A Healthy Pantry

Mind-Body Yoga of Butler's

"Healthy Eating" 

Blog Posting: Shauna McChesney

A Healthy Pantry

A great place to “Get Started” on the path to a healthier life style, is to have a nice supply of healthy ingredients to cook with. Try to keep a nice balance of fresh fruits and veggies in stock in your home. Start by supporting local agriculture and purchasing produce that is in season from a local farm. This not only helps keep down your cost, but it is also very nutrient efficient!

Here are a few items I always have in my kitchen:

Veggies: Onions, Whole Garlic, Bell Peppers, Tomatoes, Zucchini, Spinach, Carrots

Fruits: (Varies by season) Apples, Strawberries, Grapefruit, and also a supply of dried fruits such as Dried Cranberries, Blueberries, Cherries.

Grains/Beans: Brown Rice, Wild Rice, Rolled Oats, Quinoa, Whole Grain Noodles, Mutli-Grain Tortilla Shells, Tortilla Chips (Blue Corn or Multi-Grain), Bread (grain or while wheat) (also make sure to look for bread without added  high fructose corn syrup)  12 grain and  whole wheat   Lots of bean varieties such as dried beans, canned beans, black beans, garbanzo beans, navy beans, lentils etc.

Nuts: Almonds, Cashews, Walnuts, Nut butters all natural organic

Snacks: Salsa, Hummus, Dried Fruit, Granola bars.  (I personally also enjoy Cascadian Farms organic bars, Kind bars and Paraná bars) 

Seasonings: EVOO, Sea Salt, Black Pepper, Chili Powder, Cumin, Turmeric, Raw Honey, or Fresh Dried Herbs

Broth: Organic Free Range chicken broth and Organic vegetable broth

This is merely an outline of some good places to get started when stocking a healthy pantry - If you have any other  ingredients you would like to add to our list, or other suggestions, please feel free to comment below.

Also remember to take into consideration the needs and likes of your family and feel free to modify accordingly!

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Yummy Pumpkin Seeds

1.) Preheat oven to 325 degrees F

2.) Rinse pumpkin seeds thoroughly under cold water and pick out any pulp and strings.

3) Dip Paper towel in EVOO and coat thin layer on baking sheet

4.) Place  pumpkin seeds in a single layer on baking sheet spreading them out.

5.) Sprinkle with desired seasoning and bake for approximately 25 minutes, or until lightly toasted. Make sure to stir you seeds about 10 minutes into baking!

6.) Let cool, and enjoy!

A few seasoning options:

-Sea salt

-Sea salt & Paprika

-Sea Salt & Garlic Powder

-Cinnamon &  brown sugar

-Lemon Pepper Seasoning, Oregano, Sea Salt

-Italian Seasoning & Sea Salt

-Chili powder & Sea Salt

Great News About Pumpkin Seeds!  1 ounce of roasted Pumpkin seeds equals 1 gram of fiber, contains high amounts of Chlorophyll, Zinc, &  Omega-3 fatty acids!