We don’t have ANYTHING to eat! There is so much stuff in this pantry I can’t figure out what to cook! Are you shopping for each week’s groceries as your pantry items slowly wither away, hidden in the back? How can you build a healthy pantry that serves you and your family in time and nutrition?

So excited to be teaming up with Kristen Bunich MA RD LDN, a nutrition expert from The Intuitive Dietitian.  She is going to dive into the top 5 nutrition tips for a healthy pantry and then we’ll show you how to get it organized!

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TOP 5 NUTRITION TIPS FOR YOUR PANTRY 

1. ESTABLISH YOUR PANTRY SYSTEM 

I love the look of a well-organized pantry but maybe transferring your spices to beautifully labeled bottles or your dry goods to matching glass containers isn’t sustainable for you. (me either, but a girl can dream.)

Set up zones in your pantry. Decide on your zones and separate the food by categories. This will give you a much better visual of what you have and what you need.

ZONE IDEAS

• Cereals / Breads
• Pastas
• Canned Items
• Baking Items
• Snack Food.
• Oils and Sauces
• Backstock

2. ROTATE FOOD

Once your food is categorized you are one step closer to monitoring what you have available. If your ketchup is all in one spot it is much easier to see that you already have 3 bottles before you hit the grocery store.

Expiration dates on dry goods can often be more of a suggestion than a safety concern. However, a pre-pandemic shelf stable food may be safe, it will not have the same taste quality or nutrient quality it once offered.

3. YOU ARE THE GATEKEEPER TO THE FOODS IN THE PANTRY 

You hold the key to nourishing yourself and your loved ones with the foods you select and stock in your pantry. Create a positive food environment that celebrates the pleasures of eating well and fosters a healthy relationship with food.

Savoring those fun foods and refraining from categorizing food as good and bad is part of building a healthy relationship with food. We also feel better when we have nutrient rich foods readily available for ourselves and our family.

4. ALWAYS HAVE SOME ESSENTIALS THAT CAN MAKE A QUICK BACK-UP MEAL

When do you need a backup meal? You were too busy to go to the grocery store, the meal you planned on tonight doesn’t sound appealing, or you need to answer the age-old question “what is there to eat”.

Keep pantry staple items for a meal you enjoy and can create in a bind. That could range from a soup with your favorite beans, dried pasta or even a PB&J. Know your back up options.

5. QUICK GRAB STATIONS AREN’T JUST FOR KIDS 

I love a zone in my pantry and in my refrigerator for snack ideas. Including a snack between a meal can prevent us from getting to that ravenous, hungry state. I find it so helpful to have things prepped and ready in one area. This can be adjusted to your needs and preferences. I keep an acrylic with all the quick Greek yogurts, snack hummus packs, carrots, bags of grapes, cheese sticks in my refrigerator.

In my pantry, I find that a large basket with mixed nuts, small bags of pretzel, beef sticks, and of course pirates booty are easy grab stations. You don’t need to purchase pre-packaged snacks for this system, just zone foods you may pair as a snack in one area. 

RECOMMENDED PRODUCTS & TIPS TO CREATE A GOOD SYSTEM

Great advice and tips from Kristen!  Now we are going to get into how to organize your healthy pantry.

1. KNOW YOUR HABITS

As Kristen mentioned, the first step to a healthy pantry is to create a system.  When it comes to creating a system, you have to understand how your habits will work.

Decanting (aka taking items out of their packaging) is a common topic we discuss when organizing a pantry.  A perfect example of decanting would be cereal.  Are you willing to pour the box into a container every time you buy it or will you just leave it in the box?  Be honest with yourself in the process and it will help you establish a good system.

2. TAKE ITEMS OUT OF BOXES

Boxes and packages take up unnecessary space in a pantry, especially if you’re a wholesale shopper at Costco or Sam’s. Not to mention the amount of visual clutter that comes into play.

Emptying those items into storage bins right away makes it easier to grab them on the go.  It also lets you know how much of something is left.  It’s hard to know that they were only 2 goldfish in the box instead of 3 that you need and now packing lunches just became harder 😉

Having things visible and within reach will help you figure out what meals and snacks are needed for the week.

3. CHOOSE CONTAINERS THAT ARE APPEALING AND ERGONOMIC

There are a plethora of storage bins out there for the pantry.  It’s important to choose bins that you enjoy looking at because you are more likely to keep it that way.

Clear bins are a common solution for the pantry because they allow you to see what you have.  These clear bins come with a removable divider which we love because the bin itself stays in order (perfect for cereal bars) and the insert allows you to customize it to your items.

Another clear bin option we love are these open front bins.  They make it easy to get what is needed without your hand getting stuck.  They also have the ability to stack allowing you to optimize space.

Another thing to keep in mind when selecting storage bins is to use the same brand or blending textures together.  This will give you a consistent look, feel, and make it easy to maintain.

For example, use the same style of bin for each shelf.  One shelf has all the same clear bin.  The next shelf has the same solid color bin.  The shelf after that has an expandable tiered shelf of the same brand of the bins being used.

Turntables are also another great solution for the pantry, they work great for items that are round as it optimizes space.

4. USE THE DOOR

Space constraints are a common challenge when it comes to getting your pantry organized.  The door is a great option to make use of space not being utilized.

This door organizer has a number of customizations allowing you to tailor it to your needs and it’s the only one I recommend. It’s durable, accessible, and allows you to see everything at the same time.

5. LABEL

If you get anything out of this post, it’s to LABEL.  I can’t stress this enough, especially if there are multiple people in the house.  Labels keep everyone on the same page and ensures things go back to the right places.

Here are some tips when labeling:

• Use the same font to keep a consistent look and feel.
• Keep categories broad (baking, breakfast, snacks, etc.)
• If there’s a specific item you buy all the time like popcorn, label that specific item.

FINAL THOUGHTS

A healthy and nutritious pantry is completely within reach.  With the right mindset and system, you can create a pantry system that’s easy to maintain for everyone in the family.