The ten things that are always in my fridge

I often hear that women spend a lot of time shopping if they want to eat healthier. I recognize this from the period when I was switching from ‘cooking with scissors’ to ‘cooking with my kitchen’. Now it takes me much less time because I always have certain things in stock. Read here what these are.

1. Fresh vegetables in all colors of the rainbow

I would prefer a refrigerator with six vegetable drawers because two is really too little. When I walk around the organic market or visit the health food store on Fridays, vegetables are always the first thing that goes to my cart. I always buy some vegetables: broccoli, zucchini, celery, carrots, leeks, tomatoes and red bell pepper I almost always have in stock. I use them in stir-fries, soups, salads and to make gluten-free pasta. It also depends on the season what else ends up in my vegetable drawers. If something is about to get limp, it goes into the slow juicer and I make juice from it. I then use the stew that remains to bake a vegetable burger together with an egg, some gluten-free flour (corn flour is very nice) and herbs or soy sauce.

2. Unroasted nuts, seeds and kernels; plenty of choice

Do you lack energy? Then see if you are getting enough healthy fats. I always have healthy fats in stock because I know that my hormone balance can only stay in balance if I eat healthy fats. Estrogen, Progesterone, Testosterone and cortisolare all made of cholesterol ; so a fat. Healthy intestines and your liver also need healthy fats. No, fats don’t make you fat and sick; sugars and carbohydrates make you fat and sick. That’s why I always have a stock of almonds, cashews, hazelnuts, Brazil nuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, pine nuts, chia seeds, hemp seeds, linseed and/or sesame seeds. I vary with this, if something is on I buy something else. I couldn’t live without it.

Homemade vegetable milk

I always make vegetable milk from these unroasted nuts, seeds and kernels. This is much healthier and above all cheaper than from a pack. This is how you make vegetable milk yourself: soak a cup of nuts or seeds (a mix of two types is also possible) in water overnight. Rinse it off and add it to your blender with four cups of filtered water. Blend on the highest setting for half a minute. Sieve it with a fine pointed sieve or cheesecloth and your vegetable milk is ready. Will keep for five days in the refrigerator. Use it in a smoothie, with a breakfast of oatmeal or fresh fruit, or pour a splash into your coffee. This way you can also make vegetable milk from rice and oats. Boil rice first.

4. Fruit with avocados as a leader!

I eat plenty of fruit, especially in the summer. Not all fruit goes into the fridge, but sometimes my fruit bowl is so full that I keep the rest in the fridge. Avocados are also fruit that I eat regularly. I actually never eat fruit that loose, but always with something else or processed in something. Usually with fats or proteins, so that my blood sugar level remains nice and stable. Pear with oatmeal for breakfast, apples in a dessert, peach with nuts as a snack, pineapple in a smoothie, frozen red fruit in an ice cream pudding, orange juice with water for a summer drink, mango in a juice or ripe bananas to make granola. Just to name a few! I also regularly use avocados in desserts. If you don’t like avocados, that’s a great way to (learn to) eat them!

5. Eggs, but the only real ones

Since I eat very little meat and fish, eggs are a good source of protein, amino acids, vitamins D and B12 for me. Eggs are much healthier than you may think. We are afraid of eggs because there are many cholesterol in it, but that does not mean that our cholesterol will increase. Our cholesterol goes up when we eat too many sugars and carbohydrates, causing our blood vessels to become inflamed. Cholesterol then comes to neutralize these inflammations. Cholesterol is the fire brigade that comes to extinguish the fire, I always say. It is important to eat the healthiest eggs available: choose organic eggs from chickens that have been allowed to forage outside. Real eggs.

Vegetable oils; always keep in the refrigerator

I always have a supply of healthy vegetable oils at home. I use coconut oil for baking and olive oil to heat something in. Furthermore, I have some other vegetable oils in stock that should not be heated and kept in the fridge or they will spoil. Think of perilla oil, walnut oil, linseed oil, argan oil and macadamia oil. Of course I don’t have them all in stock at the same time. I choose two or three and then buy something else. I use them a lot in salads, but sometimes also over my oatmeal breakfast with fruit or in a smoothie. Especially if it has turned out rather sweet, I use a nice oil to prevent my blood sugar from spiking too much. I can recommend it! Buy the best quality you can get, preferably organic. Cheap is expensive with oil.

7. Dark chocolate and homemade raw chocolate bonbons

As a true chocoholic, chocolate is of course not missing in my fridge. I always have a 99% dark chocolate bar in my fridge. Sometimes I eat a piece of it with a cup of coffee, but usually I use it grated in raw chocolate recipes or as a finishing touch on a dessert. I also always have an 85% or 70% bar in stock. I eat pieces of this when I need something sweet or a boost of caffeine but don’t want to drink coffee. Dark chocolate contains many healthy substances. Actually, most of them are contained in raw cocoa, so I also regularly make raw cocoa chocolates, but I keep them in the freezer, otherwise, the temptation is too great to eat them right away!

8. Homemade coconut yogurt

All forms of fermented food help you to have a healthy intestine. They naturally contain probiotics that healthy gut bacteria feast on. Kefir, soy, tempeh, miso, kombucha, sauerkraut, and yogurt are all types of fermented foods. I confess that I haven’t gotten around to fermenting vegetables myself (this is still on my long to-do list) but I do use water kefir to make my own kefir drink. This gives a delicious summer drink.

9. Dates and unsulphurised apricots; delicious sweets

I also keep my stock of dates and dried apricots in my fridge. I always buy apricots un sulphurised, the dark brown ones, because they do not contain sulfite. Dates and apricots are high in fiber and apricots are among the few dried fruits that won’t spike your blood sugar. I often add them in small pieces to a raw vegetable salad. I often buy these two in larger quantities, which is why I keep them in the fridge. Soft Medjool dates are my sweets. I think they are too sweet to eat like this, but I like to use them in smart snacks and tasty desserts. And sometimes I just replace the kernel with a large Brazil nut and eat it like that. How simple do you want it to be?

10. 100% natural almond hand cream

In the door of my fridge is a jar of delicious, 100% natural hand cream. After an hour (or longer) in the kitchen, I like to rub my hands with this tasty, somewhat greasy almond cream. Since I try to avoid hormone disruptors as much as possible, I am very selective in what I put on my skin. Everything you put on your skin is also food for your body. That is why I choose 100% natural as much as possible. Usually, this also contains fewer preservatives; that’s why I keep this jar in the fridge. Nice and close to the kitchen so that I don’t forget. It could be a jar of almond yogurt. Hey! New idea to try: almond yogurt!

Do you recognize my fridge? Is yours a bit like mine? I always like it when you leave a comment below. If you find this article valuable for your health and vitality, please help spread it by sharing it with other women. This can be done by means of the social media buttons.