Health & Diet - My pantry MUST HAVE list

1) Bread & Tortillas
I know, these sound counter productive when it comes to bringing down your blood sugars. Here's the thing, I love carbs. I have tried removing bread, tortillas, and even cookies from my diet before. It works for a while, but then I find myself binge eating ALL THE CARBS. I have found that replacing these items with healthier alternatives serves me better in the long-run. I get bread and bagels from ThinSlim foods. This is not the cheapest option, but for me it has been worthwhile. I keep their cinnamon bagels, everything bagels, and their Love-the-Taste plain bread in my freezer. When I am craving a sandwich, a breakfast bagel, or a burger (I use the everything bagels as a tasty bun alternative) I can retrieve them from the freezer without being tempted to munch on 40+ bread carbs that will do nothing but make me want more while spiking my blood sugar. these are MUST HAVES for me. Likewise, I cannot live without tortillas - nope, not exaggerating. I use Mission Carb Balance tortillas. I use them to make breakfast tacos, lunch wraps, pizzas (recipe coming soon!), regular tacos, and more. I'm not a huge fan of the whole wheat ones, but that doesn't mean you won't like them. Again, I am all about substituting alternatives that are close options to my comfort foods so that I don't feel like I am depriving myself of what I love.

I also make homemade breads, but those will be added to the recipes and my focus here is on the items I purchase and keep on hand. :)

2) Pasta
I tend to prefer Italian and Mexican food, though I like lots of different types of foods. These two tend to be my go-to for cooking. I'm not going to lie, my spaghetti alternative is not everyone's cup of tea and may even be seen as controversial. I buy Edamame spaghetti pasta. The same brand also has a black bean pasta that also has an amazing protein to carb ratio.

ThinSlim also has pasta, but I tend to use their elbow noodles for making macaroni and cheese instead of making spaghetti.

3) Flour
I keep almond flour, GF general purpose flour, and coconut flour available. These are my go-to for many of my homemade low-carb bread recipes.

4) Protein Powders
I have a mix of these. I have a plant based chocolate and an egg based chocolate protein powder. I tend to use 1/2 a scoop of each together when making my coffee fraps. I also keep Vanilla Jay Robb egg protein and unflavored Jay Robb egg protein. I use these two specifically in my baking. Not all protein powders are equal when it comes to baking, but I have found that if you like the flavor before baking and it is an EGG PROTEIN, they all tend to bake pretty consistently.

5) Sugar Replacements
This is tricky. Everyone has their own way of removing sugar from their diet. I tend to use sugar alcohols and coconut sugar. Both can still impact your sugars, but they have a much lower impact (for me anyway) then cooking with regular sugar. So, my current go-to's are Honey Tree Sugar Free Honey and coconut sugar.

I also have some refrigerated items that I like to keep for quick snacks. Some are processed, and while I agree that whole foods are the best way to go, I have found a way that works for me, my abilities, and my health. P3 snacks work really well for me as a quick snack that I can grab on the go. I'm sure there are other things, but these are at the top of my list. :)