I have received a lot of requests asking what kinds of products I keep on hand. Here is a list of products/brands I have chosen based on their ingredients.
If you are wanting to take a second look at your pantry, a great starting point is to start reading labels and pick the brand that has the least amount of ingredients. There is a wide variety among brands with generic brand products generally having a “cleaner label.”
BAKING
All Purpose Flour, unbleached, no malted barley flour (Lehi Roller Mills, Pioneer Flour or Bob’s Red Mill)
Hard white wheat flour
Soft white wheat flour
Rolled Oats, Organic sold at health food stores
Quick Oats, Organic sold at health food stores
Corn Meal
Sugar, cane sugar, not beet sugar (C&H Brand)
Powdered sugar, cane sugar, not beet sugar (C&H Brand)
Brown sugar, cane sugar, not beet sugar (C&H Brand)
Honey
Molasses
Semi-sweet chocolate chips (Enjoy Life brand or Ghiradelli brand)
Dry active yeast, not rapid rise, not instant and not bread maker yeast
Baking soda
Baking powder
Cream of tartar
Arrowroot powder
Cocoa powder (Hershey’s brand)
Pure Vanilla Extract, not imitation(Kirkland Signature brand)
Organic apple cider vinegar
Organic balsamic vinegar
Organic red wine vinegar
Olive oil
Extra Virgin Olive oil
Sesame oil
Shortening, we use sparingly due to trans fats (Crisco brand)
Palm Oil shortening 
SPICES/SEASONINGS
Look for seasonings sold as individual spices and make your own seasoning blends. Most prepackaged seasoning blend have added fillers and flavor enhancers.
Basil
Black pepper, ground and in pepper corns
Cardamom
Canning Salt or Sea Salt
Cayenne Garlic powder, not garlic salt
Chili powder, not taco seasoning and doesn’t have “spices” as an ingredient (McCormick Brand)
Cinnamon
Cloves
Coriander
Cumin
Curry (straight powder, not in the bricks or packages)
Dill
Ginger
Ground mustard
Italian Seasoning Herb Blend (McCormick Brand)
Marjoram
Nutmeg
Paprika
Rosemary
Sage
Tarragon
Thyme
White Pepper
PANTRY ITEMS
Organic peanut butter (Kirkland Signature)
Canned tomatoes, diced, pureed (Muir Glen Organic brand, it does contain Citric Acid or Cento Tomatoes)
Refried beans vegetarian or no-fat (generic brand )
Canned beans, black, pinto, kidney, red, garbanzo
Canned corn
Salsa (Newman’s Own Organic)
Canned tuna, in water and salt, no broth or protein (Kirkland Signature Costco Brand)
Canned chicken, in water and salt, no broth or protein (Wal-Mart Great Value Brand for Member’s Mark Sam’s Club Brand)
Canned pumpkin, not pie mix (Libby’s brand)
Unsweetened natural applesauce, no other ingredients or fillers besides applesauce
Rice, long grain, wild or brown, not Minute Rice
Pasta (Barilla Brand, white or whole grain)
Freeze dried fruits and vegetables (Honeyville Grain or Morning Moo’s Brand)
Newman’s Own Organic Mint O’s, similar to Oreo mint cookies
Rice Crunch Em’s Corn or Rice cereal
Strawberry Fields or Cinnamon Harvest Cereal (Kashi Brand)
REFRIGERATOR
Cream cheese, generic brands generally do not contain whey protein
Sour cream, whole real cream (Daisy or Knudsens brand)
Ketchup (Annie’s Naturals Organic Ketchup)
Tabasco Sauce
Milk, no milk solids, not ultra-pasteurized (Winder Dairy, Mountain Valley or Kroger brand)
Half and Half or Heavy cream, not ultra-pasteurized ( (Winder Dairy brand)
Real Butter, not margarine or substitute (Kirkland Signature brand from Costco)
Eggs
Tillamook Colby Jack Cheese
FROZEN
Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts, no natural broths (Kirkland Signature brand from Costco only has water and salt added. Harmon’s all natural brand)
Organic ground beef (Kroger or Harmon's brand that is butchered in house)
Pork, Harmon’s brand
Corn
Peas
Peas and carrots
Stir-fry vegetables, just vegetables, no sauces or spices added (Birds Eye brand)
Organic berries
Orange Juice (Kirkland Signature brand)
A look in my pantry
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16 comments:
Look at you, what a great list! I love seeing what other people keep hanging around their cupboards :)
You can look into coconut oil to replace some of your trans-fat oils. We use it for almost all baking and for lots of other things and LOVE it.
What is wrong with sugar from beets?
Hi Rita, Those that are hypersensitive to free glutamate use cane sugar over beet sugar due to beets being higher in glutamate. When beet sugar is made, the beets undergo a heavy processing creating the opportunity for free glutamate to be used. For the average consumer, there is nothing wrong with beet sugar.
