Benable — create shareable lists of things you recommend!
E.g., products you love, local businesses, travel recs - you can add anything to a Benable list!
What's in my Fridge and Pantry
72
items I had never heard of an ingredient household until recently and as it turns out, I'm definitely an ingredient household. I have learned to love cooking and have always loved baking. On average, we cook two meals a day in our house and it's all from s...
Sections
4
The Freezer
The Fridge
The Pantry
Counter Top and Fruit Basket
The Freezer
Let's start with what we keep in the freezer. I do not have a chest freezer yet, so we do not keep a lot, but there is always a rotation of meat, broth, veggies and fruit.
I love making my own broth. It's so simple and easy and has way less ingredients than the store bought. I pour it into jars and leave about an inch of space in the jar so I can freeze it. Leaving the space is important because when it freezes, the li...
How to Make Beef Stock Recipe
Along with beef, I keep chicken stock. I usually collect chicken bones in a bag and freeze them. Once I have enough I make the stock. I add my broth to jars and I leave about an inch of space in the jar so I can freeze them. The liquid expands once i...
Easy Chicken Stock - Taste Better From Scratch
I like to have a whole chicken on hand. I always cook it in the instantpot then I turn it into two meals. It depends on my mood as to what meals, but chicken salad is usually one of them. You can pull all the meat off and go ahead and pop the carcass...
How to Cook a Whole Chicken in the Instant Pot
Chicken Thighs! Bone in, skin on, oven baked. Some days there's nothing more delicious. Simple and easy to do as well!
Crispy Baked Chicken Thighs
Ground beef is a must!! It is such a quick and easy dinner and the possibilities are endless! Ground beef is also a guarantee my kids are going to eat it!
15 Ground Beef Dinners That Are Ready in 30 Minutes or Less
Frozen burgers are always on hand as well. They are quick and easy and who doesn't love a burger!? I love doing them in the oven. So quick and pretty hands-off.
Perfect Frozen Burgers in the Oven
This is the best chicken sausage I've found for the price and ingredients!!! Not a bunch of junk in them and they're delicious. We keep these in the freezer and pull out the night before for a quick and simple breakfast.
Never Any! Apple Maple Chicken Sausage, 8 oz
I keep these stocked! My kids love them and they're such a quick and easy dinner. They pan fry and grill up so nice! I serve them as is or on a bun. Plus, the ingredients are pretty decent and at a great price.
Simply Nature Organic Chicken Bratwurst Same-Day Delivery or Pickup
Wild frozen blueberries are great to have on hand! Or, any frozen blueberries. Walmart has wild ones that are a little cheaper than these specific ones! The bag lasts a while and they're great for Littles. Easy snack by themselves, in oatmeal, yogurt...
Wyman's Blueberries
Frozen cherries! My kids devour these and they're so delicious! It is better to buy the organic, but for me, that's not in budget. These are great as is, in yogurt, oatmeal, smoothies, etc.
Frozen Cherries
Peas are a must! SO easy and quick and they go in so many different dishes!
How I cook frozen peas - Garlic Buttered Peas
The Fridge
Moving on to the fridge, these are the items I like to have always available. If you have the right ingredients, it's easy to whip up easy meals!
Carrots! They last forever and go along with anything. I use them in my broth, soups, eat them raw, make carrot salads, the list goes on.
Carrots 101: Nutrition Facts and Health Benefits
Celery is another one that lasts forever. I like to think that celery and carrots are married because they're always with each other. There are so many ways to use celery and it's another nutrient dense option.
5 Healthy Benefits of Adding Celery to Your Diet
Cherry tomatoes are always in my fridge; my kids love them! They get ate fast, but they're great for a snack plate, in salads and my favorite way to eat them is sauteing them up!
A Guide to Cherry Tomatoes
Cucumbers are another veggie my kids love! They're great for snack plates as well and they go in so many other recipes; think Asian or Greek!
6 Health Benefits of Eating Cucumber
Bell peppers go in everything!! Great cooked or fresh. My kids and dog love them! I use part of a bell pepper to cook almost daily.
Bell Peppers 101: Nutrition Facts and Health Benefits
I have my main list of fruits and veggies that I always have, but then I try to shop in season, and I like to have a nice variety to choose from.
A mix of Fruits and Vegetables.
We almost always have avocadoes. Healthy fat and goes with almost everything!!
Learn About Different Types of Avocado Varieties
Lemons! We use them for homemade drinks, adding to water, dessert and homemade dressings.
6 Evidence-Based Health Benefits of Lemons
Limes!! Just like lemon, we use them for homemade drinks, dressings and then my husband loves to squeeze a lime on his food!
