Healthy Spring Kitchen

Your task of cooking healthy foods will become a whole lot easier if you have a well stocked kitchen,… (Before you get stocked up, make sure you have a good understanding of how to get the most out of Spring.

Here’s what you’ll need: 

• All ingredients should be organic where possible
• Oils – Ghee, Coconut & Olive (cold pressed is best)
• Spice rack – turmeric, cumin seeds, black mustard seeds, ajwain seeds, asofoetida, chili flakes, coriander seeds, fenugreek, black pepper, Cinnamon, Cardamom, Ginger, Cloves, Nutmeg
• Himalayan rock salt or unrefined sea salt (do not use table salt)
• Fresh herbs – try to grow some kitchen herbs so that what you’re using is as fresh (nutritious) as possible. Everyday herbs include – basil, coriander, parsley & mint. (also nettles & dandelion greens)
• Dried Legumes – Chickpeas, Red lentils, Blue/poi lentils, Kidney beans (if you’re short on time you can use canned)
• Grains: White & brown Basmati Rice, pearled barley, quinoa, rolled oats, rolled barley , rolled buckwheat & rolled millet
• Flours – Besan/Gram, Barley, Spelt & Rye
• Fresh organic vegetables & fruit – (needed for recipes) onions, tomatoes, spinach, kale, aubergine, red peppers, cauliflower, cabbage, radishes, potatoes, carrots, leeks, garlic, ginger, apples, pears, lemons, limes, blueberries & grapefruits
• Dried fruits: dates, raisins, figs & prunes
• Milk – Organic whole milk, Goats milk, Coconut milk, Almond Milk, Hemp seed milk (note: nut & seed milks make sure no emulsifiers/ preservatives)
• Nuts & Seeds – Almonds, Brazils, pepitas, sunflower seeds,  Hemp seeds & sesame seeds
• Sweeteners: Honey & Maple Syrup

Where to get ingredients

• Organic grains/milk/dried legumes, etc – Health food shops and some supermarkets
• Organic produce – check locally for suppliers/farmers – if you’re in Killaloe – Jim Cronin, Fran Wilkinson & Good & Green, the Sunday Farmers market; health food shops, Supervalu & Mckeoghs
• Organic herbs & spices – Satmya & check your local health food shop. You can wildcraft certain herbs like nettles/cleavers/dandelion leaves, etc
• Organic oils – Satmya, local health food shops, supervalu & some deli’s

Cookware

• It’s best to use stainless steel, cast iron & ceramic cookware.
• Do not use aluminum, teflon non-stick or plastic cook ware.
• Do not use a microwave (under any circumstances)
• Do not store food in plastic containers – use ceramic or glass
• Kitchen system (blender/food processor) – in our recipes we use the Ninja Ultima  (http://www.ninjakitchen.com/products/3/ninja-ultima-blenders/16/ninja-ultima-kitchen-system/) Handy for sauces, nut milks, pestos, etc) but something similar is fine
• Mortar & Pestle – generally the heavier the better. For grinding spices.
• Always use natural cleaning products in your kitchen

If there’s anything you can’t find let us know & we’ll try to point you in the right direction