Inside my cupboards you’ll find mason jars filled with gluten-free grains and flours (I don’t use plastic and recommend you don’t, either). Cupboard A contains jars of the following:
-oats
-quinoa
-flaxseeds. I’ll grind them using a coffee grinder (good to grind spices too) right before use. This keeps the sensitive fatty acids intact and undamaged as opposed to buying them ground from the store.
-amaranth
-Pamela’s gluten free flour
-buckwheat flour (gluten free)
-I’ve been meaning to pick up some coconut flour and experiment with that.
-lentils
-brown rice
-wild rice
-carob powder. I like to bake with carob or add to banana smoothies. It’s naturally sweet, high in fiber, and good for the digestive tract. My labradoodle, Shaia, has a very sensitive stomach (poodle trait), and when she gets diarrhea from eating God knows what, I’ll give her a tablespoon of carob mixed with plain yogurt and it clears the problem right up! Pumpkin puree also works for some dogs, but it seems to have the opposite effect on Shaia.
carob powder fixes me right up!
Cupboard B holds spices, tea, and assorted other sundries. Top shelf is all the tea, way too many to mention. I am a total tea lover and keep my matcha green tea, hojicha, and genmaicha on the counter for use throughout the day. In the cupboard, you’ll find a sleep blend (chamomile, lemon balm, skullcap, valerian), a detox tea blend, dandelion root tea (hearty taste and good for the liver), white tea, red tea (rooibos), various black teas (assam has very high antioxidants) immunity blend (schizandra berries, nettles, echinacea, astragalus, rosehips, ginger, burdock root, orange peel), chai, Roastaroma, which is basically an herbal coffee-like blend (roasted barley, roasted chicory, roasted carob, cinnamon, allspice and Chinese star anise), digest tea, mint tea, chamomile, the list goes on.
Many, many spices. Spices have medicinal properties and antioxidants. My go-to savory spices are rosemary, oregano, thyme, an herbes de provence blend, cumin, chili powder, bay leaves, coriander, paprika, cayenne, curry powder, creole seasoning, Old Bay, peppercorns, sea salt (unrefined), turmeric. I have a salmon rub and a jerk chicken rub that I like. Sweeter spices include cinnamon (great blood sugar balancing properties), cardamom, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, allspice. Sometimes I combine all the sweet spices and add to oatmeal, hot cereals, muffin or bread recipes, or even smoothies.
Next to the spice rack, I have some rapadura, which is organic whole cane sugar, completely unrefined. Don’t use the white stuff. I also have some molasses and maple syrup, also good for baking. Moving on, there is a jar of raw, unfiltered honey from a local apiary. Buy local honey, and don’t buy honey that has been heated. It destroys the enzymes and other healing properties. Next to that, agave nectar, also great to bake with, especially for diabetics. It is low on the glycemic index, meaning that it won’t spike blood sugar.
There’s a box of Mary’s Gone Crackers (excellent gluten free cracker). In the drawers, there are a couple cans coconut milk, some kidney beans, black beans, and white beans. Quinoa pasta and brown rice pasta.
And there you have it. The basic tour. Soon I’ll do the fridge and then the herbal medicine cabinet!