how to detox your pantry in an afternoon · prepared items such as chopped vegetables, salad’s...

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www.theinspiringkitchen.com

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Includes 10 steps

to pantry bliss!

Top tips, practical advice and money saving ideas!

By Jayne Corner

HOW TO DETOX YOUR PANTRY IN AN AFTERNOON

How to detox your pantry in an afternoon

I don’t know about you but sometimes it

becomes far too easy to ‘forget’ about

what may be lurking at the back of your

pantry.

As busy people we tend to pay attention

to the more obvious things in life such as

the piles of dishes needing to be washed,

emptying the bins and folding away the

laundry.

It’s a sad fact of life, but your pantry often

gets neglected.

But wait! Help is at hand.

Enclosed within these pages you will find

10 steps to detoxing your pantry. Not

only will they leave you feeling satisfied

of a job well done, but I have no doubt

they’ll leave you happier and healthier

too.

Shall we begin?

2 www.theinspiringkitchen.com

About the Author

I’m a nature lover, passionate about life,

wellness, health and happiness. I love

super foods, detoxing, gluten free living

and most of all I love inspiring change in

others through the healing and

nourishing world of food and lifestyle

choices. Health starts from within.

Nourish your mind. Nourish your body.

Feel better. Look better. Live better.

Over 15 years ago doctors labeled me

with ‘IBS’. It took years of allergy testing,

elimination diets, blood tests, and eight

biopsies testing for coeliac (I’m not…) to

finally discover that no-one really knew

what was wrong with me. Unexplained

tiredness, troublesome gut problems,

bloating, constipation, diarrhea,

discomfort, nausea, and bleeding all put

under the label of ‘IBS’. I refused to

accept the ‘label’ and instead turned to

nature, wholefoods and made simple but

powerful lifestyle changes.

My own wellness journey lead me away

from an 8 year career in corporate

advertising to Pilates, Reiki and Nutrition.

The Inspiring Kitchen was born.


The 10 steps to pantry happiness

Step 1: Empty out everything, yes everything!

Step 2: ‘Use by’ and ‘best before’ dates

Step 3: Glass vs plastic for storing your goodies

Step 4: Buying in bulk

Step 5: Say goodbye to your table salt

Step 6: It’s time for tea!

Step 7: The good, bad and the ugly of cooking oils

Step 8: Beware of hidden sugar and salt

Step 9: Common additives to avoid

Step 10: Cutting down on the gluten


STEP 1 Empty out everything, yes everything!

It’s hard to see what you may have hiding

away at the back of your cupboards

unless you physically pull it all out. I

would suggest clearing away a space on

the floor or kitchen bench to lay out all

your items. I’d also recommend having a

bin close by too!

Once everything is out of the cupboards

it’s time for a clean. Cupboards can get

dusty and seeing as though you’ve gone

to the effort of removing everything, let’s

make this really worthwhile.

Give the insides a good wipe with some

warm soapy water ready to put back what

you’ll be keeping.


STEP 2 ‘Use by’ and ‘best before’ date

Come on hands up who owns anything 6

months past its ‘best before’ date? I for one

have been guilty of this in the past and I

would suspect a few of you would be too…

To start your detox we’ll be checking this

first, so let’s get clear on the difference

between a ‘use by’ date and a ‘best before’

date.

A ‘use by’ date is usually added to items

which go off quickly such as meat or freshly

prepared items such as chopped

vegetables, salad’s and stocks. These items

will be found in the chilled section of the

grocery store and include instructions such

as ‘keep refrigerated’. It’s very uncommon

to find a ‘use by’ date on dry pantry items,

usually they are given a ‘best before’ date

stamp.

So what does ‘best before’ mean? This date

indicates when a product may start to lose

its flavour, colour or freshness. It’s an

indication of quality as opposed to whether

something is still safe to eat.

It’s also handy to point out that a ‘best

before’ date is only reliable if you store the

items as instructed, For example some

dried goods are quite happy in your pantry

until opened and then they should be

stored in the fridge. Not sure which

products should be moved to your fridge?

Manufacturers will always list this

information on the packaging!


Note: This does NOT apply to eggs.

Always make sure you follow the ‘best

before’ date as eggs can contain harmful

bacteria.

Now we’re clear on what the date stamps

mean, it’s time assign your items to 3

piles:

Pile 1: Everything that is past its ‘use by’

date. These items can go straight in to

the bin!

