Filling the Pantry ... in Five Steps

1. Prepare clever shopping lists

Running a household is not only washing and cutting vegetables and fruits, cooking and baking, but also shopping (s. photo above) – this was what I had purchased to produce eight wonderful creams, smoothies and energy bites for the online cooking course at the @foodfutureinstitute. Most of the things with chocolate! Imagine healthy food with chocolate! – Clever shopping and well prepared shopping lists are a good basis, especially in times like these.

2. Sprout lentils, beet root or radishes

One of the funniest tasks was to sprout lentils. I started with lentils in a jar filled with water and was very distrustful as I am not the one who is very good in planting and gardening. It was a big surprise that everything worked as it was planned. The procedure is very simple and very hygienic. I had heard many bad things about, particularly that the food can get mouldy and can go off. Nothing of it happened.

My lentils sprouted as if I was working for a picture book (s. photos above f.l.t.r.: after 24, 48 and 72 hours). – By the way, one can also have other seeds and pulses sprouted. My favorites are beetroot and radishes. They are amazing. The taste is much more intense than that of the whole thing. It is a good and super healthy addition to salads and dips … and sandwiches.

3. Can vegetables and fruits

Then there were two challenges, really challenges, I thought, as I had never preserved anything before. As always during the cooking course I was pleasantly surprised – it was much easier than presumed and much more hygienic as did our grandmothers and great-grandmothers. You want to know what I made? Kimchi (s. photo above, left), pickled kale and vegetables with an added sauce – delicious!!! – and infused tamari (s. photo above, right).

4. Try new techniques, such like cold smoking

The funniest thing was to cold smoke mushrooms and kelp leaves. You need a “Smoking Gun”, the smoking process only takes half a minute. The effect: the smoked plants in the tamari smell so delicious that I am always getting hungry when opening the pantry door.

5. Make your own bread

For those who love to cook and to bake a good extra idea: make your own healthy bread. It is without flour, tastes delicious and is easy to produce. You cut it in slices and keep them in the deep freezer! After taking them out toast them, so they are always crispy. – Why is this bread so healthy? Science has proven that almost every illness has its origin in taking too many dishes that contain flour. Imagine how often you take bread, pasta, dumplings, pastry, cookies and so on. This causes what medicine calls “silent inflammation”, the source for many grave diseases. Making your own bread, you can avoid this and stay healthy for decades .