The Quality Pantry
Stocking your kitchen with health-promoting, quality pantry items makes healthy eating easy. Our pantry list and healthy tips follow much of the traditional Virginia fare of our forefathers.
Food quality plays a pivotal role in our overall health and well-being. High-quality and nutritious food fuels our bodies, providing the essential nutrients, vitamins, and minerals we need to function optimally. It strengthens our immune system, supports cognitive function, and promotes better digestion. Making conscious choices about the quality of the food we eat is thus essential for fostering a healthy and fulfilling life.
These rules follow several of the leading health and diet experts’ ideas using the latest science and a lot of common sense. If you want to read more, we recommend reading Dr. Steven Gundry’s Gut Check, Dr. Mark Hyman’s Young Forever, and Dave Asprey’s Bulletproof Diet.
The timing of your meals matters. We try to eat twice a day in a six to eight-hour window, usually at noon and six o’clock in the evening. Once or twice a week, we will “mix it up” and have a third meal or eat in a longer window. We avoid eating two hours before doing work that requires keen concentration and three hours before bedtime.
Eating thirty grams of fiber daily is often recommended. What does that look like? Here are some ideas.
1 cup pinto beans, 15 grams (always pressure cook)
1 cup lentils, 15 grams (always pressure cook)
1/4 cup freshly ground flaxseed, 11 grams
1 medium avocado, 10 grams fiber
1 cup raspberries, 8 grams (only in season)
1/2 cup pistachios, 7 grams (limit to 1/2 cup of nuts a day)
1 medium artichoke, 7 grams
1 cup of collard greens, 6 grams
1 cup broccoli, 5 grams
1 cup carrots, 3 grams
Remember, the point of this list is to direct you to healthy foods that are low in mycotoxins and pesticides and to avoid the highly processed foods created by the industrial food complex. Virginia has a long agrarian history. Embrace the foods of our epicurean ancestors like George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, relish our history, and enjoy good health.
Produce
If a fruit or vegetable is listed as “Organic,” only buy organic. These fruits and vegetables are on the EWG.org “Dirty Dozen” list and should be avoided due to dangerous pesticide usage on conventional produce. Remember to avoid these foods in restaurants as well.
If you don’t see an item on the list, it is probably best to skip it. You won’t find modern corn, white potatoes, or whole grains on this list. They are high in lectins or gluten and are not historically part of a healthy diet. The white potato was not popularized in Virginia until after the American Revolution, and whole grains were not popularized until the mid-19th century.
Cruciferous Vegetables should be eaten daily.
Arugula
Bok choy
Broccoli
Brussels sprouts
Cabbage
Green and Red Cauliflower
Organic Collard Greens
Organic Kale
Kohlrabi
Swiss chard
Watercress
Only eat if these vegetables if pressure-cooked or fermented.
All dried beans
Organic Chickpeas
Organic Green/string beans
Legumes
Lentils
Peas
Sugar snap peas
Only eat these fruits and vegetables if seeded, skinned, pressure cooked or fermented.
Cucumbers
Eggplant
Organic Peppers — avoid if autoimmune
Pumpkins
Squash
Organic Tomatoes — avoid if autoimmune
Resistant starches should be eaten in moderation.
Cassava
Celery root
Green bananas
Jicama
Millet
Parsnips
Persimmon
Organic hominy — pressure cook only
Organic Indian Basmati Rice — pressure cooked only
Rutabagas
Sorghum
Sweet potatoes or yams
Turnips
More Healthy Vegetables
Artichokes
Asparagus
Avacado
Bamboo shoots
Basil
Beets — best eaten raw
Carrots — best eaten raw
Organic Celery
Chicory
Chives
Endive
Frisée
Garlic
Garlic scapes
Ginger
Hearts of palm
Horseradish
Jerusalem artichokes
Leeks
Lemongrass
Mesclun
Mint
Mushrooms
Organic Mustard greens
Okra
Olives
Onions
Parsley
Parsnips
Radicchio
Radishes
Red- and green-leaf lettuces
Romaine lettuce
Rutabaga
Seaweed and algae
Shallots
Organic Spinach — avoid if autoimmune
Virginia Fruits
Half of the sugar in fruit is fructose, so though fruit has nutritional value, it should always be eaten in moderation. Our ancestors would have eaten fruit in season. Eat fruit just once a week and only in season. Here are the seasons to eat fruits in Virginia. If the fruit is listed as organic, only eat organic to avoid pesticides. Pineapples have been imported from the Caribbean since the 1700s and are a symbol of fine Virginian hospitality.