Pile 2: Everything within its ‘use by’ and

‘best before’ date

Pile 3: Everything which is left! I would

recommend only keeping items which are

outside of their ‘best before’ date by 3

months or less.

Some items such as herbs and spices may

lose their flavour pretty quickly. If you

can’t bear to part with them, decide

whether you plan to use these items soon

and if not, take a deep breath and get rid

of them! Removing the clutter will make

more room for the items you will do eat

and decrease the likelihood of these

items going out of date too!

7 7 www.theinspiringkitchen.com

To extend the life of products with a ‘use by’ date you can freeze them – just make sure you follow any instructions such as ‘defrost thoroughly before use and use within 24 hours’ or ‘freeze on day of purchase’’

TOP TIPS

Tip: Herbs and spices are notorious for getting stuck at the back of the cupboard after being used a handful of times. If you’re throwing away old spices make sure you keep the glass jars, the same goes for any products in jars or useful containers. Throw away the contents but keep the packaging. Not only is glass better to store items in (more of that to come) but buying the refill sizes at the grocery store is a cheaper option too!

STEP 3 Glass vs plastic for storing your goodies

Another pop quiz question! Hands up if

you’ve heard the term ‘BPA free’? Most of

us are familiar with this term in relation to

plastic bottles and food containers. BPA

stands for Bisphenol A which is not

something you want in close contact to

your food. Why? BPA can actually mimic

the female hormone estrogen and is

known by many as a hormone disrupting

chemical. In fact it can produce a wide

range of adverse side effects including

reproductive, developmental and

behavioural problems.

Since 2012 when the FDA in the United

States banned BPA, the growth of BPS

containing plastic products exploded. As

consumers, we were informed that these

were safe and consciously looked out for

the words ‘BPA free’. However, there is

growing evidence to suggest that these

new plastic alternatives could be bad

news too, in fact worse than the BPA

plastics that they replaced.

So what can you do?

Store your dried good in glass jars. For

starters glass jars look nicer and they

come in all shapes and sizes. And it’s not

as hard or expensive as you may first

think. Your local charity store can be a

gold mine for glass jars and containers,

and don’t forget about the jars you may

normally throw away when you’ve eaten

the contents!.



Screw top jars are great for storing nuts, seeds and dried fruit, they also help keep out the air too!

TOP TIPS

Ask your friends and family for their glass jars when they’ve finished with them! You may be surprised at how quickly you are able to replace all your plastic containers.

STEP 4 Buying in bulk

By now you should have a sparkling

empty cupboard looking back at you, a

bin full of old food items which are well

past their ‘use by’ and ‘best before’ dates,

and all your plastic storage containers

either replaced or on the way to being

replaced with some great looking glass

jars! So what’s next?

Buying items in small quantities can be

expensive. Some of the items I go

through quickly include coconut oil, olive

oil, nuts and seeds, certain spices and

herbs, dried fruit and my beloved

Himalayan rock salt. If I constantly

brought these items from my local

grocery or organic store it’d get pretty

expensive. So I have three words for you:

buy in bulk. Many people believe that

buying organic or a higher quality version

of a product is too expensive for them.

Not true, but only if you shop smart.

Make a list of the pantry items you are

consistently using all the time. Now do

some research online. There is a growing

list of companies across Australia, UK and

the US who offer bulk buying discounts in

addition to low shipping costs. If you

have the space at home to store items

this option can really bring down your

grocery bill.

.


Speak to your friends and family and join together on orders – the more you buy the more you save!


The mark up on raw ingredients can be high so if you know someone with the ability to order wholesale on your behalf do it!

TOP TIPS

Shop around! Don’t be limited by the bricks and mortar health food stores or by your physical location. One of my favourite sites is www.iherb.com for buying organic items. Use code VEG728 to save $10 on your 1st order!

http://www.iherb.com/





STEP 5 Say goodbye to your table salt

I hate to say it but that tub of table salt in

your pantry is a serious risk to your

health. Time to detox and time to throw it

out! Unfortunately not all salt is created

equal and there’s much more than meets

the eye to this household staple.

Common table salt is usually heavily

processed with anti-caking agents added

to enable the salt to pour freely and

prevent the granules from sticking

together. Chemical residues left behind

can include aluminium hydroxide, calcium

carbonate and magnesium carbonate.

Trust me, your nervous system is

definitely not a fan of these!

