My must have pantry items
1. Ghee
Otherwise known as clarified butter, ghee is what’s left of butter once all of the milk solids has been removed. As its been heated, what’s left is a delicious buttery, almost nutty taste that many people who are sensitive to dairy can tolerate quite easily. It is a traditional Indian food and is frequently used in Ayurveda and other healing practices because of its soothing properties. I love to bake with ghee as it gives a lovely buttery flavour whether it be cookies, brownies or cakes. I cook my scrambled eggs in it each morning too - so I love to buy this big jar of it, but feel free to make your own too!
2. Tahini
Who knew that blended sesame seeds could taste so good? I certainly didn’t understand why everyone liked it so much a few years ago, to me it was bitter and gritty - only once I found the right brand did I fall in love, so have patience! I will emphasise that hulled tahini is by far the best, though surprisingly each brand can vary in terms of taste and mouth feel (some is still quite foul in my own opinion!). Tahini is very versatile, I love making dressings with it (my favourite being lemon juice, water, tahini and salt and pepper), or turning it into brownies for an incredible dessert (don’t knock it till you try it with chocolate!). I have found that tahini tends to be on the cheaper side of nut/seed butters - so it’s perfect if you are looking to be a little more budget friendly. In New Zealand, I have found two brands that produce a lovely tahini;
Ceres Organics (hulled version)
3. Olive oil
A good quality olive oil is by far my most favoured cooking oil! I always buy an extra virgin olive oil, which is one of the only cooking oils produced without the use of chemical solvents or industrial refining. It contains many health promoting properties due to the high levels of naturally occurring vitamins and antioxidants such as polyphenols. I really love how the flavour isn’t overpowering, but when you buy a good quality olive oil it can perfectly compliment particular dishes flavours - something about roast vegetables and olive oil makes me very happy.
4. Good quality chocolate
When I was younger, I was all about the dairy milk chocolate - the sweeter the better! Clearly my tastebuds have adapted over time, as now my preference would be 100% chocolate or at least in the 90% realm. The important thing to note if you are buying a high cacao percentage chocolate, is that a bean to bar produced chocolate will be far far more enjoyable to eat. This is because if the chocolate is made from one particular cacao bean (some are fruity or spicy) and or region, then the flavour notes will add sweetness and compliment the bitterness from the lack of sugar added. I find that after a square or two, I am quite happy and I feel that chocolate is the perfect way to round out the day.
5. Almond flour, coconut flour & tapioca flour
I put these all together, as in my mind they make up the trifecta of grain free/paleo baking. Almond flour is a low carb, nutrient dense flour that can be added to baked goods to make them light and cake like, while also being perfect addition to crusts and or crumbing in savoury dishes. It can be somewhat expensive, so I like to buy a big bag from New World, as this version isn’t gritty and produces the best results when baking + it’s often on sale!
Coconut flour is an amazing low carb, nut free flour which I love to use in combination with other flours. I do this because coconut flour as a much higher absorption rate (so never sub 1-1 with coconut flour) meaning if you were to use the same amount, it would dry about your baked goods. Sometimes texture wise coconut flour can get crumbly, so if you pair it with a little bit of tapioca flour for example, it lightens it up and can replicate a bread like texture. Coconut flour is very cheap and can be found at bulk bin shops for a very low price!
Tapioca flour is a fantastic binding flour, while also being a perfect grain free thickener. By itself it can result in a gummy texture, so having another flour to balance it out allows for grain free baking where the texture is almost identical to the real deal! This is a very inexpensive flour also, I love to buy mine at the bulk bin shop - then you can use just a little bit here and there!
6. Apple cider vinegar
In addition to Apple cider vinegar doing wonders for flattening your glucose curve (aka no energy crashes), ACV can be a perfect addition to plenty of baked goods as a natural leavening agent. Apple cider vinegar immensely helped me personally when I was trying to increase my stomach acid, which had been causing me many gut issues. I love to consume it with warm water, a dash of lemon juice and its the perfect drink to start the morning with.
7. Grain free bread
A staple ingredient whether it be from the local farmers market, or it has been freshly baked in my own kitchen. I love scrambled eggs on toast, infact I could eat that for breakfast for the rest of my life. Finding a bread that doesn’t contain many refined grains, oils and or unnecessary added sugars is a hard challenge, but luckily more companies are branching out and creating similar products.
8. Maple syrup & honey
Ideally this is my favourite way to sweeten baked goods as I think both sweeteners have really delicious flavour profiles, while being relatively unprocessed in comparison to other sweeteners. I always prefer my baked goods to be on the more doughy or moist side, so the fact that they are liquid means its unlikely that you end up with a dry, crumbly result.
9. Protein powder
Being a dancer, but also being someone who like to feel satiated and properly fuelled - finding a tummy friendly protein powder was quite a challenge. While I didn’t necessarily hate pea protein, I found that any good tasting kind had lots of gums and sweeteners that my body couldn’t tolerate. So then I found collagen, which had a fantastic nutrition and ingredient profile, but lacked in flavour (though I often still use this if I don’t want something to be too sweet). I then came across a bone broth protein powder, which I was extremely skeptical at first - until I tried it and fell in love. The ingredient list for this particular brand of protein is so simple, with the sweetener just being monk fruit (I often find anything with stevia strangely makes my stomach react). This protein works perfectly in smoothies and hot drinks, not to mention plenty of baked goods, I am so thrilled that I finally found a gut loving powder that actually tastes delicious! I am so proud to be an ambassador for Mitchells as I never will recommend a brand that I don’t/wouldn’t personally consume - but Mitchells is one of the best companies out there!
10. Psyllium husk
Probably my favourite addition in smoothies. It’s a perfect ingredient to add because it contains plenty of dietary fibre and absorbs lots of liquid, which means that your smoothies will turn out thick and creamy! Psyllium is a perfect addition to any savoury bread dish, as it allows the texture to end up similar to its wheat counterpart. I use the husk version, as powdered can change the texture too much.
