The Shopping List

The key to menu planning and execution is the well-stocked kitchen.  Here's a basic shopping list, adapted from Mollie Katzen.  I've added some meat products and a few personal necessities.

Healthy Kitchen Basic Inventory (all organic if possible)

Whole grains:
Arborio rice

Rolled oats
Steel-cut oats
Oat bran
Brown rice (long or short grain)
Quinoa
Whole grain or high-quality pastas (brown rice Tinkyada pasta in our house)

polenta (comes prepared in tubes)

assorted tea

Dried and/or Canned Beans:
Dried – lentils (red, brown, and/or French)
Split peas
Black beans
Chick peas
Pinto beans
Kidney beans
White beans
Soy beans

Nuts and Seeds:
Pine Nuts

Peanuts
Walnuts
Pecans
Almonds
Cashews
Pistachios (no dye, please)
Sunflower seeds
Pumpkin seeds
(Nut or seed butters made from any of the above)

Dried fruit of all kinds

Oils:
Extra virgin Olive oil
Coconut oil (I like Nutiva brand)

Vinegars (cider, wine, sherry, rice, raspberry, balsamic)

Lemons and limes

Jars and cans of high-quality tomato products – plus a few esoteric, fancy imported items

Several boxes of Imagine Brand – or Trader Joe’s – vegetable and chicken  broth

coconut milk

popcorn--the regular pop-it-yourself kind

Dried herbs - variety (not too old – buy them frequently!)

Fresh herbs stored in water, like bouquets (or planted in flower pots)

In the larder (Note: Keep onions and potatoes separate! When stored together, they cause mutual rot.)
Onions
Garlic (not the kind in the jar)
Sweet Potatoes
Potatoes

In the refrigerator (organic as often as possible):
Milk
A few really good cheeses--Pecorino Romano is a standard here
Plain whole milk yogurt
Cottage cheese
butter
Hormone-free eggs
Tofu
Fresh, in-season fruit and vegetables (as many as will fit!)
Olives
Pickles, and marinated vegetables (preferably unsweetened)

In the freezer:
Various cuts of chicken and beef

Homemade beef and chicken stock in small containers (recipe soon)

Corn
Peas
Chopped spinach
Artichoke hearts
Unsweetened berries

Unsweetened pineapple and mango (for smoothies)

Homemade Granola (recipe soon)

Comments

[Rebecca]

This all sounds well balanced and reasonable. I am looking forward to reading the book. I think having it all in the pantry/fridge/freezer makes implementation a great deal more achievable. Thanks for sharing the list, Elizabeth.

[Mary Ellen Barrett]

What do you do with some of the grains? Quinoa for example I've never cooked with it. BTW I have Mollie Katzen's Sunrise Cafe Cookbook that I bought upon your recommendation. There was a conversation about it on the board or CCM - I don't remember. I love it and the kids do as well. I have never made anything from that cookbook that they haven't inhaled. It was a great recommendation!

[Elizabeth Foss]

Mary Ellen,
I cook quinoa much like rice (only much, much quicker). Usually, I do it in broth, pilaf style and use it instead of rice. Since we don't eat wheat, quinoa is one of the few "safe" grain alternatives to rice. Steel cut oats are heartier than whole oats. soak them overnight and then cook them as you would whole oats for oatmeal. I'm glad you like Sunlight Cafe. We love it, even picking around the wheat recipes; there's plenty there for us.