Recently, several readers have asked what my food purchases look like. What do I keep stocked in our pantry? What foods do I buy at the grocery store and farmers market?
My grocery list changes a bit with the season, with our fluid needs and preferences as a family, and with our budget, but the items below are generally what we keep stocked in the house. Unless I’m making a specific recipe that calls for other ingredients beyond what I normally have on hand, these items are what I shop for and pull from when making meals. Having a simple and consistent list of foods helps streamline both grocery shopping and meal prep — saving time and energy. When we run out of something, I simply make a note on a running grocery list I keep on my phone (and computer) so whenever I have time to shop, I have a current list of what we need.
Because I often get questions about the exact products we use, where relevant I included links (including Amazon Affiliate links*) to the specific products we bring into our house.
Pantry:
- Produce: Sweet potatoes/yams (jewel, garnet, and purple), garlic, avocado, bananas, and onions
- Coffee & tea: Regular & decaf coffee, sleepy-time extra tea, matcha tea, and a rotation of herbal teas. Two of our favorite herbal tea blends are Evening in Missoula and Montana Gold made by a local company, Montana Tea and Spice. Josh and I have been tickled to see these teas in several coffee houses around the country recently.
- Nuts & seeds — I keep several kinds of plain nuts in the pantry for snacking and cooking. Our favorites: unsweetened coconut (shredded and large flakes), raw cashews, raw pistachios, almonds (whole, sliced, and slivered), salted peanuts, walnuts, chia seeds, and sesame seeds.
- Nut butters: Almond, cashew, and coconut.
- Fats: Avocado oil, coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil, and grassfed ghee.
- Vinegars & sauces: Balsamic vinegar, rice vinegar, white & red wine vinegar, cultured apple cider vinegar, gluten-free tamari sauce, braggs liquid aminos, and coconut aminos (soy-free soy sauce substitute), and various hot-sauces.
- Grains: White and brown medium grain rice, purple rice (ella loves the taste and purple color), quinoa, and rolled oats.
- Canned: Black beans, garbanzo beans, and coconut milk.
- Crackers/Chips: Almond crackers, and Red Hot Blues (blue corn chips).
- Treats: Taza dark chocolate (our favorite is their Wicked Dark 95%) and dark chocolate covered almonds.
- Flour: Gluten-free 1:1 baking flour (a good substitute for all purpouse flour).
- Sweeteners: Unrefined honey (locally sourced), stevia powder, unbleached table sugar, and brown sugar
- Miscellaneous: Vanilla extract, baking powder, baking soda, and various salts.
Refrigerator:
- Produce: Kale, beets, apples, oranges, limes, lemons, blueberries, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, and salad greens.
- Probiotics: A multi-serving bottle of low-sugar kombucha, plain yogurt, fermented coconut water, kimchi, sauerkraut, tempeh, pickles, and probiotic supplements (mine & Ella’s)
- Protein: Eggs, hummus, various cheeses, plain yogurt, tempeh, hemp and flax seeds.
- Beverages: Unsweetened almond milk, low-sugar kombucha, sparkling water, and fermented coconut water.
- Condiments: Peanut butter, grassfed butter, tahini, salad dressing, lemon juice, lime juice, and unsweetened ketchup.
Freezer:
- Fish/meat: Wild Alaskan salmon, halibut, cod, elk burger, and elk steaks.
- Produce: kale, blueberries, bananas, strawberries, broccoli, cauliflower, edamame, and broccoli sprouts
- Sauces: pre-made and portioned sauces for fast meals (chimichurri, cilantro pistachio pesto, Thai peanut sauce, rhubarb compote).
*If you purchase an item using the Amazon Affiliate link, I receive a small commission off the sale. Amazon Affiliate links are currently the only form of “advertising” I do.