Healthy Living: Five staples to pack a healthy kitchen pantry



If you're like most people, you've probably got a lot of white food in your pantry. Bread, pasta, crackers, etc. Although filling, easy to prepare and often tasty, these "white" foods carry little to no nutritional value.

With that in mind, nutritionist and wellness coach Deborah Herlax Enos walks us through the aisles at Costco and shares her five favorite healthy pantry staples.  Plus, she gives us some ideas on how to prepare and include them into meals for you and your family.


    2. Quinoa is Enos' second pantry pick.  She says the grain is packed with protein and high in fiber.  She recommends preparing it in a rice cooker, or or the stove top.  She adds chicken broth, but you can also make it vegetarian and just use water.

    3. Enos' third pantry favorite is beans and pairs well with the quinoa.  Beans are good source of magnesium and help can also help with weight management.

    4. Pantry staple number four... canned meat.  Enos recommends chicken or tuna for a good dose of protein and easy meal option.  She says a third of the can is a typical serving and can be made into lunch or dinner by putting it on top of a salad.  Her advice to spice up canned tuna is to cut an avocado in half, pull out the pit and fill it with tuna.  Add a little salt and pepper and drizzle some light salad dressing or a squeeze of lemon for flavor.

    5.  Enos' fifth pantry pick is protein bars.  She says they're a great source of protein, easy to pack on the go for work and school and typically high in other vitamins and minerals.  Be careful though, Enos says read the labels because some protein bars can contain a lot of sugar.  She says, "Women can have about six packets of sugar a day.  Men can have 9.  That's based purely on size.  4 grams equal about one packet of sugar so you've really got to watch your numbers."