Cleaning out my Pantry

In an effort to get ready for an extreme change of life, with respect to our food habits, I started going through my pantry to see what I had and if there was anything that I could still use for my new diet in January. Frankly, it was pretty bleak once I was done. But, I am stubborn and have a strong resolve so I was not too discouraged when I was left with a box of Kashi cereal (that tastes like cardboard) and a few boxes of oat bran and oatmeal. Oh, and my dried spices seem okay. I set aside a few "last meal" options for my hubby and I to enjoy before the New Year hit, like pork chops and pizza supplies. Most of it, I ended up donating since it was too much to consume over the next two weeks. Cleaning out my pantry has now forced me to follow through with the next step and start shopping organically and replacing my supplies with healthier options. In my next blog, I will talk more about my budget and places I have found that seem reasonable for other families attempting to follow suit. For now, I will give some general outlines that will help you as you go through your pantry too. I had a copy of the Maker's Diet with me and double-checked everything as I went along.

-Cereals/ baking goods: Turn the box over and look at the ingredients. If corn syrup, fructose, or sugar (or any combination of these words) appear in the ingredient list, it is out of here.
-Breads/ baked goods: Anything other than sprouted wheat or whole grains is no longer an option. Anything that has refined or bleached flour has stripped the original wheat kernel of its nutrients.
-Anything canned with syrups, preservatives, sugars, additives, hydrogenated oil and/or trans fat etc. This includes processed canned fruits and veges, soups, jellies, condiments, mayo, ketchup (you can keep it if it is sugar free) and vegetable oil  to name a few. (If the label says it is good for the next couple of years, be suspicious on that alone. What ingredient is causing that to have an unnatural life span?) I also went a step further and eliminated aluminum canned goods like spaghetti sauce, tuna fish etc, leaving me with the only option to have canned goods in glass bottles that are chemically free of any toxins.
-Fake stuff. Fake stuff is the convenient form of fast processed dinners we all use, especially after a long day. Boxed mashed potatoes, the cheese powder in macaroni and cheese, the meat in the canned chili sauce...
-Meats. I was shocked when I pulled out my chicken stash of Perdue chicken that on the COVER states "no hormones or steroids added". There was a little star next to this, so I flipped it over and found it has been injected with potassium lactate, which simply ensures it will have a longer shelf life to benefit the producer with a longer profit period. It was not added for your benefit, period.
-Kosher food. I sadly, love my "unclean" food, but would really like to give this way of life a fair chance. Shrimp and a huge pork tenderloin were all purged from the freezer, along with other pig products. I let hubby have the last package of hot dogs to enjoy before the new year hit.

There is quite alot to go through. These were some of the big things we had in our food supplies and you may have some of the same or different. Now for the next step, I just have to start finding better quality produced meats and cooking basics, while sticking to my budget.