For pantry items, unfortunately you must venture into the dreaded center aisles of the store. First rule of the center aisles...Do Not Visit the Center Aisles. Because the second easiest thing you can do to improve your health through diet is to avoid processed foods. However, in addition to processed foods there are a few valuable things to be had in the center aisles so let's venture in cautiously....
Where?
It will be a common refrain of mine...cost and convenience aren't to be discounted! When you start eating real food, you do inevitably spend more time in the kitchen and investing in some higher quality ingredients so my goal is to help you balance that with some practical tips to help offset those factors. So again...Costco. Good quality oils can give you sticker shock for sure, so I buy most of my oils here. And because I've streamlined my shopping processes I indulge myself by going down every aisle (including clothes, but that's another story) looking for the one off deals they have that are amazing! My last two finds were huge containers of Primal Kitchen Mayo and Vital Proteins collagen peptides. I listed some of my other regularly available items below. But I probably get the majority of pantry items from Thrive Market. There is an annual fee ($59) but when I've compared the cost of the items I purchase there versus Whole Foods or Amazon, they come out 20-50% cheaper every time. And the convenience, oh, the convenience! When I notice I need something, I just add it to my cart via the app, wait to order until I get to the $49 needed for free shipping, then it's at my doorstep in 2-3 days. I also order a lot of personal care and cleaning products on Thrive which I'll cover in a separate post. Lastly, I occasionally buy items I can't find anywhere else on Amazon. Not much to say about Amazon, if you don't know Amazon you are truly off the grid and haven't found my blog either.
Lastly, there's a great online resource for those following the autoimmune protocol diet (AIP). It's called ShopAIP and every single item is elimination phase legal! Truly a great resource when you don't want to think so damn hard about reading every label and need some convenient snacks and pantry items.
What?
Here are the specific brand names of some of my staples:
Costco: Kirkland Signature olive oil (actually one of the best quality olive oils around), Kirkland organic coconut oil, Kirkland Organic Raw Honey, Kirkland Organic maple syrup, Wild Planet canned Tuna, Kirkland Organic Chicken Broth (I use this for recipes, but it's not true bone broth I'd use therapeutically or to sip ), Italian Volcano lemon juice, Season Sardines on olive oil, Coffee-they don't seem to stock any particular brand of organic regularly so I switch this up a lot to whatever is in stock that is organic. I follow the autoimmune protocol diet (with some reintroductions) and can't eat any of the following, but I do buy the following for the rest of my family there: bread, pasta, tortillas, and red sauce. (We're working on it!)
Thrive: Primal Kitchen salad dressings, Redmond Real Salt, Red Boat Fish sauce, Big Tree Farms coconut aminos, 4th and Heart ghee, Cucina Antica ketchup, SeaSnax seawood snacks, Inka plaintain chips, Siete grain free tortilla chips, Inka plaintain chips, Nuco coconut wraps, Nutiva palm shortening, Thrive balsamic vinegar, Specialty flours-coconut (Coconut Secret), arrowroot (Bob's Red Mill), and cassava (Otto's)
Amazon: Aroy D coconut cream, KC Natural nightshade free sauces (these are amazing!), Sari Foods nutritional yeast (no folic acid), Gemini tigernut flour
Recent Costco haul