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5 Pantry items that help elevate your meals

1d By Thekgo Raseala

Your pantry is stacked with ingredients that can elevate your meals from a regular lazy Tuesday meal to a restaurant-level one.

Also see: Nutritious foods to help fuel your body and brain

Here are a few pantry items that can help elevate your meals.

1. Extra-virgin olive oil

This oil helps add richness and depth to meals like salads, roasted vegetables, pasta, and finished dishes. You can also use it as a dressing or drizzle rather than only for cooking.

2. Smoked paprika

Brings colour, warmth, and a subtle smoky flavour to meat, beans, potatoes, soups, and stews. Along with the spices you use to season your food, paprika can add an elevated element to your meals.

3. Soy sauce or Worcestershire 

These sauces add saltiness to stir-fries, marinades, sauces, mushrooms, eggs, and even soups. They also help tenderise the meat you’re cooking and brighten up the flavours of your dish.

4. Dried herbs and spices

When in a bind and you don’t have fresh herbs, a versatile combination such as oregano, thyme, cumin, coriander, or chilli flakes can transform simple ingredients into a more flavorful meal. They add earthy depth that brightens a dish both aesthetically and on a taste level.

5. Canned goods

Canned food items are great for elevating a meal.

Canned tomatoes are a great addition to fresh pasta dishes, canned tuna is amazing for sandwiches and salads, and canned corn is an excellent addition to salad bowls, rice bowls, and pasta bowls. Canned goods can take a regular meal and make it better without extra work.

Also see: Foods you should never put in the fridge: What belongs in the cupboard instead

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