Tips to Fill Your Pantry While Practicing Social Distancing
posted by Darlene DeWitt, MS, RD, LD on Wednesday, April 15, 2020
Are you trying to eat well with minimal grocery store trips? Doing so is definitely a concern for everyone who is practicing social distancing or self-isolating. You don’t have to put healthful eating on the back burner; this is the time to take good care of yourself and give your body the food that it needs to stay healthy.
If you don’t normally do meal planning, it can certainly be a helpful habit to start. There are many ways to do this, but if you are more spontaneous you can just plan out the number of meals you need for the week, get the necessary supplies, and then each morning chose which meal(s) for that day. Meal planning enables you to make sure your shopping list includes the items you need. When making your list, write down similar foods together, or write your list according to the grocery store aisles to save time and keep you from going all over the store.
Here are some ideas for foods to fill your pantry:
Canned Foods: Canned foods have a long shelf life, but they have gotten a bad rap due to excess sodium. You can choose canned vegetables with “No Salt Added” or “Reduced Sodium” to help limit this concern. If you can’t find those, draining and rinsing your canned vegetables can reduce the sodium by about 45%. Canned beans are great protein to use in soup, add to a salad or mix with rice. Canned fruits can also be great options if packed in 100% juice. You can choose “lite,” “healthy request,” or “heart-healthy” versions of other canned products such as soups for lower sodium options.
Frozen Foods: Frozen fruits and vegetables also last longer than fresh. And when you catch them on sale, they can be around a dollar a bag. If you live alone, or don’t want to cook large meals right now, you can use Lean Cuisine, Weight Watchers or similar frozen dinners to find meals that have lower sodium and fat.
Nonfat Dry Milk: Dry milk can be re-hydrated and then refrigerated easily. This way if you have to go longer in between trips to the grocery store, you won’t run out of milk.
Peanut/Nut Butter: A great source of protein and healthy fats. You could put on crackers or celery for a snack, or of course you can never go wrong with a PB & J!
Nut and Trail Mixes: Nuts are packed with healthy fats and proteins to keep you full longer. Watch the portion size because they are high in calories.
Dry Pasta and Sauces: Always a go-to meal, great shelf stable option, and so much variety. You can make pasta a complete meal by adding in protein and vegetables. For example, add ham and peas to mac and cheese, add shrimp and broccoli to angel hair, add chicken and peppers to penne. Combinations are endless!
Frozen Meats: There are lots of great options for meats, many of them already cooked to make things easier. Some of these can be higher in sodium then other options, but the convenience may be worth it if you are eating an otherwise low-sodium diet. Some ideas include turkey meatballs, grilled chicken and pre-cooked shrimp.
You can use meatballs so many ways. You can do a traditional spaghetti and meatball dinner, use them for meatball sandwiches, and make a vegetable soup with meatballs. Frozen grilled chicken strips can be used for chicken fajitas w/a bag of frozen peppers and onions, cut them up and make a chicken quesadilla, add them to spaghetti sauce and serve them on top pasta, or if you have fresh greens, top a salad with grilled chicken. Pre-cooked shrimp can be quickly thawed for a weeknight dinner. Add them to pasta, top a salad, use in tacos or shrimp salad pita sandwich.
Oatmeal: Keeping plain rolled oats on hand can give you many flavor combinations to try. You could make oatmeal with a banana and peanut butter, blueberries and honey, or even applesauce and cinnamon. You could also make overnight oats if you want something that is ready-to-go in the morning. If you need a sweet treat, you can also make oatmeal cookies.
Pouches or Cans of Fish and Chicken: Tuna, salmon and chicken are available in a shelf stable can or pouch. Some come flavored to make things more interesting. These are great to make a sandwich, eat with whole grain crackers or add to a salad or a bowl of brown rice and mixed vegetables.
For other meal ideas, check out these resources:
www.mealtime.org (The canned Food Alliance has great recipes on their website)
https://www.budgetbytes.com/pantry-recipes/ (low cost recipes)
www.eatingwell.com (healthful recipes and latest COVID-19 food related information from RDs)
www.eatright.org/coronavirus (Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics food and health information)
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