I thought some of the visitors to my blog, might like a little tour of my kitchen, the place where Slimming Eats recipes are created. It will be a good opportunity to show you my Slimming World staples and will hopefully give some ideas of things to buy for those new to the plan or maybe even those of you who have been following the plan for a while, like me.

The Kitchen

I totally love my kitchen and is where I spend most of my time, coming up with new recipes. I had always wanted a kitchen with lots of storage and an island and of course would never of had this back in the UK. However now I am here living in Canada, that wish became possible.

 

The Pantry

My pantry is always pretty well stocked with handy staples such as the following:

• various boxes of cereals (oatmeal, weetabix, shredded wheat etc all of which are HEb’s)
• various bags of dried pulses (different types of lentils, black beans, haricot beans) dried pasta (many different types: fettucine, fusilli, spaghetti, macaroni), rice (brown, jasmine, arboria, wild)
• couscous, quinoa, bulgur wheat, millet
• various tinned goods/jarred goods (sweetcorn, beetroot, kidney beans, chick peas, sardines, tuna, crab, salmoon, tahini paste, marmite, nutella, honey, passata, tomatoes, beans)
• then I also keep my loafs of bread (wholewheat) and oversized bottles in here too

Food Storage Cupboard

I suppose this is kind of my second pantry, but it has handy pull out drawers, so is great for storing my baking goods, spices and bottles of sauces etc in.

Top shelf

which holds all my sauce staples, soy sauce, sweet chilli, fish sauce, ketchup, balsamic vinegar, worcestershire sauce, oyster sauce, hoi sin sauce, vinegar, tabasco sauce, sweet and sour sauce, spray oils, mirin, black beans sauce, teriyaki sauce, stock cubes (fish, chicken, vegetable, beef), various cooking oils (sesame, olive, vegetable, stir fry) and then a couple of packet sauces.

Middle Shelf

This is all my baking goods, having kids means baking happens often in this household, but I also try to come up with many slimming world friendly bakes too, which is possible.

here we have, various flours (wholewheat, plain), cornflour, baking soda/power,icing sugar, yeast,  various essences, various dried goods (raisins, apricots, cranberries, chocolate chips, cocoa powder, vanilla pods, colouring, sprinkles and then some boxes of jelly.

Bottom Shelf

This is probably one of my most used shelves. I used to have all my spices on a rack on the counter, but they were starting to take up far too much room and looked messy, so now they have their own place in a drawer. I labelled all of the top of them, so I can easily grab what I need when starting a recipe.

My spice shelf has the following:

• chili powder
• ground cumin
• ground coriander
• cilantro leaves
• cumin seeds
• coriander seeds
• celery seeds
• mustard seeds
• mustard powder
• oregano, thyme, rosemary, basil, chives, tarragon, parsley etc
• bay leafs
• black pepper, sea salt, garlic salt
• Thai, Greek, Italian, Indian, Steak, BBQ spice mixes
• Harissa powder
• garam masala
• masala tandoori
• onion powder, garlic powder
• cayenne pepper
• paprika
• cinnamon, ginger, all spice, cloves, nutmeg
• turmeric
• sesame seeds
• cardamom pods
• whole cloves
• red chilli flakes
• chinese five spice
• curry powder
• lemongrass

there are probably many more I am missing, but those are what I can remember from the picture. A good selection of spices is vital, as food is bland without flavour.

Fridge

The top shelf is usually where I keep tubs of yoghurt, eggs, cottage cheese, cream cheese, low fat spread, jars of beetroot, gherkins, mayonnaise.

The next shelf down stocks deli meats, and turkey bacon, also usually yoghurts for my kids

Then we have a cheese drawer which is always stocked with cheddar, parmesan, mozzarella, feta, sometimes some other cheeses too, like havarti, swiss etc.

The bottom drawers are where I keep some of my fresh fruit and veg. I do keep some fruit out in my fruit bowl, but like to keep some in the fridge too, as I find stays fresher and the apples etc keep crisps. My fruit drawer has apples, grapes, kiwi and plums.

In my vegetable drawer, I have carrots, onions, tomatoes, courgettes, mixed peppers, mushrooms, bok choy, lettuce, cucumber

The door of the fridge is pretty much always stocked with things like mustards (I have various kinds and jams/spreads), and milk. I also always have fresh herbs on hand, usually Italian parsley, coriander and basil, but it does vary occasionally. I have tried growing my own herbs several times, but have to confess to not being very good at remember to water any kind of plant in my house, so most dont last very long (sorry plants)

Freezer

My freezer I like to keep fully stocked. I often go to Costco and bulk buy some of my meat and then freeze up into handy portion sized bags.

Meat wise, I always have on hand, chicken (thighs, breast and drumsticks) mince (extra lean turkey and beef), pork chops, and stewing beef.

