One of the tricky things to eating healthy for most people is learning how to prepare and cook the food.
Here is a quick list of foods to always keep on hand in your kitchen so you are more likely to have success.
Sea salt. Everyone needs a little salt in their body. Remember salt is there to enhance the flavour of the food. A fresh vegetable cooked with a little salt brings out all the amazing flavours fresh produce has. It is bad to eat a massive amount of salt but you would be hard pressed to accomplish what processed food does as you would do with your own food. (note: If you have high blood pressure and your doctor has told you to avoid salt, talk to them about your options)
Pepper. Fresh pepper is so nice over your food. It costs a little to buy a grinder but it is well worth it.
Vinegar. I have tons of vinegars and use them on dishes to liven them up. Vinegar is acidic and adds a slightly sour flavour that helps brighten a dish. Chefs always have lemons (an acid) and vinegar on hand. Oil and vinegar with a little honey plus salt and pepper is a super easy dressing for your salad. You would be surprised by how many vinegar there are out there, that all have very unique properties. It is no longer just your white vinegar.
Olive oil. Just like vinegars there are not a ton of olive oils all with little or big differences. When you are making a dish that has olive oil in it for cooking the oil won't matter much but when you are making a raw dish, now that's where you want to spend the extra few dollars for a great olive oil.
Spices. I have always had a pile of spices because they add so much to a dish. Start with some of the staples; cumin paprika, cayenne, oregano, basil, rosemary, cinnamon, chill powder and thyme. Most people keep spices way past their useful time frame so what I do is on each bottle I stick a small piece of tape with the date of purchase. It isn't perfect but at least I know after a year which ones need replacing.
Honey. Try and find one from your area as they are always better locally sourced.
Assorted whole grains. If you aren't cooking them at home you probably won't be eating them so make sure to have some on hand. Quinoa cooks up easily in 15 minutes. Brown rice does take longer but it lends a nice nutty flavour to the dish (okay most people are so used to white rice that brown rice is a little tricky to get used to but when you do it's a great carbohydrate packed full of nutrients). If you have a rice cooked it is super easy to cook many whole grains.
Bouillon cubes or concentrate stock. These are great to add to whole grains when you cook them. Bouillon or stock added to dishes will add depth.
Canned tomatoes. Have a few of these on hand to add to multiple dishes. Tomatoes are in so many dishes and are one of the only canned vegetable that are still good as a canned vegetable.
Nuts. These are great to snack on as well as to toss in a salad after you have toasted them or leave them raw. Make sure to store the raw ones in the freezer as nuts will go rancid over time.
Pasta. Heating up some water and throwing in some pasta then heating a little tomato sauce doesn't get much easier for a quick meal. Make sure to throw in some veggies like spinach, frozen peas or any fresh veggie. I don't eat pasta all that often but it is easy and sometimes you are in a rush and this is way better for you than a prepackaged dinner.
These are only a few suggestion to make eating healthier. I will expand on this list and give you ideas on what to make with them next week.
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