STAPLES
BREAD Don’t think of eating the processed packaged bread you may be used to. Sandwiches can be more interesting as you experiment with bagels, baguettes, English muffin, egg bread, oat bread, pita, pumpernickel, rye, sourdough, whole wheat. Whole grain breads & baked goods are best, but be sure that they contain no refined or bleached grains, one of the ways Big Food will trick you into buying inferior products. Find a neighborhood bakery that bakes on-premises to guarantee that whole ingredients are used.
BUTTER is preferable to margarine. For spreadable butter, just take it out of the refrigerator & let it come to room temperature. The only thing bad about butter is using too much of it. Nothing flavors like butter, and it has none of the preservatives and trans fats of butter substitutes. Cook authentically; nothing is more authentic than butter. And sometimes you’ll want to use unsalted butter.
COFFEE Filter (Melita & Chemex) & press (French press) processes generally make a better cup of coffee than automatic coffee makers, and don’t take up space on the counter-top. If you like coffee, try different blends & grinding your own beans. Don’t be surprised if your coffee enjoyment soars.
DRIED LEGUMES: PEAS, BEANS & LENTILS
Peas Green or yellow retaining the outer shell, they require soaking for 12 hrs before cooking. Used to make pea soup, peas must be put through a sieve to remove shells after cooking.
Split Peas Green or yellow, split from their shells, they require no soaking. Used to make pea soup.
QUINOA, white or red, is a grain that substitutes nicely for rice. It can be used in salads, casseroles and side dishes. Sinner on low in 2 parts boiling water to 1 part quinoa for 20 minutes.
RICE is probably the most popular grain grown & eaten around the world. Simmer 20 minutes in 2 parts boiling water to 1 part rice; more water for brown and wild rice, which will take longer to cook.
White rice is highly refined with no natural nutrients, which is why it is enriched. You can always do better than white rice.Â
Brown rice is high in nutrients, requires additional cooking time, and has a starchy finish.
Basmati rice, white or brown, is not refined. It is a long-grain rice with a subtle nutty flavor, beautiful fragrance & good kernel separation. Cooks in the same amount of time as white rice. Consider abandoning white rice altogether in favor of the more nutritious basmati. Best place for price & quality is an Indian grocery; some basmati rice sold by large American companies is not really basmati, or at least it doesn’t taste like it. It may be refined. Basmati is my default rice; I use it in place of white rice.
Forbidden rice is black and, when cooked, a very deep purple. High in nutrients, it is a short-grain rice with a nutty flavor, a little denser quality, but not tough like wild rice. It is an interesting variation, taking no more cooking time than white rice. I try to keep forbidden rice on hand for variety.
Wild rice is dark brown & has very long grains. It is tough, requires longer cooking times & is usually mixed with white rice for stuffing and side dishes. High in fiber!
WHEAT
Bulgur Cracked wheat, Middle Eastern in origin. To cook: steep 1 part bulgur in 2 parts boiling water for 30 min. Fluff to separate grains.
Couscous Actually a pasta, couscous is made from wheat. To cook: steep 1 part bulgur in 2 parts boiling water for 30 min. Fluff to separate grains.
Corn Flavorless, inexpensive all-purpose oil for making sweets (granola, cake) & greasing pans. No nutritive value. Buying organic will insure that it is not made from GMO corn.
Olive Good as an all-purpose oil for savory dishes & salad dressings. Buy as expensive an olive oil as you can manage. High nutritive value.
Peanut Good for sautéing & wok cookery. Very mild flavor. Little nutritive value.
Sesame Good for sautéing when you want to impart a nutty flavor. Little nutritive value.
PEPPER There are many colors & types of pepper that you can put into a grinder or use whole in stocks & soups. Experiment with them!
SALT Used as a flavoring & preservative. Use salt sparingly & only as needed, to discover the advantages of using less. Taste before adding! The purpose of salt is to bring out the flavor of the food you’re adding it to. Extensive use of salt deadens the taste buds so that you cannot identify the true taste of the food as much as the taste of the salt. Excessive salt also encourages the accumulation of water weight inside the body. With high salt use, the body will begin to crave more and more salt to recognize the same flavor. Grains of rice can be added to a salt shaker to prevent salt without free-flowing additives from caking.
