The Healthy Pantry Nutritional Philosophy

We believe that many common lifestyle illnesses resulting from eating the Standard American Diet (high calorie/low nutrient density foods) can be prevented, remediated or reversed with four fundamental dietary changes:

1. Reducing overall glycemic load of diet
2. Upgrading quality of dietary fats
3. Avoiding chemical, artificial and highly processed food products, ingredients or additives
4. Increasing micronutrient content and variety in diet

Specific health outcomes resulting from switching from a S.A.D. diet to a diet that is:
• Minimally processed
• Whole foods-based
• Low in glycemic load
• With a good balance of high quality fats
• Rich in fruits and vegetables
can include:
• Improved overall energy levels
• Improved blood lipid balance (reduced triglyceride and LDL levels, increased HDL levels)
• Improved fasting blood sugar levels
• Reduced inflammation levels
• Reduced “toxic load”
• Gradual, moderate weight loss

In addition, many Americans have a sensitivity to foods containing casein (a protein found in dairy products) and gluten (a protein found predominately in wheat, oats, barley and rye). The effects of this often undiagnosed sensitivity can compound the lifestyle imbalances caused by the S.A.D., especially in children. While not avoiding the use of these ingredients altogether, The Healthy Pantry makes an effort to reduce their use, making low allergen substitutions whenever doing so will not appreciably affect a dish’s convenience, taste or performance.

As a result, The Healthy Pantry's Meal Kits are designed to have:
1. Low glycemic load.
   Whenever possible, a meal (calculated for total meal, not for each individual dish) or snack should have a medium to low glycemic load.
   
   • Minimize the use of sugar. Use it strategically, for aesthetic value only (i.e. in baked goods when required for proper browning). When possible, replace sugar with naturally sweet fruits and vegetables, such as dates or other dried fruit, bananas, and powdered sweet potato, beet or carrot.
   • Use safe, healthy, low GL sweeteners such as stevia, erythritol and xylitol.
   • Use only whole grains or minimally refined whole grain products, including sprouted grains if appropriate.
   • Supplement lower fiber dishes with beans, flaxseed, vegetables, oat fiber and other high fiber ingredients to increase fiber content.
   • Strive to keep total carbohydrate content to no more than 40% of caloric content of total meal or snack.
   • Include a protein source in every meal and snack (approximately 30% of caloric content of total meal or snack).
   • Choose low GL fruits (such as berries, apples) over high GL fruits (such as pineapple)
   • Include fats strategically as time release for sugar content and stimulus for satiety
2. High quality fats
   
   • Avoid frying or fried ingredients
   • Avoid all transfats, hydrogenated/partially hydrogenated oils
   • The Healthy Pantry meal kits incorporate a good balance of high quality fats (approximately 30% of total meal or snack’s caloric content)
   • Always recommend lean cuts of meat or leanest ground beef
   • Include high quality fat foods, such as nuts, seeds, avocado and olives
   • Incorporate high quality vegetable, nut and seed oils (see recommended ingredient list)
   
   
3. Real Food (high quality ingredients)
   • Avoid all chemical, artificial or highly processed food products, ingredients or additives
   • Use of factory farmed meat or meat products, dairy or dairy products should be avoided whenever possible
   • All ingredients should be as unprocessed (close to their natural state) as possible
   • Use organic ingredients whenever possible, especially for “dirty dozen”
4. High nutrient content
   • Utilize a wide variety of different, high quality ingredients to insure the best possible spectrum of micronutrients in meal kit content
   • Use a high concentration of vegetables and low GL fruits in meals and snacks
   • Add “invisible nutrients” to the “kid-friendly” dishes as a booster for extra fiber or micronutrients (ie protein powder, ground beans, vegetable powders, oat bran, etc)
   • Include cuisines from a variety of cultures to broaden micronutrient spectrum (Asian, Mexican, Italian, Mediterranean, etc)



