The EatSmart column from the most recent USA Weekend listed 10 foods that every cook needs to have in their kitchen. There are a lot of things that could potential fill up a culinary must-have list, so to narrow things down a bit, this particular list was composed with an eye towards eating smart – as you might have guessed from the column name – includes some canned/pre-prepared foods in an effort to combine convenience and health:
- Fat free half n’ half
- No-salt-added canned tomatoes
- No-salt-added canned beans
- Canned salmon
- Dried cranberries
- Balsamic vinegar
- Walnuts
- Oatmeal
- Canned hot peppers
- Frozen spinach
I actually have all of these things in my kitchen, but I’m not sure that I would necessarily say that they were my most important staples. Rice and/or quinoa would probably make my list and I’d much rather have fresh veggies than canned salmon. That said, it’s certainly not a bad idea to keep these in mind when shopping because a lot can be done with them when you’re cooking.
Jason
June 19, 2007To me, this list looks like the sort of foods that aren’t kitchen must-haves, but are great for jazzing up dishes. Canned salmon or dried cranberries can make an elegant pasta or salad for when you suddenly have unexpected company.
That said, I don’t really think that fat-free half-and-half is a great item to keep on hand. It’s basically half milk, half non-dairy creamer, which is all high-fructose corn syrup and chemicals.
miriam
June 20, 2007i saw this also and remarked to myself–well, i have most of those things all the time (the only thing i dont buy is the half and half). i would take off canned hot peppers (although i love them) and the half and half, and add good quality pasta and mushrooms, preferably cremini (because with both items, possibilities are endless).
Rebecca
June 21, 2007I agree with Jason about the fat-free half&half – it’s disgusting with its corn syrup and chemicals and not healthy, either. And unless you have heart disease or high blood pressure I don’t understand the emphasis on “no-salt added”. I guess you can add your own salt, but I think that’s just silly. Re-reading it, it’s actually kind of an odd little list because you can’t really make a meal just using those foods; there’s no rice, no pasta, no olive oil, no eggs. At the very least we need to add olive oil to it!
naomi
June 21, 2007Except for the half-and-half, I thought it was a list of things you could leave in your kitchen and always have on hand. I’d sub quinoa or millet, olive oil, and garlic for the half-and-half, tomatoes, and canned peppers, at the very least.
Jessica
June 22, 2007Yeah, the half and half is a bit odd. But I have to disagree with whoever said the no-salt-added was weird. The average American consumes 10 TIMES more salt than they should. And take a look at the sodium content on canned products- through the roof. I didn’t even know they made no-salt-added for years, and when I finally caught on, I was amazed. It tastes EXACTLY the same, still lasts years, but with more than 1,000mg less sodium. I can’t help but wonder why companies still make salt-added canned products.
I’ll step off my high horse now.