Peek Inside My Healthier Pantry To Make Improved Processed Food Choices

When we start to eat healthier whole organic plant based foods most of us realize that we are still are going to be buying processed canned and packaged foods as well. That is modern life. So what types and brands of organic products should we purchase from a store? I will include a list below, although basically it's organic non-GMO foods. I really am not interested in the rest of those traditional supermarket foods of my past that mask themselves as something wonderful. On occasion when we must walk though a regular food store we are in amazement of how much useless crap is piled up in those places. Every aisle is one hot mess. A warehouse for chemicalized products that make people sick and diseased. I know... I was one of those medical victims of fake foods lacking any nutrition. As a result a few years ago those worthless fake food stuffs were put out into the trash as soon as I learned what was really going on with the industrialized food industry. 

After filling our kitchen and refrigerator full of fresh organic produce, we then tried over time to purchase canned and packaged food items that pass our label reading test. Choosing organic with as few ingredients as possible was the first step, along with no GMOS, no long list of chemicals, low salt, no msg, no BPA, and no ingredients that cause medical concern for us. There are only a few things I cannot find that are organic as of yet... like a good naan bread. I will not split hairs over that, and hopefully one will appear soon. New organic items are always coming on the market. Of course if you like to bake you can always make a items like naan from scratch. I also try to research as much as possible the companies that create the products. There are many brands that have been bought out by the usual suspects and we try to avoid those ones. I prefer to find the companies with a true organic and sustainable mission if I can.

I already showed you inside my healthier refrigerator, as well as how to organize your super-foods, in this post here. Finally I am making the pantry post that I promised would come next. Actually I had to do this post now since we are moving, and this cute pantry is being sold. I am forced by our situation to get to it, plus I also promised a friend! 

See the boxes stacked up next to the pantry? That is my life now. Although it has been my life for the past four months too... and that is another story. Anyhow we currently rent a home with a kitchen so small there is absolutely no room for pantry food. So I wanted to share with you my nifty storage solution for this tiny house. I did an Ikea hack on my computer hutch! Perhaps this will spark an idea to rethink a storage problem you may have in your own space challenged home. Linens, towels, and sheets could have easily been stored in this piece if I needed help in that area. This Ikea computer hutch has served well as our food pantry for the past 2 1/2 years. A simple and functional solution to re-purpose this furniture. I loved how the 12 x 12 scrap booking paper you find at 'Michael's Crafts' fit perfectly into the front glass windows. I chose an arts and crafts William Morris looking paper, then added a tassel, to give it some extra style. Our next kitchen is much larger and has tons of kitchen cabinets. So onward to a new kitchen adventure!

Enough about the outside of my pantry... I guess you really want to look inside my pantry... right? Oooops there it is! Busting with possibilities! I have listed some of the basic processed food items that you may see on the shelves of my pantry in the graphic below. I am also including a detailed list lower in this post with the company names so you can see which brands I have purchased. This is how the pantry looks when it's full after a trip to the Natural Foods Co-op and the Wegman's Organic section.

Here are a few close ups to see some product...

and the many mason jars for dried beans and wild rices...

We are always open to try new items or change something up. Certainly that does not mean we will buy that product again in the future. You have to try things to find out if you like them. For instance I bought the animal crackers for the grand kids and then found I ate way too much of them. They were not the best choice for our health anyway, so we will not get them again. I also find the rice based pasta to be binding to my system, so I rarely eat those noodles. You have to be aware of what your body is sensitive and allergic to as well when making choices. I have to stay away from soy because of my hypothyroidism. 

Here is how the pantry looked a few days ago. You can see the slide out for the keyboard in this photo. We have not been food shopping since we are busy packing for the move. Those lonely items have been put into open boxes as the pantry/computer hutch has been sold. Hubby stops at the nearby local national chain store and picks up a few needed items from their very spare organic aisles to get us by for now.

The list below are some of the products that we have found to be tasty, satisfying, as well as being a healthier choice in their categories. Needless to say most of the products listed are organic. We have done our best in making the better choices when it comes to boxed and canned foods from our local stores by being a label reader. Hope this peek inside my pantry provides you with some help in your quest to choose new canned and packaged processed food items from your market. Also be sure to check out my refrigerator organization post here, and how to organize your morning smoothie super-foods here. Don't forget my free shopping tips and shopping list on this page here. Plus my Food Substitutions and Foods to Avoid pages. Every little bit helps to keep you on track for a healthier life!

Vitamins: Dr. Fuhrman Food and Supplements, Host Defense Mushroom Supplements

Bottled Water: Mountain Valley glass bottles, Acqua Panna glass bottles

Coconut Water, Cocoa, and Juice: Harvest Bay coconut water, Billberry juice concentrate by Bionaturae, Tropical Traditions Cocoa powder, Rapunzel Cocoa powder

Teas: Traditional Medicinals, Tazo, Mighty Leaf, Tea Forte

Soups and gravy: Amy's Organic Lentil Vegetable Soup, Low Sodium and Pacific Natural Foods Vegetable Broth

Spices: Simply Organic Cumin Seed Ground Certified Organic, Frontier Organic Spices

Sweetener: Big Tree Farms Coconut Palm Sugar, Stevia drops

Salad dressing, sauces, vinegar, oils: Bragg Apple Cider Vinegar Organic Raw, DeNigris Organic Balsamic Glaze, Coconut Secret Coconut Aminos Soy-Free Seasoning Sauce, Gold Label Organic Virgin Coconut Oil , Bionaturae Organic Olive Oil ,Wegmans Organic and Dr. Fuhrman's dressings.

Beans: Dried bulk beans stored in mason jars, and canned Eden Foods brand.

Wild Rice, Sprouted beans, and Quinoa: dried from bulk then stored in mason jars, or Alter Eco brand, and TruRoots brand products.

Cereals: Arrow Head Mills Gluten Free Cereals, Natures Path Cereals, Erewhon Cereals, Bobs Red Mill

Tomato products: Bionaturae Tomato Sauce Products and Eden Foods Organic Crushed Tomatoes, Mediterranean Sun Dried Tomatoes

Crackers: Brown Rice Snaps, Black Sesame with Organic Brown Rice, Dr. Krackers Seedlander Crisp Breads , Mary's Gone Crackers, Le Pain des Fleurs, Mediteranean brand lentil crackers

Pastas: Eden Kamut Quinoa Pasta, Eden Buckwheat Soba Noodles, Eden Kamut/Buckwheat Soba Noodles, Explore Asia Organic Black Bean Spaghetti, Tolerant Bean Pastas, Tinkyada Brown Rice Pastas

Artichokes, Hearts Of Palm, Olives, Mashed potatoes: Edward & Sons Mashed Potatoes, Edward & Sons Vegetables, Mediterranean Olives

Salmon and Sardines: Wild Planet brand
Seaweed: Maine Coast Seaweed, Sea Snax

Flours:  Bobs Red Mill  I keep mine in the freezer.

Snacks: Heaven Mountain Gogi Berries, Garden of Eatin Chip Products, Late July Snacks Sea Salt multigrain tortilla chip , Justins Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups, Alter Eco Chocolate, KIND Nuts & Spices Maple Glazed Pecan & Sea Salt (Choose only Kind bars that state they are between 4-6 grams of sugar on the front), GoRaw Cookies and snack bars, 
Just Great Stuff Organic Powdered Peanut Butter, Bionaturae Fruit Spreads, Justin's Peanut butter Squeeze packs, From the bulk department: unsweetened banana chips, dried hummus, and organic raisins.


Happy shopping and eating! Be happy, be healthy, be peace.