Ingredient Guidelines

What we avoid:
• Non-organic corn, soy, wheat (to avoid worst of GMO’s)
• Refined white sugar
• Refined grains
• Refined or non-whole grain flours or flour products, such as breadcrumbs or pasta
• High fructose corn syrup
• All artificial sweeteners, including Splenda
• Transfats and all hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils
• Canola, safflower, grapeseed oils
• Bacon, ham, ribs, sausage
• Processed meats of all kinds
• Factory farmed meat or meat products, dairy or dairy products
• Organ meats, except grass fed, organic calves’ liver
• Contaminated fish (swordfish, mahi mahi, etc)


What we use:
• All herbs and spices
• Cacao nibs, cocoa powder and organic dark chocolate
• Broths (low sodium organic vegetable, chicken, beef)
• Organic Better than Boullion (beef, chicken, vegetable)
• Organic beef, chicken, lamb, turkey, scallops, shrimp
• Clean, cold water fish, ie canned skip jack or chunk light tuna in water, wild Alaskan salmon, anchovies, sardines, scallops (farmed bay), northern shrimp (US farmed), halibut, mackerel, striped bass (farmed), tilapia (US)
• All fruits and vegetables (see organics notes for organic/non-organic recommendations)
• All legumes (see organics notes)
• Organic powdered milk, buttermilk and cheese
• Ghee (clarified butter)
• Flaxseed and flax oil
• Almond, avocado, coconut, hempseed, macadamia nut, olive, peanut, rice bran, sesame, walnut oils
• Nuts and seeds
• Whole grains, including sprouted (brown/basmati rice, wild rice, quinoa, amaranth, kasha, millet, uncontaminated oats, organic corn grits, etc)
• (Sparingly) Gluten grains: whole wheat, barley, bulgur, kamut, rye, spelt, triticale, wheat berries, wheat bran, wheat germ, etc)
• Protein powders, especially organic, undenatured whey, fermented soy, hemp, rice
• Soy products, including miso, tempeh, tofu
• Whole grain flours, including sprouted and flour products
• Whole grain breads and pastas, including sprouted
• Natural sweeteners: Sucanat/turbinado sugar (sparingly), agave (?), yacon syrup, date sugar, stevia, xylitol, erythritol, blackstrap molasses, organic brown rice syrup, organic barley malt, raw honey



Notes on organics:

A simulation of thousands of consumers eating high and low pesticide diets shows that people can lower their pesticide exposure by 90 percent by avoiding the top twelve most contaminated fruits and vegetables and eating the least contaminated instead. Eating the 12 most contaminated fruits and vegetables will expose a person to nearly 20 pesticides per day, on average. Eating the 12 least contaminated will expose a person to a fraction over 2 pesticides per day.
Produce with highest pesticide load:
RANK, FRUIT OR VEGETABLE
1. (worst) Peaches
2. Apples
3. Sweet Bell Peppers
4. Celery
5. Nectarines
6. Strawberries
7. Cherries
8. Lettuce
9. Grapes - Imported
10. Pears
11. Spinach
12. Potatoes
13. Carrots
14. Green Beans
15. Hot Peppers
16. Cucumbers
17. Raspberries
18. Plums
19. Oranges
20. Grapes-Domestic
21. Cauliflower
22. Tangerine
23. Mushrooms
24. Cantaloupe
25. Lemon
26. Honeydew Melon
27. Grapefruit
28. Winter Squash
29. Tomatoes
30. Sweet Potatoes
31. Watermelon
32. Blueberries
33. Papaya
34. Eggplant
35. Broccoli
36. Cabbage
37. Bananas
38. Kiwi
39. Asparagus
40. Sweet Peas-Frozen
41. Mango
42. Pineapples
43. Sweet Corn-Frozen

Least contaminated:
1. Asparagus
2. Avocados
3. Bananas
4. Broccoli
5. Cauliflower
6. Corn (sweet)
7. Kiwi
8. Mangos
9. Onions
10. Papaya
11. Pineapples
12. Peas (sweet)