I hate when you walk into your kitchen wondering what to make for dinner only to find that your shelves are full but stocked with a whole lot of nothing. On occasion I have found myself with cookies, chips, fruit snacks, tomatoes and beans. I’m not sure that I am a talented enough cook to recreate my own version of the Food Networks Chopped in my very own kitchen. Although that could make for an interesting meal but it would probably lack in nutrition and I doubt anyone would care much to eat it, even if I were extremely creative.

While it might look like the pantry shelves are full with boxes and cans, spending a few minutes to figure out what you really have in the pantry on what one needs on hand will help make your pantry a well rounded resource of ingredients.

A simple way to save money is to stock your pantry with a few staple items in advance. This will make cooking from scratch easier and help you stretch your budget when it comes to meal time. Having a variety of essential ingredients on hand will prove to be a valuable way to plan healthy and well balanced snacks and meals. Having the basics for each food group on hand is a must. But where do you start? The following is a list of a few suggested ingredients that you might find useful to have in your pantry.

Grains
pasta
rice
rolled oats
all purpose flour
cornstarch

Canned Goods
Chicken Stock
Beans
Diced Tomatoes
Some sort of fruit in natural juices, (example: pineapple, pears or peaches)
Your choice of canned vegetables.

Spices
Salt
Pepper
Oregano
Basil
Garlic Powder
Cumin Powder
Ginger
Cinnamon
Vanilla Extract
Nutmeg
Cloves
Cayenne Pepper
Paprika
Old Bay Seasoning
Grill Seasoning

Condiments
Ketchup
Dijon Mustard
Olive Oil
Vegetable Oil
Soy Sauce
Worcester Sauce
Apple cider Vinegar
White Vinegar

Baking Supplies
White Sugar
Brown Sugar
Nuts
Raisins
Baking Soda
Baking Powder
Chocolate Chips

Other
Jams
Peanut Butter
Honey