Store Cupboard Essentials

Do you ever just open your food cupboard to find they’re full to the brim, but you’ve got ‘nothing to eat’? Choosing what stable foods to stock can be the difference between a successful working pantry to one that collects dust, leaving you to go to the supermarket more than you need to. Here are our favourite store cupboard essentials to keep you inspired and healthy, whilst being friendly on the pocket too.

It’s always a good idea to keep some cereal in stock. An easy go-to in the morning that is packed full of fibre and will leave you feeling full until lunchtime. Porridge oats, cornflakes and rice puffs are some of the best cupboard staples to keep. Porridge oats are far superior as these not only are useful for a hot bowl of goodness, but they can be used in smoothies and also overnight oats.

Smoothies are also a firm favourite in the morning. Keeping a couple bags of frozen fruit in the freezer is a great way to get going on your 5-a-day and is a refreshing start to the day. And whilst we are on the subject of the freezer, storing a pre-sliced loaf of bread frozen is perfect for some morning toast!

Keeping things simple at lunchtime can be the difference between picking up a quick snack or having something that’s substantial and filling. If your fridge is looking empty from the usual food essentials, then your cupboard is the next big thing. Tinned fish is a wonderful way to get your Omega-3 goodness whilst having a punchy flavour. Tinned tuna would be the first many think of. Whether it’s for a quick tuna and sweetcorn (also from a tin) filling or stirred through for a quick pasta dish. Dried pastas are one of the best wins in your home. Cooked up in ten minutes or so, there’s not much that can rival a pasta dish. Sardines, mackerels or tinned salmons are also perfect on toast and can be kept as part of your store cupboards essentials until you need them.

There are many ways to get the nutrients and tastiness you need out of a few simple staple foods. Canned pulses and legumes are a perfect way to add substance to your dinner. Chickpeas alone can be made into falafels, burgers, added to curries or even blitzed into a hummus! Black beans are also a firm favourite for a Mexican dish or use kidney beans for a staple chilli-non-carne.

Tinned tomatoes and tomato purée are one of the most important store cupboard essentials you will find. They are the base to so many dishes and did you know, just one teaspoon of tomato purée also counts as one of your 5-a-day?

Salads do not always need to be freshly chopped vegetables from the fridge either. Mix it up Mediterranean style with vegetables in brine. Olives, asparagus, artichoke hearts, sundried tomatoes, the list could go on. These products are rich in flavour and can turn any boring salad into something quite exciting. Try adding to couscous or rice too, for a fragrant dish.

This brings us on to condiments and spices. This is where you can really up your game in terms of flavour and excitement. Cooking is all about experimenting, if you haven’t got a specific herb, find another. There are millions of combinations for you to explore.

Some staple spices that we recommend would be cumin, paprika and chilli. These are some of the fundamental building blocks that you will find in many Asian and Southern American cuisines. Herbs such as rosemary, basil and oregano can also turn boring chips, roasties and meats into herby delights in your oven.

Condiments such as vinegar can add the right amount of acidity to a dish too. Apple cider vinegar is one of our favourites as it has a lot of great health benefits, whilst being a mild vinegar that helps balance out many dishes. Mustards can also add a kick and a creaminess to dishes. Try it in a pasta dish, or maybe in some garlic mushrooms.

Other bottled sauces to keep in mind would be items such as tomato ketchup, soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce. These sauces are the building blocks for some really tasty dishes.

There’s no doubt about it, desserts finish off the night leaving us satisfied and feeling complete. Crumbles are a fabulous sweet treat. For starters, those bags of frozen fruit would come in handy, but also tinned fruit works perfectly well too. It’s also super easy too, as the fruit is already prepared and ready to use. Be sure to get fruits in juices rather than syrups if you’re looking for a healthier dessert. Crumble tops are easy to create too, using dried staple foods of flour, sugar and even oats.

If you’re not a fan of fruity things, dried pudding rice is great to have in reserve. But if you’re after something chocolaty, then a healthy chocolate mousse can be created using just 2 ingredients. Silken tofu blended with cocoa powder is a perfect after dinner sweet, that will kick that sweet tooth craving whilst being packed full of protein and iron.