Pantry staples for busy families

Whether you’re going to school, working full time or parenting young children (or any combination of these three), there are bound to be weeknights when you have a small window of time to prepare a nutritious and tasty meal.

Though fast and convenient, frequently ordering take-out food - often high in salt and saturated fat - can get expensive. You’ll save calories and cash by making meals at home. The secret is simply learning a few tricks to shave time off your dinner prep. The first step? Stock your pantry with the eight staples listed below, which we call The 3 Pillars and The 5 Fillers.

These must-have ingredients are quick and easy to use, versatile and healthy. Following the eight staples, we’ve listed some Flavour Savers, which can add layers of taste and texture to your meals without eating up hours of your time.

The 3 Pillars

1. Canned tuna
Besides being the star in comfort-food favourites — tuna melts and tuna casseroles — canned tuna can shine in all kinds of dishes. Tuna packed in water is the best choice for health-conscious eaters — high in protein, low in fat —though there are also some excellent brands packed in good quality olive oil (often Italian). These are perfect if you’re planning to use the tuna in a dish like a Niçoise or white bean salad or on mixed greens; just cut back on the amount of oil called for in the salad dressing accordingly. Try these tuna favourites tonight!
• Baguette tuna melts
• Salad Niçoise
• Mixed greens with tuna and pumpkin seeds
• Tuna white bean and pasta salad with basil

2. Dried pasta
Typically taking mere seven to 12 minutes to cook in boiling water, pasta comes in so many forms you could enjoy a different shape and size every night of the week. Keep a broad selection on hand:
• Long noodles like linguine are great for cream- or olive-oil-based sauces;
• Broad shapes like farfalle are excellent carriers for chunky sauces full of veggies, sausage and ground meats; and
• Tiny pastas like ancini di pepe and orzo are perfect in soups and for pasta salads, like this Feta and Green Pea Orzo.

3. Canned tomatoes
Whether crushed, strained, whole, stewed, diced or in paste form, canned tomatoes are your starting point for countless hearty soups, stews, casseroles, gratins, or pasta sauces. For the ultimate quick comfort food on a chilly fall night, try our recipe for Sloppy joes.


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