A Cleaner Pantry

This, my friends, is pricey (I pay about $12 in-store) but divine. I will soon have my nighttime snack: 2 tablespoons on a Cinnamon Toast Whole-Grain Rice Cake. And to think I found it in more mundane ShopRite, not Whole Foods.

I’ve been workng hard to get my life in a healthy order. I need to resume daily walks and/or biking; did take steps in that direction last week but not this one. 

I’m more organized now, and my food is more balanced. I’m eating plenty of fruits and veggies, and feel good about that. I try to keep these staples on hand:

• Bread Alone Bakery Organic Whole Wheat Catskill Bread, found at Whole Foods or Kings and kept in the freezer (no preservatives).
• Real butter (measure one teaspoon).
• Bacon (two slices, not daily).
• Artisana Raw Walnut Butter with Cashews, so yummy, or Fix & Fogg Everything Butter, the first from ShopRite, the second from Kings or Whole Foods. Measure by the tablespoon.
• Good coffee. (I just joined the Snowy Owl Coffee Roasters Hoot Club Subscription Program, which guarantees excellent beans coming my way from Cape Cod and also supports the Grounds for Health Cervical Cancer Prevention Nonprofit.)
  
• Sky Top Farms organic whole milk. I feel bad about buying the plastic jug, but this leche is superior to even the glass-bottle milk at Whole Foods. Dan doesn’t go to WF, so when he shops, we get the cheapest brand and an even bigger plastic jug. Such is life. IDK where Sky Top’s cows live--couldn’t figure that out on the website.
• Cottage cheese, preferably Friendship Whipped.
• Bananas.
• Fresh veggies to steam or roast. Dan has been writing at a perch in the Clifton Public Library lately and has come upon a farmer’s market there, bringing home a bounty: farm eggs, red cabbage, Brussels sprouts, onions, potatoes, cauliflower, kale, parsnips, parsnips, baby turnips*, carrots (bumpy and irregularly shaped in that locally grown way). I have also started roasting peppers and we like them (but teen Skippy hates them). 
• Baby spinach and lettuce.
• Jarred vegs for backup. Sauerkraut, artichoke hearts, roasted peppers--and canned crushed tomatoes to make a quick thick sauce.
• Berries.
• Fresh salmon, chicken cutlets, chicken sausages, rotisserie chicken, veggie burgers, frozen shrimp, turkey or beef meatballs (MamaMancini’s), pork loin to roast, steak, deli turkey and/or ham.
• Cinnamon Toast Rice Cakes, 3 g added sugar per "cake."
• Sweet potatoes, white potatoes, whole-wheat angel hair pasta, rice.
• Oatmeal. I used to add peanut butter and even dark chocolate to my bowl of morning oats but now I weigh 2 ounces of Purely Elizabeth Apple Cinnamon Pecan Superfood Oatmeal (no added sugar), stir in enough milk, microwave and top with berries, banana slices and/or a tablespoon of healthier nut butter. I plan to do the same with Bob’s Red Mill Scottish Oatmeal--I bought a bag, drawn to the tartan plaid trim on the label. Seeking fashion and style even at the supermarket. Why not?
• Fresh lemons and chopped garlic.
• A jar of everything seasoning to sprinkle on cottage cheese and (oddly) berries.
• Olive oil, walnut oil and cooking spray for pans.

Have I missed any categories you keep? I used to keep fine dark chocolate on hand, but not anymore. I try to avoid cheese except ricotta, measured. It is delicious. Good night to you.

*My Dad always mashed turnips for Thanksgiving and Christmas. We love them, too, but this time I made a mistake. I added parsnips to the mash. They add a bite that overwhelmed the precious purple-skinned--delicate and tender--baby turnips. Opportunity missed.