Cozy, Flavorful Winter Recipes Plus 5 Pantry Must-Haves

As a classically trained chef, Food Editor Molly Siegler coordinates the creation and curation of recipes and other food content for Whole Foods Market. (Catch Molly’s cooking videos on YouTube opens in a new tab!) We asked Molly to share some of her favorite new recipes coming out of our test kitchen.

Let’s talk pantry staples, shall we? Around this time of year, being prepared to cook is half the battle. Not only do you need the right ingredients on hand to make quick work of dinner, but you also need recipes that do double duty as yummy leftovers for lunch.

Baked Buffalo Meatballs

Meatballs are often a go-to dinner for our house, in part because they’re fun to make (get an assembly line going with the whole family!) and also because you can use them in so many different ways. I love that this recipe relies on riced cauliflower — snag 365 Everyday Value® Organic Riced Cauliflower in the frozen aisle — instead of breadcrumbs for a grain-free veggie boost. Also, it’s never a bad idea to have a nice big bottle of good olive oil on hand (our 365 Everyday Value® Extra-Virgin Olive Oil lasts for weeks and is Non-GMO Project Verified), which I use to caramelize the onions for this recipe.

Coconut, Carrot and Chickpea Soup

I feel very strongly that I could not live without this soup. I always have all these items in my pantry and the soup comes together so fast — add coconut milk, no-salt-added canned chickpeas, vegetable broth and carrots to your shopping list this instant! The 365 Everyday Value® Organic Light Coconut Milk has a non-BPA can liner as do my beloved 365 Everyday Value® No-Salt-Added Beans. Feel free to play around with the spices, too. Some days I am loyal to the curry powder and cumin in the original recipe, but other times I’ll swap in ras el hanout opens in a new tab, harissa opens in a new tab or berbere opens in a new tab.

Oven-Baked Salmon with Sunshine Rice

Whole Catch® Atlantic Farmed Salmon Fillets come in a frozen pack — they’re such a lifesaver for dinners. You can use just what you need, and thawing the salmon happens while you’re preparing the rice for this simple, one-dish meal. 365 Everyday Value® Organic Diced Canned Fire-Roasted Diced Tomatoes also come in a can with a non-BPA can liner and add a wonderful smoky caramelized flavor to the rice. Another meal prep helper is long-grain brown rice — you’ll get a nice light texture while hooking yourself up with whole grains.

Discover even more opens in a new tab expert tips and tricks, recipe ideas and video how-tos: Eat Real Food®

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