There are several basic items you should have in your pantry. With these few essential ingredients on hand you’ll always be able to whip up a meal quickly.
Olive Oil
Vegetable Oil
Balsamic Vinegar
Red Wine Vinegar
Salt & Pepper
Spices
Canned Tuna
Canned Beans
Chicken Broth
Tomato Paste
Jarred Marinara Sauce
Red & White Wine
Rice
Pasta
All-Purpose Flour
Sugar
Potatoes
Garlic & Onions
In your refrigerator keep on hand:
Butter
Milk
Eggs
Plain Yogurt
Parmesan Cheese
Dijon Mustard
Carrots
Lemons
This is a basic list from which you can expand as your pantry grows.
I’ve mentioned the benefits of vinegar before. Olive Oil also has many uses such as for cooking, greasing pans and making salad dressings. Did you know it has many valuable uses beyond cooking?
Olive oil has been used for centuries for personal care. It is a great skin moisturizer, in part because it contains linoleic acid, a compound not made by the body, but which prevents water from evaporating. Consuming olives and olive oil can promote healthy skin, as can applying it directly as a moisturizer. You can also add olive oil to a warm bath for a good healthy soak.
Olive oil also has benefits for hair. Comb a bit through dry or frizzy hair to help tame and moisturize your hair especially in the winter or on humid days. In the book Clean Body, Michael de Jong suggests treating your hair by kneading a few tablespoons of olive oil into your scalp and hair. “Swathe your oiled-up curls with a shower cap and take a thirty minute breather. Then just shampoo as usual to reveal a refurbished mane that even Fabio would envy”, he writes.
A number of people use olive oil as a natural remedy for earaches. One suggestion is to “very carefully use a cotton swab to apply olive oil to the outside ear cavity to help with earaches and excess wax.” Another suggestion is to heat up some olive oil in a microwave for 30 seconds and then apply to the ear that hurts for relief.
According to curbly.com, add a teaspoon of olive oil to your cat’s food to help prevent hairballs, as well as to promote a shiny, healthy coat. Olive oil is likely to be gentler on a cat’s system than petroleum-based anti-hairball lubricants. Plus, it has the benefit of coming from a renewable resource, as opposed to oil from the ground.
However you decide to use your olive oil it is definitely something to keep stocked in your pantry!
Nancy on the Home Front 