I'm a Plant-Based CrossFitter, and These Are the 50+ Trader Joe's Staples in My Pantry
If a store could be your soulmate, Trader Joe's would be mine. It's always there for me, for all my healthy eating needs, whether I want to meal prep like a boss, make a smoothie, whip up an amazing dinner, or nosh on some tasty and nutritious snacks. Here's a picture of my pantry, and every one of these was found at Trader Joe's (Pinterest, eat your heart out!). See what other nonperishable pantry staples I always keep on hand.
White Whole Wheat Flour
This flour is perfect for baking bars, muffins, and bread like this protein banana bread as it has more fiber and protein than all-purpose flour, but is less dense than whole wheat flour.
Almond Flour
If you're grain-free, this almond flour is a great alternative. Try it in these almond chocolate chip cookies.
Almond Meal
You can make your own almond meal by placing raw almonds in a food processor, but this makes it much easier. Use almond meal in baked goods to add protein and fiber, like this vegan Starbucks iced lemon pound cake.
Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
Use this to add chocolaty goodness to brownie batter overnight oats and smoothies, or to make chocolate banana bread.
Organic Cacao Powder
Less processed than cocoa powder, cacao powder also tastes less sweet, but offers more antioxidants. Use it any time you'd use cocoa powder.
Organic Chia Seeds
Add protein, fiber, and omega-3s to everything from oatmeal and baked goods to pancakes and smoothies. You can also use chia seeds as an egg replacer when baking.
Organic Flaxmeal
Another great source of fiber and omega-3s, add flaxmeal to smoothies, baked goods, sprinkle on cereal, or use as an egg replacer in pancakes or these lemon blueberry muffins.
Raw Shelled Hemp Seed
Add hemp hearts to overnight oats, smoothies, and protein balls, or sprinkle on salads or this sweet potato breakfast.
Nutritional Yeast
One tablespoon of nutritional yeast adds three grams of fiber, and it's also a great source of vegan vitamin B12 (130 percent). I sprinkle it on whole grains, tofu, beans, roasted veggies, steamed broccoli, and use it in my vegan mac and cheese recipes.
Organic Unsweetened Coconut Flakes
Add coconut flakes to overnight oats, and use them to make these chocolate coconut protein balls.
Gluten-Free Rolled Oats
Rolled oats are a pantry-must to make oatmeal and overnight cookies, to add to pumpkin bread and pancakes, and to make DIY oat flour.
Muesli
Use this muesli on its own for easy overnight oats, or to make healthy breakfast bars.
Organic Unsweetened Soy Milk
This is always good to have on hand for smoothies and baking.
Unsweetened Almond, Cashew, and Macadamia Nut Beverage
You can't have enough dairy-free milks!
Organic Unsweetened Pea Protein Powder
This organic, unsweetened pea protein powder is perfect for smoothies, pancakes, and protein balls, or to add to baked goods.
Organic Vegetable Stock
Veggie stock is a must for homemade soups, to use in place of water to cook grains, and to sauté veggies.
Miso Ginger Broth
Instead of basic veggie stock, use miso ginger broth.
Raw Almonds
For snacking, raw almonds are a great source of protein and healthy fats. You can make your own trail mix, these date-sweetened cookies, add them to smoothies, and make your own nut butter.
Raw slivered almonds
Raw slivered almonds make a delicious topping for cereal, and to add to healthy cookie recipes.
Raw Sliced Almonds
Sliced almonds add a delicate crunch to oatmeal, smoothie bowls, and muffins.
Salted Peanuts
Salted peanuts are perfect for snacking on, or to make homemade peanut butter,or these chocolate peanut butter protein balls.
Unsalted Pistachios in the Shell
Pistachios in the shell take longer to crack open and eat, so they're great for snacking on. They're one of the best nuts for weight loss.
Shelled Salted Pistachios
Shelled salted pistachios are perfect for making your own trail mix, fruit and nut bars, or to add to oatmeal.
Raw Pecans
Raw pecans are great for baking, oatmeal, or for making these no-bake brownies.
Organic Walnuts
Add walnuts to muffins, oatmeal, salads, or use them in this walnut chia pudding.
Raw Crunchy Almond Butter
Smear almond butter on fruit or bread, or use it to make these three-ingredient brownies.
