Take Stock and Shelve Your Fears: A Guide to the Pantry

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Published on Sept. 20, 2015

I’m surprised that no one has written a student version of “Old Mother Hubbard” -- looking at your shelves at the beginning of the school year makes it fairly clear that bare cupboards are not so easily relegated to nursery rhymes.

Buying your own food for the first time, whether that means nursing a stash of breakfast foods in your rez room or stocking an entire kitchen from the ground up, is exciting -- but the charm also starts to wear off when you realize you’ve eaten nothing but Ichiban for the past month. So in the hopes of making life just a bit easier, here is my guide to the pantry.

With the reality of our student lifestyles in mind, I should begin with the caveat that by "pantry," I really just mean the loose collection of dry goods that we tend to have on hand. Few of us have the luxury of having an entire food closet. Like one of those mathematical word problems, we’ll let "pantry" represent the range of dry and non-perishable goods stashed somewhere in our living spaces.

I like to think of my pantry (or in my case, kitchen shelves) as a backdrop to the fresh groceries that I shop for more frequently. Since pantry goods last for longer periods of time, I find it easier to stock up in large increments at the beginning of the term. If you do one big shop, there will be less to carry and purchase the next few times. This can make grocery shopping less daunting and can also save you money if you wait for canned and boxed items to go on sale.

The following is a list of the essentials I like to have on hand. Personal preference, budget and schedule have a lot to do with how I shop, and I have no doubt that this list will vary immensely depending on the household. Hopefully, it will provide you with some guidelines and inspiration!

Legumes[/ub_subhead

Pretty much the best thing you can do for a student pantry is to buy a ton of beans and lentils. They’re cheap, fast, filling, healthy and remarkably versatile. Buying them dried is the cheapest option, but it does require a bit of foresight as they should be soaked before cooking for maximum nutritional value and minimal digestive upset. Buying them canned is a tad more expensive, but still wonderfully affordable and highly convenient.

Chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans) -- Wonderful for adding to soups, curries and salads, as well as for making hummus at home.

Cannellini (white kidney) beans -- A great addition to pastas and soups with tomato sauce or pesto. You can also make a delicious, creamy dip with some olive oil and fresh herbs (rosemary and basil work well).

Black beans -- Can be used in Asian and Mexican dishes, in scrambled eggs with a bit of salsa and blended into an awesome soup with a little bit of stock.

Lentils -- A satisfying (and cheap) alternative to meat as a taco filling with some mushrooms. They're also ideal for curries and soups.

Grains[/ub_subhead

Students tend to eat a lot of rice and pasta and it’s no secret why -- they are fast, filling, delicious (mmm, carbs) and versatile. However, there is a wider world of carbohydrates out there if you are willing to make minimally more effort!

Rolled oats -- Not just for oatmeal. They're great to put in muffins, cookies and fruit crumbles, as well as an amazing make-ahead quick breakfast.

Bulgur -- If you like brown rice but hate waiting the requisite 45 minutes for it to cook, you should try bulgur! It’s a type of dried, cracked whole wheat that is a quick and filling alternative carbohydrate. It only takes 15 minutes to cook and is great with curry, stir-fry or in fried rice. It also makes a nice addition to salad for a more substantial meal.

Quinoa -- If you haven’t been living under a rock, you’ve probably heard of quinoa which has exploded in popularity over the last couple years. Expensive but healthy, it only takes 15 minutes to cook. Try using it in salads or in place of rice.

Barley -- If you want to impress someone on a budget, try making risotto with barley. There are many recipes for it and risotto itself is not as intimidating a dish as the name can imply. All you have to do is make sure you stick around and pay attention to it while you’re cooking as all it takes is a little patience and lot of stirring.

Rice -- I’m partial to Rooster brand Thai white rice -- it’s fluffy, delicious and very cost effective. Learning how to cook rice properly (without a rice cooker) is one of the best life skills one can acquire, in my opinion. Here’s how I learned -- (the trick is not covering the pot until after the water has simmered to a certain point. Pay close attention to when it tells you to put the lid on.)

Spices[/ub_subhead

Spices can be a daunting investment. I tend to avoid buying dried herbs as fresh ones are cheap and easy to find in Vancouver. Below are the ones I can’t live without and would recommend springing for.

Black Pepper -- Get these whole instead of pre-ground and invest in a pepper grinder. Freshly ground black pepper is miles beyond the pre-ground stuff.

Cumin -- I go through so much cumin! It’s so versatile and will make your soup, curry and anything else that needs a savoury element absolutely delicious. I use cumin with coriander in almost all my curries -- it's way better than curry powder.

