Lifestyle

Tips on Keeping a Well Stocked Kitchen

in the kitchen

I find it so satisfying to be able to have multiple recipes in mind for the week and to be able to cook them with neither Sam or I needing to go out to the shop.

This might not be as much of an accomplishment to some of my American readers. (Expect for maybe those living in New York with pretty much no kitchen space.) Growing up in New Mexico, we had a full-sized fridge/freezer, plus a deep freezer for buying things in bulk. We could basically go at least a month without having to do any shopping at all. So let me paint the picture of what Sam and I have in our kitchen at the moment: one of those teeny-tiny refrigerators that university students have in their dorm rooms and no freezer at all. There. Done. It was an easy picture to paint. 

So you can see how we could easily fall into the trap of having to go to the store nearly every single day. In full disclosure, without meat and dairy in the house, it’s hugely reduced the frequency that we need to go grocery shopping. Once a month or so, we stock up on long-life non-dairy milk (usually Oat milk); we tend to buy 6 cartons or so at a time, and a tub of non-dairy butter spread which lasts us a month. We buy bread twice weekly (sometimes more but that’s because I eat bread like the world is running out of bread) and we get a fortnightly deliver of fresh vegetables from a local farm. 

Other than that, we have almost everything on hand that I need to cook at all times. 

Tips on Keeping a Well-Stocked Kitchen 
Tips on Keeping a Well Stocked Kitchen

1. My biggest tip is that you have a running list somewhere of things you need to replace. Get into the habit of as soon as you use something up to put it on to the list. I can’t tell you the amount of times I’ve finished a certain spice, thought “oh I’ll remember to buy it next time”, didn’t buy it, and then assumed we had it in the house whilst in the middle of cooking. Learn from my mistakes. 

2. Divide your kitchen up by staples. There are certain things that if you always have on hand, you’ll never go hungry

If you have the freezer, I recommend having the following in your freezer

Frozen corn
Frozen spinach
Frozen peas
Frozen edamame
Frozen berries
An extra butter (dairy or non-dairy, whatever you use) 
A loaf of frozen bread
Ice
Any herbs that you like to use but never use up all of before they die: maybe some frozen fresh cilantro, for example
Some sort of quick ready meal (either pre-purchased or from batch cooking – like a lasange). 

Cupboard staples: 

garlic
onions
potatoes
tea 
coffee
olive oil
coconut oil
rapeseed oil 
sesame oil
balsamic vinegar
red wine vinegar
apple cider vinegar 
salt
pepper
tumeric
cumin
cayenne 
paprika
cinnamon
nutmeg
red chili pepper flakes 
oregano 
vegetable stock
tinned diced tomatoes
kidney beans
coconut milk
nut butters 
rices
pastas
grains
oats
lentils
honey
maple syrup

Refrigerator staples: 

soy sauce
mustard (we usually have wholegrain, Dijon and English mustard because Sam loves mustard)
ketchup
Worcestershire sauce 
hot sauce
Sriracha 
jam

Baking staples: 

baking powder
baking soda
flour
yeast
caster sugar
brown sugar
confectioners sugar
vanilla extract 
cocoa powder

3. Clear out things that you don’t actually use. 

If you bought some star anise for one recipe 7 years ago and haven’t used it since, get rid of it. (It’s also probably past its expiry. Herbs and spices do expire! Ground spices last 2-3 years, and whole spices on average 4-5.) 

By getting rid of kitchen clutter that you don’t actually use, you’ll be able to better keep track of if you’re running low on what you do use frequently because it won’t be lost in a sea of jars and tins. 

Do you have any helpful tips for keeping your pantry supplies ticking along nicely? 

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