Sunday, January 20, 2008

Stocking a College Pantry Part I: Team Dinner

Last Thursday, I made a simple turkey-tomato sauce over linguine for my club Lacrosse team. I had to go shopping for the essentials, and I got to thinking, what ingredients should the College Kitchen always have? Every week, I am going to add to my "virtual pantry." These are the first four ingredients....

Ground Turkey: Keep it in the fridge for about a week, or in the freezer for 3 months, but make sure you have it handy! Turkey delivers over 32 grams of protein in just 4 oz and half the daily dose of selenium and vitamin B.

Canned Tomatoes: ESSENTIAL! you can use diced, chopped, whole roma, whole roma with basil, anything you want. The key it so always have them on hand to make a quick sauce, soup or pasta. Tomatoes are a nutritional powerhouse -- low in calories but high in cancer-fighting anti-oxidants as well as Vitamins A and C to help fight off the sniffles.

Parsley: This versatile herb is chock full of anti-oxidants, vitamin C, Vitamin A and Iron! It also contains folate and vitamin B to keep your heart healthy. Parley can go on top or inside of almost anything (think cottage cheese, salad, sandwiches, omelets) and works with most ethnic cuisines including Moroccan, Greek, Italian and Spanish.

Multi-grain or Whole Wheat Pasta: Dried pasta lasts virtually forever. Compared to white pasta, Multi-grain has omega-3 fatty acids (good for your heart, also found in almonds, salmon etc.) extra protein and almost double its count. If you are trying wheat pasta for the first time cooksillustrated.com, a great resource for foodie info, recommends

RONZONI Healthy Harvest, $1.79 for 13.25 ounces
The only pasta that tasted "undeniably wheaty" without a gummy or grainy texture.

Check back on Thursday for Part II!