, plastic boxes in all shapes and sizes. Stuff I’ll never need again.
Forget that ish. Part of the simple, healthy life is cutting through the clutter. Purging the pantry. Purchasing only what’s needed. Just the basics.
Here’s that list. The 10 Pantry Basics you need to make more than a million recipes.
From time to time, there will be special things worthy buying. I share these ingredients with you in my One Thing Weekly newsletter.
But for now, try this: throw everything in your fridge, cupboards, and pantry away. Everything. All those half-opened, half-used, long-gone pastas and sauces and plastic bottles.
Toss them. Trash them.
Then, marvel over your pantry.
Feel the peace.
And put back just these 10 ingredients.
They’re all you need to make just about every worthwhile sauce, marinade, and dressing. They’re the reliable staples in the recipes I post here on Cheeky Kitchen. And, they’re healthy, affordable, and accessible.
DETOX YOUR PANTRY & WIN
Show off your simple. Win the entire Simple Pantry lineup for your kitchen. Here’s how:
- Take a photo before.
- Purge that pantry. And those fridge shelves.
- Restock with just the 10 basics.
- Take a photo after.
- Post on Instagram (or your own blog), include: @cheekykitchen #pantrydetox
- Tell us about your cleanse in the comments section below! (How’d it go? How’d it feel? What didya detox?)
One lucky winner will be chosen to receive the entire Simple Pantry for their own kitchen. Giveaway ends 9/25, winner will be notified via email or Instagram DM.
THE SIMPLE PANTRY BASICS
1. HONEY
Raw honey. It’s the primary sweetener used in recipes on Cheeky Kitchen. Manuka honey, collected from the bees which pollinate tea tree plants in New Zealand has been touted for it’s incredible antibacterial benefits. It’s expensive, of course, so if you don’t want to front the 25 bucks, buy local raw honey whenever possible.
Vegan eaters will want agave or pure maple syrup. I prefer pure maple syrup because the flavor is so, so happy.
As a second option for all eaters, I reccomend liquid stevia, too. It’s a great way to add a little sweetness to smoothies, coffee, and tea, without any of the blood-sugar spike that happens with most sweeteners.
2. SOY SAUCE
Soy Sauce or Tamari if you’re gluten-free/paleo.
3. BUTTER
Grassfed Butter. As a bulletproof believer, I tend to buy Kerrygold whenever possible. Shelf-stable ghee (a flavorful, clarified butter) is also a great option.
4. CHOPPED GARLIC
Chopped Garlic. I like fresh garlic as much as the next mum, but pre-Chopped Garlic is a time saver, a cost saver, a smelly-finger saver, and a 5’o cock crazy saver. Buy it, pop it in your fridge, consider dinner prep halfway done.
5. COCONUT OIL
Coconut Oil. Find any type you like, I prefer Organic Coconut Oil. LouAna is cheap, or buy it in bulk at Costco. Coconut oil is anti-viral, anti-bacterial, tasty, and ideal for frying or sauteeing meats. It firms up at room temperature, so keep it in the cupboard during the winter. But, store it in the fridge during the summer. That way it won’t go rancid, and you’ll have this yummy oil ready to flavor dishes in every season. In my recipes, if melted coconut oil is called for, you can zap it quickly in the microwave or melt it over the stove (if you’re a no-micro kinda gal).
6. EGGS
Grassfed Eggs. If you’re on a budget, go organic if you can. No matter how you buy them, 18-pack of eggs is must-have for a healthy kitchen. Vegan eaters will want to avoid this one, of course. I’m rarely a fan of egg add-ins to my recipes, but will post egg-free options in most recipes on this site. That way, vegan eaters can have an egg-free kitchen and still enjoy many of the recipes on this site.
7. APPLE CIDER VINEGAR
Apple Cider Vinegar. Braggs Apple Cider Vinegar is my favorite. Buy it in bulk and keep it on hand for marinating, salad dressings, and smoothies. Vinegar is cheap, easy to stock, and offers incredible detoxing/cleansing benefits. Pantry perfection.
8. OLIVE OIL
Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Thankfully, Organic Olive Oil isn’t much more than traditional olive oil. If you can, buy it organic. My recipes use olive oil for drizzling, not frying. The smoke-point is too low to use it in frying & sauteeing, but the flavor is next to none as a drizzle-sauce.
9. SALT
Salt. I highly recommend Maldon Sea Salt. This flaked, gourmet salt is perfect for everything. It lends a beautiful texture to meats, veggies, and chocolate bark. The flavor is balanced and divine, the price is excellent. You’ll always be delighted to open your cupboard and discover this salt.
10. PEPPER
Pepper. Buy a pepper mill and fill it with bulk Black Peppercorns (less waste when you buy it in a bag). I find the peppercorn melange to be odd-tasting at times, so stick to black pepper. But, if you like the colored peppercorns (they are so pretty, aren’t they?) by all means, melange it up.
THE WHOLE SIMPLE PANTRY. ONE SIMPLE CLICK.
I’ve made it easy to purge your pantry. Everything you need is sitting in an Amazon shopping cart right now. The cheapest ingredients already picked, the stuff already rounded up.
CLICK HERE TO ONE-CLICK BUY SHIP SIMPLE PANTRY BASICS VIA AMAZON.
SIMPLE PANTRY SHOPPING LIST
INGREDIENTS:
Manuka Honey
Tamari
Grassfed Butter
Chopped Garlic
Apple Cider Vinegar
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Coconut Oil
Maldon Salt
Black Peppercorns
Organic Eggs
DIRECTIONS:
1. Toss.
2. Print.
3. Shop.
4. Enjoy.