I thought I’d write about food essentials I always keep in my kitchen. I’m not going to go over seasonings and sauces. Instead, I will list perishable food essentials I always have in my kitchen.
Take this food essentials list below to the grocery store on your next trip:
Vegetables
- onions
- carrots
- fresh garlic and powdered garlic
- fresh ginger
- fresh kale
- potatoes: sweet or russet
- frozen broccoli
- frozen corn
- frozen spinach
Fruit
- frozen mixed berries
- frozen blueberries
- bananas
- pitted medjool dates
Dairy
- butter
- milk
- Sliced, shredded, string, and cottage cheese
Meat & Poultry
- eggs
- chicken thighs
- ground beef or pork
- bacon
Canned Goods
- canned tuna
- canned sardines
- canned corned beef
Pantry Goods
- dried pasta noodles
- rice
- jarred tomato sauce
- crackers
- bread
- extra light olive oil
- nut butter
- dried nuts
Vegetables
From the list above, I always have those items on hand. One, they don’t perish as fast as other veggies. Two, they are pretty versatile in how you cook them.
For example, I like to throw whole carrots into my smoothies. They last super long in my refrigerator and can be used in soups or stews as well. My son-in-law also likes to thinly slice them and stir-fry them, too.
I usually prefer fresh garlic when cooking, but sometimes time will slip by me. Although garlic has a relatively long shelf life, there is a limit. Having the powdered version has been so helpful to keep in my cabinets for when I either don’t have any more fresh garlic or it has spoiled.
I prefer powdered garlic over jarred because it tastes closer to fresh garlic, in my opinion. The jarred garlic versions taste different to me. It could be due to it being soaked in whatever liquid they use.
Onions also have a long shelf life and are versatile. I throw them in everything, from omelets to stews and stir-fries. Even when I make tacos. I love sauteeing them with the ground pork or beef and adding frozen corn to the mix.
Fresh kale is nice to have as a food essential, too. It lasts longer than your average leafy greens. I like to add this as the major base for my smoothies. I also noticed it’s nice in soups too! If I can’t use it all before it spoils, I’ll throw it in the freezer to use later.
Some of you may turn your nose up at frozen vegetables. I get it. But honestly, sometimes we just don’t have the time to go grocery shopping for every item all the time. Well, at least I don’t. If you’re like me, who doesn’t want to always be in the kitchen or grocery store, then this list is for you.
As a nurse, I took Nutrition twice (once over ten years ago and the second time recently). Both Nutrition classes said the same thing, that fresh vegetables can actually hold in more nutrients than fresh because they pick it at its peak ripeness and freeze it right away.
Whereas “fresh” veggies that aren’t frozen are picked right before they ripen. Because of this, it can limit the amount of nutrients you’re getting. Especially when you take into account the time it takes for delivery.
I like having ginger as part of my food essentials, too. Again, it has a relatively long shelf life. I like using a small amount in my smoothies and a large amount for stir-fries. Sometimes, I like steeping it to drink as ginger and lemon tea.
I didn’t list lemon or lime as food essentials because I notice I don’t use them fast enough before they spoil, even if I only have one.
For potatoes, I prefer having sweet potatoes on hand. I usually bake them and throw them in the fridge after. If I need a snack, I’ll pull one out of the fridge and eat it cold.
If you don’t want to bake them, you can also chop them up and cook them for breakfast with eggs or as a side dish for dinner. Either way, they last pretty long.
For the frozen items I listed, like frozen broccoli, corn, and spinach. These vegetables, if fresh, will spoil quickly. I like having the frozen version because, duh, it has a long shelf life.
All three are also very versatile for cooking. As I mentioned earlier, I like adding frozen corn to the ground pork or beef for tacos. I also throw them into fried rice, some soups, and sometimes just as a side. I will microwave it and add butter and salt.
For frozen spinach, if I don’t have fresh kale or spinach on hand, I like to use the frozen spinach in my smoothies. I also like using it in my omelets or some soups as well.
Frozen broccoli is also very versatile. I use it for soups, stir-fries, or as a side with some salt and/or butter.
Having these food essentials in my freezer helps me whip something up last minute when I think I don’t have anything to cook.
I’m thinking of adding frozen peas to the mix since my daughter put me on it. She made a really good gravy for them, and we ate it as a side dish. These would be easy to throw into stir-fries, fried rice, and casseroles, too.
Fruit
I love having fresh fruit on hand at all times. However, there are four people in my household, not including my other daughter and her partner, who visit often. Sometimes, we don’t have enough fresh fruit on hand. I also don’t like buying too much because it will spoil quickly.
Having frozen fruit on deck is super helpful. I prefer using it in my smoothies because it makes them extra cold. If I’m craving fruit and don’t have any fresh fruit available, I’ll eat either frozen or thawed. I’ll also microwave it and use it as a topper on my pancakes or yogurt. I like using frozen blueberries in my pancake batter, too. Frozen fruit lasts so long!
The fresh fruit I always like keeping in my kitchen in large batches is bananas. If they haven’t all been eaten and are about to turn brown, I will peel them and put them in a freezer gallon bag. Once they’re frozen, I’ll put them in my smoothies. The flavor of a frozen banana is so different than fresh for smoothies. To me, I feel like they taste so much better in smoothies when frozen.
I also like adding pitted medjool dates in my smoothies. It gives my smoothies such a delicious, sweet taste. Sometimes, when I’m craving something sweet, I’ll just eat a date. I like transferring my dates from the plastic container they come in into a sealed glass jar. I feel like it retains the freshness longer.
My daughter even made a yummy dessert with them. She sliced them down the middle, added peanut butter, dipped them in melted chocolate, and sprinkled sea salt on top. She froze them for a few hours. They were such a delicious and sweet treat!