Then there is usually prawns and salmon fillets, occasionally tilapia or other fish.

I also par boil potatoes in roast potato/chip sizes and then freeze them in bags, which means they are all prepared should I want to make my own oven baked chips etc. All I need to do is add them to a baking tray spray with spray oil and they and ready to bake.

I also have some handy bags of vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, carrots), for days when I need to add some superfree quick. Which is a must for anyone wit,h kids, sometimes my days are so hectic, it is all of a sudden dinner time and I haven’t prepared a thing. Another handy tip, is to chop up some of your fresh herbs when you buy them and you can freeze it in a freezer bag and then just add to the dish when you need it, the heat of the dish will defrost the herbs, so nice and quick too.

I also have some bags of edamame beans (Oh how I love those), sweetcorn, peas and then mixed berries (make sure these are unsweetened, otherwise they are not free) .

Pittas and tortillas are great items for freezing too and taking out when you need them

Lastly I must mention leftovers. Don’t ever be afraid to make too much when you cook a recipe. It wont go to waste. Just put it in handy portion sized tubs and it is there for when you need something, but really don’t feel like slaving by the stove after a long day at work.

Fruit Bowl

Oh how I love my fruit bowl. Which is always stocked up with fruit that is in season. My son LOVES his fruit, as does my daughter now she is weaning onto solids, so plenty of fruit is a must, and it is great for snacks too. I tend to keep my apples in the fridge, as I like those cut up and nice and crisp/cold. But most of the other stuff lives in my fruit bowl. At the moment, I have bananas, clementines, pears and honeydew, and there are a couple of nectarines hidden behind the bananas.

One little tip. If you have some unripe fruit, just put them next to your bananas, and you will be surprised how quick they ripen.

I regularly visit my local fresh food market, to see what yummy fruit or vegetables they have to offer. I rarely buy my fruit or veg from a supermarket, as I find it just doesn’t cut it. Sometimes I do pick up a few bits when getting our other grocery stuff, but in my opinion it just doesn’t compare in quality.

SO, if you have a fresh food or farmers market near you, be sure to visit and try some of their produce. It is good to support the local farmers too, rather than the already rich supermarkets. Although they do regularly tempt us with their cheaper prices.

Tea/Coffee Cupboard

 

Okay as I am showing you my tea/coffee cupboard. I felt I should admit to a little addiction I have at the moment. Which is TEA!! We do have a selection of coffee, all of which are hidden behind my current tea collection, as coffee is rarely drunk in this house at the moment. I have always been a regular tea drinker, but recently discovered flavoured black teas from Teaopia and well now my collection is growing and growing. My husband bought me a tea master for Christmas, which is great for steeping the leaves in. You just put in your tea leaves, add hot water, let it steep for the required time, place the tea master over your cup, press it down, and out pours the tea into your cup.

Now you may wonder what is so special about tea? Well among my collection are some really yummy flavours. I have strawberry shortcake, almond biscotti, caramelissmo, bourbon vanilla, all of which of course are syn free, apart from the little splash of milk I add. So these are great as a little treat and actually feels like you are having something naughty.

I also have a few more traditional black teas, like Irish Breakfast, Assam, Lapsang Souchong, Darjeeling and Earl Grey.

My next order of teas to try will be from DavidsTea.

I totally recommend looking to see if their is a tea shop in your area and trying some. I only like black tea, but there are many other varieties, some with great health benefits too.

Cookware/Utensils/Gadgets

I have a good selection of various oven dishes, my Dutch oven I love and is great for casseroles etc, it is just a cheapy one though (I would love a le creuset, but unfortunately they are far too expensive for me to splurge on).

Then I also have a slow cooker, blender, food processor, hand blender, various kitchen utensils/gadgets, George Foreman grill, knife set, saucepans, grill pan, baking trays. Some of which are not really essential. I just keep adding to them all because of my love of cooking.  One thing I haven’t yet bought is a Tefal Actifry, mainly because it is not something I think I will use much. I do occasionally make oven baked fries, and they come out good enough for me just done in the oven,but who knows I may see one on offer one day and add that to my list too. Although I think I may possibly add a bread maker and ice cream maker to my collection soon instead. But will they be end up being sat in a cupboard unused? Most probably, lol.

Some good non stick quality pans are definitely essential though and are worth spending the money on.

So that’s it pretty much, you have now had  a little tour of my kitchen. You can check out my Groceries page here for a more general list of basic staples.

If you would like to come and share some pictures of your kitchen and staples. Please come and visit my Facebook page and post your images to my page. It is a great way for others to get ideas for things to buy and of course everyone likes to have a nosey around other peoples kitchens, right??

Filed under: Slimming World, weekly groceries, weekly shop