Is your pantry filled with healthy foods or would the contents make Marjorie Fitch-Hilgenberg and Theresa Stahl shudder?

Each weekday night, for instance, the registered dietitians go home from work to put their lessons taught during the day into practice. Just look in their pantries, freezers, and refrigerators.

After teaching students all day about nutrition, Fitch-Hilgenberg, a dietitian at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, keeps her pantry and freezer stocked with some versatile staples – a variety of fruits and vegetables, grain products, sources of protein, dairy products, and seasonings and condiments.

“I don’t worry about dinner when I know I can open my cupboard and freezer and find everything I need for a quick, healthy, home-cooked meal,” she says.

Meeting the veggie quota 

For instance, a variety of fruits and vegetables – either canned or frozen – make it easy to get the daily veggie quota. Fitch-Hilgenberg also keeps canned tomatoes and a good pasta sauce on hand as a basis for hearty stove-top stews and casseroles. A good variety of canned beans can make a quick three-bean salad or baked beans.

What’s more, rice and pasta cook quickly and mix well with other staples. In a nod to her Southern farm roots, Fitch-Hilgenberg’s pantry always includes a quick cornbread mix to complete a meal of beans and vegetables.

For protein, canned tuna and salmon can make a quick sandwich or round out a salad. The choice of seasonings determines whether the meal is the traditional tuna salad sandwich or a more contemporary salmon with dill and yogurt over greens.

As for dairy products, Fitch-Hilgenberg says she always keeps a hunk of her favorite cheese in the refrigerator. It can make pasta into a main dish or just provide a quick snack to tide her over while she cooks.

Versatile, healthy additions

Low-fat cottage cheese and plain yogurt are versatile and healthy additions to many dishes, from desserts to salads. There is always a package of powdered milk on her shelf as a back-up when the refrigerator is empty or if a quick addition is needed for soups and casseroles, she says.

Open the doors of her pantry and you’ll also find plenty of seasonings and condiments. Think of left-over chicken morphed into chicken curry one night and chicken enchiladas the next.

Different kinds of pickles, including pickled beets, hold well in the refrigerator and can complete a meal. Having various mustards and sauces around allows Fitch-Hilgenberg to spruce up the plainest ingredients.

“Although most seasonings and condiments never appear on a food pyramid,” Fitch-Hilgenberg said, “they can be crucial in transforming healthy food into a delicious meal.”

'A well-stocked kitchen'

Meanwhile, nutritionists at the American Institute for Cancer Research say to stock your pantry and refrigerator with everything from bulgar and extra virgin olive oil to vinegars and whole-grain products for quick-prep meals. And dietitians at the American Dietetic Association suggest always keeping beans, brown rice, pasta, oatmeal, and barley, which is a good addition to stretch soups, stews and casseroles, especially if you’re eating on a budget.

Nubella registered dietitian Theresa Stahl says her pantry and freezer are stuffed with the same healthy foods as Fitch-Hilgenberg's. What’s more, she adds, you can find plenty of stuff at the grocery to whip up quick meals on those nights you’re too tired to cook a feast.

“I think in terms of having a well-stocked kitchen, including refrigerator, freezer, pantry as well as keeping a supply of fresh veggies and fruits on the counter,” says Stahl, who writes Nubella’s Balanced Eating Blog and contributes to the Web site's popular health, nutrition, and recipe e-newsletters. “I also have jars on my counter, each filled separately with hard pretzels, low-fat crackers and nuts.

“My goal is to be able to put a meal together a meal as quickly as it takes to order take out or go through a fast-food window.”

Thawing for busy nights

Stahl also keeps canned chicken on hand for a quick salad or barbeque sandwich, and freezes extra portions of  chili, soups, taco meat and casseroles for thawing and using on busy nights. The cans are stacked alongside cans of low-sodium broth for quick soups.

When the munchies hit, Stahl opens her pantry or refrigerator to find nuts, hummus for crackers or pita bread, yogurt with fresh fruit and dry cereal or cereal with milk.

“I always have an ample supply of frozen and canned fruits and vegetables for when we run out of fresh from the farmer's market or grocery store,” Stahl says.  “Canned beans are great to have on hand for making soups or salads. 
 
“Now I'm hungry.”

Check these out!

In addition to Theresa Stahl's Balanced Eating Blog: 

•  Nubella’s Recipe Database and Healthy Cooking Center – stock your pantry with foods and ingredients to make healthy meals.

•  Nubella’s Recipe Message Board – share your tips and get advice on how you use stuff out of your pantry to fix healthy meals.

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