Anatomy of our Kitchen

I'm about to do something absolutely terrifying. In order to be as honest and transparent as possible in our efforts to move towards a whole foods lifestyle, I have decided to post pictures and an inventory of our pre-whole-foods-challenge kitchen. Please (please please) don't judge me too harshly. I am fully aware that we have a long way to go.

Spices and less commonly used oils and vinegars.

This is my favourite place in the kitchen. The spice shelf includes sesame oil, chili oil, truffle oil, basil oil, walnut oil, white vinegar, red wine vinegar, champagne peach vinegar. We also have balsamic vinegar, olive oil, grapeseed oil and vegetable oil in easier to access locations.

Spices include Cinnamon, whole nutmeg, cloves, ginger, cayenne, sweet paprika, hot smoked paprika, turmeric, cumin, coriander, garam masala, sambar curry powder, asafoetida, berbere, ird, red pepper, chili pepper, dill, garlic powder, onion powder, and several others that are less frequently used.

This general area also includes 3 different types of salt.

The Pantry Cabinet:

Here's where things start getting bad. Lots of cans. Lots of boxes. Lots of things with lots of preservatives.

On the counter: jars of popcorn, quinoa, whole wheat couscous, millet, cornmeal and lentils. Corn Tortillas, the fruit bowl, and a basket for tomatoes, garlic and a few onions.

First shelf: Various Pastas, kalamata olives, marinated mushrooms, roasted red peppers, capers, soy sauce, mango ginger marinade, tomato paste, and various forms of hot sauce (red curry, sriracha, tabasco, etc.)

Second Shelf: On the left are jams, preserves, baking supplies, cocoa powder, lemon curd, etc. Moving to the right, we have a box of crackers, some cherry vanilla granola (yum!) and a variety of dried fruits and nuts (cranberries, cherries, sundried tomatoes, apricots, walnuts and almonds).

Third Shelf: Lots of cans containing beans, black olives, coconut milk, soups, vegetable stock. Next, brown sugar and powdered sugar, baking soda, flour, sugar. Maple syrup (real and fake).

Top Shelf: I'm not even sure what's up there. Backstock mostly. Extra homemade jam, cornstarch, instant grits, pasta sauce, bread flour, gram flour, masa harina, some random marinades, baking powder and condensed milk? (no idea why I have that!)

The Fridge:

Lots of vegetables, hummus, english muffins, eggs, tofu, water, soy milk, cheese, yogurt, and other assorted random things.

On the top shelf of the door, we have yeast, butter, cream cheese, barbecue sauce, ketchup, about a million different types of mustard (at least 6 different ones), several types of jelly, and peanut butter.

On the bottom is a ridiculous amount of salad dressing and a bunch of other stuff that we very rarely use. Oh, and an open container of vegetable stock.

The Freezer:

Also pretty bad. Top shelf has almost all bread items as well as ice and frozen watermelon and blueberries. Bottom shelf is all vegetarian fake proteins. These are what we need to get rid of (or at least significantly cut down upon).

The freezer door has frozen vegetables, extra butter, ginger root, and probiotics.

In addition to those spaces, we also have a basket of root vegetables:

Onions, potatoes, beets, sweet potatoes, and for some reason there's a bag of rice in it as well.

There's also the 12 jars of Newman's peach salsa I've got tucked away in my basement. This is my version of crack, and there's no way I'm ready to say goodbye. I have to go to great lengths to get this stuff (there's only one store within 100 miles that sells it).

I'll post a second set of pictures at the end of this month. Hopefully there will be (big) changes. I'm not quite sure what to expect from this, but I'm excited to find out!