Clean out your pantry & stock up on the right stuff

Most of us have all the right intentions to eat healthy food but over time we get busy or lack inspiration and suddenly we realise that the ‘sometimes’ foods become more like the ‘everyday’ foods. If this sounds like you, then here’s some tips for getting the balance right again, but first – get your pantry organised.

With the right advice and motivation, you can free yourself of heavily processed foods that are high in sugar/fat/salt and low in nutrients, and replace them with wholesome wholefood products that are healthy and highly nutritious. Over time, as you begin to eat better your body will crave the healthy stuff, not the other way around.

Open your fridge, your freezer and your pantry (one at a time is fine!) and take a good long look at what’s there. Be honest with yourself. Should you really be eating that?

Here’s a great article from Choice on how much hidden sugar is in your everyday supermarket foods – taking 3 minutes to read this is a wonderful investment of your time, as you’re guaranteed to think twice next time you reach for certain items on your supermarket shelf. This info will genuinely help you to make better choices in the future.

Not sure what you need or don’t have time?

Don’t fret, to get you started we’ve compiled this handy list of staple foods that everyone should have on hand at home:

• Eggs
• Fruit
• Vegetables & salad
• Plain yoghurt
• Hummus
• Cheese
• Lunch meats
• Lean meats
• Rice & pasta
• Canned beans
• Canned tuna/salmon
• Nuts & seeds
• Wholegrain bread/wraps/crackers

Even if you’re not much of a cook, you can still make many a quick healthy meal from these items – think omelettes, beans on toast, tuna salad, or meat and veg. 

With your pantry organised and well stocked with healthy options, you won’t be hungry or tempted to make poor choices. 

Being short on time is not a deal breaker to healthy eating either, there are ways to cut corners.  Such as healthy meals like those from Dietlicious which are made with wholefoods and contain no preservatives or additives.  If you don’t want a full meal plan, simply select from our individual meals and have a stash on standby in the freezer for those tricky days when you have no time or inclination to cook. Frozen food has heaps of benefits such as nutrient retention, convenience and reducing waste, so it’s a great fall-back option.  You can also grab pre-cut and washed salad or vege packs from your supermarket, which save you time and effort.  So really, there’s no excuse.

We challenge you this week to get some healthier options onto your shopping list and to ditch some of those highly processed ones.  Make the processed foods a treat you have once a month, not something you rely on every week. Good luck!