There are lots of natural, healthy, and delicious brands and items out there today, so while your pantry can consist of a myriad of things, here is a little list of some of the stuff I like to regularly keep on hand (and that you will see popping up often in my recipes!)

*Any time I can buy organic, non GMO, grass fed, unsweetened, local, etc., I do. I also always read ingredients & labels to make sure there are no added fillers/chemicals/additives to things. 

Veggies

• Broccoli
• Asparagus
• Cauliflower
• Kale
• Spinach / Baby Spinach
• Romaine Hearts / Lettuce
• Cucumbers
• Green Beans
• Zucchini/Squash
• Tomatoes
• Peppers
• Onions
• Cabbage
• Brussel Sprouts
• Avocados
• Sweet Potatoes

Meats

• Chicken
• Beef
• Turkey
• Lamb

Flours

• Coconut Flour
• Almond Flour
• Quinoa Flour
• Flax Meal / Ground Flax
• Guten Free Oats / Oat Flour (on occassion)

Oils/Fats

• Coconut Oil
• Almond Butter (Fresh ground, or a brand that only contains almonds with no added sugars or preservatives)
• Avocado Oil
• Kerrygold Butter (Used sparingly – I mainly use coconut oil for cooking)
• Organic Ghee (used more often than butter, but still limit)

Milks

• Coconut Milk (Homemade, and whole fat in a can)
• Almond Milk (Homemade, or Califia Farms: Unsweetened, Toasted Coconut-Almond, or Unsweetened Vanilla)

Nuts/Seeds

• Almonds
• Macadamias
• Pine nuts
• Walnuts
• Chia seeds
• Flaked & shredded coconut
• Pecans
• Hazelnuts

Fruits

• Granny Smith Apples
• Berries (Raspberries, Strawberries, Blueberries)
• Lemons & Limes

Spices / Flavorings

• Fresh vanilla bean (Most vanilla extracts add in sugar or alcohol, so unless you can find a pure brand, I opt to buy fresh vanilla beans and scrape the seeds for flavoring recipes. While vanilla beans are crazy expensive in most stores, I found a local health food store that sells organic whole vanilla beans in bulk (per pound), so I can usually get 4 full beans for less than $2). Alternatively I also use organic, non-alcoholic vanilla extract.
• Bragg Raw Apple Cider Vinegar / Coconut Vinegar
• Bragg Liquid Aminos / Coconut Aminos
• Raw cacao powder

Sweeteners – use as sparingly as possible! (Look, sugar is sugar, and the fact of the matter is the more you use any type of sweetener, the more your body craves it. While I do sometimes use a touch of these in some of my recipes, I tend to cut back from the full amount listed and add the least amount possible.)

• Coconut sugar
• Grade B maple syrup
• Local, raw honey
• Stevia (Be sure to find a brand that does not also add any other sugars. I like Sweet Leaf, which is just Stevia and inulin, a vegetable soluble fiber. I find this to not have a bitter aftertaste, as some other natural stevia brands do.)
• Xylitol (Probably the most controversial item in my cabinet, Xylitol is similar to Stevia in that it is a sweetener derived from plants (or trees, in this case). Xylitol can be used in a 1:1 ratio as a sugar substitute, whereas Stevia is quite potent and only a little bit is needed for most recipes. Xylitol, however, is known to cause some digestive distress for some (gas, bloating, etc.), so it is recommended to use in small amounts until you know how it makes you feel. I only use Xylitol occasionally as a special treat in recipes where sugar amount is integral to the structure/volume of a recipe (like grinding it and using it as powdered sugar), and I still usually cut down the amount. Xylitol is also very toxic to pets, so be sure to keep it away from your furry friends! You also have to make sure you find a brand that is derived from trees and not GMO corn. I like Xyla, which can be found online)