Dairy Products
I like having 2% milk in my refrigerator at all times. For some, this may be a given. For us, we used to drink soy or almond milk a lot when the kids were younger.
However, I prefer the taste of milk. It actually lasts longer in the fridge versus soy or almond milk. Both soy and almond milk, once open, last only seven days. Whereas milk has a longer expiration date.
This may sound unusual, but I like adding milk into the pasta jar to get all the remaining bits out. I know some use water. For me, when I add a little milk and butter to my pasta sauce, it gets rid of the bitter taste that can be found in jarred pasta sauce.
Cottage cheese is another food essential. Currently, I’m into eating more protein. Sometimes, I find it difficult to eat my recommended amount of protein in a day. Having cottage cheese or string cheese on hand makes eating extra protein easier for me. Sometimes I’ll use cottage cheese as a dip for sweet peppers, chips, or crackers.
And having sliced or shredded cheese is nice when you want a sandwich or to add as a topping to salads, eggs, or tacos. I don’t really mess with block cheese because I don’t want to deal with shredding or slicing it. I don’t eat that much cheese that I consistently have to buy it, except for cottage cheese.
I’m not even going to get into butter. Just know I use it for everything. I love butter, especially Kerrygold Salted Butter. I use it as a topping and to cook as well.
Meat & Poultry
For meats, I like keeping frozen chicken thighs in my freezer. Chicken thigh to me is less dry and more flavorful. I like using it for a soup base and shredding the meat after to include in my soup. For soups and baking, I prefer chicken thighs with skin and bones.
For days I’m too tired to really chef it up in the kitchen, I’ll marinate chicken thighs, let them sit for a minimum of 30 minutes. Throw it in the oven for about 60 minutes, flipping it over once. I cook skin side down first. This way, when I flip it over, the skin will be nice and crispy.
Having ground beef or pork as another food essential also makes cooking easier, as well. You can use it for tacos, pasta, or stir-fry.
There’s also a Cambodian dish I make where I mix ground pork into eggs and steam it with Thai chili peppers on top. Ground pork or beef with sweet potatoes is another easy stir-fry to make when you’re in a pinch for time.
If bacon weren’t too expensive, I’d keep one in the fridge and one in the freezer. However, I currently house bacon in the freezer and put it in the fridge the night before I want to cook it.
Not only do I use bacon for breakfast, but I also use bacon in white sauce pasta, as a topping for salads or potatoes, and for fried rice or stir-fried noodles. I like having bacon because it lasts long, is easy to cook, and provides so much flavor.
When making pasta, I mainly use it for the oil to cook whatever protein I’m using. Sometimes, I’ll chop up cooked bacon and add it to the top of my pasta. I don’t use it as a main protein for pasta. You definitely can, though!
Eggs, eggs, eggs! I love having eggs in my fridge. I can make an omelet, steam it, fry it, use it for baking, and boil it. Currently, I’m into boiling it and leaving it in the fridge. When I need a protein snack, I’ll deshell it and eat it. It’s so convenient, but it does smell.
I bought one of those seven-egg cookers just to make my life a little easier. I hate to admit this, but I know how to cook some of the most difficult dishes. However, boiling an egg is not easy for me! Having one of those egg cookers has been such a win for me. Plus, the appliance is small enough that it doesn’t take up much space, and cleaning is so easy.
Canned Goods
For canned goods, I like to have tuna, sardines, and corned beef as part of my food essentials. I can stir-fry corned beef with onions, potatoes, and cabbage. If I only have an onion, that’s fine too. I’ll just stir-fry with onions only.
For canned tuna and sardines, I like eating them as snacks or for lunch. I can make a tuna sandwich, tuna salad, or use it to make tuna casserole.
My kids don’t like sardines. However, I get the boneless, skinless sardines in olive oil and mix them with spicy salsa or olives. I eat it with crackers. It’s a quick way to get omega-3 fatty acids. I also used to stir-fry canned sardines in tomato sauce, adding onions, and eat it over rice.
Pantry Goods
Last but not least, pantry goods. These are food essentials that don’t need to be stored in the fridge. Except for bread, I like to freeze it so it lasts. I just toast what I need.
Dried pasta noodles are good for when you’re in a pinch for time and have no clue what to cook. I haven’t done this, but my friend made pasta and butter for her kids once, and my other girlfriend loved it. One, it’s so simple, and two, according to my girlfriend, it was really tasty.
You can also use it to make pasta or casseroles. If you have spaghetti noodles and want to try something different, you can use them to make garlic noodles.
I almost forgot to mention rice. We always have rice. Being an Asian household, this is a non-negotiable. We use rice for everything from a side dish to a main dish and for porridge.
Jarred tomato sauce and nut butter are nice to have as essential foods because they make cooking a lot easier when you don’t know what to cook. Plus, the shelf life is pretty long. If you are absolutely too tired to cook, toast up a piece of frozen bread and add your favorite nut butter. Use your nut butter as a snack with fruit. Add it to yogurt or oatmeal. There’s so much you can do with both.
I use extra light olive oil for everything. I heard that when we cook on high heat, it is recommended to use extra-light olive oil instead of the other types of olive oil. My boyfriend at the time told me. So do your research on this.
Apparently, it has to do with the burning point. Now, instead of having multiple types of olive oil, I just use the cooking type for everything, even dressings.
And I always have some kind of dried nuts in my pantry. I like snacking on nuts. They’re easy and nutritious in moderation. It can also be used as a topper (for yogurt or ice cream) or in desserts.
There you have it! My list of what I consider to be food essentials for my kitchen. If you’d like to learn more, like some recipes, please feel free to leave a comment.
Thanks for reading!
Love, Sutivi.
