All Pantry Products

Better Snacking

  • I'm a huge fan of Lesser Evil Paleo Puffs for the sole reason that all the ingredients are much easier to digest than the typical "puff".

    I also like that the "cheese" flavor comes from nutritional yeast, because most other "cheese" flavored snacks have milk cultures, which adds another element of processing.

  • While I dislike the use of the word "veggie" in anything that is not a vegetable, I am more okay with the Good Health brand of Veggie Straws.

    They also include a good dose of vegetable powders that adds *some* nutritional value.

 

  • Don't Go Nuts is also a school-safe option. This company has not yet been rated by the Cornucopia Institute, but for now, it is certified organic and non-GMO.

 

  • These Simple Mill crackers are a great replacement for cheeze-its, but they do contain nuts. They also come in rosemary and sea salt.

  • These Everything Crackers are nut-free, made with Simple Mills' Seed Blend (flax*, sunflower, hemp, chia), Cassava Flour, Tapioca Starch, Organic Sunflower Oil, Organic Onion, Organic Garlic, Sea Salt, Citrus Flour, Rosemary Extract (for freshness).

 

  • Unique Pretzels are one of the few brands that does not have added sugars and uses sprouted grains. You already know that I love me some sprouted ingredients.

 
 

  • We love Late July chips. I mean, chia and quinoa must mean they are good for me, right?

  • Siete's entire line of chips is amazing, but the lime is our family favorite.

    Ingredients: cassava flour, avocado oil, coconut flour, ground chia seeds, sea salt, citric acid, lime oil.

 

  • If you are craving that salty potato chip crunch, ditch the Lay's and get these. Jackson's Honest are cooked in coconut oil.

  • MadeGood's soft baked cookies are my current obsession and I do love them. The sugar content is 6g per pouch which is not bad compared to most "snack food" in a pouch.

  • MadeGood also has these granola minis, which are organic and non-GMO verified in a MadeGood Variety Pack.

    An added bonus is that they include vegetable powders and are one of the few packaged snack brands that have nutritional value.

 

  • MadeGood has a variety of products that I keep stocked as "treats" in the kids' lunchboxes.

    This is a GREAT replacement for the other Krispie Bar out there, which include corn syrup, monotriglycerides, datem, and a number of other suspect ingredients.

  • Woodstock Peanut Butter has no sugar added and this huge jar lasts us quite a while, mainly because we rotate our nut/seed butter.

  • Sunflower Seed butter is a great nut-free alternative for school items. I've made banana sushi rolls with it, sb+j muffins, and used it as a base for eggroll dipping sauces that I need to send to school.

 

  • I love both the smooth and crunchy versions of Barney Butter.

    I use smooth almond butter for much of my paleo baking and the crunchy almond butter for when I'm feeling crunchy. Just kidding. I really enjoy it as a topping for Thai carrot-ginger soup.

 

  • Hungry Buddha's Coconut Jerky is a filling snack that is flavorful. It is chewy like "jerky" and comes in a variety of flavors: jalapeno, teriyaki, and cacao.

  • Gimme Organic Seaweed is one of my kids' favorite snacks. They have started crushing them over their homemade "sushi" bowls and we love doing poke bowls that way now.

 

  • The New Primal Grass-Fed Beef Sticks have been the kids new favorite lately.

    Ingredients: Grass-Fed and Grass-Finished Beef, Honey, Lemon Peel, Sea Salt, Encapsulated Lactic Acid*, Celery Juice (Celery, Sea Salt), Garlic, Onion, White Pepper, Ginger, Black Pepper, in Collagen Casing. *Derived from non-gmo source, not from dairy.

  • Chomps Grass-Fed Beef Sticks are similarly packaged, but seasoned without honey or sweeteners. My kids do like this one a lot and it has come in handy for car rides. They are not as hard to chew as actual jerky - they are much more tender.

    Ingredients: 100% grass-fed beef, water, sea salt, lactic acid, celery juice, black pepper, red pepper, garlic powder, coriander, stuffed in a collagen casing.

 
 
 

Protein Powder

 

  • I keep Nutiva Plant Protein Vanilla and Chocolate flavors in my pantry because I like alternative flavors depending on my mood.

    I like putting a tablespoon or so of this in the kids' smoothies for the additional vitamins.

 
 
 
 

Cooking Oils

 

  • I make my own ghee with Organic Valley Pasture Butter or Kerrygold, but if you need ready-made ghee, Pure Indian Foods is rated 4 (Excellent) on Cornucopia Institute's Dairy scorecard for their GrassFed Ghee.

 

  • I love Kasandrinos olive oil, but I've only been able to purchase it online. I usually stock up with tins when they go on sale, but I also use Lucini, which is available in many stores and is QAI certified.

  • California Olive Ranch is likely the most bang-for-your-buck olive oil that is readily available in most retailers. California Olive Ranch also scored well* in the UC Davis Study, which evaluated the quality of olive oils. *I think it is important to disclose that California Olive Ranch also was one of the financial backers of the study.

 

  • I recently started using Thrive Algae Oil after reading about its high Omega-3 levels (compared to many cooking oils with higher Omega-6 levels). It has a mild taste and a high smoke point for tempering.

