Any seasoned meal prepper will know that well-stocked kitchen cupboards are essential. Keeping a stock of the basic in your pantry at all times means you only have to hit the shops for produce, proteins, and additional canned goods; plus having them on hand means you can whip up a meal in no time!
Vinegar
Some people collect wine, we’d much prefer to collect vinegars. Balsamic, apple cider, rice, malt, raspberry…the list goes on! Vinegar is a fantastic substitute for salt and gives you that pop of flavour in lemon-balsamic dressing or a marinade for chicken.
Oil
Different oils have different smoke points and flavours, so make sure you’ve got several in your arsenal. Olive oil is a great go-to cooking oil that’s packed with healthy fats and omegas. Then there’s sesame oil which helps enhance the flavour of Asian dishes. Then, of course, a good extra-virgin olive oil goes a long way as a drizzle over a salad or cooked vegetables.
Grains
Eating a variety of grains helps improve your fibre intake, and each whole grain has slightly different nutrients. Some great ones to keep on hand include quinoa, oats, faro, brown rice, and whole wheat couscous.
Spices
Spice up your dishes without the extra calories using things like parsley, chili powder, cinnamon, cumin, paprika, and cayenne. Shake them over chicken before grilling, throw them over some mince as it cooks or pop a few of them into a blend and make a spicy, immune boosting hot water infusion.
Soy Sauce
Low-sodium soy sauce is perfect for stir-fry dishes, marinades, and sauces and saves you adding salt to your food!
Salsa
It’s pretty simple to make your own salsa and there are countless recipes online but it’s always a good idea to keep a jar of salsa in the cupboard for the days when you need to make something last minute. Whether you use it as a dip, a base for a baked egg dish or a sauce for a low carb pizza, it’s amazingly versatile.
Canned Beans
Pack your kitchen with black, cannellini, kidney, and other canned beans that are low in sodium. They’re super easy and a great way to add easy protein to any meal.
Nuts
Almonds, peanuts, walnuts, pecans, pistachios, choose your favourites and chuck them over a salad, garnish a soup, or throw them in a stir-fry. You can grind them up to use as a flour, or turn them into nut butter, milk, cheese…the possibilities are endless (and delicious).
Canned Tuna
We’ve all been there, you run out of fresh proteins in the fridge and wonder what you’re going to do now…canned tuna, that’s what you’re going to do. It’s great in salads, sandwiches, pastas, fishcakes or just straight out of the can.
Canned Tomato Everything
Crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, and even tomato sauce are perfect for last minute cooking sessions so stock up on these lycopene-filled tomato products as they’re so versatile and everything is better with a little tomato.
Alternatively, you could just build your prep online and not have to worry about keeping anything in your kitchen stocked…
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