Ingredient Staples for the Pantry (+PDF)
Add to favorites
I have put together a brief list of staples for your pantry that can be quite useful to have on hand. You don’t need to start with or even stock all of them, but hopefully, this will give you some good ideas.
You may need to look in a few places, depending on what your town has to offer. Check out your local grocery store, health food store, co-op, and online. Price compare and look for the best quality that you can afford. A whole food diet plan is as simple as keeping on top of your kitchen stock so that there is always something to eat that is full of nutrition!
Read Labels
Truthfully, if you eat a completely whole food diet, 99% of the foods you eat won’t have labels. But that’s not always feasible. Most importantly, it is best to read labels. You want raw products when possible, not their cooked counterparts. Labeling can be vague or even deceptive, and unless you see the word “raw” or an equivalent such as “unpasteurized,” or “cold-pressed,” chances are it is not raw. And always get organic if you can.
Remember this isn’t a complete list, but it’s a good one to get you started. Your pantry will grow and evolve to what best suits the needs of you and your family.
Printable PDF Shopping List
I sat down and created a downright detailed shopping list for you. Whereas it may not have everything listed (due to your demographics, family needs, etc.), it should help you keep your kitchen well-stocked. Click (NouveauRaw – Shopping List) to download the PDF. It is four pages long but the last page has a note section so you can add any additional items you may need.
Do the best you can. A healthier life is a journey, not a destination.
- Cacao Nibs or Powder – Used for shakes and making ‘raw chocolate candy.’ It is incredibly high in antioxidants and magnesium. Superfood!
- Cacao Butter – A great ingredient to use in raw food desserts.
- Carob Powder – From the carob tree, has a slightly sweet taste and often used as a chocolate substitute.
- Coconut Butter – Different than coconut oil, and is often used in raw desserts as a thickener. You can create milk from it, or eat it straight from the spoon.
- Nut/seed butters – You can also make these yourself and are great to add to recipes as a thickener or flavor enhancer.
- Almond Butter – This is a must-have in our kitchen for whipping up fast almond milk, dip apples in, use in dessert recipes, etc.
- Tahini – This is another necessity for creating a speedy Asian flavored dressing.
- Cashew Butter – You can eat by the spoonful, use in dessert recipes, and so many other possibilities.
- Raw nuts and seeds – Store in mason jars in the fridge or freezer to extend shelf life. Be sure to educate yourself on the soaking requirements for these.
- Hemp Seeds – A great vegetarian protein source with perfect omega 3:6 ratio. They go great in smoothies, cookies, and bar recipes.
- Chia Seeds – Great to use as a natural thickener, and to bump up your nutrients in recipes! Use in smoothies, desserts, crackers, etc.
- Flax Seeds – Great to use as a natural thickener, another one to bump up your nutrients in recipes! Use in smoothies, desserts, crackers, etc.
- Flours – Almond, buckwheat, coconut, oat, and tiger nut flours are some of the most popular.
- Sprouting Seeds – Grow your own sprouts! Use in salads, for juicing, and in wraps.
- Dried fruit – Make sure they are sulfur and preservative-free and organic if possible. Keep stored in mason jars in the fridge to extend shelf life.
- Dried herbs and spices – Keep in airtight containers. It is suggested to replace after about six months to ensure freshness.
- Cold-pressed olive, hemp, flax, and coconut oils – Be sure to purchase cold-pressed and store in the fridge (if recommended).
- Sweeteners – Some great options are honey, dried fruit (dates, raisins, etc.), carob powder, lucuma powder, stevia (not raw).
- Superfoods – Algae, maca, sea vegetables, sun-dried tomatoes, bee pollen. All contain essential amino acids and are rich in enzymes.
- Raw grains – Buckwheat groats, oat groats, quinoa, millet, amaranth, wild rice, etc. Store in mason jars to keep free of bugs.
- Nutritional Yeast – Use in cheese recipes, sprinkle on salads.
- Braggs Aminos, Coconut Aminos, Tamari, Nama Shoyu – Your choice. Used in dressings, spritz on salads, used in many recipes.
- Raw Apple Cider Vinegar – Used in salad dressings, spritz your salads with it, use in cheese recipes, etc.
- Irish moss – A natural thickener.
© AmieSue.com
Tags: Ingredient Shopping Basics
Hi again,
I didn’t know where to post this…
Simple question: how do you label your food in order to keep track of the date the food was made and/or stored?
If I use an all surface marker I guess I won’t be able to delete it afterwords (my marker is waterproof)
And if instead I take a sticker I can write on chances are it could get messy to remove it completely.
I know this is going back to the pre-history ;-)
Always very thankful…
Good morning, happy Saturday Pilar :)
I use regular ole’masking tape and black magic marker. I find that the masking tape pulls right off without leaving behind that sticky stuff. They also make removable labels these days. https://nouveauraw.com/equipment/storage-containers/
Hello Amie-Sue,
firstly, THANKYOUUUU sooo much.. I am very fresh to the world of healthier cooking and have only really been aware of what I am actually putting into my body for around 8 months.. I am 21yro.
