Maintaining a healthy lifestyle starts with the choices we make in our kitchens. Stocking your fridge with nutritious options is a crucial step towards ensuring you always have access to wholesome meals and snacks. Planning is key. When you’re hungry and staring into your fridge, make sure there’s something healthy waiting for you. This article explores a variety of healthy foods that you can keep in your fridge to support your well-being.
Protein-Packed Options
Turkey: Turkey is low in fat and sodium, and high in protein. Its versatility makes it an excellent choice for quick snacks or lunches. Wrap some turkey breast in a whole-wheat tortilla for a nutritious and satisfying meal.
Eggs: Eggs are packed with amino acids, essential for cell function, and nutrients like vitamin D. They are an affordable source of high-quality protein.
Fully Cooked Sausages: An unopened package of fully cooked sausage can stay fresh in your fridge for two weeks, but once you open it you have to finish it within five days. It's a good thing to have on hand, though, for super-fast dinners: toss it with pasta, pan-sear it and serve it with some of that braised cabbage, or slice it up into a simple skillet dinner.
Canned Meats and Seafood: Canned meats and seafood can last for 2-5 years in many cases. They’re an excellent source of protein and, in the case of canned fish, omega-3 fatty acids.
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Dairy and Alternatives
Plain Yogurt: Plain yogurt is loaded with calcium, high-quality protein, and probiotics, which are beneficial for gut health and may improve cholesterol levels. People who eat yogurt are less likely to be obese or have heart disease, and full-fat yogurt is better for that than low-fat. Enjoy it with fruit or granola, or use it as a healthier alternative to sour cream.
Plant-Based Milks: Plant-based milk is great for making baked goods and any dish that requires a creamy texture. Stock up on any kind that you like, whether it’s almond, soy, rice, cashew, hemp, or rice.
Hard Cheeses: Parmesan, Pecorino, Manchego, Gruyère, and other hard cheeses won't spoil within a couple weeks, and are great for snacking on and shaving over salads or pasta.
Fruits for Snacking and More
Berries: Berries are low in calories and high in nutrients, antioxidants, and fiber. This makes them beneficial for heart and brain health, and they may help protect against certain cancers.
Avocado: While high in fat, avocados contain "good" fats that support heart health and cholesterol levels. They are delicious with eggs or on whole-grain toast.
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Citrus Fruits: Lemons, limes, oranges, and grapefruits will all stay fresh in the fridge for two weeks, and they are all lifesavers for adding instant flavor to almost anything, from dressings to cocktails to desserts and braises.
100% Fruit Juice: Freshly squeezed juice can be a good source of certain vitamins and minerals, but because it’s almost always high in sugar, you should drink it in moderation. One way to stretch it out is to add it to your seltzer for a kind of low-calorie “soft drink” with some nutritional value.
Vegetables for Versatile Meals
Kale: Kale is one of the most nutrient-dense foods, low in calories and packed with vitamins. Sauté it with chopped onion in olive oil for a quick side dish.
Celery: Celery is loaded with fiber, vitamin A, potassium, and calcium. It’s perfect for stocks, salads, or as a seasoning agent when you cook beef or chicken. It’s also a great finger food.
Cabbage: Cabbage is packed with fiber, potassium, magnesium, and vitamin C. It’s great for coleslaw and other salads, or steamed as a side dish. Cabbage also works as a kind of wrap in place of bread.
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Carrots: This kitchen workhorse is always worth keeping in your fridge, and it'll stay fresh in a plastic bag for a couple of weeks. If your carrots start to go a little limp, quickly turn them into soup before they spoil completely. Until then, they're there for all your aromatic vegetable bases, to be roasted as a side dish, or sliced into crudités pair with your favorite creamy dip.
Beets: When trimmed of their greens and stored in a plastic bag, beets can stay fresh in your fridge for several weeks until you're ready to roast them, grate them into salad, or boil them into a bright pink soup.
Condiments and Flavor Enhancers
Salsa: Make some yourself -- it’s a healthy, easy way to put some zip into egg dishes, soups, and sauces. Use it instead of oily dressings on vegetables and heartier salads, too.
Hummus: This Middle Eastern dip is low in fat and calories and high in protein and fiber. Chickpeas are legumes, which can be good for people with high blood pressure and diabetes. They also can lower your cholesterol and may help protect you against cancer.
Mustard: Always have some mustard you like in the fridge, whether it’s Dijon, yellow, spicy brown, or another variety. You can use it on sandwiches and in dressings and sauces.
Tamari or Soy Sauce: Tamari or regular soy sauce is useful for making Asian dishes, for overall flavor, and in dressings.
Convenient Staples
Whole-Wheat Tortillas: They’re low in calories and fat and can be ready in seconds. Sautee whatever vegetables you have in your fridge with some onion and throw in a can of beans. It doesn’t sound like much, but put it all on a freshly heated tortilla with a bit of salsa, shredded cheese, and cilantro, and you’ve got a feast for the senses that’s healthy to boot.
