Dr. Oz: 4 Essential Pantry Ingredients
Dr. Oz talked to Geoffrey Zakarian, the author of My Perfect Pantry, about 4 essential pantry ingredients for under $10. That’s right: all four, taken together, are under $10. Geoffrey Zakarian is a renowned chef and he said he understands the issues with the pantry. The pantry is where old spices go to die. There might be several old soy sauce bottles, garlic powder you haven’t touched in years, and a half-empty box of baking powder from 10 years ago you’re sort of apprehensive about using.
Geoffrey said he wrote his book because everyone asks him what they need in their pantry. His book has 50 items for the pantry that can make 150 recipes. Each item makes 3 recipes.
Dr. Oz: Barley is Essential for the Pantry

Dr. Oz talked to renowned chef Geoffrey Zakarian about his 4 pantry essentials for under $10, including dried cannellini beans, peanut butter, and barley. (Melica / Shutterstock.com)
Barley is the first ingredient, which comes to about $2.50. Barley is healthy. It has some essential amino acids and it has a low glycemic index. When you cook 1 cup of barley, you get 3 cups of barley.
The recipes Geoffrey had from his book were a Barley with Green Tahini Vinaigrette, Beef Barley Bisque, and Chicken and Barley Salad with Mango.
Dr. Oz: Dried Cannellini Beans Expand When You Cook Them
Dried cannellini beans are the next essential pantry ingredient, coming in at just $2. Dried cannellini beans are great because once again, when you cook one cup, you get three cups. He also said canned beans are great as well.
In the book, he has a Cannellini Bean Dip, a Lamb Salad with Cannellini Beans, and a Veal Casserole with Cannellini Beans.
Dr. Oz: Whole Wheat Breadcrumbs
The next ingredient was whole wheat breadcrumbs, which you can use in any number of great recipes, particularly Italian recipes. These cost $3. Geoffrey Zakarian said you can also go to the baker and ask for their stalest bread. Then all you have to do is pulverize the stale bread and use those.
Geoffrey Zakarian had some Chicken Fingers, Meatballs, and Roasted Carrots, which were all made with the bread crumbs.
Dr. Oz: Peanut Butter
The last item was peanut butter, which is pretty much a staple in every home in America and costs about $2.49. Geoffrey made a smoothie with banana, spicy peanut butter slaw, and peanut brittle.
The total for all of these essentials is $9.99. You can find all of Geoffrey’s recipes in his new book My Perfect Pantry.
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