Kitchen Staples

When most people think of basic staples in the kitchen they envision butter, flour, milk and sugar. For the dairy, gluten, soy and sugar free cook, the basics aren’t so basic. I’ve listed below what I consider staples in my kitchen. I use a number of other ingredients, especially in baking, since I’m always experimenting with different flours and flavors but without these things, cooking and baking would be much more difficult.

As of February 2012 I’m on a grain free diet so items marked with an asterisk (*) are the only things allowed on new diet plan.

Gluten Free Flours
Almond flour/meal*
Amaranth flour
Coconut flour*
Corn starch
Oat flour
Rice flour (brown and white)
Sweet sorghum flour
Tapioca flour/starch

Dairy Free Products
Almond milk (unsweetened)*
Coconut milk*
Coconut oil*
Rice milk (unsweetened)
Vegan margarine

Baking Necessities
Baking powder (gluten free)
Baking soda*
Chia or flax seeds
Psyllium powder
Vanilla extract (good quality, gluten free)*
Xanthan gum

Alternative sweeteners
Agave nectar (amber & dark)
Date sugar
Honey*
Maple syrup
Stevia extract in 11% alcohol
Stevia extract powder (I use Stevia Extract in the Raw which measures 1:1 like cane sugar)

Grains
Oats (gluten free)
Polenta (aka grits or cornmeal mush)
Rice (variety: brown, long grain, short grain, wild)
Quinoa