Fresh Pasta: It’s simple and quick and can be used as a side dish or main course. It also has a low glycemic index, which means that it lets sugar into your bloodstream more slowly than other foods, curbing your hunger as well as the blood sugar spikes that can be bad for your health if you have diabetes.
Other Long-Lasting Options
Bacon: Just like sausage, unopened bacon can stay fresh for two weeks, and then another five days once you open it. If you open the package and know you won't finish it within those five days, wrap it tightly and pop it in the freezer, where it will keep for a few months. Bacon is a very good secret weapon to keep around for last-minute dinners: it can turn a skillet of greens (or cabbage!) into something that feels more like a full meal (add some white beans and canned tomatoes and it's one of my favorite weeknight dinners). And of course you can fry it up with eggs for breakfast anytime.
Dehydrated Milk: Similar to protein powder, dehydrated milk powder stores easily and lasts even longer, or up to 10 years.
Foods for the Freezer
Cooked Beans: Whenever you make a batch of beans, double the recipe so that you have extra to freeze. This cuts down a lot of prep time during the week.
Cooked Grains: Just as with beans, grains freeze and reheat beautifully. Store extra cooked rice and quinoa in your fridge and quick meals will be a breeze.
Frozen Vegetables: Stock up on frozen vegetables such as corn, vegetable medleys, edamame, and green peas, and you will always have healthy options when you’re cooking.
Frozen Fruit: When your grocery store is having a sale, stock up on frozen bananas, frozen berries, and other frozen fruits. You can use them when baking and snacking or in smoothies. Frozen fruit also makes for a delicious addition to nice cream.
Garlic and Ginger: Garlic and ginger are excellent to have for flavoring savory dishes, so I store minced garlic and grated ginger in small freezer bags when I have extra. You can also store fresh whole ginger root in the freezer. (Bonus: Frozen ginger root is easier to grate than fresh!) There's no need to defrost it before using.
Tortillas: Always keep corn, rice, and/or whole wheat tortillas on hand. These freeze well, and tortillas are endlessly useful when making tacos, wraps, quesadillas, and other handheld meals.
Long-Term Storage: Pantry Essentials
While this article focuses on fridge staples, it’s worth noting some healthy foods that don’t spoil easily and are great for pantry storage:
- Nuts and Seeds: Most types of nuts last for about a year - even longer if frozen.
- Dried Grains: Grains can typically be stored for years, as long as they’re kept dry and sealed tightly.
- Dried Fruit: The dehydration process prevents the fruit from molding easily.
- Dried Beans: They have a naturally low moisture content and can last for years.
- Honey: Properly stored honey can last for years or even much longer.
Tips for Keeping Your Fridge Organized
- Regularly Clean Out: Get rid of expired items and clutter to make space for fresh, healthy foods.
- Check Temperature: Ensure your fridge temperature is at 40 degrees F (5 degrees C) or below to prevent bacteria growth.
- Use Clear Containers: Glass containers make leftovers and prepped meals look more appealing and help you see what you have.
- Strategic Placement: Place healthy, easy-to-grab foods at eye level to encourage healthier choices.
Making Healthy Eating Easier
Eating healthy isn’t always easy-but there are steps you can take today to make it easier on your future self. Take some time once a week after you grocery shop to prep your fruits and vegetables. Bookmark this guide to storing produce. Similarly, dice vegetables you want to use up and store in Tupperware so when it’s time to cook, the most annoying step is already done. Want to make a smoothie for breakfast or a snack but don’t have time to gather various complementary fruits? Or, does your fruit tend to go bad before you have time to use it up? Try smoothie starters: bags of pre-portioned fruit that you just add liquid to for a perfect and easy smoothie. For example, for a banana berry smoothie bowl, portion out your mixed berries, bananas and spinach into plastic or silicone bags and store in the fridge or freezer. If you want to reduce your soda or alcohol intake, stock up on seltzer. It’s better to avoid drinks with added sugar, but you can satisfy a craving for carbonation with sugar-free seltzer. Similarly, if you enjoy having a cocktail to end the night, try swapping it out for seltzer to lower your alcohol intake. Spinach and kale are some of the most versatile vegetables. Making soup? Toss a handful in! A smoothie? Same thing. (Most times, you won’t even taste it.) Stew, pasta, stir fry, you name it-you can add a boost of green easily. A large 2021 study found that three servings of vegetables (not starchy ones, like potatoes) and two of fruit (not juice) every day resulted in a 10% lower risk of death from cancer. Ultimately, you’re going to reach for your favorite foods and waste the ones you can’t figure out how to cook. It’s great to try new recipes and experiment, but if you find there’s an ingredient that isn’t your thing, don’t push it. We get it-pre-made cookie dough and takeout containers will be in your refrigerator from time to time-that’s life!