But it has been like a tumble weed rolling down a hill of more weeds, collecting all this information and growinggg. Such a crazy journey which I can’t stopppp. But I get so flustered and frustrated, there is so much to learn, know and experiment and I am terrible at cooking haha which makes things a little harder :|
It is a super hard transition to adjust from a way of life as we know it and have grown up believing (don’t get me wrong, I have grown up with all wholesome, healthy meals) to be the only way, to this whole new world.. that not everyone really supports/understands (not to mention my poor mother who I have taken up a whole shelf of her pantry!)
Because this journey is one I have no close mentors to guide me through, it is a rather overwhelming process.. and as I search the internet for ideas and knowledge in one of my melt downs I stumble accross your website.. Seek And You Shall Find hmm and so then I’m blown away by all your recipes and photos because they’re everything I imagined in my head but had no idea how to find.. all from searching raw recipes rather than gluten free vegetable dishes or something random.. and so now I discover this whole new technique of dehydration and soaking and raw life style! Which does sound amazing but right now this whole transition is struggling to find balance with my life style as it is, but I can not waittttt to try pretty much all the recipes.. which has finally brought me to my questions:) which I will refine to two :P
As I am going through a major experimental phase at the moment, I am not ‘restricting’ my self to raw cooking, its more a process of me cutting out processed foods, trying to keep food as wholesome and naturalllll as I can, eating a lot of vegetables, seeds, fruits, nuts, natural sweetners, herbs and spices, and lean meats like fish. My knowledge in the savory area is really lacking in ideas for recipes and I was wondering if you had any other websites that aren’t restricted to raw food, where you cook vegetables/meat.
Second question, bit random, I LOVE the idea of this dehydration process, (need to save my pennies (and convince mum to lend more space:P)) but a random concern I had was; the process can take hours, obviously you couldn’t supervise the process the whole time, is the chance of food drying out and catching on fire a possibility? would an oven be suitable for any of categories/recipes?
Thankyou so much for taking the time to put this website together, not sure if I expressed it enough in my novel, but you’ve really unlocked a concrete door for me and just by browsing through your recipes I know I will be able to take a lot from your experiences. plus I enjoy reading your stories throughout the website too, love your style of writing :)
Regards,
Sarah.
Good morning Sarah… I am going to answer your comment here in BOLD… I hope you don’t find this confusing, I just wanted to make sure that I didn’t forget to address anything in the wonderful message that you shared with me.
_________________________________________________________
Hello Amie-Sue,
firstly, THANKYOUUUU sooo much.. I am very fresh to the world of healthier cooking and have only really been aware of what I am actually putting into my body for around 8 months.. I am 21yro.
Your welcome Sarah, thank you :) It is so wonderful that at a young age that you are taking control of your health that will lead to a lifetime of changes.
But it has been like a tumble weed rolling down a hill of more weeds, collecting all this information and growinggg. Such a crazy journey which I can’t stopppp. But I get so flustered and frustrated, there is so much to learn, know and experiment and I am terrible at cooking haha which makes things a little harder :|
I completely understand how overwhelming it can get. The mere excitement of bettering your health, eating healthier and so forth can create quite a passion and a passion that wants to be fed NOW. :) May I encourage you to slow down and take it one step at a time. It is hard to hold back that raging river that is inside of you, but you can turn that crazy journey into a peaceful and pleasurable one! And most importantly, when you slow it down some, you will learn to listen to your body and learn to feed and care for it in a way that is right for Sarah. When you read through the endless sites of information out there it can send the head spinning, thus leaving you in a place of doing nothing just to calm the frustration. Does that make sense?
It is a super hard transition to adjust from a way of life as we know it and have grown up believing (don’t get me wrong, I have grown up with all wholesome, healthy meals) to be the only way, to this whole new world.. that not everyone really supports/understands (not to mention my poor mother who I have taken up a whole shelf of her pantry!)
