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HAVING A CUPBOARD stocked up with all sorts of essentials is probably the biggest gift you can give yourself.
Why?
Because on one of those days (which are most of the days, to be fair) that you don’t feel like being a gourmet chef and whipping up a meal that incorporates tiny amounts of fifty different ingredients, you can head to your well-stocked pantry and with a few carefully selected items make a meal out of some of the staples plus whatever you have left in the fridge.
You won’t believe the difference having a couple of tins of tomatoes in the cupboard will make to your evening.
To help you out we’ve rounded up a list of items we think should be on hand at all times.
Let us know in the comments below if you have any items your pantry can’t manage with out.
Eggs
Eggs are a great staple to keep on hand at all times. From whipping up an omelette or scrambled egg in the morning (or in the evening), to making something more fancy like huevos rancheros (using our other cupboard staple favourite, a tin of tomatoes) you can pretty much have a complete meal using eggs and very little else.
Tomatoes
More specifically – tins of tomatoes. They’re a great thing to having hanging around in the back of the press – you can use them in myriad ways, from pasta sauce, to soup, to bulking up a stew, to huevos rancheros (above). There’s no limit to their versatility.
They last for ages, and there’s more lycopene in cooked tomatoes than raw, so they’re even more healthy than the raw ones – and you don’t have to worry about them turning to sludge in the fridge.
Win win.
Tins of beans – chickpeas, bortelli, haricot…
Beans are a great source of protein and can be added to lots of meals instead of, or in addition to, meat in various dishes. Like the tinned tomatoes they keep for ages, and can be whipped up into something delicious with relative ease.
Throw a tin (open it first…) into a soup or stew, add chickpeas to a stirfry for extra protein or blend them up into hummus for an tasty, healthy snack.
Lentils
You might not have had lentils since your mam made you eat them as a child and you’ve had PTSD ever since, but you really should give them another chance.
They’re a great source of protein for any days you don’t feel like having meat, and they’re the basis of a lot of Indian dishes. So if you like Indian food such as dahl, then you should definitely have these little guys on hand.
Spices
Having spices on hand can take a meal from blah to bling in no time at all.
Adding depths of flavour to a meal is really simple with the addition of a few well-chosen spices and you can experiment as much as you like to find the combination that best suits you.
People often shy away from spices, afraid that they don’t know what they’re doing and will ruin a dish, but add a little and taste then add more as necessary and you’ll be grand.
Cooking is all about experimentation after all.
Pasta
Dried pasta is great to have on hand – again, it keeps for ages and can be used in so many ways.
You can make a sauce out of the tin of tomatoes you always have on hand now and throw it over some cooked pasta, or it’s easy to make a minestrone soup with the tomatoes and a tin of beans (and other ingredients of course). You can even make a baked casserole with it, and top it with loads of cheese… Delicious.
Rice
Rice is another carb that’s handy to have around- as it’s dry you don’t have to worry about it going off like potatoes are apt to do.
You can use it as a side in innumerable dishes from curry to stir-fry, or you can make it the basis of a meal itself such as biryani.
Leftovers can be turned into salads or sautéed with a little soy sauce and served as a brand new dish the next day.
Stock cubes
Stock cubes are little bundles of flavour that can be added to almost every meal – from soups, to casseroles, and stews. You can even mash up the stock cube with a little oil and spread it over a chicken to add flavour before roasting.
They will liven up almost any dish you can think of adding them to, and are the jumping off ground for getting more adventurous with flavour in your cooking.
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On a really bad/lazy day I have lidl ham pizzas in the freezer for emergencies. They make a good base to add lots of veg. Throw on lots of mushrooms, diced cherry tomatoes, onion, a little parmesan, peppers, whatever you fancy – and at least there’s at least some nutritional value in it.
Other than that, it really is crazy not to batch make large pots of soups every now and then and freeze it. Someone on here once posted they do that and use chinese takeaway containers to judge adult portion sizes. They also said they get 8 servings to a pot of soup. I get about 6. It’s perfect as you can pop them straight into the microwave from frozen for 5 or 6 mins (assuming it’s veg) and one takeaway container will fill one large mug when poured directly into it. One large mug of homemade soup in 5 mins. Cost is negligible for soups, and time prepping 20 mins. Best tip I picked up on here on that front.
Magnus, be sure to take it out of the Chinese container before you microwave it. That plastic is toxic if microwaved
Really? they actually say microwaveable on them, but it’s no harm to be sure to be sure by simply avoiding it as you suggest.
I think you’re wrong there Bridget, if you’re referring to dioxins they’re only released when stuff is burned.
Tins of chopped tomatoes and garlic
This might be the most pointless article I have ever read in the journal. Well written, but so utterly devoid of use!
This is not a journalistic article. This is what is known as native advertising. Supervalue is paying for this item to make you want to buy items from them. I understand that The Journal have to earn money but there is something really rotten about native advertising. Tell me this would you have spent as much time reading as clear advertisement as you did this. John Oliver has a very good segment on this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_F5GxCwizc
Ciaran, why do you think that? The article doesn’t mention SuperValu, and The Journal is normally very clear when an article is sponsored.
Hi Derek, quick thing,
Just to point out that this article is very clearly marked as sponsored – it has the SuperValu logo at the top of the article, the hashtag says #Sponsored, and it says Brought to you by SuperValu at the top of the page.
As you say, we are always transparent in letting readers know when an article has been sponsored (as in this case) or when a piece is an ad, so I just wanted to jump in and clarify that.
I’ll go back to my sadly empty pantry now…
Christine
Acting Editor, TheJournal.ie
Hi Christine,
I just thought I’d respond to clarify that you are clearer than most when it comes to native advertising. I was making the point though that you do have to look to notice that an article is not really news. The concept is that it is more subtle. I think that the video I linked to in my last comment says it better than I could.
It is just my humble opinion that the idea that an advertisement that is laid out like an article in someways lessons the trust between the reader and the news outlet. How can I be sure that what I am reading is factual journalistic news or something that is pushing the agenda of paying corporation.
I would like to finish and say that I do like the Journal and I find it is my first stop for news and I hope that you can find a way for the separation between church and state to be upheld and that advertisements are clear.
Cheers,
Ciaran
Oops! I’m using AdBlock which removed the SuperValu logo, and I didn’t notice the hashtag. Apologies to Ciaran.
As the article plus:
1. Onions (keep for weeks)
2. Soya sauce for Asian cooking and for adding umami to any sauce.
3. Tins of fish (usually tuna but mackerel, salmon, sardines also good).
Don’t forget your skirt and high heels panti and a few quid to see a good shrink.
u jumped the gun there tom
Spa
I’m sorry supervalue but u done ur dough with this one
Takeaway menus
pot noodle
Third World diet.
Oh Golly Gosh, better run down to my local supermarket and stage a protest over it’s lack of nail varnish in case of any future Doomsday?
have your say