There’s a common misconception that eating healthy needs to be both time-consuming and expensive. And while I fully believe that eating healthy can (and furthermore, should be) accessible, I also understand where that argument comes from. Keeping your pantry stocked with healthy staples like nuts, seeds, and organic flours can not only take time (especially if you don’t live close to a health food store), but can also become very expensive very quickly.
With these simple and easy tips, you can ensure that your healthy nuts, seeds, and flours stay fresh for longer, not only saving you time spent running to the store, but also your hard-earned cash.
Nuts, Seeds and flour form the basis for so many of my favorite Kalejunkie recipes. From my Gigantic Chocolate Chip Granola Clusters, to my Chewy Paleo Maple Pecan Cookies, nuts, seeds, and gluten-free flours are incredibly nutrient-dense, and, not to mention… they’re also incredibly delicious. But while these ingredients may find a home within in our pantry, in the same bags that we bought them in, there’s a much better way to take care of these ingredients, to ensure that they last the fullest extent of their shelf life.
In this post, I’ll be sharing three simple and easy tips for ensuring that your healthy ingredients stay fresh for longer, because nobody deserves to spend their money on ingredients that spoil too quickly!
1. Store Them in Airtight Containers in the Freezer
Yes, you heard that right – your nuts, seeds, and flours should always be stored in the freezer. Why is that? Because it helps to extend their shelf life, making them last anywhere from six months to over one year!
Nuts and seeds, in particular, are full of fats and oils that, while generally considered shelf-stable, are components that have a limited shelf life. The more that those fats and oils are exposed to oxygen (for example, while sitting in a half-sealed bag in a pantry that is continuously being opened and closed), the more likely those oils are to go rancid. The result: stale-tasting nuts and seeds that are missing some of their key nutritional benefits. Not good.
Instead, nuts and seeds thrive when stored in airtight, sealed containers in a dark and cool environment. Next time you go to pick some up from the store, consider investing in some Weck Jars or even your standard 32 oz. Mason Jars to store your nuts and seeds in!
And when it comes to flour, storing it in the freezer not only helps it to stay fresh for over a year, but it also helps to keep pests out. Conventional wheat flour is known for sometimes housing pesky little brown bugs called weevils. Keeping your flour in the freezer ensures that these bad boys stay OUT!
2. Buy Whole, Un-Processed Nuts and Seeds
This tip goes along with the first, and is exclusively for nuts and seeds. While it’s so much easier to buy pre-ground nuts and seeds (for example, flaxseed meal or almond meal), buying them pre-ground depletes their nutrients even quicker, cutting their overall shelf life in about half… even if they are stored in the freezer.
To prevent this, I highly recommend buying your nuts and seeds whole, and grinding them if/when needed. It’s similar to how coffee is when it’s pre-ground vs ground fresh from the whole bean. The freshly ground coffee just tastes better overall!
But with this tip said, I also want to stress that this is just a suggestion to get the MOST out of your nuts and seeds. Sometimes, life gets busy and we just don’t have those few extra moments to sit and grind up nuts and seeds. And if that’s your reality, I FEEL you!
There’s nothing wrong with buying pre-ground nuts and seeds. Just keep in-mind that they will stay fresh for a significantly shorter period of time. If you’re in it for the long-haul, opt for whole nuts and seeds. But if you’re in it for the convenience factor, there’s nothing wrong with buying the pre-ground nuts and seeds. Do what works for you!
3. Try Making Your Own Gluten-Free Flours
Piggybacking off of the idea that nuts and seeds are freshest when stored whole, this same concept applies to gluten-free nut and seed flours! I’m taking oat flour, almond flour, and other similar flours.
These flours are not only naturally gluten-free, and contain different nutritional benefits depending on the base ingredient (for example, almond flour is full of healthy fats and proteins), but most of these are super easy to whip up in a pinch with the raw ingredient and a food processor!
My Simple & Easy Oat Flour Recipe takes less than 2 minutes to prepare, and will ensure that you have the freshest flour every time!
And just like I mentioned earlier, the fresher the ingredient = the better the flavor = the longer it lasts. It’s a simple formula that is foolproof every time!
I hope you guys loved these simple and easy kitchen tips! If you decide to try any of them out, be sure to leave a comment below and let me know what you think! And if you post to Instagram, I repost your creations on my IG stories! Enjoy! xx
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Love the knowledge I collect from you. Thank you.
You are so, so welcome, Dawn!