Spring Cleaning for Your Pantry: Make Room for Healthy Choices

Eating healthy food is easy—at least some of the time. But because “junk foods” so often end up in our pantries, it’s even easier to fall off that “good for you” wagon. While doing your spring cleaning, tackle the pantry to create more room for healthier cereals, snacks, and food staples.

The process is simple—think nutrition. When you clean out the pantry, prepare for a new way of thinking… choosing healthy foods that will feed your body and mind.

Organization

Reducing clutter in the pantry helps us choose better foods for cooking and snacking. Weight loss is easier when healthier foods are more accessible for those “grab and go” moments.

What’s the best way to organize the foods in your pantry? Everyone’s system is different. Find the one that works best for you. A few examples?

Separate items by meal—breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Perhaps you like oatmeal, flaky cereals, sugary cereals, smoothies, or biscuits in the morning. Lunch might include canned tuna and crackers. Pasta is a simple dinner staple.

Maybe your system would be organizing foods by entrees—for example, pasta, rice, canned vegetables, crackers, bread crumbs, canned fish (tuna or salmon), etc.

Color-coding in baskets or see-through jars is a great way to keep track of starches, sugary products, and stuff for special diets like Keto or kosher foods.

Keep chips, pasta, crackers, and cereals in their original packaging.

Throw Aways

It is way past time to throw away all that stuff that’s been in the pantry for years. And how many plastic carry-out containers and butter tubs do you really need? So many plastics are recyclable—dispose of them.

Get rid of edible products that are stale, spoiled, or way past their best-by and expiration dates. (If you haven’t eaten it by now, you never will.) Despite their product description, non-perishables don’t last forever. (Unexpired products may be accepted by local food banks or food distribution centers.)

Old appliances that you never use just take up space. Unless you’re remodeling the kitchen and adding more cupboard space, there’s no room for stuff that sits gathering dust. Donate unused (but still functioning) small appliances to a charity or resale shop.

When cleaning out the pantry, stock up on products you normally eat. Eat older foods first—rotation is the key to quality and freshness.

Nutrition Labels

Stocking a pantry with healthy food starts with reviewing nutrition labels. Choose items that are high in fiber, dietary fats, and protein. Cut back or eliminate stuff with sodium, added sugars, and saturated fats. Read nutrition labels carefully; they can be rather complex.

Healthy Convenience

Healthy meals aren’t always something we can manage, especially when everyone is running here and there. Prepackaged, processed foods don’t always bring the goods when it comes to nutrition. Stocking up on canned goods like salmon, tuna, vegetables, and fruits are healthy choices for a thrown-together meal. Packaged grains—whole oats, brown rice, and quinoa, for example—are good go-to options for a well-balanced meal, and they have a long shelf life.

Healthy Foods from Pantry to Fridge

Cleaning out the refrigerator and freezer from all those “convenience snacks” leaves room for healthier stuff like fresh fruit and veggies. Check out your freezer for items way past their expiration date—chances are they have freezer burn or are buried in ice particles.

Stock your fridge with vegetables like asparagus, broccoli, lettuce, radishes, spinach, and strawberries. Want a bit of crunch?  Carrots and celery are good for that!

Cleaning out the pantry doesn’t have to be an arduous task but it is a form of “rebirth” for your kitchen and eating habits. Nutrition supplements may help with keeping your body healthy and lifestyle on track, and so does making the right choices on your grocery trip.