Top 10 Must-Haves for a Healthy Kitchen

Laura gives you her top 10 items that can help you have a healthy kitchen. This list is in no particular order and consists of foods in all different categories… tune in now!

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Transcript

You’re listening to the love and lettuce podcast episode number 28. Today I am giving you the top 10 must haves for a Healthy Kitchen. Stay tuned!

Hey, this is Laura Lima, holistic nutritionist and founder of New mama nation, and host of the Love and Lettuce podcast. I am here to help mamas know what to eat to give them energy and help them feel fantastic. So they can better enjoy life with their littles. And remember, this podcast is for educational and informational purposes only and does not replace medical advice from your healthcare provider. And it’s not intended to diagnose or treat any medical condition. As always, please consult your health care provider to find out what is right for you. With that said,let’s get to the show

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I want to give you the top 10 Must Haves

So these are going to be various ingredients or individual foods that for me, if I don’t have these in my fridge or my pantry, I’m like, Oh, I know, inevitably, I’ll be like, well, I can’t make that I can’t have that snack. I can’t give this to my kids. Because I don’t have one of these 10 items. So some of them are related to one another. But you’ll see that some of them are totally random and different. And that’s the way I like it. Because not everything is going to be the same obviously, I like variety in my house. And I want to give you a little bit of each.

So some snacky ideas, some ingredient ideas, individual foods, whatever, you’ll see what I mean. Now, I will say that I’m not including here, any meat or eggs, or fish, because for me those go without saying.

Eggs, Meat & Fish

So for me eggs, they have to be my top 10. They’re my top one basically. So number one, eggs always have to be in the fridge at all times. And meat and fish, you got to have them ready in your freezer, you’ve got to have something ready for your protein / fat for the week for sure. But these guys are going to be above and beyond those obvious basics. So here we go. Now by the way, this list is in no particular order. I just thought of things and I was like yes that Yes. Oh for sure that and I wrote it down. So here we go.

Olive Oil

We are starting with olive oil. I always have to have olive oil on hand. I do like to cook it cook with it, I should say but only to medium heat because olive oil is a type of fat that can break down in heat. Meaning it becomes rancid, it becomes a damaged fat. And olive oil is so good for us. It’s so heart healthy. And just like so many other fats, hugely important for blood sugar, hormones skin, we’re talking basically everything because we need fats for everything.

So all oil is definitely one I like to have on hand but only cook it to medium heat. So if I’m going to put something in the oven that’s above like 325, sometimes 350 I use as my cutoff point, I’ll use avocado oil instead. Because it can go to a higher heat without breaking down or I’ll use more of a stable fat like a solid saturated fat like butter for example. Lard, coconut oil, something like that. But olive oil I do have on hand at all times. Mostly for pouring on my food after it’s been cooked.

So if I cook my food like if I’m saying something and I saw take it in butter and our or avocado oil for example. Yes, I will absolutely pour olive oil on top afterward to add even more good fat. Of course flavor texture, oiliness like I love saucy. My husband and I we love sauces. My daughters do too. Now I love it. And so olive oil is one of those things that we like to put on the table. Whoever wants to add some to their dish done. If you’ve got some there, there’s LD in the background. So olive oil, love that.

I also need to have olive oil on hand to make salad dressing with. It’s always my salad dressing. Oil is just the one that I always use as my base. I love it. Super easy to use. Delicious. Yum. So olive oil number one, again, not in any particular order of my top 10 items to have for a healthy kitchen.

Coconut Oil

My second one is coconut oil. I already mentioned this one because it is that important in my kitchen. So coconut oil, I like to have both the unrefined coconut oil, which tastes like coconut, smells like coconut, great to have in smoothies. And that’s why I love to have it on hand. First of all, because coconut oil in a smoothie, delicious. It adds that good fat that every single meal needs including smoothies, it makes them lasts so much longer and satisfaction fullness. So much better and flavor and texture as well. So I like to have the full flavor, real unrefined coconut oil.

But I also like to have the refined coconut oil, it should say on the label something about being refined or being unflavored. Or good to cook with something like that. Because if you’re going to use coconut oil to sauté food, like if you’re starting chicken, for example, in coconut oil, depending on what dish you’re making, for me, I don’t want that coconut flavor in the chicken. Unless I’m making some sort of a coconut curry delicious dish then yes, absolutely. add that extra flavor. So for me, I don’t love having that coconut flavor in my food, usually depending on what it is. In that case, I use my refined unflavored coconut oil, and it’s fantastic. So I always have that in my pantry and both options if possible.

Butter

My next one is also a fat slash oil is butter. I always of course have to have butter in my fridge. And I also have extra in the freezer. Like we’re talking can’t run out of butter. Obviously putting it on toast. Yes, obviously cooking eggs in it. And with it. Yes. But I also add butter to foods, just like with olive oil. If I have chicken or a dish that’s dried out as I overcooked it, or if it’s leftovers, and it’s kind of dry, it’s lost. It’s like juiciness, I add butter and or olive oil. Heck yes, I do.