The chocolate chips don't have soy lethicin in them?
Tell me more about the Kroger Organic beef butchered in house. Is that something that you ask them to do while you shop or is it sitting out for you already? I'm never sure what is "normal" to ask for in the meat department.
Hi Holly,
When looking for a new place to buy meat I usually call ahead and ask the manager over the meat department where their meat comes from, what the process is to get the meat from the butchering site to the store, what ingredients are added, etc.
Kroger and Harmons both receive some of their meat as large pieces that they need to finish cutting (or grinding) before selling.
I prefer to buy meat this way as there is less processing and I'm talking to the same guy that runs the meat through the grinder and I'm able to easily find out their guidelines.
I then, call back a few days later, talk to someone different and make sure I'm getting the same story. :)
At Kroger and Harmon's the meat is already ready for purchase but the butcher can tell you which products were prepped at the store and which ones were shipped ready to sell.
Ever butcher I've talked to is very happy to answer any questions you have and are proud of their processes so feel free to ask away.
I hope that helps. :)
Thank you so much for sharing your pantry. I am learning so much from your blog!
I am so grateful to you for creating this blog!! I discovered about a year ago that MSG and nitrites cause me to have migraines. I embarked on a journey similar to yours. After hearing about other people that cannot have these chemicals I had a big desire to create a blog. Now I feel like I don't need to - I can just refer them to yours! Thank you for sharing all you have learned. You've helped a lot of people, including me, to be healthier.
Thanks Meg, you are too kind. So glad to hear you have found a diet that works for you and that my blog has been helpful. :)
Hello! Just curious if Quinoa is free from free glutamates? I have done some searching but unable to find an answer?
Thanks,patti
PS - Thanks for sharing your pantry AND recipes!
Hi Patti, thank you for stopping by and leaving a comment. Unfortunately there isn’t a complete list of the levels of free glutamate in different food items. We do know that wheat and quinoa both have bound glutamate in them and when they are cooked, some free glutamate is created. For those that are hypersensitive to free glutamate, some react to wheat, guinoa and other grains while others do not. Personally I handle them fine as long as I don’t over indulge. I hope this helps.
After 10 years of trying to figure out what was wrong with me, I think I found my answer! I was diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia in 2007. It is now 2012 and I am still having issues and on meds but I hope removing all traces of MSG from my diet will help me. I have been on this diet for less than two weeks now and I can tell such a difference!!! I found your website on a blog and I want to thank you for having this fabulous website! I am just learning about this very complicated diet and find your information tremendously helpful so thank you!
Thank you for the sweet comment, I really appreciate it. I'm glad to hear you are feeling better. If you have any questions, I'm happy to help. Emily
Hi, Emily: I loved seeing what you keep in your pantry, especially because I have just had the worst-ever reaction to autolyzed yeast extract (MSG) that I've ever had. It caused my intestines to bloat up AND my heart to start racing, pounding and skipping beats. It also felt like something "warm/hot" crossed the blood-brain barrier and then the right side of my head started to hurt terribly and my right eye started to act funny. It was VERY SCAREY!
On another note for your readers, I would also add the caution of Beets used for sugar are now almost ALL Genetically Modified! If you have seen the DVD Genetic Roulette, then you know how DANGEROUS GMOs really are. If not, do yourself and your loved ones a favor and GET IT! I am passing my copy of this DVD around to friends, because GMOs are a horrific and not many people are talking about this.
By the way, Hershey's and the owners of Muir Glen (GENERAL MILLS!) products both contributed large amts. of money to squelch the CA Initiative #37, to mandate GMO labeling. So, for that reason, I no longer purchase their products.
Here is a link to the other big companies that bought out many organic brands a few years ago:
http://thefarmersmarketer.com/who_owns_organic_2.html Thanks for your lovely blog. I wish you much luck and many blessings in sharing with and caring for others!
Joyce S.
Newark, NY
Hi there,
your list includes a whole lot of products that I cannot eat, but I'm also extremely sensitive, one pea sized gelatine capsule can ruin my day, one of the worst things for me is yeast, you write:
"Dry active yeast, not rapid rise, not instant and not bread maker yeast"
What is the difference between dry active yeast (the cubes in the refrigerator in the store?) and bread maker yeast? Thought they were the same?!
Does dry active yeast not have any free glutamic acid? Thought all kinds of yeasts should be avoided!
Looking forward to hearing from you!
THX
Anne
Anne
Hi Anne, we are all so different on how our body responds to free glutamic acid. Trust your own body's reaction and continue to avoid ingredients that give you a reaction. Depending on where one lives breadmakers yeast is another name for instant or rapid rise yeast. It does not need proofing before adding it to a recipe like dry active yeast needs.
I can handle small amounts of yeast with no MSG reaction but others react to the smallest serving of yeast due to the small amount of free glutamic acid it contains. I hope that helps.
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