Organic Crunchy Salted Peanut Butter
Peanut butter is a quick source of protein to add to smoothies, toast, apples slices, or to make these vegan chocolate peanut butter cups.
Organic Tahini
Use tahini to make sauces, homemade hummus, or this chickpea salad.
Organic Jam
What's a PB&J without the jam? You can also swirl some into your oatmeal.
Everything but the Bagel Spice Blend
You can't live without this! Sprinkle some on avocado toast, on tofu, on scrambled eggs, or on cooked whole grains.
Organic Raisins
Sweet and soft, raisins are a main ingredient in these chocolate coconut protein balls. Of course, you can also add them to oatmeal, on top of nut butter for ants on a log, or couple them with a handful of nuts.
Organic Tricolor Quinoa
Quinoa is perfect on its own, added to salads, or in place of rice in burritos. The tricolor just makes it feel more fancy.
Organic Brown Basmati Rice
Brown basmati rice is another must-have whole grain for stir fries or curries.
Organic White Quinoa
White quinoa is simple and a great source of protein and fiber. You can even make it for breakfast.
Organic Sprouted Rice
Organic sprouted rice can be easier to digest than regular rice, and offers more nutrients. Use this in any recipe you'd use regular rice.
Whole Wheat Couscous
Couscous isn't a grain — it's essentially just tiny pieces of pasta. It cooks really fast and offers protein and fiber, so it's great for quick dinners.
Red Lentils
An amazing source of protein and fiber, add cooked lentils to salads or use to make this lentil butternut squash soup.
Organic Dry Black Beans
While canned beans are quick, making your own black beans from scratch is cheaper and fresher. Use cooked black beans to make this easy corn, tomato, and cucumber salad.
Dry Green Lentils
Another protein-packed legume to have on hand, use these in soups or to make these maple cumin lentils.
Canned Organic Black Beans
Keep canned black beans in your pantry for quick meals like sweet potato burritos, spicy black bean hummus, or beans and cauliflower rice.
Canned Organic Chickpeas
Canned chickpeas are perfect for quick meal prepping mason jar salads, making baked cinnamon chickpeas, or to sauté with salt and cumin for Buddha bowls.
Olive Oil
A must for cooking.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
A must for salads.
Organic Apple Cider Vinegar
Add a splash to water, use it for salad dressings, or, I like to use it to make vegan buttermilk for pancakes and cakes.
Organic Ketchup
If you can't eat oven-baked potatoes without ketchup, don't run out of this!
Organic Coconut Milk
Did you know you can refrigerate canned coconut milk and whip it with powdered sugar to make vegan frosting? You can also use canned coconut milk for curries, coconut rice, or smoothies.
Maple Syrup
Sweeten overnight oats, Paleo cookies, and pancakes, of course, with this 100 percent maple syrup. You can also use it to make these freezer oatmeal cups.
Dairy-Free Chocolate Chips
Keep a few bags of chocolate chips on hand in case you need to bake healthy chocolate chip cookies, add pizazz to overnight oats, or make these vegan chocolate salted caramels. They're also great for grabbing after dinner for a small treat.
Unsalted Canned Tomatoes
When making soups and sauces, canned tomatoes are a must.
Tomato Paste
Tomato paste is great for sauces and curries.
Marinara Sauce
Add lentils or meatless crumbles to marinara sauce for an easy, protein-packed meal.
Organic Red Lentil Pasta
Swap regular pasta for this red lentil pasta and get way more protein. It tastes delicious!
Organic Black Bean Pasta
It looks funky, but this black bean rotini is a great pasta alternative — especially with red sauce.
Organic Yellow Lentil Brown Rice Spaghetti
This yellow lentil brown rice spaghetti is gluten-free and tastes the most like regular pasta.
Goddess Dressing
If you haven't tried this goddess dressing, you will become obsessed. It's delicious on salad, mixed with mashed chickpeas, or drizzled on Buddha bowls.
Organic Unsweetened Soy Milk
This is always good to have on hand for smoothies and baking.
Frozen Cauliflower Rice
Julie Harrington, RD, loves the frozen riced cauliflower. It's "convenient and a great option to increase veggie intake for a quick stir-fry," she said.
Frozen Peppers
Sauté a bag of these to add to cooked grains for lunches for the week.
Frozen Brown Rice
Forget cooking brown rice on the stove for 40 minutes. When you want rice with dinner, this cooks up in minutes!