Coriander -- When fresh, it's also known as cilantro -- which I hate. When dried however, it's a different beast entirely and very delicious in curries, soups and marinades.

Cardamom -- A spice common to chai tea mixes, cardamom is my go-to “secret” ingredient. Try it instead of cinnamon in baked goods and sweet things or sprinkled into yogurt with fruit.

Smoked Paprika -- Sounds fancy, but in reality it's very affordable and super delicious. It's a vegetarian’s best friend if you want your food to have that smoky and savoury profile that usually comes from meat. Choose this over normal paprika any day.

Cinnamon -- A must-have for anyone who bakes and one of my secret weapons when I make homemade tomato sauce. It balances the acidity in tomatoes really nicely while not adding too much sweetness.

Bay leaves -- I put one or two bay leaves in anything that needs to simmer for a long time -- sauces, soups, curries and even rice. They add a nice, subtle depth of flavour.

Vinegars and Oils[/ub_subhead

Olive oil -- Ever watch a Gordon Ramsay cooking video and notice how he almost always starts with olive oil? It's not an accident. It's relatively healthy (in the world of oil anyway) and an all-around cooking superstar.

Canola oil -- Cheaper, but not as delicious as olive oil. I use it to pan-fry tofu or in baking recipes that call for neutral oil.

Sesame oil -- Stir fries and salad dressings. ‘Nuff said.

Balsamic vinegar -- Surprisingly affordable if you’re strategic. Try looking for it at Greek grocery stores as it can sometimes be as cheap as three dollars a bottle. Use in salad dressings and drizzle over roasting vegetables.

White wine vinegar -- Use in salad dressings. It's an essential for homemade French vinaigrette.

Rice vinegar -- Use for Asian marinades, sauces and in salad dressings.

Nuts and Seeds[/ub_subhead

Here’s the part where I confess that I’m allergic to all nuts except for peanuts and almonds (Weird, huh?). Anyway, that accounts for the list below. However, I will say that nuts are expensive which explains the fact that I don’t go all out buying them. They can be worth it depending on your dietary priorities and especially if you don’t eat meat. Substituting pumpkin or sunflower seeds for nuts can help cut down on your grocery costs, especially if you like a little crunch in your salads.

Pumpkin seeds -- If you can’t eat pine nuts, try making pesto with roasted pumpkin seeds instead.

Sunflower seeds -- Great substitute for almonds or walnuts. They're very cheap and an amazing salad topper when roasted.

Almonds -- Try coarsely chopping roasted almonds and serving them on top of green beans with a little butter, salt and lemon zest. Fancy!

Peanuts -- Chop them finely and sprinkle them on stir-fries.

Baking Supplies[/ub_subhead

This section is pretty self-explanatory. If you want to bake and aren’t sure where to start, here’s what usually comes in handy.

Flour

White sugar

Brown sugar

Baking powder

Baking soda

Vanilla extract

Chocolate chips

Salt

Other Wonderful Pantry Finds[/ub_subhead

Better Than Bouillon -- A genius ingredient, it's concentrated stock that you add water to as needed. It seems expensive, and then you remember that it’s highly concentrated and therefore makes a large volume. Great to have on hand for making homemade soup (or barley risotto!) and it comes in a variety of flavours such as beef, chicken, vegetable and mushroom.

Pasta -- Duh.

Coconut milk -- Thai curries are within your reach if you have this and some spice paste on hand.

Shredded coconut -- One of my favourite inexpensive ways to make everything I eat feel luxurious. Add to oatmeal, yogurt, baked goods and toast…. Go wild.

Dried currants -- Like miniature raisins but not as cloyingly sweet. They're really great in salads, granola, yogurt and oats.

Popcorn kernels -- I opt for these over microwave popcorn. My preference (budget, taste and health-wise) is to pop my popcorn in a heavy-bottomed pot on the stove. Learn how here (although the amount of oil and butter in this recipe is luxurious to say the least).

Tahini -- Handy for salad dressing and homemade hummus. You can find this for cheap at Persia Foods.

Peanut butter -- Also, duh.

Canned diced tomatoes -- Start making your own tomato sauce at home! It’s so, so easy and quick, as well as much healthier and cheaper than the stuff in a jar. Fry up onions and/or garlic, add some cumin, cinnamon and a bay leaf, then add the diced tomatoes and simmer down to reduce for 15-20 minutes.

There you have it -- my pantry secrets revealed. Now shelve your fears of grocery shopping and stock

up!