  • I use Nutiva Organic Shortening occasionally, when a recipe calls for shortening or when I'm looking to replace butter in a recipe.

 
 
 
 
 

Chai Supplies

 

  • This herbal Davidson's Rooibos loose leaf chai has cardamon and spices mixed in for a great flavor. I combine it with Wagh Bakri when I am brewing the water portion of my chai.

  • This is my favorite chai masala. The ingredients are a blend of Organic Ceylon Cinnamon powder, Organic ground Ginger, Organic ground Cardamom, Organic ground Nutmeg, Organic ground Clove, and Organic ground Black Pepper.

  • These 24oz Ball Mason Jars come with plastic lids (instead of metal, which rusts easily). I really like these - they are dishwasher safe and also great for storing homemade nut milk.

 
 
 

Grains

 

  • When I can find Lotus Foods Organic Basmati Rice, I definitely stock up. Their Forbidden Rice and Red Rice is also delicious and a fun way to change it up and get the kids excited about new dishes!

  • Alter Eco Pearl Quinoa is one of my favorite quinoa brands and I use it as a partial substitute for rice in traditional rice-based recipes (idli, dhokla, handvo, etc.) and it comes out great. Be sure to soak and drain the quinoa to remove the bitter saponin.

 

  • I love all One Degree products, but their Sprouted Whole Wheat Flour has allowed me to bake things like cinnamon rolls, cookies, and muffins without the guilt of eating processed, refined flours. We also use this flour for roti and it comes out thin and soft!

  • One Degree's Sprouted Spelt Flour is also a staple for us. Spelt is lower in gluten, so for those that have gluten sensitivities, you may find that you can digest baked goods made with spelt much easier than whole wheat.

 

  • If you absolutely cannot stand whole (red) wheat flour, this GrainBrain White Wheat flour can be used for making bread and muffins without that "wheat" taste.

  • 365 Everyday Whole Wheat Spaghetti cooks great and is a less processed option compared to enriched flour spaghetti and even most gluten-free options.

  • Bionaturae Pasta in general has a minimally processed rating from the EWG, so any of their organic pasta is a good option. I try to stick to whole grain at home since restaurants rarely offer it. Their gluten-free varieties are also great.

 

  • TruRoots Ancient Grain Pasta comes in a TruRoots Pasta (variety bundle). I've tried the fusilli (spirals) and it came out great!

  • Tolerant Lentil Pasta is pretty easy to find in most grocery stores. I have tried a few lentil based pastas and Tolerant cooks well without turning into mush.

  • One Degree Sprouted Rolled Oats and Quick-Cooking Oats are a staple in my pantry. I love that this brand is one of the least processed brands of sprouted grain products I've been able to find.

 

  • If I can't find One Degree, I would use 365 Organic Old-Fashioned Rolled Oats. The EWG's glyophosate testing results for this brand were "ND" (none detected).

  • I used Quinoa Flakes as a "baby cereal" base when introducing solids to my kids. I would experiment with all sorts of mix-ins (cinnamon, blueberries, peaches, etc.) and even savory mix-ins such as peas, carrots, tempered mustard seeds, cumin, etc.).

 
 
 
 

Sweeteners

 

  • This Lakanto MonkFruit Sweetener is the closest thing to tasting like real sugar I have found. I do want to point out that it has the ingredient "Natural Flavors". If you are looking for a cleaner option, I recommend Julian Bakery's Pure Organic MonkFruit Sweetener. It's one of the few monk fruit powders I have seen with ZERO added ingredients. The main caveat I would warn about is that monk fruit tends to be VERY sweet. Although the packaging says 1:1, I recommend putting only a very small amount to start.

  • I buy this Coombs Family Farms Maple Syrup in bulk when it goes on sale because it stays in the fridge and can last our family nearly a year. They also make a maple sugar that I have used in baking and it is great!

 

  • I keep this Wedderspoon Raw Manuka Honey for eating raw & unheated. Manuka honey has antimicrobial benefits, but those enzymes are destroyed if heated, so I like to mash this raw with berries and create a "jam" or just have the kids take a teaspoon with turmeric if they are getting a sore throat.

  • I like to keep Just Date Syrup on hand for when the kids ask for syrup on a waffle or pancake. They mainly like to see a little "drizzle" of something, so this works without shooting up their sugar levels.

    If you are looking for organic date syrup, check out The Date Lady's Pure Organic Date Syrup (but it is in a jar, not a squeeze bottle).

  • I understand this is just an image of a jar of honey. I suggest you get some local honey from your nearby farmer's market! Use this Local Honey Finder to find local honey near you.

 

  • I like Wholesome! Brown Sugar. I keep regular sugars in stock (typically around the latter half of the year) when I tend to do more conventional baking (schools are a nut-free zone, so I don't send treats with nut flours for teachers).

  • One Wholesome Cane Sugar package lasts me probably the entire year. That is mainly because we are using other sweeteners at home for the most part. That DOES not mean, however, that we are not consuming refined sugars elsewhere (refined sugars are in many packaged foods and restaurant foods we consume).