You have been blessed with a good foundation in the ways of eating. Don’t view it as a hard transition, view it as a “spring board”. When I turned myself on to raw foods, I came from a life of boxed foods to where the only fiber found in it was in the box it came in itself. haha It is helpful to be in a supporting environment but you don’t need it to be successful in taking care of your own body. The reason I say that is because I hope that you can find enough support and importance in trusting yourself, and not in others, when it comes to taking care of YOU. But do however, draw into the areas that you can that can offer you support…. like here for starters. :)
Because this journey is one I have no close mentors to guide me through, it is a rather overwhelming process.. and as I search the internet for ideas and knowledge in one of my melt downs I stumble accross your website.. Seek And You Shall Find hmm and so then I’m blown away by all your recipes and photos because they’re everything I imagined in my head but had no idea how to find.. all from searching raw recipes rather than gluten free vegetable dishes or something random.. and so now I discover this whole new technique of dehydration and soaking and raw life style! Which does sound amazing but right now this whole transition is struggling to find balance with my life style as it is, but I can not waittttt to try pretty much all the recipes.. which has finally brought me to my questions:) which I will refine to two :P
View yourself as a pioneer Sarah. Your daily actions in how you care for your body and how you feed it will be a witness to those around you, whether you realize it or not. I know it is hard when you are so passionate about something and you want everyone around you to reap the rewards of eating healthy too, but you can’t force others to make those choices for themselves. You can talk to them till you are blue in the face but if they are not ready in their own journey to listen, it is best to be a living example, in time others will be attracted to what they see in you. I am thankful that you found my site too… :)
I am not sure what your current life style is, but do what you can to make it fit into your daily schedule. If you try to force everything upon yourself all at once, you are just setting yourself up for more frustration, stress and possible failure… Through this process, don’t forget to be kind to yourself.
As I am going through a major experimental phase at the moment, I am not ‘restricting’ my self to raw cooking, its more a process of me cutting out processed foods, trying to keep food as wholesome and naturalllll as I can, eating a lot of vegetables, seeds, fruits, nuts, natural sweetners, herbs and spices, and lean meats like fish. My knowledge in the savory area is really lacking in ideas for recipes and I was wondering if you had any other websites that aren’t restricted to raw food, where you cook vegetables/meat.
Sarah, this was music to my ears!! I am thrilled that you are experimenting, thrilled that you are not restricting, thrilled that you are not approaching this in a “black and white” fashion. Again, as you go through this journey of eating healthy…. see how your body responds to foods. There are a lot of emotional issues that come with changing your diet and when a person jumps from one extreme to another, they often don’t last and end up eating worse then they ever did. There is so much to say on this topic but I will control myself here. hehe I don’t eat 100% raw, I also eat whole cooked foods.. clean foods. I tried doing 100% raw but my body didn’t thrive well one it. I have often thought of creating a place where I can share cooked recipes too… maybe here or somewhere else. Not sure yet. For me, raw foods are a GREAT addition to a clean eating diet. It’s not about giving up foods or restricting, it is about crowding out the bad with better choices. I don’t follow any sites really but I know there many.
Second question, bit random, I LOVE the idea of this dehydration process, (need to save my pennies (and convince mum to lend more space:P)) but a random concern I had was; the process can take hours, obviously you couldn’t supervise the process the whole time, is the chance of food drying out and catching on fire a possibility? would an oven be suitable for any of categories/recipes?
For a dehydrator Sarah, check your local Craigslist too. I have found 2 Excalibur dehydrators on there that I have bought for a fraction of the retail price and given to friends and family. You are right in stating that it takes longer to dehydrate and you can’t sit in front of it and monitor it, but your foods will never catch on fire… ever! Unless the machine is faulty and malfunctions, like an appliance can do. They even make dehydrators with timers on them.
Thankyou so much for taking the time to put this website together, not sure if I expressed it enough in my novel, but you’ve really unlocked a concrete door for me and just by browsing through your recipes I know I will be able to take a lot from your experiences. plus I enjoy reading your stories throughout the website too, love your style of writing :)
Thank you Sarah…. I hope you find great ideas, techniques and help through my site. If I can support you or answer any questions through your journey… know that I am here to help. I will always do my best! Many blessings, amie sue
Regards,
Sarah.
Amie-Sue!
I wrote you another novel but when I clicked post comment I hadn’t entered my name or email so I lost the whole thing.
This was probably a good thing though! Most of what I wrote clarified so much for me in my mind (I went into a lot of depth:P) but really wouldv’e been rude of me to put you through all of it! Rather than me rewriting it all i’m going to stick to the most important part.
Again, thankyou. Your words of wisdom put a lot of the puzzle pieces together for me. You have guided me to pause and smile.. to recognise how far I have actually come and to now slow down, relax and listen to my body. You have lifted the heaviest weight from my shoulders. Never through this whole journey had I felt at peace with my progress and current stance until now.
Sorry if this sounds confusing, even though you didn’t get to read it I feel like I just had a huge conversation with you about everything:P
Thankyou for your time and support,
Truely,
Sarah Russell.
HI Sarah… oh I hate it when that happens! I am thankful that you are a more peaceful place. You can always contact me through [email protected] if want. Many blessings! amie sue
Hi Amie Sue, what is the second to last ingredient? The list just says “Raw – natural thickener and emulsifier”. I’m curious! Thanks : )
Hello Biev,
Nice to hear from you. A “Raw – natural thickener and emulsifier” would / could be lecithin (powder – soy based or liquid – sunflower based)
Do you ever use either? Have a great evening, amie sue