Monday, July 12, 2010

Pantry

Okay, here's the deal, G and I normally don't keep much food in the house.  And that includes pantry items.  As a woman who has spent half her life dealing with bulimia I was smart and avoided anything I could binge on.  We generally might have pasta, but unless I wanted to make the sauce myself I was out of luck.  We might have flour and sugar, but unless I wanted to mix up cookies just to binge on and hope G wouldn't find out it wasn't going to happen.  And my method worked well.  It was a struggle early in our marriage as the stress of moving to a different country, trying to make a marriage with your best friend who now drives you crazy work, and just life in general got to me.

And I would like to say that I've been healthy this whole time, but reality, not even close.  As my marriage was falling apart and I was desperately trying to save it, I could barely keep anything down.  Not even so much by choice.  I was just ill.  This past year has been the first time in almost my entire life that I have been so sick that I ended up at the hospital for the flu with an extremely high temp.  And had sinus issues, and a cold, and upper respiratory issues. You name it I had it all in the time period of a few months.  It was wearing me down.  And I didn't want to do it anymore.  

So G and I started counseling.  And I started running and cooking fresh food.  And without even trying or noticing at first I realized it had been weeks since I had binged.  Weeks may not sound like much, but after dealing for 13 years weeks is good.  And it continues.  So G and I had the conversation that perhaps it might be okay to bring more food into the house.  We're not talking about packing our refrigerator and freezer full, just the pantry.  And I thought, well, where do we start?

We officially have a ton of rice, but no pasta.  Nor tinned tomatoes for that matter (we went through all of them making salsa and pasta sauce this spring). And we are out of escargot and heinz beans which in my home is like a national emergency.  EuroChic has a great pantry list that I will go over with G when he gets home.  But I thought I would ask all my lovely readers:  What are the necessities of your pantry?  Do you have the basics and only the basics?  Or are you the type to keep things on hand for impromptu get togethers?  Anything unusual that you wouldn't imagine not having stocked?

10 comments:

  1. Glad whatever you are doing is working. I have worried myself sick about you and the issues you have been dealing with. So happy that you have gone weeks without a binge. Keep it up...you are definately worth it!!!

    I love you!
    Maman

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  2. Oh I forgot to tell you what it a staple in my pantry - canned Tuna, canned beans, onion soup mix, brownie mix, flour, sugar, oil, tomato sauce & paste, pudding, and always a couple of boxes of hamburger helper - for your little brother in a pinch!

    Love you and see you soon!
    Maman

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  3. Maman, that was quick! I just posted this! And I really do need to teach you how to make chewy brownies from scratch! They're so much better, and there are some you can even keep a homemade mix on hand! Love you!

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  4. Also I am SO glad to hear you are doing well and are able to be more healthy. Good for you!

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  5. Our pantry usually has quite a bit in it, which almost always ends us at a point where we have food - but no food that goes together. :) Staples? We almost always have freeze-dried fruit and dried or canned vegetables on hand for our daughter in a pinch. That way if we are out of fresh she can still have good food. We always have pasta and rice as well as a back-up flour/sugar/oils/etc for cooking and baking. Pasta sauce. We generally have crackers of some sort also.

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  6. Maybe you can show me and write down the recipe when we come out next week?

    See you soon!
    Love,
    Maman

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  7. Beans, beans, beans. I have no desire to eat beans unless they are in some sort of dish so it's nothing I can gorge on. Garbanzo beans, black beans, kidney beans. I can make a bean dip in no time, roast up garbanzo beans for a fun topping to a salad or in a curry dish, and can take kidney beans with some spices and BBQ sauce and make a gourmet-like baked beans dish. Oh, and my husband makes great glazed black beans.

    Canned chopped chilies, light coconut milk, chopped black olives, canned mushrooms and artichoke hearts, water chestnuts, various nuts (walnuts, pine nuts) - the weird little things that aren't good on their own but added to fresh produce or some meat it becomes a unique dish with depth.

    I also usually have a box of extra firm tofu and a carton of unsweetened soy milk and fat free chicken broth at the ready.

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  8. I work hard to keep our pantry filled with heathy realistic snacks. I never ever EVER bring anything in like chips, candy, or easily munch-able unhealthy and easily grabbed things.

    So, to make healthy eating a life-style not a diet I always keep easily portionable healthy snacks on hand:
    - frozen edamame
    - frozen berries, bananas, and orange juice for smoothies
    - stove-top popcorn
    -sugar free apple sauce
    - pickles

    But for just regular cooking I always like to have canned tomatoes, whole wheat pasta, olives, feta, garlic, and always always always a few cans of chicken broth!

    Having a semi-stocked pantry gives me such great piece of mind. Knowing that we could come home and I could throw dinner together takes a load off my shoulders.

    I definitely want to know what you choose when you stock up!

    M

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  9. Kalee, I really, really admire your honesty. You can never tell what goes on behind someone's beautiful face.

    I haven't been bulimic, but I do know if there are refined sugar products in the house I will eat the lot.

    That's really my focus too, what NOT to have in the pantry (junque food), as much as what TO have in the pantry. We buy meat/fish, dairy and vegetables weekly and stock up on pantry items like rice, olive oil, canned tomatoes and spices when we need to.

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