Seasonal Food Sustainability Guide

Stocking your kitchen with sustainable food is crucial for environmental and ethical reasons. It supports local economies, reduces carbon footprint by favoring local produce, and promotes responsible farming practices. Additionally, opting for sustainable choices helps preserve biodiversity and ensures a healthier planet for future generations.

Food sustainability allows one to see how making simple switches in your lifestyle and buying habits can make a big impact on improving resiliency, reducing pressure on your finances, and helping the planet. Here are some other tips on how to stock a pantry. 

 
How to Stock Your Pantry for Resiliency & Cost Savings
  • Hemp Seeds: Did you know you can make easy plant-based milk with hemp seeds? This zero-waste vegan milk reduces single-use containers, cuts out the preservatives used in store-bought hemp milk, and produces fresh milk that you can easily make at home.
  • Flax seeds: Flax seeds are chock-full of natural fats and nutrients that nurture our bodies. They also make a great egg substitute! While you won’t want to eat a flax seed omelet, you can use flax meal as a replacement for eggs in baked goods. They can also be added to energy bites, smoothies, and so much more.
  • Sprouting Seeds: There is nothing more empowering than growing your own greens on your kitchen counter! Packed with nutrients and protein, sprouts are a vital food to have in your diet. Sprouting seeds are inexpensive to buy and last quite a long time. Some favorites include alfalfa, broccoli, daikon radish, rambo radish, and red clover.
  • Dried Mushrooms: A source of shelf-stable protein and health-supporting properties, dehydrated mushrooms are a staple in any panty. Mushrooms like shiitake and maitake are great to add to homemade soups and pasta dishes, and are even delicious as a stand-alone side dish. You can also sprinkle mushroom powders like reishi and cordyceps in smoothies and culinary preparations for added supportive benefits. 


  • Superfood Powders: We all know that herbs and berries are good for our health. Having ready-to-use organic powders is a great way to add more nutrient-packed ingredients into our everyday lives and gives us more opportunities to take our meals from delicious to functional. Some go-to staples include:

    Spinach powder

    Kale powder

    Chlorella powder

    Spirulina powder

    Maqui berry powder

    Cranberry powder

    Herbs & Spices: Herbs and spices do more than flavor our food—they offer nutrition and wellness-supporting properties for our hard-working bodies. Some of the ones to have on hand include:

    Garlic powder

    Onion powder

    Basil leaf

    Thyme leaf

    Cinnamon powder

    Cayenne powder

    Cumin seed

    Ginger root powder

    Peppercorns

    Turmeric root powder

    Dulse powder

    Aloe Gel: Everyone loves the universal nature of aloe gel, be sure to keep it well stocked or possibly even grow your own. In addition to its ability to support the skin, aloe gel is wonderful at supporting digestion. Keep in mind that fresh aloe is not pet friendly so if you have plant-loving pets, you may want to keep them out of reach.

    Baking Soda: Used in cooking, DIY cleaning, and natural body care, baking soda is a very handy ingredient to keep well-stocked.

    Carrier Oil of Choice: Another crucial ingredient for internal and topical use is oil. Olive and sunflower oil are great universal choices.

    Beeswax: A staple used in homemade salves and balms, be sure to keep your cabinet is always well stocked with beeswax for the unavoidable bumps, scrapes, and bruises.

    Soap Nuts: This universal solid soap will get you out of a pinch if you’ve run out of shampoo, dish soap, hand soap, or even laundry soap. It is about the most cost-effective natural soap available. 

    Castille Soap: While a bit heavier and a little more costly, having bulk liquid soap on hand is great for the convenience factor. 

    This list may be helpful as you begin to think about your own needs and ways that you can gain peace of mind knowing you will have what you need when you need it while managing a budget.

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