WINTER
No local options.
Citrus, all types
Kiwis (eat skins)
Caribbean Pineapple
SPRING
Apricots
Cherries
Organic Strawberries
SUMMER
Organic Blueberries
Organic Blackberries
Elderberry
Organic Nectarines
Organic Peaches
Organic Plums
FALL
Organic Apples
Cranberries
Fig
Organic Pears
Pawpaw
Persimmon
Pomegranates
Organic Raspberries
Dairy
Not all dairy comes from cows. Sheep, goats and buffalo make excellent dairy products. If you are using cow products, always make sure they are A2 cows. A2 dairy from Guernsey and Jersey cows can sometimes be found in Virginia. Virginia has been importing cheese from Europe since the early 1600s. Dairy from France, Switzerland and Italy also use A2 cows. The list of dairy from these regions is endless, our favorites are included. Dairy should always be eaten in moderation.
Butter
A2 organic butter
Buffalo milk butter
French butter
Italian butter
Milk Products
A2 organic milk
Goat milk
Sheep milk
Organic heavy cream
Organic crème fraîche
Yogurt — always plain
A2 organic yogurt
Coconut milk yogurt
Goat milk yogurt
Sheep milk yogurt
Buffalo Cheeses
Buffalo Mozzarella — US
Mozzarella di bufala campana — Italy
Ricotta di Bufala Campana — Italy
Cow Cheeses
A2 organic cottage cheese
Asiago — Italy
Brie and soft cheeses — France
Fontina — Italy
Gruyère — Switzerland
Lustenberger — Switzerland
Moine — Switzerland
Mozzarella and soft cheeses — Italy
Parmigiano-Reggiano — Italy
Raclette — Switzerland
Goat Cheeses
Bucheron — France
Chabichou Du Poitou — France
Chevre d'Argental — France
Garrotxa — Spain
Goat’s Milk Brie — US
Goat’s Milk Cheddar — US
Goat’s Milk Log — US
Mobay Goat and Sheep — US
Queserias del Tietar — Spain
Sainte-Maure — France
Sheep Cheeses
Brebirousse D'Argental — France
Fiore Sardo — Italy
Idiazábal — Spain
Manchego — Spain
Pecorino Romano — Italy
Pyrenees Truffé — France
Feta — Greece
Wild Caught Seafood
Only eat wild-caught seafood.
Alaskan salmon
Anchovies
Bluefish
Chesapeake Rockfish
Clams
Cod
Chesapeake Blue Crab
Crawfish
Flounder
Lobster
Mussels
Eastern Oysters
Perch
Sardines
Scallops
Shad
Shrimp
Squid
River Trout
Pastured Poultry
Poultry, including eggs, should always be pastured.
Chicken
Chicken eggs — always pastured
Dove
Duck
Duck eggs
Guinea Fowl
Goose
Turkey
Ostrich
Pheasant
Ruffed Grouse
Quail
Quail eggs
Red Meat
Try to limit to once a week.
Bear
Boar
Elk
Fermented Hard Sausage
Grass-fed and grass-finished Beef
Pastured Bison
Pastured Lamb
Pastured Pork
Rabbit
Venison
Up to ½ cup per day.
Almonds — only blanched or Marcona
Basil seeds
Brazil nuts — no more than 3 a day
Chestnuts
Coconut
Unsweetened Coconut milk and cream Flaxseeds — ground fresh
Hazelnuts
Macadamia nuts
Pecans
Pine nuts
Pistachios
Sesame seeds
Walnuts
Nuts and Seeds
Oils
Some oils are high in linoleic acid and extremely unhealthy. If it’s not on this list, it should be avoided.
Avocado oil
Organic Canola oil
Coconut oil
MCT oil
Organic Olive oil, extra-virgin, first cold pressed
Perilla oil
Rice bran oil
Sesame oil, regular and toasted
Walnut oil
As a general rule, processed foods should be avoided. Look at the ingredients list; if it is not in your kitchen, you probably don’t want to eat it. Here are a few exceptions that should be consumed in moderation. Nut butter should have one ingredient — nuts.
