The Best Ingredients in my Kitchen

My family’s journey toward more real food has been a long, slow one. And I’m always figuring out new ways to improve things.

But I started with the basics first, the basic ingredients that you’ll find right here, on this page.

You’ll find even more on my FREE Pantry Checklist & sweet discount codes, just for you:

Sugars on my pantry checklist

This maple syrup is the most delicious all-natural syrup. And it’s not just for pancakes! Use code SOULYRESTED for 10% off.

This tupelo honey is so sweet, you can use less and it NEVER crystalizes. Use code MAPLE for 15% off (excludes gallons)

Coconut sugar is lowest on the glycemic index of all natural sugars. Boiled from nectar, it tastes nothing like coconut.

Monk fruit is an amazing zero-calorie, all-natural sugar. I make homemade hot chocolate powder (& much more) with this.

This is an amazing organic, all-natural, unrefined alternative to brown sugar. I love it in cookies.

Date syrup is an organic, all-natural alternative to the highly refined option of molasses, it’s lower on the glycemic index & it tastes like caramel! I love it in drinks (think Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate)

Maple sugar is delicious, all-natural sugar that you can substitute for refined sugar in every way, 1:1 ratio

Organic cane sugar — when I learned about the chemicals used on the sugar cane fields during harvest I decided if all our sugar couldn’t be all-natural, it had to at least be organic. This is the best price for a good sugar.

While some know me as the Queen of Maple, the fact is I’m a huge fan of many complex, all-natural sugars. I really enjoyed my talk with David Steltzer, founder of my favorite direct food supplier, on this very topic. Listen to the episode (S7 E3) here or join in on our conversation on youtube:

Seasonings on my pantry checklist

From eggs, to fries, to meat, everything tastes better with this garlic pepper. (Use code SOULYRESTED.)

The only salt mined in the US is never stripped of natural minerals. Use code SOULYRESTED to save $$.

I love this garlic salt. Bonus that it (like all Redmond’s salt) comes from an underground sea salt, naturally protected from pollutants. Use code SOULYRESTED.

I love this Everything Bagel Seasoning that I make myself and use on so many things. (Click here for recipe.)

I love these pocket salt shakers… no need to ever be without the best salt. Use code SOULYRESTED to save 15%

I use nutritional yeast liberally and often in my kitchen. It completely replaced processed parmesan cheese a while ago and I have never looked back.

A delicious seasoning blend that helps you get a dose of organ meats (without even realizing it!).

Flour on my pantry checklist

Hard white wheat berries are great for bread flour. (See below for my grain mill.)

Soft white wheat berries make the best baked goods. (See my grain mill below.)

This is the best all-purpose flour I’ve found anywhere. Buying in bulk is by far the best price. See storage options below.

While you can make your own starter (see below), this is a great option if you want to purchase one.

Vital Wheat Gluten–I add 1 TB of this to every 1 c of fresh flour when I want more gluten development

If you want to mill your own flour, you’ll need high-quality wheat berries and a mill like mine. Or check out my Complete Guide to Choosing a Grain Mill for help deciding what mill is best for you. My #1 go to for all my wheat berries (I buy a large assortment, from spelt, to rye, to kamut, and so much more) is Azure Standard. Go here to see if Azure delivers near you. (And these bucket lids are the best way to store your berries.)

If you want to know more about all the many wheat berries I use and how to mill your own fresh flour, dive into my FREE resource right here.

Check out this article for more info on how to make sourdough bread without discard as well as how to start your own sourdough starter.

Staples on my pantry checklist

I buy these chocolate chips in bulk. They’re organic AND made with a sweetener that won’t spike your blood sugar levels.

Avocado oil is a healthy choice with the highest smoke point. And with Azure’s continual, detailed reviews, testing the certificate of analysis, I can be assured this is pure avocado oil.

Sourced from world-renowned orchards, organic beans make this a wonderfully flavorful vanilla.

These crushed cacao beans are rich, chocolatey, and loaded with nutrients and powerful plant compounds. I love them in smoothies and shakes, or in cookies along with chocolate chips.

I love using carob in place of chocolate. It has more calcium and fiber and less calories than chocolate. And it’s naturally sweet, with no added sweeteners!

