Stock Your Fridge Like a Pro

Lately, I’ve been having a lot more guests come into town. While I’m quite good at making my bedroom pristine, stocking extra towels, and filling up the bar cart, I’m always a bit worried about making sure they have enough to eat. I cook dinner on a regular basis, so there’s always food in the fridge, but it’s usually specifically set aside for a meal I’m planning to make. And the leftovers tend to be just enough for my lunch the next day.

Granola bars are a fantastic go-to snack.
Image: Shutterstock

I want guests staying with me to feel like they’ve got enough to snack on during the day, but I also don’t want to go overboard and have a massive amount of food left over once they leave.

Luckily, I’ve learned what to keep stocked, especially when guests are coming over. These are a few main staples that you can keep in your pantry and fridge to ensure your guests won’t go hungry:

• Mushrooms. They are super easy to add to eggs for breakfast, or to dress up a dish for lunch or dinner. They also keep for about a week and are very easy to cook with.
• Champagne + Rosé. Always keep two or three bottles of nice champagne for when guests come over to celebrate with you. If your guests don’t drink, swap the alcoholic beverages out for some sparkling apple cider.
• Granola + Nuts. These items can act as a quick grab snack for guests before you take them out on an adventure. They’re also great for stashing in your bag when you go out—just in case anyone gets hungry while you’re away from home.



Keep a little sweet on hand, too! Chocolate is a simple treat
that goes well with wine or a glass of milk.
Image: Shutterstock

• Cheese. When it comes to stocking cheese for when guests come over, I don’t mean shredded cheddar cheese for tacos. I’m talking a couple hunks of good cheese to serve up to guests with some nice crackers. My favorites are Gouda, Brie and a goat cheese. On that note, pick up some crackers that aren’t just saltines—whole grain crackers or Triscuits are great options.

• Chocolate. It’s great to keep a little bit of something sweet around, because let’s be honest…who doesn’t love chocolate with a nice bottle of wine?
• Eggs. Eggs can easily be used to whip up a quick frittata or omelet in the morning and they keep for quite a while. If you need quick go-to snacks during the week, simply hard-boil a few of the eggs.   

What are some things you always have stocked prior to guests visiting?

Eating Healthy When Nothing But Cereal Will Do

So delicious... and not so healthy :(

I’d like to say that I’m one of those people that makes myself a healthy, well-rounded meal every morning for breakfast—but then I’d be lying to you. I love cooking, but in the morning there is just so much to do, and I always feel a little rushed. And some mornings, I don’t feel like putting forward the effort to make anything. Some mornings, I (gasp) just want to eat a bowl of cereal.

And you know what? I’m mostly ok with that. I have some fundamental issues with cereal, such as the fact that it never seems to fill me up for long and that it’s too often loaded up with enough sugar to get me through a week. Luckily, there are some healthy cereal options out there that, while not my ideal breakfast, are good enough to get the job done.

How do you choose a healthy cereal? It’s probably one of the worst foods for being able to look healthy while being just the opposite. My absolute favorite granola (Sweet Home Farm French Vanilla) is one of those—it’s SO delicious, but has more added sugar than I’m willing to eat most days. Finding a cereal or granola that’s healthy means you must read the label, even if it doesn’t always tell you what you want to hear.

What should a nutrition label say? Try to find a cereal that fits within these requirements for each half-cup serving:

• Fewer than 130 calories
• No added sugar OR sweeteners (fewer than 1 gram of sugar)
• If you really need a little sweet, look for a cereal with fewer than 6 grams of sugar per serving.
• 3 grams or more of fiber
• Maximum 125 mg of sodium
• No partially hydrogenated oils
• First ingredient: whole grain

For granola, try to find something that has 140 calories or fewer per ¼ cup serving. Sugar should be fewer than 5 grams per serving, and there should be at least 2 grams of fiber. And again, no partially hydrogenated oils.

If you really want to be healthy, try making your own granola at home--that way you get to control what goes in it, and what stays out!

If you’re a fan of hot cereals, check out this article by Sarah-Jane Bedwell, which is where I pulled these lovely facts. She’s got suggestions for hot cereals as well as freeze-dried fruits, which are a common ingredient in many “healthy” cereals today.

What’s your favorite cereal—healthy or unhealthy?