In addition to the potentially harmful

additives, the processing causes many of

the natural minerals to be filtered out. I

think it’s time to rethink your choice of

salt. So if you don’t buy table salt, what

should you buy?

Sea salt and Himalayan rock salt are the

two I would recommend. However, salt

derived from many rivers such as the

Murray River in Australia are well known

and can also be a great choice.


The key is to go as natural as possible

and choose a salt that has undergone

minimal processing. Himalayan rock salt

is packed full of over 84 minerals and as

such has been shown to have a balancing

effect on the body’s electrolytes, this is

turn can help to reduce fatigue amongst

many other health benefits. Sea salt can

also be a wonderful addition to your

pantry and can often be less expensive

than the famous pink Himalayan salt.


Always read the ingredient list and steer clear from salt which includes Anti-caking Agent (554)

TOP TIP

STEP 6 It’s time for tea!

We’re over half way and you’re doing a

great job, well done! It’s time to pop the

kettle on and make a cuppa. But wait, let’s

have a closer look at the tea bags you

have laid out in front of you.

Now I’m not going to go into too detail

about the benefits of organic in this

pantry detox, but I will say this. Tea is

perhaps one the most sprayed crops in

the world. Putting aside the health

benefit debate, there is no question that

consuming products contaminated with

pesticide and herbicide residues can be

harmful to your health. In fact it may

interest you to know that in 2012

Greenpeace found traces of banned

pesticides in the products of China’s top

tea companies. Many of these are

exported to the US and across Europe. So

where do you begin?

Thankfully the demand for organic teas

has grown tremendously over the last few

years and they can be found readily at

your local grocery store. In addition, there

are a growing number of small local

organic tea producers who are blending

some amazing teas! What’s more,

companies such as Oxfam now have a

range of teas that are both organic and

fair trade. I can personally recommend

their green tea, it’s one of my favourites.

Other brands I recommend are Pukka,

Planet Organic, Tea Tonic and the English

Tea Shop.


STEP 7 The good, the bad and the ugly of cooking oils

The type of oil you cook with has long

been a source of confusion to say the least.

We are constantly bombarded by messages

telling us saturated fats are bad, and that

we should be using vegetable oil, canola oil

and olive oil to cook with. Looking at your

pile of pantry items in front of you, I’d like

you to bring together the various oils you

have and we’ll go through them.

First up the top 3 oils you should be

avoiding (and don’t belong back in your

pantry):

1. Canola Oil: Yes I know it’s promoted as

‘low in saturated fat’ and ‘the’ oil to cook

with, but in case you haven’t heard it’s not

saturated fat that is the enemy in the war

on chronic disease and obesity, it’s down to

the enormous amount of sugar we’re

consuming along with the huge array of

toxins hiding in ‘food like’ products. Canola

oil is actually derived from the rapeseed

plant (which is toxic by the way) and arrives

in our grocery store from two methods of

production; either from good old fashioned

plant breeding to breed out the toxic part,

or the more common way, as a GMO. But

there’s not just the GM issue to be aware

of. Even if you purchased cold pressed

organic canola oil, the modified oil with its

high content of Omega 3and low levels of

saturated fat has been shown to cause

vitamin E deficiencies and undesirable

changes in blood platelets. So while in

theory a product can sound good on paper,

the reality may be very different.


2. Vegetable Oil: It’s considered to be an

inexpensive oil, low in saturated fat and a

great choice for frying and baking, But

hear me out. First off a growing number

of these crops are now genetically

modified (in some cases over 80%) so

that should be your first big red flag!

Secondly the oil which is extracted is

done so using high heat (which can break

down the oils and turn them rancid) and

with the addition of chemical solvents

including petroleum to extract the oils.

Not sounding so appealing? The final

product usually undergoes further

treatment to remove any residues, to

improve the colour and is also

deodorised to improve the smell.

Unfortunately it’s not quite the healthy

food you may have thought it to be.

3. Sunflower Oil and Safflower Oil:

Unfortunately these two oils undergo the

same heavy processing as vegetable oil,

and of course the GMO issue is a big

factor you need to weigh up too. But if

we start to delve a little deeper (stay with

me if you can) you’ll start to see that

although these oils are promoted as

being ‘low in saturated fat’, they do in

fact contain an unhealthy ratio of Omega

3 and Omega 6 fatty acids. These are the

essential fatty acids (as our bodies can’t

make them) and health organisations

recommend consuming them in a ratio of

5:1. Both these oils far exceed this ratio,

and too much Omega 6 alone can lead to

an increase in inflammation and

contribute to disease. So if you see the

wording on a product being ‘a good

source of Omega 6’ or ‘good source of

‘linolenic acid’ then it’s time for a

rethink…

Secondly here are my top 2 oils you

should be should be using and cooking

with (you don’t need many!)

