To maintain a healthy lifestyle, you should have a healthy diet. Eating nutritious food boosts your energy levels. To reach your ideal body weight, the consumption of healthy food is as important as exercising.
While you make your healthy meal plan, staple food is a must to consider. The staple food is a food that one consumes regularly and creates a major part of the total population’s diet. Staple foods are a great supplier of energy and nutrition. Staple foods are different in each part of the world. The region’s staple food depends on the majority of plants grown there. Most staple foods are plant-based and not expensive. They are generally food with a lot of energy and nutrition. Some of the most common staple foods are cereal grains and tubers.
You cannot store any of the nutritious food for a longer period as they spoil in a short span. However, you may find several staple foods that are long-lasting and easy to store. You can store a few staple foods in the fridge and a few in the freezer, while you can store some in the pantry. Let us look at some healthy staple food that you must have stored.
Food Staples, You Must Have:
- Beans and Lentils
Both beans and lentils are extremely nutritious food. Dried and canned beans and lentils have a longer shelf life as they do not spoil for 2 to 5 years. You can store them at room temperature. Black beans, chickpeas, lentils, and kidney beans are very healthy and you can consume them by adding in soups and salads.
- Nuts and seeds
Nuts, seeds, and their butter provide high nutrition as well as high protein, fats, vitamins, and minerals. They do not spoil for 1- 4 months. You can simply store them in your pantry. You can add nuts and seeds to many food dishes such as yogurt, oatmeal, salads, etc.
- Honey and maple syrups
Honey and maple syrups are natural sweeteners. They add sweetness to your life without affecting your health in a bad way. Honey has anti-inflammatory properties and possesses antioxidants. Honey and maple syrup contain nutrients like magnesium, potassium, and manganese.
- Apple cider vinegar
Apple cider vinegar is exceptionally healthy. It contains anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anti-diabetic properties. It also promotes heart health. Other than this, you can even use it for cleaning.
- Grains
Grains like oats, brown rice, amaranth, bulgur, and quinoa consist of rich nutrition, vitamins, fiber, magnesium, and manganese. They have a long shelf life and you can store them for years at room temperature. Consumption of healthy grains promotes good heart health and prevents certain cancers.
- Fresh fruits and vegetables
Fruits and vegetables are a must-have staple food. As these foods are perishable, you need to store them in either the fridge or freezer. This allows them to maintain their nutrition. Fresh fruits and vegetables can add flavor to your food making it tasty and healthy.
- Spices
Spices and dried herbs like turmeric, cumin, ginger, oregano, pepper, etc., offer impressive health benefits. You can store them at room temperature.
Having healthy staple food stored in your fridge and pantry will allow you to prepare healthy food anytime. This will also boost your energy level and overall health.