What’s in Your Fridge?

A peek in our fridge

When Nic and I met, I had no idea I’d eventually move in and we’d create a home together.  I was living in a little studio and Nic was living alone in the house she inherited from her mom.  A house that needed a lot of love and elbow grease.  Nearly 5 years together and 3 and a half years in the house together, I think we’ve got it down.  We’ve spent a lot of time on home projects and have many, many more to complete but one area I think we’ve perfected is food.  In general  our home cooking is mostly wheat free (Nic is allergic) and consists of whole foods.  I didn’t really start experiementing in the kitchen until I was about 24.  In the last 10 years of cooking I’ve figured out that if I don’t have certain basic ingredients in the house, I won’t cook.  I’ve also figured out that if I go to the store and spend a ton of money on food, I feel extremely guilty if I don’t eat it.

It was a bit of an investment but the first year we lived together we also started investing in spices, wheat-free flours, rices, and dried beans/legumes.  We stock up often and we eat really well.

In general we keep the following in our cupboards/fridge:

Fridge: Carrots, onion, celery, lemon, spinach, kale, almond milk, half and half, eggs, one kind of cheese, jarred walnuts/pecans, brown/white rice flour, nut butters, tahini, chia seeds, hemp seeds and cacao powder/nibs.  We also keep things like hot sauce and ketchup in the fridge, but in general we almost always have that list

Cupboard/Pantry: Oats, beans, lentils, several kinds of rice, quinoa, sugars, canned tomatoes and tomato paste, tomato sauce, extra almond milk, canned pumpkin, raisins, chocolate chips

Spices/flavors: blackstrap molasses, coconut oil, grapeseed oil, tamari soy sauce, maple syrup, agave, balsamic vinegar, rice vinegar, raw apple cider vinegar, honey, cinnamon, ginger, cumin, paprika, cayenne, clove, nutmeg, thyme, rosemary (both dried and fresh), sage, parsley, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, curry, red pepper flakes, cardamom (we go through nearly a jar or more of cinnamon, chili powder, and cumin every two months or so!!)

Freezer: organic chicken breasts, wheat-free homemade cookies, wheat-free bread (either homemade or store bought), extra nuts, frozen bananas, homemade healthy muffins (good for busy mornings or pre-workout), corn tortillas, yeast

That list is by no means complete, but I think that’s what we use most often.  We also always have a big bowl of mostly organic fruit and a zip lock of frozen bananas in the freezer.  I feel like by keeping all of that on hand I can make just about any recipe I come across or modify it so it’s close.   I’m always curious what other people consider “staples” in their kitchen because it has helped me add interesting things to my kitchen that I would never have thought of.  Two things that come to mind are coconut oil and chia seeds.  A year ago I wasn’t really cooking with either, and now I use them all the time.

Inside our cupboard

Some spices

Yes we eat that much fruit! Both by juicing and eating raw