Clean out that Pantry

Ah the pantry: the spaghetti sauce stockpile, the canned bean bunker, the foodie fortress. If your pantry is anything like mine, it's overflowing with items you've (hopefully) accumulated from grocery store sales, wholesale clubs, and sometimes even inherited from friends with changing dietary habits (new vegetarian, gluten-free, diabetics for example).

But since your spring-cleaning is in full-swing, you might as well crack open that pantry door, open up a trash bag, and prepare to toss out some of your precious food reserves. Items that have been infested by bugs or worms, and cans that have bulging lids or dents that compromise the interior food product should be immediately thrown out. Check open bags of grain or flour, as these are favorites for little pantry bugs. Take everything off of the floor, and give the place a good sweep.

Then, there are certain items, that you can probably donate to your local food pantry (provided they were never opened) so check that the interior seal is still intact. The April 2010 Fitness article, "Pantry Raid: 11 Healthy Food Swaps" provides you with some ingredients to replace it with, while cutting calories, fat, and cost.I've summarized the article below, but read the full article for details on how these ingredients stack up nutritionally:



Broth
Stock up on: Low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
Toss: High-sodium broth
Choose broths that have 450mg sodium or less to steam veggies, and to boil grains in for extra flavor.

Pasta
Stock up on: Buckwheat noodles
Toss: Refined pasta
Soba noodles are high in fiber and protein which will keep you full for a longer time. It's also full of magnesium, choline, and antioxidants which are good for brain health and keeping your blood pressure low. 

 

 Whole Grains

Stock up on: Hearty whole grains
Toss: White rice
 As a woman of Indian heritage, it is very difficult for me to tell you to throw out white rice, but the truth is the vitamin B, iron, and fiber is mostly removed from white rice during processing. Try slowly reducing the amount of white rice you eat at every meal, and try adding servings of brown rice, bulgur, wheat berries, and farro.





Salsa
Stock up on: Salsa verde
Toss: Ranch- and onion-dip mixes
Keep your cholesterol low, and get a full serving of vegetables in a half-cup. Nice.
 
Bread Crumbs
Stock up on: Panko bread crumbs
Toss: Regular bread crumbs
Panko absorb less oil and fat when cooking, and stay crisper than Italian breadcrumbs, while cutting your calories in half and reducing your sodium intake too!





 Artichoke Hearts
Stock up on: Artichoke hearts
Toss: Green olives
4 olives=2 g fat. artichoke hearts=0 fat, lots of antioxidants.
 
Chocolate
Stock up on: Cocoa powder
Toss: Chocolate chips
Chocoholics rejoice! Keep that chocolatey flavour when baking, but reduce your calories and fat.




Tuna
Stock up on: Chunk light tuna packets
Toss: Canned albacore tuna
Chunk light has 1/3 the mercury content compared to albacore, with the same nutrients and protein.

Beans
Stock up on: Dried beans
Toss: Canned beans
Soak dried beans in water overnight and freeze overnight to cut your sodium-intake, and cost in half. Now that's thrifty.



Flour & Oils
Stock up on: Whole wheat flour
Toss: Half the 5-pound bag of white flour
Sub whole-wheat flour for up to half of white flour in recipes to add fiber, and keep you fuller. 
 
Stock up on: Canola and olive oils
Toss: Vegetable oil
Olive oil gets all the press with it's monounsaturated fats, but canola oil is also heart healthy, a good source of omega 3 fatty acids, and versatile for sauteing and stir-frying. Did I mention it's cheaper than EVOO?