It's that time of year! Time when we are inspired to clean our houses and our lives of any unwanted clutter and stress. Perfect time to also clean out your pantry and stock up with new and better foods for you.

Start off looking at your canned goods, keep only what you can't live without. Then try to switch out for buying fresh or when needed and available packaged in glass. Canned goods can come in handy on a last minute pinch, but their BPA dangers, added salt, and other artificial ingredients are not ideal for everyday consumption.

Next look at your pasta, rice, cake batter and baking flours. Make sure you have at least 80% as whole grains. Switch out white rice for brown rice. Explore other grains such as quinoa, barley, Freekeh and bulgur. The basics are also very important, look at all your "best by dates" on all your products, including herbs and spices and throw out anything expired. On average we throw away $1 for every $4 of purchased food, we must break this trend with meal planning and avoiding stocking up due to sales when you are unsure you will use it in time.

The snack section of your pantry is just as important. Look through it and see what can you substitute with more nutritious options. Try to get rid of anything with lab-made food dyes, added preservatives, excessive sugar or salt and "empty calories" type snacks which don’t provide any nutritious value and may increase underlying stress. Look at our grocery list for great ideas on snacks and more! Our Kid Kritics Approved Brands have plenty of options to make stocking your pantry an easy task.

As we defrost from winter into spring we can start looking forward to Summer! Time to look and feel our best. Having the right foods at home to fuel your body is crucial to a successful "Spring time cleaning" of your health.

… for the health of your family,

Carolina