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Making sure that your pantry is stocked with healthy ingredients is a great way to stay on track for healthy eating. Plus, filling your pantry with health-conscious ingredients–ones containing essential nutrients, vitamins, and minerals–has never been easier. There are tons of ingredients available that make a healthier lifestyle totally doable.
So if you’re looking to restock your pantry with some healthier choices, keep reading for the 4 ingredients everyone should have in their pantry!
Nutritional Yeast
Nutritional yeast is a valuable ingredient for your pantry, as it can be added to almost any meal (and fit into pretty much any diet) to boost the amount of protein, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.
Plus, according to Healthline, "Studies suggest that nutritional yeast may help protect against oxidative damage, lower cholesterol, and boost immunity."
Rolled or Steel-Cut Oats
Rolled or steel-cut oats are another key pantry essential for a healthy diet; both are healthier (and contain more fiber and minerals than instant oats) as a whole grain.
These oats are also considered a complex carbohydrate, which New York-based R.D. Jessica Cording told Women's Health Magazine means that they "will break down more slowly in your body than white rice and white bread."
With this in mind, starting your breakfast with oatmeal could keep you full for longer while also providing you with essential nutrients like B vitamins and iron, according to Cording.
Chickpea Pasta
Chickpea pasta is a great healthy alternative to normal pasta. It tastes great, and it contains more fiber and protein than normal pasta, meaning it will fill you up more efficiently.
Good Housekeeping explains, "Compared to traditional wheat-based pasta, a traditional 2-ounce serving size has slightly less calories, double the fiber, and up to double the protein, depending on the brand."
Plus, it has more of essential minerals--iron and potassium--per serving.
Apple Cider Vinegar
Apple cider vinegar is a pantry necessity if you are trying to focus more on healthy living--and if you are hoping to lose weight as well. According to Eat This, Not That!, "[Apple cider vinegar] can not only be used to whip up healthy, fat-fighting marinades and salad dressings, but it's also an invaluable tool in your weight loss arsenal: ACV is full of enzymes to aid in digestion as well as acetic acid, a compound which delays gastric emptying to keep you fuller longer."
Make sure to find a brand "with the mother" to enjoy all these health benefits.