1. Coconut Oil: Controversial to some,

coconut oil is high in saturated fats and

comes with a myriad of health benefits

aside from its amazing flavour. This health

gem is THE oil to keep in your pantry.

Why? First up it’s incredibly stable under

heat. It’s a solid at room temperature and

consequently when frying or baking it

won’t readily oxidise like many oils.


This is great news for your body!

Secondly, coconut oil is high in lauric acid

(interestingly this is also found in human

breast milk) which gives coconut oil the

added health benefits of being anti-viral,

anti-fungal and anti-bacterial. The oil is

becoming more and more popular and

many grocery stores now stock it, in

addition to many health food and organic

stores. However always buy organic and

this is a great product to buy in bulk to

save you money on your grocery bill!

Use In: roasting, baking and frying. Also a

great butter substituent for vegans or

those with lactose intolerance.

2. Olive Oil: Many of us are aware of the

benefits of olive oil and why the

Mediterranean’s always look so healthy

and glowing. High in monounsaturated

fatty acids, it also contains beneficial

polyphenols (plant chemicals that have

many potential health benefits) which

makes this oil a firm favourite and a must

for your newly cleaned pantry.

Polyphenols have been shown to lower

inflammation and can act as antioxidants

which help to reduce cell damage.

However it should be noted that these

beneficial compounds are sensitive souls

and as such you need to choose your

olive oil carefully. Always go for oil in a

dark coloured bottle and store in a cool

dark place. In addition choose virgin olive

oil and make sure it’s organic. Virgin olive

oil is produced by physical means as

opposed to chemical processing and it’s

also less likely to have been heat treated.

If you’re looking for the crème de la

crème of olive oil, I’d suggest you go for

extra virgin olive oil (contains the most

polyphenols) and select cold pressed or

unfiltered.

Use In: salads and for low heat sautéing

of vegetables. Avoid high heat.


STEP 8 Beware of hidden salt and sugar

Sugar and salt are added to products for

many reasons but mostly to make them

taste better and to prolong shelf life. Too

much salt has been linked with a number

of health issues, and sugar is a big cause

of inflammation together with weight

gain. Since we’re looking at products with

a longer shelf life than fresh produce, it

shouldn’t come as a surprise that many of

the products you have in front of you are

in fact concealing hidden extras.

Some of the biggest offenders are

canned vegetables. You’d expect that a tin

of kidney beans for example would

contain just kidney beans, but sadly you

would be wrong 9 times out of 10. Tinned

sweet corn is a further example with both

added sugar and salt added to make it

‘super sweet’. If you have canned items in

front of you I’d like to take a look. Turn

the item over and read the ingredient list.

Do the ingredients ‘salt’ or ‘sugar’ appear

in products you initially thought were

healthy choices? Might be time to add

those to the pile of items you won’t be

putting back.


Different brands of the same product are produced differently, even organic items. Next time you’re out shopping spend some time looking at the ingredient labels. I can guarantee you’ll be able to find tinned products with less or no added salt and sugar.


Always rinse your canned vegetables before eating them. You’ll find they taste fresher and remove any residues from storage. Tinned foods carry their own health risks from the lining of the tin so rinsing will also help remove these residues too.

TOP TIP

STEP 9 Common additives to avoid

Unfortunately a lot of our food

undergoes some pretty intense

processing which can leave the end

product lacking taste and visual appeal.

Our demand as consumers has created

longer shelf lives and more aesthetically

pleasing products. So what does this

mean?

Manufacturers now add a variety of

additives to food including colours,

flavour enhancers and preservatives.

There is growing research to suggest that

consuming too many of these additives

can affect our health, including our

nervous system, reproductive system and

digestive system amongst others.

However, with the growth of organic and

more natural products it is now possible

to find healthy alternatives which do not

contain these hidden nasties.

