Have you ever reached into your pantry to find a jar of molasses you have not used in years? Or perhaps you discover six different types of mustard buried among a stash of condiments. Spring into a clean pantry this season. Organize your pantry to save time, money and energy. An organized pantry will also help with meal planning and ultimately lead to a healthier diet!
1. Purge Your Pantry
Empty and organize items into 4 different categories:
- Items you use every day
- Items you use less frequently
- Unopened items that can be donated to a food pantry
- Toss any “suspicious” items right in the trash.
Regardless of the size of your pantry, space is always at a premium. A pantry can never be too big. With that said, take a hard look at those items you currently store in your pantry. Perhaps there are some items that may be able to be stored elsewhere? For example, you may want to relocate extra paper towels to the garage or find another place to store your crockpot.
2. Clean the pantry shelves and floor:
- Once your pantry is completely empty, take the opportunity to vacuum any crumbs off the shelves and the floor.
- Grab your cleaning supplies to wipe down all the shelving. Magic erasers are very efficient when it comes to getting rid of those stubborn stains left behind from food debris.
- Be sure to wipe down each shelf with a clean damp cloth and let dry before reloading.
3. Before you put anything away, consider how you want to organize your pantry:
- Are there tools that can help you organize? Maybe this is the time to invest in some containers, bins, can racks, adjustable shelves or over the door racks.
- Clear, stackable containers are ideal, but if you can’t see through the containers, labels will do the trick.
- Labeling Containers, baskets and other items make them easier to find. You won’t need to turn whole pantry upside down to find exactly what you are looking for.
- Utilize Space Efficiently and be creative! Perhaps an over-the-door shelf would be helpful to increase space. Or perhaps a Lazy Susan can help to maximize space.
4. Restock smartly:
- Refilling your pantry in organized zones is the best way to ensure you don’t have to do another pantry overhaul in a couple of months.
- Keep heavy items – bottles of olive oil – on the bottom shelf, and the items you reach for every day – lunch ingredients – at eye level for easy access.
- Start by putting baking items (flour, sugar, baking soda, etc.) in one section and breakfast items in another.
- If you have kids, set up a snack zone so they can find what they need easily and won’t have the need to riffle through the other shelves.
- Make sure to keep like categories together. For example, store all canned goods together, then separate into categories. Keep ethnic ingredients together, tomato products, etc.
- Stash a stepstool in the pantry, or nearby to make reaching high shelves easy.
- Take inventory as you are reloading your pantry:
- Take note of any items that you notice you are running low or completely out of.
- Spices can be challenging. Keep a separate list of those spices you have and be sure to put those that you need on a shopping list!
- Rotate and reorganize your food on a regular basis:
- When you purchase new items, it is easy enough just to place on the shelf. But, practice first in-first out rule of thumb. Add new items to the back so the older foods get used up first.
- Also, take a minute or two when reaching into your pantry to straighten up and put any out of place items back into their proper space.
Whether your pantry is a few shelves in the cupboard, a walk-in closet, or three deep drawers, you can make it work. Just stick to these rules:
- Know what you use. If you love rice, then a 5-lb bag is great. Avoid the common mistake of filling your pantry with foods you don’t often use.
- Stay well stocked. The goal is to keep items in your pantry that are constantly in use.
- Go canned. Non-perishable items are great to have on hand for quick meals. Enhance what you’re serving by adding fresh items to canned products.
- Unwrap. Save space by cutting off overwrap that holds items together, such as paper towels.
- Stay cool.Most pantry items do well in cool, dark environments.
The pantry offers an excellent place to take control and begin the journey toward good health. Read product labels. You may identify some higher sodium, high sugar items that can be replaced with better choices.
Now that you are on your way to a clean and organized pantry, it is time to start cooking. Enjoy this Mediterranean Bean Salad Recipe featured at Jill’s nutrition program last month. Made with a combination of pantry staples and fresh ingredients, enjoy as a side or make it a meal.
Mediterranean Bean Salad
Serves 6
Ingredients
- 2 cans red kidney beans (15 ounces each), rinsed and drained, or 3 cups cooked kidney beans
- 1 can chickpeas (15 ounces), rinsed and drained, or 1 ½ cups cooked chickpeas
- 1 small red onion, diced (about 1 cup)
- 2 stalks celery, chopped (about ¾ cup)
- 1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced
- ¾ cup chopped fresh parsley
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup lemon juice (about 1 ½ lemons)
- 3 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
- ¾ teaspoon fine salt – optional
- Small pinch red pepper flakes – optional
Instructions
- In a serving bowl, combine the prepared kidney beans, chickpeas, onion, celery, cucumber, parsley and dill.
- Make the lemon dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper flakes until well blended. Pour the dressing over the salad and stir until combined.
- Serve immediately for the most flavor, or let it marinate in the refrigerator, covered, for a couple of hours or longer. Leftovers will keep well, covered and refrigerated, for up to 4 days. If necessary, wake up leftovers with a little sprinkle of salt or drizzle of lemon juice.
Serve over a bed of greens, add some feta cheese, mix in a can of tuna or toss in some chicken or shrimp. You will not be disappointed.
Nutrition Information
Serving Size: 1 cup, 249 calories, 11.2 grams fat, 0 cholesterol, 261 mg sodium, 29.5 grams carbohydrate, 8.2 grams fiber, 10 grams protein
Values listed represent a nutritional analysis. There are natural variations that occur in all recipes; these figures may not be exact and are provided for informational purposes only.
