Changing your lifestyle means that you are doing something new. You might start a new workout regimen or change things up, you are working on different aspects of your life like sleep and managing stress. The biggest part of it though is changing the way you eat. Cooking more meals from home and eating less processed foods means that you are going to have to fill up your pantry with healthier alternatives. I decided to show you what I have in my pantry, so you can have an idea of what I use. Today, I am going to share what I usually keep in my pantry so I can bake or have healthier and yummy treats.
Baking Mixes
Pamela’s Gluten-Free Pancake Mix: I recently discovered this product through Thrive Market. The ingredients are pretty good, and the pancakes do taste good. It is a pretty convenient way to make pancakes on the weekend without having to make them from scratch.
Birch Benders Pancake & Waffle Mix: Another pancake and waffle mix. I come up with a lot of different pancake recipes, and I also buy a lot of different mix. What can I say, I love pancakes! I like this one because the list of ingredients is short and the only thing you have to add is water. They have so many different mixes, so if you are on a paleo, keto, or gluten-free diet, or even if you do eat gluten, you will find a mix for you.
Simple Mills Vanilla Cupcake & Cake Mix: This is one of my favorite baking mixes from Simple Mills. I love their pancake mix, but this one is the best for birthdays or any event that requires making a cake. I started making one every year for my dad’s birthday (and yes, they do travel all the way to France). I also made one for our wedding anniversary, and I will make one for my birthday next week. Don’t forget to add some vanilla frosting if you are going to buy this mix.
Baking Ingredients
Thrive Market Switch (sugar alternative): I am avoiding sugar so I usually use stevia, erythritol, or xylitol. To be honest, I am not a big fan of erythritol because it hardens. You need to keep it in the fridge or in a dry and cool environment, which is not always easy to do in Texas. It is still a good product at an affordable price.
Tigernut Flour: I started using this flour when I was doing the AIP and had to avoid nuts. It is a great substitute for nut flour because you can use the same amount of flour. I actually prefer using tigernut flour now, and rarely buy almond flour anymore. I feel like you do not get such a dense texture when you bake with tigernut flour. I like recommending it for my clients who are allergic or intolerant to almond. I have a few recipes on my blog that calls for tigernut flour and my favorite one is the collagen pancakes recipe.
Thrive Market Hazelnut Flour: It is pretty much like almond flour, but obviously, you will get a different flavor. I like changing things up and hazelnut flour is another great substitute for almond flour. I feel like a lot of people cannot do almonds, so you can try hazelnut flour for your baking goods. I have mainly been making pancakes with them because that’s pretty much the only sweet thing I cook.
Pamela’s Baking Powder: What is so special about this baking powder? Well, it is corn free. Any baking powder that you can find at your local store will be mainly made with cornstarch and when you are avoiding corn, it isn’t good. You can still make your own and mix baking soda with cream of tartar, but I feel like with the humidity of Texas, it is hard to keep it fresh.
Chestnut Flour: It isn’t easy to find in the U.S but in France, you can find it at most grocery store. It is another substitute to nut flour and I really like the flavor that it gives to my baking goods. It also changes things up when you get tired of baking with almond flour.
Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips: Added to yogurt, pancakes, cakes or whatever else, you need some good chocolate chips. I like these because they are affordable, they are free of several allergens, and they taste good. Do I need to say anything else?
Nut Butter:
Thrive Market Peanut butter: I haven’t been eating peanut butter since I started the paleo diet (in 2014), and to be honest, I have never been a big fan of it. I started buying some when I wanted to bake some peanut butter bites, and I got addicted. I don’t tolerate it very well, so it is a once in a while treat.
Thrive Market Almond butter: We all need some almond butter in our pantry to add to our yogurt, baking goods, shakes, or just to eat with a spoon. I care about ingredients and one thing I don’t like about some nut butters is the added vegetable oil in them. If I am going to spend money on a nut butter, I want it to be 100% nut butter and nothing weird and unhealthy added to them.
Rx Nut Butter: Vanilla Almond Butter is my favorite! I love Rx bars, but I love their nut butter even more. You can buy a big jar or a little pouch that you can take anywhere with you. I like the fact that it is a single serving, so I don’t overdo it. There is added protein to it, so you can have a snack with some good fats and protein.
Justin’s Chocolate Hazelnut & Almond Butter: I don’t buy Nutella and I don’t put sirup on my pancakes, but you can be sure I will spread this butter on them every time. It is pretty much the healthier version of Nutella and it tastes pretty good. I have tried other copycat of Nutella, but they aren’t as good as Justin’s.
Miscellaneous:
Bob’s Red Mill bars: I recently discovered those when I went to the book tour of Cassie from Fed and Fit. We had some swag bag at the event and those bars were part of it. I really like them, but it is more like a treat than a way to get some protein. There is only 7g of protein in them, so I would probably pair them with an Epic bar to get closer to my goal of 20-30 g of protein.
Tera’s Whey Protein Powder: That is the whey protein I have been using for quite a while now. The ingredients are simple, the protein tastes great, and it is made with whey concentrate. It is also affordable, which is important because you could find what I stated above with another brand, but the price will be slightly different ;). I also look for a sale when I buy it at the store, or I simply buy it on Amazon.
Munk Pak Protein Cookies: I always get Coconut White Chip Macadamia because I simply love it. I usually don’t buy a full box, but they have a B1G1F at Central Market, so… My husband seems to love them too. The only thing is that 1/2 cookie is one serving, and if you try those cookies, you will see that eating 1/2 of one is not an easy thing to do. If you are going to make a cookie, you might as well make it smaller to have one serving because that’s too much to ask.
Ona Cookies: I love any flavors, and usually buy them when I place an order on Thrive Market since I cannot find them locally. Each package has two cookies in them, so you can share one with a friend or keep them for yourself.
Clipper’s Tea: I have been drinking some herbal tea when I come home from work and I crave something sweet. Most of the time, it is because I am dehydrated after not being able to drink a lot when I am super busy at work. I love their green tea flavored with fruits. It makes green tea tastes better and it is awesome for an afternoon pick-me-up.
Moser Roth 85% Dark Chocolate: It is my favorite chocolate because it is pretty cheap, and it tastes good. They are also in individual packages, so I can easily grab a few whenever I want to pack my lunch.
