Hello, hello! I have to start off this post by apologizing for going MIA for a bit over the past few weeks. Our current flip house went under major construction (i.e. basically no kitchen whatsoever! (and saw dust/dry wall everywhere.) SO needless to say I wasn’t able to get to blog near as much as I normally like to! But, never fear! I’m here today to share my most favorite kitchen staples that we keep on hand on a regular basis! I’m always one of those crazies that likes to see what types of food people keep in their refrigerator or I love “what I ate today” posts, I know, total weirdo–right? Well, maybe you’re a fellow weirdo obsessed with finding new foods/recipes and things of that nature! And, if that’s true, then we should probably just go ahead and be best friends at this rate. But, before we get too personal and take our relationship to the next level, let me just go ahead and share with you first what we keep and then you can decide if you still want to be friends with me. 😉 We may be taste bud twinkles though, who knows! Let’s get right to it, shall we?
Spring Water
Have I ever told you that Nick thinks I may be part camel? It’s true. I really might be. The amount of water I can consume in a day is pretty crazy. I just feel like I can’t stop some days! But, I usually stick to around 2 of these bottles a day which is 3 L total. That’s my goal at least, most every single day. We ALWAYS have Mountain Valley Spring water. When we run out, it’s like we’re in desperate need to get to the store ASAP to refill our water shortage. Ha! We do drink other brands sometimes, but if we had to choose we’ll most likely always choose Mountain Valley. It’s actually bottled here in Arkansas just about an hour away from us which is also pretty amazing!
LaCroix
When we’re not drinking plain water, we’ll go for lime flavored La Croix. I used to not be a major fan of the flavor because well, there isn’t a ton of it. But, after so long it really does become a really refreshing drink to mix in between regular waters. Sometimes, you just need a little fizz to your drink, ya know? I’ve tried a few other flavors, but Lime is my favorite for sure. It’s subtle, but good!
Probiotic Drinks
Staying on the liquid train here, we also usually have some sort of a probiotic drink on hand. I’ve recently become a major fan of this Kevita flavor. There’s one other lime mojito that we like to have also, but this one has become #1 in my heart. (Besides the Dr. D’s Apple flavor, because that one is just as good as this Kevita!) It tastes almost like a liquid form of a coconut snow cone, which I’m always a major fan of! I can’t force myself to love those Kombucha’s that everyone is major fans of but this brand and this flavor does the trick for me. Have you tried these before?
Fresh berries
This is definitely a Spring/Summer staple constantly. I’m always so sad when berries go out of season because what’s better than a big handful of sweet berries on a hot afternoon? NOTHING. (Well…I mean there probably are better things but…you get where I’m going!) Berries go with anything too, salads, as sides, or even dessert! Blackberries, blueberries, strawberries–Give us all the berries!
Frozen Blueberries
To go with the above fresh fruit as a snack, frozen blueberries are just as good! Tell me you’ve tried freezing your blueberries? If you haven’t, DO IT!! You won’t regret it! Make sure they’re not the wild kind because those are a little too small and tart, but these larger blueberries are the perfect size and snack any time! PLUS–you can find these all year which is a major bonus!
All natural Peanut Butter
I know I’ve confessed my love for fresh ground peanut butter on here before, and I still stand by every statement I’ve ever made about it. I will NEVER, and I repeat, NEVER go back to any other type of peanut butter when it comes to the good ol’ natural kind. Seriously, you grind it fresh at the store and it has simply 1 ingredient–Peanuts. Why do they even add the other ingredients in the first place when this works JUST FINE and is absolutely delicious! Yes, we eat every last drop, so there’s still a few spoonfuls in this tub. Don’t you worry we’ll be refilling this tub soon!
Sliced melon (in the summer season!)
I’m willing to bet 99.9% of the time if you came to our house in the summer, you’d find a melon cut up in the fridge. It can be watermelon, cantaloupe, anything–melon and we usually have it on hand. It’s a pain to cut up but once you get it done, you have a ton of fresh fruit on hand when those sweets cravings kick in.
Unsweetened Almond Milk
We go through a ton of almond milk in our house. I use it for my Shakeology every day so that usually takes about a cup or so of liquid for each shake which takes up quite a bit of these bottles quickly. But, this flavor has been our favorite as of lately! Super simple ingredients and really yummy flavor to it. I used to always think that almond milk or cashew milk would taste so weird and have the strangest flavor when you mixed it with things, but I haven’t had regular milk (as in 2%) in I don’t know how long and I don’t miss it one bit!
Fresh veggies
This year since I’ve partnered with New South Coop having these guys on hand is pretty amazing! We normally keep fresh veggies at home, but I love that with the CSA boxes, you never know what you’re going to get each week! It’s really helped me branch out my taste buds with veggies and try things I never wouldn’t normally picked out myself. Plus, knowing they’re local makes them taste so much better for so many reasons!
Greens
I’m sure people may confuse us for rabbits sometimes with the amounts of greens we keep on hand, but we are constantly fully stocked with something green. We usually have boxed spinach, kale or some form of a leafy green in our refrigerator. I like to mix spinach in with my smoothies and Nick likes to eat handfuls of greens throughout the day. (I can’t quite do that myself, but while he thinks I’m part camel, I’d say he’s part rabbit. ;))
Kite Hill Cream Cheese Dip
This is a recent find, and a new recent obsession. We’ve been trying to cut down our dairy intake and I stumbled upon this stuff at our local Natural Grocers and seriously am HOOKED! It is so full of flavor and has the best simple ingredients. (Simple ingredients sell me every time!) It’s dairy free and made with ALMOND MILK!! So so good to dip your carrots in, or crackers, chips, anything! They also have a plain flavor which I haven’t tried yet but I plan on grabbing some soon to try on bagels.
Jackson’s Honest Coconut Oil Chips
These chips have 3 ingredients: Coconut Oil, Sweet Potatoes, and Sea Salt. That’s it! But, they’re packed with so much flavor! It’s such a good snack to keep around, and you can easily dip it in the above chive dip! So delicious! I also like their plain potato chips too! All equally delicious.
Dark Chocolate
You didn’t think I couldn’t forget some form of chocolate in my kitchen staples, did you? This flavor is delicious and made of super awesome ingredients! I’ve had a few other bars that I’m a fan of and keep them all in rotation. If you’re ever in need of a quick little sweet at night, grab a bite of a dark chocolate bar with a scoop of almond or peanut butter on top. It’s to die for! Something about that combo just tastes like a little bite of heaven.
And that’s a wrap! While we usually keep most of these things on hand, we do keep other things in random rotation. But, this list is full of our most frequent refrigerator fliers. What do you guys like to keep on hand at your house? Anything I’m missing out on and need to add to my list?
Keeping fresh fruits and veggies and other simple ingredient items in your refrigerator or in your pantry is so vital in trying to stay on a healthy track. For me, when I have sweets and treats and over indulging snacks everywhere I’m bound to eat them. All self control goes out the window! So, I really do try to keep as many clean foods as possible in our kitchen as much as I can. We may keep Natural Grocers and Mountain Valley in business and I’m totally okay with that. We only get one body, right? Right!
Stay tuned for a new Chewsday Tuesday post coming your way tomorrow! I’ll talk to you soon! Have a fabulous Monday!
As Always From Chelsea