Keeping it Simple

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Five years ago, our pantry was pretty much a mess. High fructose corn syrup... aspartame... sucralose.... lots of stuff with hydrogenated oils... monosodium glutemate in our snacks and soups and in a bunch of things in our fridge. I was overweight, had regular migraines, suffered from a 'bad knee', and needed monthly trips to the chiropractor so I could keep my back relatively pain-free. We regularly ate too much dairy, grains with gluten, numerous things with saturated fats... and all that was not so long ago or far away... 

What a difference a few years and some focused effort makes - now you can't find any of those industrialized ingredients in our pantry or fridge. I was reminded of the power of the pantry last night as I threw together a quick batch of hummus. I didn't have the time or ingredients to do it 'right', so I improvised by mashing a can of chick peas (with the the potato masher... I didn't want to clean up the food processor); added some onion power, granulated garlic, sea salt, paprika, and cayenne pepper, and viola' - quick hummus!

We enjoyed this hummus with other snacks (our Sunday evening family routine is kind of a tapas buffet - what we call snacky supper) and at some point I marveled at how healthy and tasty our choices are now, compared to just a few years ago. The huge blessing? I might get one or two migraines a year, instead of two a month; my bad knee is 'cured', Jennifer's reactive arthritis is consistently in remission, my BMI is around 20 to 21... quite a difference a power pantry can make.

A quick review of our supper snack labels reminded me of how good food is simple food. We now have great things like lentil chips, corn and potato chips, and tomato sauces and salsas, with literally 1-6 ingredients. Simple. Everything else was fresh veggies and fruits, and maybe some seltzer with fruit juice.

If you're new to the idea of making power pantry choices, or maybe you've hit a stale spot, it is a great day to rededicate yourself to healthy choices today. If you've made some improvements to your pantry in the past, then make note of how far you've come, and the benefits you've gotten from those choices. Keep it simple, and press on step by step. Some years in the future, I know you'll be glad you did.

By the Way

Growing and improving a power pantry is a process, not an event. Keeping it simple means including fresh ingredients wherever possible, especially greens and fresh fruits. Jen and I have talked about cook book opportunities, and I think it might even be fun to take a cooking class that highlights great food choices. There's no time or bandwidth for us to do that now, but it would be a lot of fun in years hence when there is less busyness. If you have power pantry goals you'd like to share, feel free to leave a comment or send me a message.