Introducing: Pantry Staples

A question I often get is, “What do dietitians keep in their pantry?” OK no one has actually asked me that. But people are often curious about what I eat and what’s on my grocery list. For the next couple of weeks, I’ll be doing a “Hungry Bean Staples” series on the blog. I’ll give you the info on what’s always in my kitch to keep me healthy and happy and full. Check in every day! I’m including my favorite recipes too.

Today’s Staple: Olive Oil

Everyone knows my love for olive oil. I seriously don’t know what I would do without it in the kitchen.

Great for the kitch: I challenge you not to use it every day. I use it to sauté vegetables and meats, make vinaigrettes, pour into quinoa or couscous salads, and drizzle over just about everything. Invest in a extra virgin olive oil for salads and drizzling, but buy regular, inexpensive olive oil for cooking. Try Olivos Organic Extra Virgin if you can find it – inexpensive and made in New Jersey, but tastes like it’s from the Mediterranean.

Great for the bod: The monounsaturated fats in olive oil can lower risk of heart disease by lowering cholesterol. Anything with unsaturated fats is also great for keeping your skin and hair healthy and shiny.

Store it: Let me guess – you have your olive oil in an adorable bottle you bought at the Kitchen Store sitting right next to your stove. Good for you! You’re taking a step in the right direction using heart healthy oils in the kitchen. Now, put the computer down, walk over to your stove, and put that bottle in a cupboard AWAY from the stove! You know that heat and light kills butter – it does the same to oil. It will lose its nutritional value and go rancid so much quicker.

Fun Stuff: Extra virgin olive oil is simply made by crushing olives. The only processing the olives go through is settling, removing the water, and filtering. The different flavors and qualities come from the different flavors and qualities of the olives it’s made with – duh. If you buy an olive oil imported from the Mediterranean, it’s probably going to be a-mazing. California has some pretty great quality olive oils too.