Freezer, Fridge, and Pantry Must Haves During This Stay Home Initiative

I realize that a lot of people out there are used to at least one or two meals out per week, quick grab n’ go breakfasts (or cereal) and having snacky foods around the house for in between meals. But if this COVID-19 crisis has taught us anything, it’s that our health is the most valuable thing we have, and there is no better time than now to start implementing healthy habits. While workouts at home are amazing, and a great stress relief, mastering how you eat and the kitchen is 80% of the game. 

I’ve been working on my nutrition for nearly 10 years now, and while family members might call me a bit of a “hoarder” when it comes to weekly groceries and my pantry, fridge, and freezer, I can honestly say that thanks to what I’ve learned over the years, this quarantine hasn’t felt much different than usual for us. 

As I write this, today is Day 16 of quarantine in our household. My husband has left the house once only to get groceries from Trader Joe’s. We’ve been able to continue our healthy eating  without issue thanks to being organized, grocery delivery (we use Instacart, Shipt, and Amazon Whole Foods), and with what I’m about to share with you.

Let’s dive in shall, we?

Our first plan of attack when this happened was not to stockpile things in large surplus, but to be smart about it. As I’ve done for years, we mapped out our meals for the next 7-10 days and made an initial grocery list. Our goal was to eat through the fridge first, for obvious reasons, to try to eat the fresh food before moving to the pantry and freezer. 

It is my hope that by sharing with you the way we operate, that perhaps you can make some shifts in your home, too! Let’s dive in…

Here are my top foods for the fridge that are nonnegotiables for our family:

Cage-free brown organic eggs — We go through at least 5 eggs per day for the 3 of us in our family, usually for breakfast but sometimes as a hard-boiled snack.

Fresh greens — Spring mix and spinach for easy salad bowls at lunchtime

Unsweetened coconut milk — for the toddler and for our daily shakes

Fresh cut fruits and veggies — Raw peppers, carrots, celery, onions, mushrooms, avocados, broccoli, grapefruit, strawberries, and blueberries

Ezekiel bread — We keep ours refrigerated as directed. Makes great Fixate French Toast!

Corn tortillas — Great for easy Mexican meals!

Condiments and dips — Hummus, homemade salad dressings, no sugar added ketchup, and ghee

We keep most of our meats in the freezer (including ground turkey, chicken breasts, burgers, grass-fed beef, turkey bacon, salmon, and steaks). We also keep the following tucked away in the freezer for when our fridge becomes bare and, in moments like we’re facing now, when grocery delivery is scheduled 4-5 days out as opposed to the same day delivery it used to be:

Frozen veggies — Our go-to’s are bags of frozen broccoli, diced onion, stir fry mixes, cauliflower rice, sweet potato fries (Alexia is our favorite brand!), green beans, kabocha squash, and fajita peppers. 

Brown rice and quinoa — We prefer the easily microwaveable bags of rice and quinoa.

Foods for the kiddo — Caulipower chicken tenders, Birch Benders Paleo waffles, Trader Joe’s turkey meatballs, sprouted grain hamburger buns, cauliflower gnocchi, and vanilla coconut milk ice cream. Otherwise, she eats what we eat. 

Which brings me to my favorite room in the house: our kitchen pantry. Thanks to the Container Store, my pantry is now organized into sections: spices, olive oils, oats and granolas, baking flours and sugars, snack foods, canned goods, and Shakeology/Daily Sunshine. Here are my top items great for riding out this quarantine:

Shakeology/Daily Sunshine — I mean, if there has ever been a time I’ve been glad to have 3 bags of Shakeology on hand, it’s now. Superfood nutrition in easy-to-blend powder form is keeping us on track nutritionally, giving us a daily dose of adaptogens, and it’s delicious! Daily Sunshine is the kiddo version and it’s amazing, too.

Beachbars — I have a basket full of these and for good reason. They make a great, protein-rich snack, need no refrigeration, and won’t crash your blood sugar like other bars. (And in case you’re wondering, we favor the Vegan Chocolate Almond Crunch). 

Baking Goods — No better time to spend time in the kitchen baking than now! So far I’ve made tiger nut blueberry muffins and gluten-free rosemary biscuits, but I have lots more in mind. I keep, on hand, Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free flour, coconut flour, tiger nut flour, and almond flour, along with raw turbinado sugar and coconut sugar in my baking section of the pantry.

Spices — If I listed all of the spices in my pantry this blog post would be hella long, so just know this: my spices hang on an 0ver-the-door rack and there are over 50. What can I say? I love to cook at home. 

Snacks — Our go-to snacks right now include Lesser Evil coconut puffs, organic blue corn tortilla chips and salsa (always the no sugar added!), mandarin oranges in 100% juice, applesauce pouches (GoGo Squeez for the kiddo), Trader Joe’s sweet potato crackers, and tons of nuts (walnuts, almonds, and cashews). 

Canned goods and olive oils — Alll the canned tomatoes these days for making homemade tomato sauces, along with soup broths, bone broths, and canned veggies. I also love to collect olive oils… garlic infused, lemon pepper infused, and just plain extra virgin cold-pressed. Great for cooking!

I think the past several years of meal planning for a week in advance, making once weekly grocery trips to restock the fridge/fresh food essentials, and cooking at home 99% of the time has prepared me for what we’re experiencing now. I have a feeling that folks who are the “I’ll just grab something quick at the grocery tonight” people are struggling right now, and are likely the ones leaving their homes often for groceries. 

The truth is, we don’t have to stockpile things in our homes, toilet paper included, to get through this crisis. But with a little planning, and learning how to cook healthy meals from home, we can do this the smart way and come out on the other end better for it. 

Sidenote: If YOU don’t yet have access to our online platform for home workouts, just know that it also comes with Fixate, a cooking show with literally EVERY favorite recipe we love. There are hundreds to choose from! This platform is what taught me how to put my nutrition first, and to master the art of planning, prepping, and staying on track. And the best part? Your Coach comes with it, for added support and accountability. 

Make it a goal TODAY to clean out your pantry. Instead of the Marie Kondo method of removing what doesn’t bring you joy, I’ll recommend that you remove what does’t bring you good health. Trash the junk foods, the refined sugars, and the crap, and start mapping out your grocery list. 

Your body will thank you. And let’s be real? Now you have the time.

Yours in Health and Fitness,

Jenny Swisher, Founder of Body Electric and Creator of SYNC Online Course for Women’s Hormone Health