Shopping
Ideally, your pantry will emphasize foods that are whole and unrefined. Here are my general recommendations for grocery items:
- Lots of fresh vegetables — organic when possible.
- Frozen kale, spinach and berries for smoothies. Again, organic when possible, especially when purchasing strawberries and blueberries.
- An array of spices and flavors, including onions for caramelizing or sautéing, fresh garlic, fresh and dried herbs, cinnamon, pumpkin pie blend, chai spice, turmeric, cumin, coriander, cayenne, black pepper, and high quality sea salt.
- High quality fats such as extra virgin olive oil, coconut butter, nut butters, tahini, cold-pressed oils, olives, and whole avocados.
- Nuts and seeds such as raw/unsalted almonds, pistachios, walnuts, hazelnuts, hemp seed, chia seed, ground flaxseed, and pumpkin seeds.
- High quality sources of protein such as organic chicken, pastured eggs, non-GMO soy, wild seafood and grass-fed beef.
- Vinegars such as balsamic, sherry, and apple cider vinegar.
- Simple fermented foods made with minimal ingredients, such as organic sauerkraut or kim chi.
- Herbal tea (naturally caffeine-free) and hot water-with-lemon.
- Lots of filtered water (i.e. home filter or Brita).
Kitchen Equipment
I'm a kitchen minimalist, and believe you can put a lot of beautiful, healthy meals on the table with just a few high-quality tools, pots and pans.
Here's what I recommend for the basics:
- 1 large soup pot or dutch oven (I love the Creuset line — an investment, but so worth it!)
- 1 medium soup pot
- 1 small pot
- 1-2 saute pans of different sizes
- A roasting pan
- Baking trays and silpat sheets (or parchment paper)
- A set of high-quality kitchen knives
- A microplane for zesting citrus and grating fresh ginger
- A high speed blender. I highly recommend the Vitamix line of blenders — definitely worth the investment. You can even buy a budget-friendly, factory reconditioned blender on the Vitamix website.
Once you have the basics on hand, you might be interested in expanding your kitchen equipment to include a juicer or other extras. Here are my recommendations:
Omega 8006 Nutrition Center (slow juicer)*
Omega VRT350 Juicer (vertical, slow juicer)*
Breville Dual-Disc Juice Extractor (this was the first juicer I bought — super fast!)
* gifted to me by Omega