Food ingredients essential for healthy cooking

[bellavus]

Oils and Fats:
Olive Oil (small bottle of extra virgin and another bottle of regular olive oil to cook with)
Canola Oil
Grapeseed Oil (cold pressed)
Butter (yes I did just say butter)
Most margarine is partially hydrogenated fats which are worse for you than the saturated fats in butter. Unless you are purchasing margarine such as "Smart Balance" that does not contain partially hydrogenated fats you would be better off buying butter. And besides, butter tastes better.

Grains and nuts:
Almonds
Peanuts
Walnuts
Pistachios
Sunflower seeds
Pignoli (Pine) nuts
Flax seeds (I keep mine in the freezer)
Quinoa (pronounced Kin-Wah, a grain)
Brown rice (or white rice if you prefer)
Pasta (whole wheat is good if you like it, I personally can't stand whole wheat pasta)
Cous Cous
Whole Wheat Flour
All Purpose Flour

Seasonings:
Kosher Salt
Black pepper (get a pepper grinder)
Cumin
cinnamon
garlic powder
oregano
thyme
curry powder
chili powder
Bay leaves

Fresh herbs/seasonings:
Italian Parsley
Basil (if you're making pesto)
Garlic
Shallots
Onions

Dairy:
Parmesean Cheese (Not the stuff in the can, just get yourself a nice chunk of parm cheese at the grocery store)
Low fat mozzarella (string cheese will work)
Skim or Soy Milk
Low fat yogurt (plain and flavored)

Sweeteners:
Honey
White Sugar
Brown Sugar
(your body does not know the difference between honey and sugar, so it is ok to eat some sugar in your diet)

Fruits/Veggies:
Pretty much everything under the sun. Eat a variety of fruits and vegetables. Limit your intake of avocados, as they are highly caloric, but contain a lot of monounsaturated fats, which are essential in your diet.

Proteins:
Chicken
Lean Pork (bacon in small quantities)
Lean Beef (ie: flank steak)
Fish (all varieties)
Limit intake of shellfish as most of them contain large amounts of cholesterol (such as shrimp)
Turkey
Soy

[Sportsmedjosh]

This is a great list, a huge chunk seems like it will take a while for it to go bad.

[bellavus]

Originally Posted by Sportsmedjosh

This is a great list, a huge chunk seems like it will take a while for it to go bad.

defintely. Can you sticky this thread and the other one about equipment?

[LoveGuinness]

love this! i had NO idea that shrimp contained large amounts of cholestrol. thanks for the info

[bellavus]

Almost forgot:

Canned foods:
Canned soups (go for Healthy Choice, as they are low in sodium)
Boxed chicken/beef stock- Find the ones with no salt added
Canned tomatoes (San Marzano are the sweetest)
Canned Pumpkin

Any other canned vegetables are just yucky. If it is not in season, and you want it, get it frozen. Frozen peas have nearly the same nutritional value as fresh peas.

[bellavus]

Additionally, keep some individual serving wine bottles in your fridge
(white and red wine)

[shawnyboy]

i will never eat butter or sugar while there are alternatives

[LoveGuinness]

but the alternatives may not be the best (ie splenda gives you cancer)

[Sportsmedjosh]

I agree the risk of alternative sweetners is not worth the risk in my opinion.

[bellavus]

Originally Posted by shawnyboy

i will never eat butter or sugar while there are alternatives

splenda and other artificial sweetners your body does not know what to do with when you consume them. Your body knows that sugar = energy and uses it accordingly. Small amounts of sugar in your diet is not going to make or break your health.

Margarine contains trans fats, which are a lot less healthy than the saturated fat that is found in butter.