Iodized Salt with iodine, dextrose (sugar) and anti-caking agents (aluminum) added.
Sea Unrefined salt that has been evaporated from seawater, with no additives; fine to coarse texture.
Kosher Unrefined salt, sometimes with anti-caking agents. Coarse texture. My default salt.
Crystals For use in a salt mill.
SUGAR Substance from sugar cane or sugar beet which adds sweetness to food. Use sugar only as needed (taste the food!) to discover the advantages of using less.
Agave Nectar Liquid corn syrup with high fructose content, not much better than HFCS. However, it does have a glycemic index that is lower then table sugar. It is sweeter than sugar, so you can use 25 – 50% less agave nectar than sugar. Marginally better than corn syrup or sugar because you’ll use less.
Brown Sugar Refined, solid, granular sugar w/added molasses. No nutritional value.
Corn Syrup Liquid sweetener made from cornstarch. Clear w/added salt and vanilla flavoring. Dark w/added preservatives & flavorings. No nutritional value
High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) Liquid sweetener made from corn, used as an industrial sweetener in food products. Not used in organic food products. HFCS is not healthy to eat.
Molasses Byproduct of the process of turning sugar cane into granulated sugar; contains all of the trace nutrients in sugar cane.
Powdered or Confectioner’s or Superfine Granulated sugar milled to an extra-fine texture, used primarily to add lightness to baked goods. No nutritional value.
Raw or Turbinado Less refined than white or brown sugar in that it retains some of the natural molasses; in clear crystalline form.
Sucanat or Rapadura Dried sugar can juice, in solid granular form; dried & unrefined; the healthiest cane sugar with trace nutritional value intact.
White Refined, bleached sugar in solid granular form. Contained in food products as sugar, glucose or fructose. No nutritional value.
Applesauce, cider or fresh fruit can add gentle sweetness to many foods. Â
Dried fruit Apricots, dates, figs, raisins. Cook with them, soak, mince or chop or spin in the blender with liquid and they can be used to sweeten many preparations.
Honey One of nature’s perfect foods, a product made by honey bees from nectar of flowers and flowering bushes & trees. The most healthful sweetener, but cannot be fed to infants. It is as sweet as sugar, so you can substitute 1:1 in many preparations. It will crystallize with age — does not affect edibility — but crystals will melt when gently heated.
Maple Syrup Made from the sap of maple trees, with a distinct maple flavor.  Beware of ‘pancake syrup’: it is nothing more than corn syrup, some with artificial maple flavoring.
Apple Cider Good when a tart flavor is called for.
Balsamic Basic flavoring vinegar, more flavorful & not as tart as others. Mixes better with oil, so it makes a quick salad dressing combined only with olive oil. Good for marinades, dips, brightening soups & vegetables. It can be a lifesaver. I couldn’t live without it.
Red Wine Basic vinegar for salad dressing.
White (clear)Â Basic cleaning agent; good for removing mineral deposits, cleaning & deodorizing (clears the air of odors).
YOGURT Fermented milk, containing nutritional bacteria cultures, inherent in yogurt. Nothing need be added to yogurt to get all the healthful benefits of plain yogurt, so don’t waste your money on brands with additives. Good w/granola, fruit, or preserves; and for making dips. It is a great substitute for sour cream.
Regular Adding sugar destroys yogurt’s nutritional value over time, so it’s best to have buy plain yogurt & add your own preserves or fruit just prior to eating.
Greek A thicker, richer yogurt; can be made easily by draining the whey from Regular yogurt.
SOME THINGS THAT HAVE NO PLACE IN A KITCHEN OR YOUR STOMACH Bleached anything, corn syrup, anything ‘enriched’ or ‘refined’, high-fructose corn syrup, monosodium glutamate (msg), trans fats.
