I never thought that our perfect mastery of making supplies for the home pantry for the so-called ‘just in case’ would be an extremely desirable and basic skill in today’s reality we have faced.

Living outside the city center, where without getting into the car my shopping is unlikely to be done, having two small children and anyone from a close family within 800km – believe me – you must have hard buttocks and always a full pantry. Including toilet paper.

Shopping in the right, logical and not trivial way is not a piece of cake like it might seem. Oh no!

How many times have I come home with a car trunk full of food, and when it came to cooking something good, fast and tasty for everyone – I was miserable!

The fact is that cooking from scratch something tasty, well looking and what’s more important something that constitutes a healthy and nutritious meal is not magic, it’s a well-done grocery shopping and well-organized pantry!

Now you are thinking…what the heck does she keep in the storage!?

Well, nothing special but only good, clean and as raw as possible stuff, helpful with fixing a nice dish and making this crazy isolation period not so alienating as it is, unfortunately. You can really create numerous and really tasty things to eat from only those 10 categories examples you can find below. Like my apple-cinnamon rice pancakes you can see above I make almost every morning! I will reveal to you delicious pancakes recipe with any possible variations below this post so you will be free to try it and have fun preparing nutritious and healthy breakfast proposition!

1. Flour – rice, wheat, corn, amaranth, almond, buckwheat, teff…whatever you use usually and what does make it easier for your food preparations. I’m packed with rice and almond flour because I frequently cook a lot of gluten-free dishes and bake cakes and deserts preparing my own gluten-free flour mixes.
2. Olive oil, plant-based butter – necessary in every kitchen.
3. Some pure and ‘nature’ ( no seasoned) canned preparations to be cooked like a tomato sauce, capers, tuna, olives, etc.
4. Dry legumes – this is an absolute bust especially in case you will run out of meat or you would like to have them as a meat substitute. This will keep you with a perfect level of protein! A great choice is any kind of beans, lentils, peas, chickpeas,
5. Rice, pasta, couscous and grains of your choice. Anyway…there is also a way to prepare your own pasta using only 3 ingredients – flour, salt, and water. So no worries if you have enough flour.
6. Baking agents – dry yeast, baking powder or the pure baking soda. Those will be helpful if you will need to bake fresh homemade bread or coffee biscuits.
7. Vegetables and fruits that stay fresh for a long time without the need for immediate preparation as soon as they arrive from home – apples, potatoes, carrots, onion and garlic, lemons, etc. Remember to store them in a cool, dry, and where possible, dark place.
8. Honey, salt, sugar or sugar subs – I also recommend taking home-based ideas into action and sow to be a proud owner of a freshy-green-herbs’ windowsill for your seasoning cravings.
9. Aged cheese like parmesan or pecorino, tofu, seitan, etc., those have distant expiration dates and will give your delicious plates a final touch, especially for pasta and rice dishes.
10. Nuts (not salted) and dried fruits (without sugar additives). Those will help you to keep your energy level up and soul happiness’ in good shape! Those are packed with vitamins, minerals, provide dietary fiber, protective bioactive compounds, source of protein and fatty acids you might need to combat for your mental health and wellbeing!

This is just a simple and very concise example of a shopping list that I always have on hand. I try to keep these few items in my pantry. I started using this method from the time our family grew, and I especially appreciated it when my kids started kindergarten. Because stomach flu sometimes gives you a breeze, without belittling the coronavirus, of course! Long live toilet paper!