For ease and calm on school nights, stock the pantry with healthy staples!
We’ve gathered ideas that will make meal prep simple and stress-free. Being organized in advance will also free up time to focus on and enjoy the valuable moments you can have gathering with the family, connecting, and sharing stories from the day.
Before stocking up, audit your pantry, freezer, and kitchen shelves. See what you already have and what’s out of date.
Freezer staples
Frozen vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, peas, spinach, artichokes, edamame, carrots, zucchini, etc. are a quick and healthy dinner solution that you can use in so many ways. From throwing these veggies into soups, to all kinds of pasta, stews, sauteed sides, you can really get creative. You can even hide them in green smoothies, dips, and sauces!
Frozen fruits like berries, mango, and pineapple can be added to cereals, blended into smoothies or smoothie bowls, topped into pancake mixes, or baked into oatmeal bars, granolas, and muffins.
Protein sources like Kvaroy Arctic’s sustainably raised salmon are nourishing and health-giving. We harvest it in various ways: frozen fillets, salmon hot-dogs, and salmon burgers! All of these items are prepared with the whole family in mind. Find our diverse salmon recipes here and here. To find out how to make an extended frozen seafood pantry, check out this article.
When thinking about whole grains, frozen waffles and pancakes are a MUST for when it’s time for some well-deserved treats! Sliced bread is a savior for toasts and various sandwich ideas.
Pantry Staples
Grains, grains, grains! Think oats, lentils, beans, chickpeas, rice, quinoa, couscous. These goodies are healthy and nutrition-rich, and also so versatile! They are your best friends when wanting to cook veggie-abundant meals like stews, side dishes, stir-fries, burritos, bowls, and casseroles.
Use whole grain, lentil, and chickpea pasta for quick meals that kids love. Top with 15-minute oven-baked salmon, add a few veggies, and a drip of olive oil. The same goes for potato gnocchi.
Get out peanut butter and other nut butters to spread on fruit, bread, and crackers, or to add in chia puddings, smoothies, and smoothie bowls.
Stock up on nuts and dried fruit for healthy homemade granola and trail-mix.
Canned fish is convenient, healthy, affordable, and we believe it should be proclaimed the unsung hero of your pantry. Whether it’s tuna, salmon, mussels, or sardines, canned fish has high levels of valuable omega-3 fatty acids, which are important for your family’s overall health and wellbeing. For extended seafood pantry staples, check out this article. (link when it’s published).
Jars of pasta sauces, marinated peppers, carrots, ginger, and fermented foods such as pickles, sauerkraut, and kimchi are great to have on hand in a pinch and keep for a long time.
Seaweed sheets and snacks are an excellent source of iodine and vitamins B12 and K. Harvested from the oceans, seaweed sheets have long shelf-life and can be paired with grains, salads, fish or used in various rolls.
Tortillas in different sizes are essential for wraps, burritos and quesadillas.
Whole-grain crackers (rice, corn, wheat) provide a needed crunchy base for dipping into hummus, guacamole, salsa, and peanut butter.
And let’s not forget other vital ingredients such as honey, maple syrup, organic soy sauce, low-sugar ketchup, olive oil, vinaigrettes, etc.
Refrigerator Staples
Pack your fridge with fresh and seasonal veggies, whether leafy greens, cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, asparagus, squash, or any vegetables your kids love.
Fresh fruits are important to eat whole for dessert or snacks, for cereal and oatmeal toppings, or blended into smoothies.
Traditional greek yogurt is a fantastic addition to a fruit bowl, honey, granola, nut butters, or add to smoothies.
Stock up on fresh cheese like fresh mozzarella, feta, or cottage cheese—which have plenty of probiotics and calcium—as well as slightly harder cheeses like cheddar and parmesan—which are even richer in calcium and contain less lactose. We highly recommend this ranking of cheeses by their healthfulness.
Eggs and/or egg whites are another fantastic ingredient that will turn you into a wizard in the kitchen when making breakfast burritos, easy omelets, egg salad, and various baked goods.
Extra tips that will make meal prepping enjoyable
A nature-healthy swap
In addition to stocking your pantry, freezer, and refrigerator, now is also a good time to consider how you will be packing lunch, snacks, and leftovers. Switching from plastics to reusables (for example, reusable baggies, storage containers, and lunch boxes) will come in very handy, while also saving you money and lots of plastics from being thrown away into landfills.
Invite the kids into the kitchen
What’s that magical place in your home where kids can study language, math, science, physics, chemistry, art, and also learn about their health? The kitchen! By welcoming kids into the kitchen, inviting them to experiment with cooking, and sparking their culinary curiosity from a young age, you can cultivate a lifelong habit toward cooking healthy and delicious food. Whether it's simply putting lemon and garlic atop salmon before it goes in the oven, adding toppings to a pizza, snapping the ends off beans, or scraping jars, any regular effort in the kitchen pays off in the long term. Check out all the benefits of bringing your kids into the kitchen.
Keep a shopping list handy
Last but not least, having a list of the above pantry staples is a real game-changer! You can make shopping easier by subscribing to automatic deliveries.