Blanched almond butter
Cappello’s pasta
Fermented foods — pickles, sauerkraut, etc.
Hazelnut butter
Konjac noodles
Millet pasta
Organic peanut butter (contains lectins)
Shirataki noodles
Siete chips
Sorghum pasta
Tahini
Thrive Market organic coconut flakes
Trader Joe’s Jicama wraps
Walnut butter
Processed Foods
Organic herbs and spices should be safe. However, red pepper flakes and cayenne pepper do contain lectins. Condiments with seed oils, corn syrup, added sugars, and “natural flavors” should be avoided. Here’s what’s in our pantry.
Anchovy Paste
Avocado mayonnaise
Organic bouillons
Coconut Secret Asian sauces
Ceylon cinnamon — superior to all others
Fish sauce
Fortnum and Mason — herbs, spices and condiments
Garlic Paste
Lea and Perrins Worcestershire Sauce — only this brand
Miso paste
Mustards
Nielsen-Massey vanillas — avoid imitation vanilla
Sea salt — always iodized
Simply Organic — herbs, spices, seasonings and extracts
Tahini
Thrive Market — organic herbs, spices and seasonings
Tomato Paste
Vinegar
Wasabi
Herbs, Spices, and Condiments
Our wheat supply is wholly corrupted. It is not just the gluten and the wheat germ agglutinin but also the proteins in our modern wheat, as they have been bred for maximum yield. Avoid all wheat products. If you must have wheat flour, use organic flour from France. Beware of gluten-free products. They often add sugars and high-lectin flours, which negate their health benefits.
Arrowroot powder — a great starch
Blanched almond
Cassava flour
Coconut flour
Hazelnut flour
Millet flour
Sorghum flour
Sweet potato flour
Tapioca flour
Tiger nut flour
Flours
Sugar is never a health food, and most sugar substitutes are worse. When you must eat sugar, make sure it is organic. Here are the sugar substitutes in our pantry. Foods with Monk Fruit, Inulin, and Xylitol are also probably safe to eat.
Local honey
Allulose — RxSugar and Wholesome (a prebiotic)
Stevia — Sweetleaf
Sweeteners
Chocolate
Dark chocolate, unsweetened, 72% cacao or greater (1 ounce per day)
Non-dutched cocoa powder, unsweetened
The Bar and Beverages
So, is alcohol good for you? There might be health benefits to high-quality wines and whiskeys, and they are probably healthier than a sugary soft drink or fruit juice. Moderation is key — one drink a day for ladies and two for gentlemen. Also, what you drink matters. Beer and sugary cocktails have no redeeming value. The US wine supply can be toxic. So carefully select your libations. Our favorites and brands are listed below.
Our Essential Bar
Amaretto
Brandy — Hennessy, Courvoisier and Lairds
Bourbon — River Hill and Four Roses
Campari
Cointreau
Grand Marnier
Gin — Hendricks, Monkey 47 and Drumshanbo
Irish Whiskey — Knappogue Castle and Jameson
Pernod
Pimms
Rum — Havana Club, Kraken and Appleton
Rye — River Hill and Old Overholt
Saint Germain
Scotch — Glenfiddich, Balvenie and Tallisker
Wine
Red Wine — organic, dry farm, biodynamic and preferably from France
White Wine — organic, dry farm, biodynamic and preferably from France
Champaign — organic, dry farm, biodynamic and preferably from France
Vermouth — Noilly Prat Extra Dry and Dubonnet Rouge
Cider
This old Virginia favorite from colonial days, cider should be organic and dry without additives like sulfites.
Lost Boy Cider — Alexandria
Potter’s Craft Cider — Charlottesville
Willow Oaks — Middletown, Maryland
Non-Alcoholic
All teas — Fortnum & Mason and Harney & Sons
Coffee — Bulletproof, Illy, and other coffee roasted and imported from Europe
European Swiss water processed Decaffeinated Coffee
Water — the cleanest possible
San Pellegrino
Bitters —a great addition to still and sparkling water
