Second Helping Toolbox
Top 5 Items to Keep in the Pantry For Interesting Health Food

Roasted garlic

This is, easily, the heavy lifter in the Second Helping kitchen. A few cloves add both richness and sweetness to almost any dish. As an bonus, roasted garlic also acts as a thickener for sauces and soups. Often, the sweetness from roasted garlic is such I have to use additional herbs to tame it — fennel and coriander are mainstays, but basil’s licorice bite accomplishes the same thing.

Methods for keeping roasted garlic abound. Sure, you can buy the expensive version in the supermarket in limited quantities. You can also roast a clove at a time — Chop 1/4 off the top of the clove to expose the garlic, drizzle with oil, salt and pepper, and cover in tin foil and bake at 350 until you smell it, about 30-45 minutes.

However, the advantages of preparing roasted garlic in bulk — along with garlic-flavored olive oil as a bonus — make the prep time worth it during the week.

Buy a large jar of peeled cloves at a wholesale club (a la Sam’s or Costco) and dump it into a pan. Keep adding olive oil until the garlic’s submerged. Cover the dish in tin foil and bake at 350 until you can smell it (usually 45 minutes, but it varies by the size of the pan). As soon as I can smell roasted garlic, I cut off the oven and let it cool to room temp for easy handling.

When I’m preparing food in bulk for a number of dishes, this is one of the few times I do not add additional flavor (salt, pepper, herbs). Mostly because I want to control the salt of a dish, and also its flavor. Throwing in a sprig of rosemary adds a sophisticated touch to roasted garlic — but your future dishes might not appreciate the rosemary. If you’re preparing garlic for a specific dish, seasoning is key. If you’re using it for an ingredient for other dishes, I say it’s better to let you develop the seasonings on a dish-by-dish basis. This greatly increases your versatility in the kitchen.

Store the garlic and oil in the same container — the garlic stays preserved under the oil.

Vinegars

You’re not limited to apple cider or balsamic. My personal favorite is Fig White Balsamic — it adds both sweetness and acidity for almost no calories. Vinegars are another heavy lifter in the kitchen — anything that would require lemons would benefit from a flavored vinegar. You can either make your own or pick up a variety at the store.

Whole Wheat Panko Crumbs and/or Capers

Toast a quarter cup of crumbs or a similar amount of capers in a tablespoon of olive oil and use them to top fish or chicken. You maintain the same crunch of frying with a fraction of starch and even less oil. I’ve added the panko to soup instead of croutons, or used them for a crisp/cobbler topping as well. The “caper bullets” work wonders with grilled asparagus and a squeeze of lemon.

Almonds

Often, diet food all has similar texture, which is just boring. Chefs understand the need of diverse textures in dishes, and at home almonds or walnuts are the easiest manner. I toast and crush a few to add to salads, garnish for sandwiches, part of a sauce, or yogurt/oatmeal.

Whey Protein

Recommended Brands: Isopure if you have money, Champion Whey if you don’t. The difference is the more expensive brands require less mixing, but both of these have the best taste of any I’ve tried.

Yes, this is a solid “health food” ingredient. From a foodie perspective, it’s easy to turn your nose up to whey protein. It’s not exactly your organic darling at the exclusive 100-mile radius farmer’s market. But that doesn’t preclude protein powder from being useful, or from paying attention to the flavors it lends your food. Use every tool at your disposal — in this case, both “health products” and your ability to taste and see where an ingredient could be put to best use.

You don’t have to just whey protein in water or milk; instead, add them to prepared plain oatmeal, plain nonfat yogurt, cottage cheese for sweetness and an easy protein boost if you just don’t want to eat meat. Don’t stop there though — add crushed almonds, fresh or dried fruit, dutch-processed cocoa, or a dessert liquor to make wonderful dessert. Depending on your choice of product, season liberally with herbs (cayenne for a South America twist, dutch processed cocoa, citrus) to eliminate any aftertaste.

As a day-to-day strategy, this provides a custard-ice cream fix while boosting your protein intake easily. I keep a variety of flavors in my home and buy plain unflavored yogurts and oatmeal — I can make interesting flavors and control the additives myself this way.

Russ Lane created Second Helping after going from 350 to 155 pounds while working as a food writer in the Carolinas. Learn more at the Team Second Helping page, and be sure to sign up for our newsletter Under Maintenance.