I’m nosy curious by nature, so it may not come as a surprise that when I’m visiting a friend’s house, I get a tiny thrill from peeking inside their refrigerator. It’s weirdly interesting to see what other people are eating, plus the fridge gives a little insight into how they live, too. I have friends whose fridges look like an ad for the local farmer’s market, and I have friends who only stock a bottle of champagne, and their ice roller—a fridge speaks volumes. So, today I’m turning the tables and opening up my own fridge to give you guys a little tour. There are several items that I always keep on hand; those things like eggs, butter, and lettuce that cause near-panic when we run out of them. So, let’s take a look inside, and read on for my checklist of exactly how to stock your fridge so you’re ready for anything.
Overall, I’d say our family follows a pretty Mediterranean-ish diet. We eat a ton of veggies—my rule of thumb is every meal should have at least one veggie (preferably more)—plus fruit, whole grains, good proteins, a little dairy, and meat (but not too much), lots of spices, and herbs. Oh, and some wine and chocolate (always.)
Let’s start with beverages.
Milk. We always have milk on hand. Honestly, my five-year-old, Henry, is obsessed with hot chocolate, so every morning I make him a healthier version with organic whole milk and this probiotic drinking chocolate made with raw cocoa powder and monk fruit.
Almondmilk. I put it in my tea, coffee, oatmeal, and smoothies. When buying almond milk at the grocery, I look for an organic version with the shortest ingredient list. One of my best friends, Jordan makes this nut milk called Fronks that is the absolute best—it makes an incredible latté in my little milk frother. The “original” is made with almonds, cashews, dates, cinnamon, and sea salt.
Sparkling water. I’m honestly not the biggest sparkling water person (if I drink more than a little, it tends to hurt my stomach) but my kids like it, and it’s a good way to make them feel like they’re having something “fancy” without sugar. I do love to make a “ranch water,” which is the Austin-famous cocktail made with tequila, lime juice, and bubbly water—this is my favorite.
Half-and-half. My husband, Adam, puts it in his coffee. Again, I think with dairy it’s especially important to buy organic if you can since you want to make sure it’s hormone-free and doesn’t have a lot of additives. I think a good organic half-and-half is often healthier than the plant-based substitutes that tend to have a long list of ingredients and preservatives.
Kombucha. I’ve been on a major kombucha kick lately—it’s really good for when I want a cocktail but maybe I’m taking a break from alcohol since it feels fizzy and festive. It’s also full of gut health-boosting probiotics.
Filtered water with lemon. At night when I’m packing school lunches for the next day, I fill up a pitcher with filtered water, throw a few lemon slices in it, and pop it in the fridge. The next morning, I set it out on the counter for Adam and me while we work from home. It makes drinking water so easy, we have no excuse to not refill our glass all day.
Wine. We have a separate wine fridge where we keep most of our wine, but I always like to keep a bottle of rosé in the fridge because I like it to be really cold.
