Staples

[Amanda]

I have been thinking about this a lot lately, especially when I see like those food blogger 'what's in my pantry' posts- what do you consider to be staples that you should always have around? What do you stock up on?

I am still learning about all this so I don't really have a working list at this point, but ive noticed that I usually get a few extra cans of chickpeas, tomato puree or diced tomatoes (like Muir Glenn nice ones), a few extra boxes of chicken broth or miso broth, some pasta, in addition to the usual dairy stuff like milk and eggs etc etc.

[Jenn Hubbs]

I've got a surprisingly long list of things I always keep in stock, but this is why I rarely have to think much about my grocery lists or buy anything special for meals. This is the stuff I will buy if we are running low on them even if I have no particular plans laid out to use them:
-Cheese, both sliced cheddar and shredded mozzarella/cheddar (I buy a lot and freeze it, at least for the shredded stuff)
-Tortillas, soft taco sized
-Cereal (we eat almost exclusively Frosted Mini-Wheats)
-Lactose-free milk
-Eggs
-Lemon and lime juice
-Cans of black beans, enchilada sauce, diced tomatoes + chilies, coconut milk, chicken, and salmon
-"Better than bouillon" fake chicken broth mix
-Ground meat of some kind in the freezer, usually beef but sometimes turkey or pork, and most of the time, cut up and separated portions of meat for stirfry or soup, and homemade burgers
-Quinoa and pearled barley (I don't like rice, so this replaces it in soups and the like)
-Spinach, onions, and minced garlic
-Chocolate chips and of course baking stuff in general
-Hummus, salsa, pesto, and some kind of red pasta sauce
-Pasta of the bowtie or elbow variety

You'd think with all this plus a CSA I'd never eat out due to "lack of options," but I totally do sometimes. It's very silly of me. (This is why I need to make myself those frozen burritos from Budget Bytes, for the night when none of this seems fast enough!)

[Karen Bowness]

i keep broth concentrate on hand, as well as a few sauces (soy, worcestershire, hoisin) that come in handy a lot.

corn meal and lentils are useful, as well as oatmeal, and they all keep forever. 

baking things like flour/sugar/baking powder/baking soda are pretty crucial, because when i feel like baking, i don't want to run to the store. 

veggie and olive oil, regular and rice vinegar, i find i use frequently. 

after moving this summer, we're finally at the point where i only need to buy a couple of things for each recipe -- the first few months, i needed to buy nearly everything, but now it seems to have equalised. 

[Jackie Leandre]

Eggs

Bacon

Onion

Garlic

Soy Sauce

Fage Yogurt

Glazed Pecans

Coconut Milk 

Some form of Kashi Cereal

Canned Tomatoes 

Flour 

Bread Crumbs

[Linda Stewart]

Hey guys! I just joined the group after someone posted about it in the Friday open thread. My always-keep-in-the-house staples are:

- Pasta
- Tillamook cheddar cheese (I buy the 2 lb. blocks from Costco because I love it that much)
- Bread
- Peanut butter, honey, jam
- Tofu
- Soy milk
- Spinach
- Chobani plain Greek yogurt and Nature Valley granola bars (breakfast M-F)
- Canned stuff: black beans, garbanzo beans, white beans, tomato sauce, tomato paste, diced tomatoes, green beans
- Frozen peas and corn
- Eggs
- Flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, vanilla (like Karen said, I don't like to run to the store when I feel like baking)
- Olive oil
- "Better than Bouillon" vegetable paste to make vegetable broth for soups and such like

[Adrienne]

-pasta
-bread
-tortillas
-rice (brown and white)
-milk
-cheese
-fruit for lunches (apples, oranges, bananas... something that can just be thrown in the bag without preparation)
-eggs
-spinach or other green (to be put in practically everything, raw or cooked)
-onions
-garlic
-soy sauce
-sriracha
-several kinds of beans (chickpeas, kidney beans, black beans)
-salsa
-canned tomatoes