Top 5 Pantry Makeover Tips

Is your kitchen sabotaging your efforts to eat healthy? Here are 5 quick tips on what to stock in your cupboard to help keep you on track.

1. You Had Me at Whole Grain.

We’ve all heard about switching out brown rice for white rice, whole grain bread for white bread, and whole wheat pasta for white pasta, but take it to the next level by experimenting with different whole grains. Think whole grains take hours to cook? Think again. Whole wheat couscous is simple to prepare. All you need to do is bring 1 ¾ cup of water or broth to a boil and stir in 1 cup of couscous. Remove it from the heat, let stand covered for about 5 minutes, and then fluff with a fork. Whole grain goodness in just 5 minutes. Whole wheat couscous can be used in place of rice. Add some wilted fresh spinach, salsa, onion, avocado, and some rinsed, canned black beans for a complete meal. Bust a move out of your whole grain comfort zone by trying bulgur wheat or quinoa. Bulgur wheat is higher in fiber than brown rice while quinoa is a complete protein.

Also, don’t be fooled by whole grain impostors. Just because bread is brown does not make it a whole grain. Often it may have molasses or food coloring added to make it appear like a whole grain. Check the list of ingredients on the package and look for the word “whole” in front of the grain such as “whole wheat” or look for the phrase “100% whole wheat” on the package.

2. No Beans About It.

Adding canned beans to your pantry is a great choice. Beans are high in fiber and protein while low in fat. Besides being a great nutritious choice, they’re also very economical. Substitute ½ cup of beans for your usual serving of meat at meals. An easy way to make a meatless meal is add chic peas to pasta sauce and serve over whole wheat spaghetti, add kidney beans to salads, or mash up soybeans or black beans and make into a high protein dip for raw veggies. You can even add beans to baked good to increase the fiber, such as mashed up black beans to brownies. (Trust me it works - you don't even taste the beans.)

3. Go Nuts.

Say good bye to all the packaged chips and cookies and instead substitute raw, unsalted nuts and seeds for healthy snacks. Nuts are a great source of heart-healthy monounsaturated fat that doesn’t clog your arteries. They’re also high in the antioxidant Vitamin E that combats free radicals to help us fight aging and keep our skin beautiful. Add nuts to dried fruit for a quick trail mix, top cereal with nuts in the morning, or add nuts to salads for a heart-healthy crunch. Besides the usual peanuts, mix it up and include walnuts, almonds, cashews, and pistachios along with sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds. Don’t forget about experimenting with nut butters as well. Many grocery stores offer almond, cashew, and even macadamia nut butter along side peanut butter. Just remember that nuts and nut butters are very calorie dense. About ¼ cup of nuts or seeds is about 160-200 calories while 2 tablespoons of nut butter is about 200 calories.

4. Would You Like Some Cereal with that Sugar?

Many breakfast cereals try to masquerade as healthy morning options, but most are very high in sugar, low in fiber, and lacking in nutrients. Look for whole grain, high fiber cereals. Aim for at least 5 grams of fiber per serving and ideally 5 grams or less of sugar per serving. If the sugar starts creeping up past this number in your favorite brand, use this cereal as a “topping” to your “base” high fiber, low sugar cereal. Oatmeal is always a great choice for breakfast cereal since it’s a whole grain high in soluble fiber – the kind that helps to lower bad cholesterol. However, be cautious of flavored, instant oatmeal in packets. These are often high in sugar. Instead get a large container of old fashioned oats, which can be cooked quickly in the microwave.

5. Latest School of Thought – Eat Fish.

Think fresh fish is the only way to go? Swim against this current of thought and enjoy canned fish. Canned fish is a rich source of anti-inflammatory heart-healthy Omega 3 fatty acids. It’s also high in protein, iron, phosphorus and selenium. To reduce calories and fat, look for tuna packed in water. Also, enjoy canned salmon as an alternative to tuna. Canned tuna and salmon are great in sandwiches and salads.