It is important that there is always food available in the kitchen so that you can rustle up a tasty meal at any moment. This is particularly important when you have kids who seem to have an insatiable appetite! This means that food shopping is hugely important and there are a few staples which you should always have available in the kitchen.
Canned Tomatoes
It is always handy to have a few cans of tomatoes available as they are highly versatile and can be used in all kinds of dishes, such as chilli, pasta dishes and Bolognese.
Pasta
Leading on from this, you should always have pasta in the house as this is something that is quick, easy and filling. It is also easy to spruce up when you have canned tomatoes, vegetables, spices, cheese etc.
Onions
Onions are a staple which can be used in practically all meals. They could be used in a simple salad, fried and used to top a burger or as part of a pasta meal amongst many other uses.
Potatoes
You will struggle to find food that is more versatile than a potato. You can do all kinds of things to a potato whether this is making a tasty baked potato with baked beans, mashed potato, making your own fries or boiling them as using them as part of a dish amongst many other uses.
Beans
Beans are cheap, healthy and can be used in all kinds of different meals. It is a good idea to stock up on a few different types, such as baked beans, kidney beans, black beans etc. You can then keep these in your pantry – you can find practical and stylish pantry cupboards from somewhere like The Cotswold Company which proves a great space for storing non-refrigerated goods and other kitchen supplies.
Eggs
Eggs are a staple that can be used for breakfast, lunch and dinner and there are millions of ways that they can be used. They could be used as a hard-boiled egg, scrambled egg, poached egg, fried egg, for a Spanish omelette or as binding.
Herbs & Spices
Flavour is everything when it comes to cooking and herbs and spices are a fantastic way to jazz up any meal (particularly one which is low in salt). You need to be careful with how much you add (remember that you can always add more but not take any out) but you should quickly work out what works well with different dishes.
These are the staples that should appear in every kitchen. It is always easy to knock together a delicious meal when you have the above in your kitchen and many are the basics found in most dishes so they should always be available in the home.
What a great post. I always say you can’t go wrong with tins of tomatoes as there is just so much you can use them in!
I never used to like them but as I have got older I love tinned tomatoes in everything 🙂
You have actually summed up my cupboards!! Hubby is a food hoarder so we always have all of this stuff in!!
Haha I love that he is a food hoarder, I hoard everything else but not food.
We always have these things in stock and I think when you do you can always whip up a meal, even if there’s nothing else!
Exactly, we all need an easy night from time to time.
I hear you on all these items. Having staples in like this can make a potential shop day…not required, as you can still cook something up with what you have xx
Yes this is it, we all have days where we forget something or can’t make it to the shops x
Potatoes are more often than not something we rarely have in our home mostly because we forget about them until we need.
I always remember my Grandad used to buy them by the sack full, we definitely don’t use as many as that.
Yup, we always have all of these. Also a big sack of rice, rows of tins of sweetcorn, chickpeas and coconut milk in the pantry, and a freezer full of frozen peas.
Oooh a pantry, I haven’t heard that term for a long time 🙂