First of all, and I keep going back to this, I’m adding the good fat that my body absolutely needs for health. And I’m now also adding that good texture That oily, delicious, buttery texture that we just love over in this Lima household. So I always have to have butter on hand.

Sea Salt

My next one on the list is salt and specifically sea salt. Sea salt is different from table salt, in that it’s not just sodium chloride, your typical table salt, but it’s sodium chloride plus. So many other naturally occurring minerals, minerals that our bodies need, in addition to sodium because yes, our bodies and our cells absolutely need sodium, but they need it with the addition of the other minerals that are naturally found in real sea salt.

Sea salt is something that I add to so many different recipes. In fact, pretty much every single recipe, I’m adding sea salt, and I don’t want you to be afraid of it. Because for the majority of us, we actually need this sea salt, we need more than we think. So just follow the recipe if you have one. And if it’s not salty enough, perhaps your body needs more or perhaps the recipe just isn’t salty enough. Add more and don’t be afraid of it again, as long as you’re using the right kind the real sea salt and not table salt. Because table salt sodium fluoride plus, oftentimes it has these chemicals added that make it free flowing. They are called anti-caking agents. We don’t need them. Thank you very much.

Garlic Powder

Next on the list is garlic powder. And yes, the real raw garlic is ideal. So you should have that on hand. Yes, but I’m saying garlic powder because most of my meat and fish recipes. You can hear Ellie in the background here she’s on my lap. Most of my meat and fish recipes have garlic powder in them because it is so much faster than regular garlic. I mean it doesn’t take that long but as a busy mama of three. Hey, recording a podcast episode with my four year old on my lap. We need all the extra time that we can get and time not spent in the kitchen.

So garlic powder is a must for me and it just adds so much flavor to all of the meat and fish dishes, it really does. I don’t add to every single one no but most of the time it’s like sea salt pepper garlic powder is a give in. And then there’s other spices on top of that depending on what I’m making.

Nut Butter

All right, let’s move on to nut butter. For me almond butter all the way. I love almond butter. I dip my apple slices into it, I have it off of the spoon, right out of the jar. Yes, I do. I put it in a bowl and add some coconut oil. With the full flavor, in this case, I stir it up, have it plain off the spoon, or dip my apple slices in it. I love it. I also add my almond butter to smoothies and I add it to my yogurt. It’s obviously on my toast with a lot of butter as well. It is delicious.

So, for me, I love almond butter, but you can definitely do peanut butter. As long as you’re not getting the one that rhymes with, let’s say the word raft, for example. Because those ones have extra sugar added usually, and they are not using a good type of oil, you shouldn’t need to add oil to those oils good for you. Yes, but not vegetable oil, not the ones that they typically use soybean oil, canola oil, simply vegetable oil, none of these is a good one to use. And most of these or one of them, I should say most of the time is added to your typical conventional peanut butter. So just get the one that is just peanuts. That’s it.

You can also use sunflower seed butter, you can use pumpkin seed butter, but any of those nut or seed butters is a must in my kitchen for sure.

Cucumber

Now I’m gonna move on to a different one. It’s random. It’s cucumber. Why? Because cucumber is a delicious, quick snack, not only for me, but for my kids as well. My girls love cucumber, I think it’s probably one of the easiest and fastest vegetables that I can give them and I can add it to virtually any meal. It can be part of breakfast, lunch, or dinner, it can be a snack on its own. My daughter Ellie, my four year old here with me. She loves getting sea salt on her cucumber, as do I. And now you’re adding even more minerals. So don’t be afraid to do that.

And of course you can add cucumber to your salad, or whatever my friends. I’ve always got to have the cucumbers right there in my kitchen.

Berries

The next one is berries, and this goes along the same line. So it could be raspberries, it could be blueberries also my two favorites. Could be blackberries could even be strawberries, I need to have at least a carton of one of them in my fridge at all times. Same idea as a cucumber in that my girls love having berries as a snack on their own as part of a meal. Smashed into yogurt. I’m thinking about raspberry smashed into yogurt into plain, full fat yogurt.

Plus, you can add raspberries to your own yogurt as a mama having a snack or a breakfast. You can have raspberries or any kind of berry on its own as a snack. You can make chocolate covered strawberries, if you’re feeling like you want some sweetness in your life and deliciousness. And you can add them to a smoothie. Of course, I prefer frozen berries in my smoothie. But hey, you do you. So berries, absolutely one of my top 10 must haves for Healthy Kitchen.

Yogurt & Bacon

My next one, I have mentioned it a couple times already. So it makes sense that it would be in my top 10. It is yogurt. And the reason being – quick snack. Really good base for sauces depending on what I’m making, for example, lemon yogurt dill sauce that I would use for my salmon. Ellie says Don’t forget bacon! That is very true, we always have bacon on hand, don’t we? We tried to get the natural one we get the one from Costco, for example, more natural equals better. We don’t have bacon everyday, but I’m not afraid of it.

