Getting Organized

In the first Paleo post for March, I mentioned where to find the best recipes and the best prices on basic resources. The Best Resources

Next,  you will need to get some organization to your supplies. It was such a new cooking process for me, with new staples to work with, that I finally realized I needed to clear out a cabinet or two and group all of my Paleo supplies together. This helped so much.

In the Cupboard

In this cupboard I keep items like:

• Coconut Oil (in the summer this will be in liquid state, in colder weather, solid state)
• Almond Flour (I keep a container of each flour  here and the rest in the refrigerator or freezer)
• Tapioca Flour
• Coconut Flour
• Coconut Flakes, Pure Cocoa
• Baking Soda, Baking Powder
• Sea Salt, Fresh Black Pepper, Onion Flakes, Garlic Granules, Basil, Cinnamon, Ginger
• Pure Vanilla
• Maple Syrup
• Raw Honey
• Organic Agave Nectar
• Nuts, Flax Seeds

Refrigerator

• Cage Free Eggs
• Homemade Paleo Salad Dressing
• Homemade Paleo Mayonnaise
• Ghee (Clarified Butter)
• Slivered Almonds
• Cranberries

Freezer

• Irish Butter (for special occasions)
• Extra Coconut Flour
• Extra Arrowroot Flour

Extra Cupboard

I try to never run out of these basics. Therefore a keep possibly one extra of each in a small little spare cupboard.

Pantry

• Cans Breast of Chicken
• Small Cartons Coconut Water (for green power drinks made with spinach or power greens)
• Organic Diced Tomatoes
• Cartons of Organic Chicken Broth (until I learn to make my own)

Tools

Good Measuring Cups (I recently bought the kind that you can hang up for both cups and spoons; and I had John put two hooks under my cabinet so I can keep them there and easily reach them when cooking.)

You will also note in the photo that I use two recipe books (because I had one extra, why not?) I open one to my Ingredients page and one to my How to Make page. With the spiral binding, I can stand them up easily to view as I cook. You will also note my favorite four mixing bowls with lids, and my Cuisinart Ceramic 8 inch skillet for making Easy Tortillas.

• Good Measuring Spoons
• Heavy Duty non stick Griddle
• 8 inch ceramic skillet
• Big spoon that wont scratch ceramic pans
• Good set Mixing Bowls
• Parchment Paper
• Glass Storage Containers for Freezing
• Blendtech Blender (I love this and it saves me hours of time.)

Tips

When your supplies are all together, you can speed up your cooking time.

Example:

If I want to make Zucchini Muffins tomorrow, I will go ahead and line up the ingredients I need on the counter. Taking a little step at a time, makes it seem more doable for me. Often I will also (when I have a couple of minutes) mix the dry ingredients all together with a bowl that has a lid so that is ready to go.

(Mine never look as good as the ones in this photo, but they still taste terrific. I always add a little fresh lemon juice or drops of pure lemon oil to my recipe.)