food : pantry
These items are an absolute must in my kitchen. I always have some on hand because they're my go-to items throughout the week.

Unrefined Sea Salt
Unrefined sea salt still has all its trace minerals intact because (as the name implies) it hasn't been processed to the point of de-naturing it.

In addition to retaining nutrients, unrefined sea salt also varies greatly in taste and color. Regular table salt has been stripped of its trace minerals and bleached to attain its white color. Seek out bulk bins at local stores for the best prices.

Freshly Ground Black Pepper
Most of us have watched enough Food Network to know the difference between already ground pepper and freshly ground. A few turns of the mill go a long way in flavoring your homecooked meals.

Garlic
Who doesn't love garlic? I use it for veggie sautees and pound it in a mortar and pestle with other herbs and spices as a rub for roasted meats.

Homemade Broth
It's so easy to pick up a box of broth at the store, but it's also so easy to make a nutrient-dense broth at home. I tend to make chick broth with pasture-raised chickens most often because the mild flavor of chicken is so versatile in cooking.

If you don't have access to pasture-raised chickens, at the very least, buy organic ones. In making broth, you're trying to extract all the nutrients from the meat and bones. You wouldn't want to extract impurities from a commercially raised chicken into your homemade broth. At that rate, you're better off buying an organic broth from the store.

For a very pure, chicken-y broth add chicken bones (preferably with head and feet as well), 1-2 tablespoons of vinegar (to extract minerals from the bones) and filtered water to cover the chicken into a heavy pot.

Why head and feet? These particular parts have a high levels of gelatin, which aid nutrient absorption.

Once the liquid comes to a boil, skim any scum that might have floated to the top. The cleaner the chicken, the less scum there will be.

At this point, you can lower the heat and let it barely simmer on the stove, or you can transfer everything to a slow cooker.

I prefer the slow cooker method, so I can comfortably leave the house without worrying the house might burn down. Let the broth simmer anywhere from 12-24 hours.

Once the broth has cooled, I strain the liquid through a sieve and transfer some of the broth to ice cube trays (for quick and easy flavor splashes to sauces and sautees) and the rest of the broth into containers of larger servings (for soups and stews).

Cultured Butter
Cultured dairy products ensure that your digestive system stays healthy by populating it with beneficial bacteria.

It's also important to eat butter from pasture-raised animals because butterfat from these animals contain high levels of fat-soluble vitamins that assimilate minerals from the foods you eat.

For example, after sauteing or steaming a batch of veggies, I always turn off the heat (to avoid cooking the butter and destroying its healthful properties) and mix butter into the veggies. Doing this ensures that our bodies will better absorb the nutrients in the vegetables.

Pasture-raised Eggs
Think about it. An egg contains all the necessary elements of starting an entirely new life. Eggs are a nutrient-dense food that has gotten a bad rap over the years.

Ancient peoples knew their value, and we'd benefit from this age-old wisdom. Eggs were especially prized for pregnant women and couples in their childbearing years.

Of course, you should eat only pasture-raised eggs for maximum nutrient content and maximum quality. You can even eat pasture-raised eggs raw.

Commercially raised eggs are unnatural on just about every level, from the chickens' feed to the way the eggs are laid. Unlike pasture-raised chickens (who roam free eating grass and protein-rich bugs), commercial chickens eat whatever the farmer puts in their feed bin.

Instead of allowing the chickens to have day and night, like the rest of us, lights are turned on in the coop. This tricks the commercial chickens into thinking that it's daytime and high-time for laying eggs, whether it's day, night, summer or winter. Whew! How exhausting!

Dried Fruit
As an alternative to sweets loaded with refined sugar, I'll sometimes have a few pieces of dried fruit. Taylor doesn't eat (or should I say, isn't given any typical, processed toddler snacks like those golden-colored fish or that "0"-shaped cereal), so instead, she often eats dried fruit and raw cheese for her afternoon snack.

Sprouted Bread
All grains and nuts contain phytic acid, which inhibits nutrient absorption and digestibility. Sprouting grains neutralizes these phytates.

Tinkyada Brown Rice Pasta
I've been pretty adamant about staying away from processed foods, but this is where I'll make an exception. When I haven't had the time or forethought to make a batch of homemade pasta or homemade sour leavened pasta, I'll use the Tinkyada brand of brown rice pasta.

I've been told that rice pasta can be down right nasty, but this brand is absolutely delicious. Hard core Italian families that follow the W.A.P. lifestyle swear by its taste and texture. You'll find it on the aisles of your local health food stores.

Raw Milk
Raw milk and dairy products contain all the nutrients and enzymes it was meant to have. Raw (unpasteurized) milk is sweet, rich and delicious.

Pasteurized milk is so common that we wouldn't think of drinking it any other way, but let's take a moment to think about why pasteurization was invented.

Pasteurization was an absolute must when people began treating cows improperly. Instead of leading cows out to pasture to feed on green grass, people kept them in barns and fed them unnatural feeds.

Cramped, feces-ridden quarters invited disease and the need for medication. Instead of grass and grains, cows were fed waste products like "slop" (leftover from the beer brewing process).

In an effort to cleanse the milk that came from these sick cows, people boiled the harmful bacteria out of the milk. In addition to boiling out harmful bacteria, pasteurization also kills healthy bacteria (probiotics), nutrients and the enzyme responsible for digesting lactose.

The answer to drinking safe, healthy milk isn't boiling the heck out of milk from sick cows. The answer is drinking deliciously healthy, raw milk from cows that thrive on sunshine and grass.

You wouldn't boil your breastmilk before giving it to your child, would you?

Raw Honey
I use honey as an alternative to refined sugar. For breakfast, I'll spread some creme fraiche and honey on toast. Because the honey has not been heated to high temperatures, its natural probiotics stay intact, promoting healthy digestion and immune function.

Remember that honey shouldn't be given to infants under 12 months because they lack the digestive power to breakdown any bacteria spores that might be in the honey.

Maple Syrup
When I'm feeling like I wanna bowl of warm porridge for breakfast, I bust out the maple syrup (in addition to a dash of salt and a generous pat of butter). Maple syrup contains many trace minerals and imparts a deep, earthy sweetness.

Be sure to buy maple syrup without formaldehyde, maple syrup that has been certified as "organic" or from Canada (where it is illegal to use formaldehyde in the bottling process).

Raw cheese
Raw cheese contains enzymes that help the body digest it, while pasteurized cheese does not. Raw cheeses are made naturally; therefore, they do not contain undesirable additives found in processed cheeses.

updated 03.26.08