Storecupboard Essentials

By WLR Staff, Helen Griffiths

One of the most essential elements of getting organised for healthy eating – overhauling the storecupboard . Here's a quick primer on how less is more and that going back to basics is a necessity for healthy eating.

Bring on the new and out with the old...

Baked Beans

Stock a few cans of these in your storecupboard and you will feel full of beans. Beans are very good for you and contain antioxidants which help to protect our cells. The good news doesn’t stop there, they are also low in fat, contain a good amount of protein and fibre and provide us with important vitamins.

Try to opt for the healthy, lower fat versions of baked beans as these contain less sugar and salt. Heinz healthy balance baked beans in tomato sauce are 138 calories for ½ can/207g compared to Heinz Baked beans in tomato sauce that are 151 calories for ½ can/207g.

Canned Fish

Any form of fish is a great source of iron, protein, vitamin B, zinc and magnesium. Low in calories and saturated fat, fish is also very versatile. Great for livening up pasta, rice and for your lunchtime sandwiches.

Tuna flakes in brine, on average are 104 calories per 100g.

Chopped Tomatoes

‘A tomato a day keeps the Doctor away’. Tomatoes in any form are great for your lungs and reduce the risk of asthma and chronic lung diseases. Chopped tomatoes are also very versatile so they can be used in almost any dish. A cheap brand that are low in calories are Asda’s Smartprice for a 400g can of chopped tomatoes they are only 68 calories (bargain).

Noodles

Quick to cook you won’t get into a tangle when cooking noodles. They fill you up and in my opinion are a number one necessary item in your store cupboard.

Be careful because some noodles are high in calories. Heinz instant chicken noodles, with less than 1% fat contain 258 calories for their 385g pack.

Pasta

Passionate about pasta? Pasta is versatile in so many ways. Great used for bakes, snacks, side dishes and much more. A much needed product for any store cupboard. On average a 75g of dry weight pasta quills is 256 calories.

Soup

Soup is fantastic for warming the cockles on these cold and lonely evenings. Most soup is full of nutrition in a bowl. Campbells 99% fat free soup is only 100 calories for a 295g can. For those measly calories I can hear you slurping on it already...