While I agree that it can be hard to

navigate the sea of products in the

grocery store especially when confronted

with messages such as ‘low in fat’, ‘now

contains less salt’, ‘contains natural

flavourings’, and ‘fortified with vitamins

and minerals’, the cold hard truth is that

food marketers want to sell more

products, so it’s up to us as consumers to

train our eye to look beyond the pretty

boxes and advertising messages


Here are the top additives you really want

to be avoiding. These additives are

included in a long list of products but

commonly found in cakes, soft drinks,

snack foods, packet soups, crisps, breads,

preservatives and jams, canned sauces,

ice cream, biscuits, dried meats, canned

fruit and vegetables. They are also found

in dyes, face paints and soaps.

Reasons to avoid include: linked to

cancer, behavioural issues in children,

asthma, skin rashes, vitamin deficiencies,

allergic reactions, abdominal pain and

gastric issues.

Colours:102, 104, 107, 110, 120, 122-129,

132, 142, 150, 151, 155, 160b (annatto)

Preservatives: Sorbates 200-203,

Benzoates 210-213, Sulphites 220-228,

Nitrates, Nitrites 249-252, Proprionates

280-283

Antioxidants: Gallates 310-312, TBHQ,

BHA, BHT 319-321

Flavour Enhancers: 620-625, 627, 631,

635, Hydrolysed Vegetable Protein (HVP),

Hydrolysed Soy Protein (HSP), Soy Protein

Isolate (SPI), Textured Vegetable Protein


Always read the packaging before you buy! Many numbers will be shown with a ‘E’, for example E102.

TOP TIPS

Watch out for dried fruit, it’s a common hidden source of 220. Usually you can spot whether a product contains 220 from the colour of the item. Dried apricots with 220 will appear orange in colour whereas those free from preservatives will appear brown in colour.

STEP 10 Cutting down on the gluten

Gluten sensitivity is a common source of

debate in the mainstream media. Whilst

it’s true that there are some who are

100% gluten intolerant, there are also

those who are have varying degrees of

gluten sensitivity, myself included.

Some look at going ‘gluten free’ with

suspicion and see it as a fad, while others

are beginning to realise reducing the

amount of gluten consumed does indeed

have positive health benefits. No matter

where you sit with gluten, I truly believe

that everyone can benefit from reducing

their intake. Whether the benefits include

less bloating, more energy, a happier

digestive system, the effects will be

different for everyone.

While I’m not going to go into too much

depth on gluten here, it’s important to

realise that gluten is in a lot of products.

Now a days it’s not just found in the

obvious such as cereal, bread and pasta

but can be found in soups, sauces and

even in meat products!

What we are going to look at in this final

step are the ‘quick wins’. Looking at your

remaining items I’d like you to cast your

attention to the cereal boxes and pasta

packets. Cereal comes in all shapes and

sizes and some although promoted as

healthy (remember all those natural

advertising slogans) is not as perfect as

you may have hoped.


While I am not suggesting you get rid of

these products today, I am suggesting a

switch the next time you need to stock

up. There are now a variety of rice based

cereals on the market, an insanely

growing gluten free muesli selection and

of course the return and growth in many

of the ancient cereal grains such as

amaranth, buckwheat (which is actually a

seed), quinoa and of course oats which

have undergone limited processing

ensuring you reap the benefits

nutritionally.

The same can be said about pasta. Gone

are the days when our only option was

wheat based pasta, we now have various

gluten free options including rice based

pasta and noodles, and my favourite

variety made from black beans and mung

beans! These alternatives, especially

legume based are higher in protein and

lower in carbohydrates and taste just like

the more traditional pasta’s. And again,

these don’t need to be expensive.


Stock up on rice based noodles and products from your local Asian stores. They sell these items in bulk and usually at significantly lower prices than at your local grocery or health food store.

TOP TIPS

A final note…

By now you should definitely be

congratulating yourself on a job well

done! It’s not easy to navigate through

the boxes, tins, jars and packets but I

hope this has left you feeling more

empowered and in control of your pantry.

Sometimes when we’re given a lot of

information such as the earlier ten steps,

it can be easy to feel overwhelmed and

unsure where to begin. Consequently we

fail to start, or try and give up pretty

quickly! After reading the 10 steps start

where you feel most comfortable, for

example even if you only completed

steps 1 and 2 you’d be making a big step

in the right direction. If you’re feeling

fired up and ready for a full pantry detox

then go for it!

Yours in Health & Happiness,

Jayne, The Inspiring Kitchen


how to detox your pantry in an afternoon · prepared items such as chopped vegetables, salad’s...

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