3 Ways to Give Your Pantry a Refresh

It’s that special time of year where leases are ending, school is starting and you decided to move into a fresh new spot. You have so many new design ideas and have envisioned this space to be so much more functional, organized, clean and wait for it… healthy! Where do you even start? We have outlined some tips that will help you focus on prioritizing your health in your next move:

CLEAN: Start fresh… literally.

If you are moving across town versus across the country, you might have decided to pack up your entire pantry to move with you. If you decided to do this, make sure to check all of the expiration dates, especially some of those condiments that have been in your pantry or fridge for who knows how long! Take a mental, or physical, inventory of all the food items that you never finished or forgot about tucked in the back of the cabinet. Are they actually worth it to purchase again?

While you are looking at these labels, remove any items that have some sneaky unhealthy ingredients. These are foods that are high in sugar, salt, and partially hydrogenated oil (trans fat). These ingredients can be found in a lot of snack foods that you might have added to your cart as an impulse purchase or because of a lack of alternatives at the grocery store. Once you have gone through all of your food, baking ingredients and condiments, it is time to pack it up and move it into your new place.

PLAN: What staple food items do you need (...snacks of course!)

The next step is to think through your day, what are your normal eating habits throughout the day? Are you more on-the-go or do you tend to spend more time at home? When creating your grocery list to fill that new and fresh pantry, make sure to include items that fit your lifestyle, but also allow you to reach your health goals for you and your family. When you have time to plan out your interaction with food, you will be able to visualize healthy and fulfilling meals. 

When you think through your day, how many times do you walk to the kitchen with the thought, “I’m hungry, but don’t want to eat junk food and want to feel full”? That is where Daily Crunch fills the gap. Our sprouted nuts are a perfect staple pantry item with clean ingredients that can be either a regular snack item, baking ingredient, or an on-the-go option with our 1.5oz bags. Finding brands like Daily Crunch is crucial to snacking right. The goal is to find better-for-you snacks and recipes that actually taste good and make you feel good.

This might also be the time to find healthy alternatives to some of your go-to junk food items. There are so many options that you are presented with in the grocery aisle, so do your research and understand what ingredients make your body feel and work the way it is intended. Investing the time to plan out your healthier grocery list and eating behaviors might be time consuming at first, but will ultimately benefit you in the future.

ORGANIZE: Stay on top of your health goals 

When organizing your pantry and fridge, it is important to organize it in the way you normally interact with your food. It is much easier to stay organized if you understand your normal behaviors and habits without trying to completely change your day-to-day habits. For example, if you generally snack frequently, put your favorite healthy snack option towards the front at an easily accessible height level. If you like to make smoothies in the morning, put all of the smoothie ingredients very close together so that you can use them quickly, clean up quickly and don’t give up a healthy habit because it is time consuming. 

When you are organizing your food storage, make sure you can see everything… even down to the smallest spice. If you can’t see it, you might forget it is there and never use that ingredient. Some people have found that storing bulk food items is helpful and aesthetically pleasing. If you decide to do this, make sure to cut out the cooking directions and nutrition label and attach them to the container somehow. You want to make sure you know the expiration date, the ingredients and how to cook/bake with the item you are storing. Overall, organization is key to maintaining your healthy habits, but it doesn’t have to be a Pinterest-esque pantry. As long as you plan and organize in a way that makes sense to you, you will be able to maintain these changes.