Limes in Citrus - Walmart.com
Fresh herbs of your choice! Great chopped up in everything and I love putting them in water and using for tea! If you wash them, let them air dry and then wrap them up in paper or tea towels and store them in a bag, they last a very long time!
14 Types of Fresh Herbs and How to Cook With Them
The best garnish! You can also chop them up and freeze them if you won't use them fast enough. My favorite thing about them, you can regrow them so easy!!!! Just shove them in some dirt and water them.
Fresh Green Onions Bunch, Each
A solid, cheap and delicious bread!!! I like to make bread, but I always have a few loaves of Aldi Bread on hand. The ingredients are great!
Specially Selected Sourdough Square Loaf, 24 oz
These are the best corn tortillas next to homemade. I haven't been able to find them in most stores, I go to whatever Hispanic store I can find. They are kept in the fridge section. My husband is Honduran and we have to have tortillas.
El Milagro Classic Corn Soft Tortillas 12pk
I love parm and I always have a block on hand! I get mine at Aldi. It's so easy for quick pastas, in eggs, homemade garlic bread, etc. I use it a lot!
Grater Goods
I like to keep sliced cheese on hand! This is the brand I get at Walmart. I do love fresh cut deli cheese as well.
Grater Goods
I like to keep blocks of cheese on hand. I get mine at aldi, I've found they're the best price. I grate my own cheese!
Lake Shore Produce Market
Of course, we always have whole milk on hand! One day it will be raw milk, but right now as long as it's whole milk.
Friendly Farms Whole Milk, 1 gal
I'm sure eggs are a given. I get mine at Aldi, they've been the lowest price I've found for quite some time. I would love to buy fresh farm eggs or even free roam, but they're way too far out of my price range.
Goldhen Grade A Large White Eggs, 1 dozen
Plain yogurt!! I prefer chobani Greek yogurt. Yogurt is such a delicious snack to dress up however you want. Fruit, seeds, nuts, whatever you like! I sweeten ours with honey and real maple syrup. It's also high in protein, so when my kids don't seem ...
Whole Milk - Greek Yogurt
Sour cream!! Daisy is a brand with out junk ingredients. And yes, sour cream can be chalked full of bad ingredients! It is the same for their cottage cheese!
Sour Cream & Cottage Cheese
Melinda's has turned into my favorite hot sauce! My husband and I are a hot sauce couple. We use it on so many things. He loves the ghost pepper as his everday sauce and I prefer the green sauce! I also have the truffle sauce on hand and love it on m...
Melinda's
I keep kalamata olives on hand for salads and my kids! My kids love them. They're a healthy fat! I stick with kalamata because they usually don't have other junk ingredients. I have a hard time finding other olive varieties without the junk.
Pitted Greek Kalamata Olives
Ketchup! I get Aldi brand, but I always get organic. No HFCS.
Organic Ketchup
I always have mustard on hand; I've never made my own. This sounds like fun though and I'll eventually try it. My family doesn't use mustard as a condiment much, but we use it to marinade chicken and in things like chicken salad, tuna salad, etc.
Homemade Yellow Mustard
My friend introduced me to Mateo's salsa and my whole family, kids included, loves it! It has great ingredients and truly a great taste!
Classic Gourmet Salsa
Our favorite Mayo! Great ingredients. It does get pricy in stores, but Costco has it for such a steal!
Mayo With 100% Pure Avocado Oil
The best soy sauce! It's always on hand in our fridge! Great on rice.
Soy Sauce | Kikkoman® Home Cooks
I haven't made it homemade yet, but it is great for marinades and homemade BBQ sauce. You do have to vet ingredients on it though.
Homemade Worcestershire Sauce Recipe
My friend introduced me to Mateo's salsa and my whole family, kids included, loves it! It has great ingredients and truly a great taste!
Classic Gourmet Salsa
The Pantry
I like to keep the same base ingredients on hand and if you have them, so many things can be made! I do a lot of baking, and I try to keep my pantry stalked with all I need for that and all I use regularly to make quick meals.
I buy organic flour from Costco and it comes with two large bags and a great price!
Kirkland Signature Organic Unbleached All Purpose Flour, 10 lbs, 2 ...
I don't use regular sugar as much, so this 10lb bag from Costco lasts me a long time!
Kirkland Signature, Organic Sugar, 10 lbs
I keep a bag of regular ol' powdered sugar on hand. I bake quite a few desserts that I use it for. I prefer organic, but if I'm honest, I just use the regular. I have also made it myself when I was out and I think there is something so special about ...
Springfield Superette
I like to use coconut sugar in place of brown sugar, and this brand is the best I've found for the price! I get mine at Walmart.
Coconut Palm Sugar
My favorite PeanutButter! It's natural and organic and no junk!