It is saturated fat. We need saturated fats in our lives, and especially when it is a healthier version. Absolutely. We have bacon with our eggs, maybe a few times a week. We love it. So thank you, Ali for that addition, that makes it 11. But I wouldn’t add that as like a stable must have. But I guess in my house with my kids, I would say yeah, it is at this point of life it is.

So back to yogurt, I love using it as a base for sauces. Just eating it right out of the tub. If you need something fast, that’s going to give you a little bit of satiety and energy and maybe get rid of a craving you might have you can add some berries to you can add maple syrup, oh my gosh, the list goes on. I like adding yogurt to my smoothies as well both for myself and my girls. And it’s just a staple.

Now what you’re looking for what I always look for is the most full fat the highest fat content I can get. And so the one I have right now, for example is 10% fat. Now I right now have the Greek yogurt so it’s a higher protein content. And it’s harder to find a high fat and high protein content, but the higher fat you can find the better. And yes, even though I will have regular yogurt, I do like having Greek yogurt to get the extra protein. Now when I’m putting my whole if I’m making a, like a full meal from yogurt as my base, I will hopefully be using Greek yogurt for the extra protein.

But either way, I’m going to be adding hemp hearts, aka hemp seeds to that yogurt to add extra protein, extra fat fiber, vitamins and minerals, for sure. So adding hemp parts, oftentimes I add a nut like walnuts, for example, I might add pumpkin seeds if I’m feeling crazy. I definitely add fruit, maple syrup, both for sweetness and flavor. Sometimes I have granola on top. And ideally, I have made it I do have a nice granola recipe on my website.

So I will link to that in the show notes. The show notes can be found at https://newmamanation.com/28-2/, just the digits, the number to eight. And you can also go to my website, New Mama Nation. In the search bar, you can type in granola and you will get the recipe straight up from there. So sometimes I add granola to my yogurt. And sometimes I don’t it depends on what I need at the time and what I’m looking for.

And as a side note, just to finish off my yogurt thought. I like adding of course extra fat to it, making it more satisfying, lasting me longer in fullness, so I’m not hungry so soon after. And it really helps to prevent cravings. Adding fat to your meals helps prevent cravings so much I’m telling you right now, so adding fat to your meals. So important. So in this case with my yogurt, I add liquid coconut oil, yes, you can use regular coconut oil, which is like that white kind of hard, spreadable fat. You could melt it first on the stove, you could just put it in and kind of squish it around and you’ll have some chunks of coconut oil. You might not mind that if you’re like oh, just get the liquid coconut oil. Love it.

And the last thing I’d like to add, which I’ve already mentioned today is the almond butter. I just like stir in a big glop. If you will get a big glop, I guess that’s a word I don’t even know if it’s a word. A big glob of almond butter. It just seems to make sense. It just feels right and stirred around and it’s so good. Oh my gosh. Now obviously, I’m gonna go make that because I’m craving it.

Mixed Greens

Okay, last on the list. And again, it’s in no particular order. Have some kind of mixed greens, or lettuce in your fridge. So for you that might be red or green leaf lettuce, it could be romaine lettuce, it could be a box of mixed greens, which I love. That is my personal favorite. Because it’s pre washed and you open the package, you take a handful. Make sure it’s all good, because they do go bad pretty quickly. And you put it in your bowl and you’re done.

My husband, on the other hand, likes more of a crispy, crunchy lettuce. So he loves romaine or green leaf lettuce. So oftentimes, we have both in our fridge. But any kind of lettuce, you’ve got to have it because in his case, he adds romaine lettuce, like one or two lettuce leaves to his sandwich or his wrap that he’s making. And in my case, I make salad from it, of course. And I mean, he loves a good hearty salad.

So instead of using them, he thinks it’s kind of like wilty mixed greens. He uses the romaine, or the red or green leaf lettuce.

So there you have it, folks. That is my list of my top 10 must haves for a Healthy Kitchen. Let me know if you agree with these if you have one to add that I forgot because I’m sure there are. In fact, I know there are so many that could have made this list but like how do you choose right? These are my top 10 of the moment. And I’m sure that I will. It’ll change over time. But really, these are always a staple.

So if anything else is going to get longer is not going to be getting replaced but longer. And if you’re if you have questions about any of these, please do let me know. So if you want to add to this conversation, please go to Instagram and find the post that has this podcast Episode. Episode 28 on it and write a comment there. Ask your question.

Add to this list. I would love to hear from your friends. And I apologize that this episode has had some background noise but you know I am a mama and we all know what that means. So some of this I’ll be cutting out so you won’t even have heard it but this I’m going to keep in.

Have a great day I will talk to you soon, bye. And don’t forget to get your free copy of my new mama energy guide. Just go to http://bit.ly/newmamas for instant access.

Thanks for listening to the Love and Lettuce podcast. To find out how to work with me and for more great info check out new mama nation.com. This is Laura. Until next time, love and lettuce.