If you can’t render your own (see directions below), this lard is the next best thing.

Basmati rice is the only rice I buy. It’s rich in all 8 essential amino acids and folic acid and has a nutty aroma and fluffy texture.

We eat a LOT of this organic, gorgeous, multi-colored popcorn that’s loaded with 2.5 times the antioxidants of plain yellow corn. We air pop it, drizzle on avocado oil, and sprinkle on nutritional yeast.

Dates are an all-natural, complex sugar way to sweeten so many things. I love these.

And don’t forget peanut butter–it’s so easy to make your own! Here’s my peanut butter recipe.

Dive into the healthy fat with my Complete Guide to Rendering Lard or buy the good stuff linked above for some of the most amazing healthy fat you can use in your kitchen.

How I Store my Bulk Food Items

These lids are a game changer, organizing rice, wheat berries, popcorn, dried fruit & more in bulk, so I save money..

I store herbs, seasonings, sugars & teas with these. I always buy in packs of 4 for big savings.

This stainless steel lid, with an amazing seal, is great for second ferment in mason jars, since they’ll never rust from the acidic nature of kombucha and fermented foods.

This set of stainless steel containers is dishwasher safe and the lids have a nice seal.

I keep the dogs’ food in this storage container on wheels. I love that I can easily access it and it’s air-tight..

This vacuum sealer does a nice job helping me store my food.

Trust me, small, determined steps make a world of difference. So when I longed to eat a little healthier, I decided to start with the ingredients I use the most. One at a time–I’ve tried to source the best ingredients I can find.

In this podcast episode I break down 6 swaps you might want to consider in your kitchen. Click below or listen on apple podcast..

How I Make Popcorn

Fill your air-popper to the fill line, for us that’s about 3/4 cup of my favorite popcorn kernels. We eat a LOT of this organic, gorgeous, multi-colored popcorn that’s loaded with 2.5 times the antioxidants of plain yellow corn.

Place a large bowl under the popper and get your toppings ready to add in layers, as the popcorn starts filling the bowl.

Drizzle avocado oil 2 or 3 times across the top of the popcorn kernels as they start to fill your bowl.

Quickly shake on popcorn salt and nutritional yeast, with each layer of oil.

You’ll need about 1/8 cup of avocado oil, 1/4 tsp of popcorn salt, and 1 TB of nutritional yeast for a large bowl of popcorn.

Why popcorn salt? It’s super fine, made to adhere perfectly to your popcorn instead of lining the side of your bowl. Use code SOULYRESTED to save when you stock up on some!

The Best Popcorn Toppings

These are our favorite popcorn toppings. On every item mentioned here, save $$ with code SOULYRESTED.

No matter which one on this list I reach for, I always also use Redmond’s Popcorn Salt and some drizzle of avocado oil. Avocado oil is a healthy choice, but only if you know the source. Sadly, most avocado oils are cut with seed oils. But this avocado oil is put through a rigorous analysis often, assuring it’s pure avocado oil.

Nutritional yeast is way better than the fake parmesan cheese powders at the grocery store that are made with wood pulp (seriously), to maintain the powdery consistency and prevent clumping. Using nutritional yeast instead means you’re using a complete protein source, rich in B vitamins (especially B12), and getting good fiber too.

Organic Cheddar Cheese Powder is always delicious on popcorn. I like this option because it’s made with tapioca maltodextrin. Most maltodextrin powder is derived from either Corn or Wheat, which means they are GMO (Corn) and NOT Gluten Free (Wheat). Tapioca Maltodextrin is pure and naturally non-GMO and Gluten Free.

Smoked salt is also a really good topping… Probably Bill’s favorite.

I also love every option in this set of real-food popcorn seasonings.

More Things You’ll Love:

6 Swaps You Need to Make in Your Kitchen ASAP

The Tools I Use Daily in my Farmhouse Kitchen.

A Conversion Chart for Swapping Natural Sugar for Refined

Download my FREE pantry checklist right here!

And you might love the whole third season of my podcast, all about real food ingredients. Find the Simple Doesn’t Mean Easy podcast here or on any podcast player. This might be the best episode to start with:

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