Kirkland Signature Organic Peanut Butter, 28 oz, 2-count
Chocolate Chips stay stalked at my house!! I use them in desserts of course, but they are usually the only sweet snack we have, and my kids and I love to eat them as is. Aldi has my favorite, great price, great ingredients, and the best flavor! I go ...
Baker's Corner Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels, 12 oz
Having small children, pasta is always a win. We keep our cupboard stalked with these organic noodles from Costco.
Garofalo, Organic Pasta, Variety Pack, 17.6 oz, 6-Count
Tuna is always on hand! I get mine from Costco. This Safe catch brand is so cheap there and it's mercury tested and sustainably caught!
Safe Catch | Canned Tuna, Salmon, Sardines, & Mackerel
My husband is Hispanic and we eat rice multiple times a week. This giant bag at costco lasts us a very long time!
Kirkland Signature, Thai Hom Mali Jasmine Rice, 25 lbs
We keep this giant bottle of honey on hand! We go for natural sweeteners before regular sugar.
Honey
The best REAL maple syrup!! It has one more ounce and is a few bucks cheaper at Costco, compared to its competitor at Walmart. If you haven't tried maple syrup in your coffee yet, you should! Remember it has to be REAL, not the fake junk!
Kirkland Signature Organic Pure Maple Syrup, 33.8 oz
We also keep this on hand, it's cheap compared to honey and maple syrup and it's still a natural sweetener!
Kirkland Signature Organic Blue Agave, 36 oz, 2-count
We keep cans of tomato paste on hand! I haven't made my own yet but will one day! It's so great in many dishes, and when you need it in a pinch. I recently made BBQ sauce with some when I was out of Ketchup!
How To Make Tomato Paste
I love adding chia seeds to yogurt bowls and protein balls. This giant bag from Costco lasts forever!
Mayorga Organic Chia Seeds, USDA Organic, NON-Gmo verified, 3lb, 2-pack
Giant bottle of real vanilla that lasts for so long! It's cheap too.
Pure Vanilla Extract, 16 fl oz
Yeast! I love sourdough, but I'm in the season for yeast! I get the jar at walmart and it lasts a lot longer than the packs in my house.
Red Star® Yeast
Molasses doesn't seem like an ingredient that would get used a lot, but I use it often! I use it in homemade BBQ sauce and cookies. If you are ever out of brown sugar, you mix molasses with white sugar, and it makes brown sugar! I haven't tried yet, ...
Grandma's® Molasses
This is the only easily accessible baking powder I can find without aluminum! It comes in a bag and lasts quite a while.
Baking Powder | Bob's Red Mill Natural Foods
The BEST oats. Costco has them for so cheap in a giant bag!! Not only are they organic, but they also go an extra step further and assure they are glyphosate free.
One Degree Gluten-Free Organic Rolled Oats, 80 oz
I keep a large variety of spices and herbs on hand. I season everything and herbs are so healing! Unfortunately, you do have to check if the spices you're getting have junk in them. A lot do. I buy mine wherever I'm shopping.
List of Herbs And Spices Names A-Z
Gotta have olive or avocado oil! We use either/or from Costco.
Kirkland Signature, Extra Virgin Italian Olive Oil, 2 L
I like to keep rice vinegar on hand for Asian inspired dishes!
Rice Vinegar
I also like to keep sesame oil on hand for Asian inspired dishes.
Toasted Sesame Oil | Artisan Oils | Organic
I keep ACV on hand. It has to have “the mother” in it. I use it for cooking and for acid reflux/heartburn.
6 Health Benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar, Backed by Science
Of course, white vinegar. I use it for recipes and cleaning!
White Vinegar: Ingredients, Uses and Benefits
Counter Top and Fruit Basket
These are my fruits and veggies that sit on the counter or in the basket. They didn't make it into the fridge or pantry list because I don't keep them in either, LOL.
Garlic, of course! Lots and lots of garlic, I generally put it in almost everything.
Garlic: Usefulness and Safety | NCCIH
I prefer to cook with yellow onions and much like garlic, they go in about everything.
Yellow Sweet Spanish Onion (107 Days)
I keep red onion on hands as my raw onion choice! Great in salsa, on salads, etc.
Red onion - Wikipedia
I keep organic apples in my fruit bowl. I always get organic, but the variety changes. I get whatever is cheaper!
Organic Apple Medley | The Fruit Company®
The best oranges to have on hand for littles. They sit in my fruit basket, and my kids love them. They're so easy to peel and easy to throw into the diaper bag for a travel snack!
Cuties Citrus
My personal favorite fruit. I love to keep bananas on hand and they're so easy for the kids!
Bananas: Health benefits, tips, and risks
Whatever fruits are in season, we buy them. Think, watermelon, cantaloupe, pineapples.
Seasonal Produce Chart: Month by Month