Foods That Don’t Belong to My Kitchen — and Foods That Do

My kitchen is built on deliberate choices. I don’t buy something simply because it is common, convenient, or marketed as healthy. I choose ingredients that fit the way I want to eat and live, based on my own research and the specific purpose each ingredient serves in my approach to nourishment.

PART I — WHAT DOESN’T BELONG IN MY KITCHEN

1. Grains, Flour & Bakery Products

• Bread and loaves

• Buns and rolls

• Pasta

• Noodles

• Rice

• Wheat and other grain flours

• Refined flour products

• Cereals and breakfast cereals

• Crackers

• Tortillas and wraps

• Pastries

• Breadcrumbs

• Corn and corn-based products

• Potatoes

2. Legumes & Soy

• Beans

• Lentils

• Chickpeas

• Peas and other legumes

• Soybeans

• Tofu

• Soy milk

• Soy-based meat substitutes

• Other soy-derived products

3. Meat I Choose Not to Eat

• Chicken

• Turkey

• Beef

• Pork

• Lamb

• Quail

• Factory-farmed meat and poultry

• Commercial sausages

• Hot dogs

• Bacon

• Deli meats

• Smoked meats

• Salted and cured meats

• Processed meat products

• Jerky

  
  

My principle: No meat raised for mass consumption. No exceptions.

4. Processed & Convenience Foods

• Ready-made meals

• Instant meals

• Packaged convenience foods

• Fast food

• Packaged junk food

• Industrially processed snacks

• Chips and similar packaged snacks

• Products made primarily from refined ingredients

• Foods containing unnecessary combinations of additives

5. Sugar & Sweetened Products

• Refined white sugar

• Added sugar

• Commercial sweetened desserts

• Sugar-loaded snacks

• Commercial cakes

• Packaged pastries

• Sweetened breakfast products

• Artificial sweeteners

• Sugar substitutes used to imitate sweetness

• Sweetened dairy products

6. Drinks I Don’t Keep

• Alcohol

• Soda

• Sugary soft drinks

• Energy drinks

• Packaged sweetened beverages

• Commercial fruit juices

7. Oils & Processed Fats

• Soybean oil

• Corn oil

• Cottonseed oil

• Generic refined vegetable-oil blends

• Hydrogenated oils

• Partially hydrogenated fats

• Shortening

• Margarine

• Industrial frying fats

• Highly refined oils that don’t fit my cooking approach

8. Commercial Sauces & Condiments

• Bottled salad dressings

• Commercial mayonnaise

• Commercial ketchup

• Commercial mustard

• Premade sauces

• Packaged seasoning mixes

• Artificially flavored condiments

• Products loaded with unnecessary sugar, additives, or industrial oils

9.Butter, Spreads & Sweet Sandwiches

• Butter

• Peanut butter

• Jelly and jam

• Peanut butter and jelly (PB&J) sandwiches

• Sweetened fruit spreads

• Commercial chocolate and sweet spreads

• Almond butter

• Any butter

10. Artificial Additives & Unnecessary Ingredients

• Artificial colors

• Artificial flavors

• Unnecessary preservatives

• Artificial flavor enhancers

• Long lists of unnecessary industrial additives

• Ingredients included primarily to make heavily processed foods more appealing

11. Canned & Packaged Foods

• General canned convenience meals

• Packaged ready-to-eat meals

• Heavily processed canned products

" Exception: canned Sardines are welcome in my kitchen."

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PART II — WHAT BELONGS IN MY KITCHEN

1. My Selected Animal Proteins

• Rabbit

• Alligator

• Wild duck

• Eggs from my preferred source (free-range chickens raised on soy-free, corn-free feed)

• Fresh calamari

• Sardines

• Fish selected according to my preferences

I choose my protein sources deliberately rather than relying on the standard supermarket selection. Every choice in my diet has a purpose and a specific reason.

2. My Selected Dairy

• Plain skyr

• Other dairy ingredients only when they fit my personal kitchen philosophy

3. My Chosen Starches

These are the specific starch sources that belong in my kitchen:

• Green bananas

• Lotus seeds

• Lily bulbs

I don’t need the conventional selection of bread, rice, pasta, and potatoes to build my meals.

4. My Greens

• Microgreens

• Different varieties of microgreens selected for flavor and variety

No lettuce. Microgreens instead.

5. My Preferred Cooking Fats

• Extra-virgin olive oil

• Avocado oil

• Duck fat rendered from duck skin, used appropriately

I choose my fats according to the ingredient and cooking method rather than using one generic oil for everything.

6. Herbs, Roots & Aromatic Ingredients

• Fresh ginger

• Rosemary

• Cloves

• Other selected fresh herbs and aromatic ingredients that earn their place in my recipes