Count on your pantry pals in times of uncertainty

By Bev Utt, MS, MPH, RD

I’m loving my pantry these days as empty supermarket shelves and social distancing become our new normal. This is the perfect time to use the unique items living in your pantry. I like to refer to them as pantry pals. These pals provide the foundation for delicious meals and snacks.

I’ve put together a list of shelf-stable foods that can be safely stored at room temperature and have a long shelf life, as well as a few recipes you can use to elevate these basic foods. It’s the quintessential quarantine menu.

Canned meats for sandwiches, on a bed of greens or a portable snack

• Tuna salad
• Chicken Salad
• Sardines on crackers

Canned beans for soup, chili, salads, burritos and dips

• Curried Chickpea Salad

Begin with a can of garbanzo beans. Drain, rinse and smash 75 percent of them. Add something briny or acidic (capers, pepperoncini or pickles). Add something punchy (red pepper flakes, garlic, sliced green onions or curry powder).  Finally, something creamy or rich (Greek yogurt, mayo, Dijon mustard or olive oil).

• Big Bowl of Red

A chili made from pantry foods like jar of spaghetti sauce, kidney beans, corn, onion, celery and fresh green pepper, if available.

• Black bean soup

Experiment with an online recipe, or add to a boxed or canned version with fresh foods you might have.

• Refried beans for tacos, burritos, haystacks
• Red Lentil Dip for carrot, celery sticks and pita bread
• Black bean dip for tortilla chips

Premade soups to eat, as is, or to top baked potatoes, pasta or rice

• Top-baked sweet potato with canned black beans, diced mango and tomato (if available), jalapeno, olive oil and lime juice.
• Mushroom soup can also serve as a sauce when baking chicken or fish.
• Soup packets, like hot and sour, or miso flavored soup.  Add water, noodles and something sharp like green onions with soup packet. When noodles are cooked al dente, add a couple of handfuls of fresh spinach.
• Additional suggestions for adding nutrition and flavor include beating an egg and dropping it into the broth or scrambling an egg and adding chopped scrambled egg to the soup.  Of course, toss in any chopped fresh ingredients you might have.

Grains and seeds serve as a meal staple for breakfast, bowl meals, pilaf-type dishes, meat replacement in chili, or add-ons to burritos, taco salads or served alongside stir fries.

• Rice, especially brown rice and wild rice.
• Quinoa cooks up quickly and it is versatile. Its nutritional profile outshines rice for protein content, fiber and other valuable nutrients.
• Go for the least refined grains like steel cut oats. These oats are worth the added time it takes to cook up a batch.  Then use your imagination to flavor up this hearty breakfast food.  Think lime juice, toasted coconut strips and a little sugar, or apple juice in place of water, cinnamon and chopped apple.
• Use this stay-at-home time to experiment with other whole intact grains like farro, einkorn, wheat berries and others.

Nuts offer a hearty richness to breakfast cereals, parfaits, salads or to eat by themselves. Nuts can also be a component of sauces, like Greek skordalia and Spanish romesco. Keep nuts in your refrigerator to extend freshness.

• Nuts offer crunch to breakfast cereal, especially cooked oatmeal.
• Can also be a rich layer to yogurt parfaits along with canned or dried fruit, and granola.
• Pecans or pistachios complement a beet salad.
• Walnuts and apples add interest to greens. Peanuts or cashews add crunch to an Asian salad.
• Amp up your family’s interest in eating more nuts by creating savory, salty, spicy or sweet nut mixes with just a few ingredients in the sauté pan. The internet is filled with quick and easy recipes.

Top 10 fresh items to look for at grocery stores to add color, flavor, texture and nutritional punch to your pantry pals:

• Celery
• Sweet peppers
• Spinach or other greens
• Beets
• Carrots
• Apples
• Garlic
• Onions
• Lemons and limes
• Potatoes and sweet potatoes

Tortillas, flatbread, pita pockets and naan freeze easily for future use.

• Huevos Rancheros on tortillas
• Homemade pizza using flatbread
• Curried chicken or garbanzo salad stuffed into pita pockets
• Naan as a carrier for hummus, red lentil dip or black bean dip

Another way to remain healthy during the COVID-19 outbreak is to abide by handwashing guidelines and engage in social distancing. To learn more about ways to keep yourself and others safe, visit MultiCare’s COVID-19 Resource Center.