Keeping Stock: What You Should Always Have In Your Kitchen

Increasing demands on our time and busy lifestyles means that we have less time for food shopping and even less time for meal planning. If you are a natural whizz in the kitchen then you might see this process as a relaxing way to unwind. But those of us who chalk it up as yet another chore might need a little guide in the right direction when it comes to keeping a good stock of food.

It’s very simple to speed your way round the supermarket grabbing the easiest products that we can get our hands on but this isn’t always the most economical way of shopping. It’s certainly not great for our health and it’s probably not good for your wallet. Impulse shops tend to leave us low on quality items that mean we can always make something simple and quick if we have missed our weekly grocery shop. So a little one hit wonder every month might give you that buffer on the weeks you just can’t face the supermarket sweep.

Making use of the internet can help you save loads of time and get really brilliant products that are healthy and quick. Fit Fuelz create a range of healthy snacks which are great on taste, simple to prepare whilst not compromising on our health. Keeping a good stock of products like this will make life a lot easier.

Fresh meats can easily be frozen and defrosted in your microwave. It’s great to have a buffer of ground beef, chicken fillets and frozen prawns. So you can easily make a nutritious meal without being too prepared. With a few simple dry ingredients you can have a quick stir fry rustled in no time.

Bread, bagels and croissants are excellent to deep freeze and can be baked off in the oven straight from frozen. Meaning you can always serve up egg on toast or just grab a simple croissant for a last minute breakfast.

Your dry store should include rice, pasta and noodles. These are all quick cook products which can make a delicious meal with a little olive oil and some garlic. It’s a great idea to have a jar of pasta sauce on hand too.

In your fridge, useful items include cheese, yoghurt and milk. Obviously fresh is best but keeping a carton of long life milk on standby will mean you don’t find yourself sipping on black coffee at breakfast when you normally have a flat white. It also gives you the basis of a good roux so you can thicken up a soup or make a cheese sauce to spread over pasta or cauliflower.

Make sure you have potatoes too. Perfect for a quick tea with minimum fuss. Jacket potatoes are delicious with butter, cheese or baked beans and will keep you full for hours.

Thinking ahead and keeping the essentials topped up will mean you can eat better even if you can’t make your scheduled shop. So plan once, then top things up as you go along.