There are so many toxins and chemicals in the world that I work hard to eliminate them from my home. I keep it whole, simple, and real in the house. I will admit that I love eating out and there are many things we do that expose us to chemicals. So, I keep it clean at home for some balance and to maintain a whole food triathlete.
Now, as empty nesters, I prepare breakfast, lunch, and dinner Monday to Friday and cook 2-4 of the 6 meals over the weekend. I also make a fresh veggie or fruit juice each afternoon before our long walk and snack. Even when we travel, we plan meals and snacks and try to stay in Air B&Bs or hotels and resorts that think like we do about food.
Each week I post a picture of my refrigerator on Instagram, to showcase my find of the week. But today, I wanted to share with you what is really in my refrigerator.
A few notes to maintain a whole food triathlete:
- I order a lot of my in-season and organic produce, meat, and dairy from a local vendor who supplies many of my favorite restaurants. This means there are minimums, thus bulk, but we eat it all.
- I only do large grocery store runs two times a month.
- I order my dry goods on-line and have them shipped to our home.
- I do have two refrigerators and two freezers which we will talk about in a later post, but the second refrigerator is for my eggs (I order 15 dozen at a time from my local vendor) and produce overflow and dinner prep.
- I juice lemons, limes, and oranges each week to have fresh juice and make it easy to use.
- I often have extra produce in the house for putting up for the off -season. I order the week in-season I have time to do it. I prefer to small batch preserve. This week I am doing tomatoes, zucchini, and beets.
Top Shelf
- Organic whole milk Greek yogurt (I make my own or order 1-2 times a month).
- Many of my fermented foods are kept there.
- Leftovers are kept in ball jars.
- Other items often find there way there, because of space issues, but are moved by the beginning of the week.
Middle Shelf
- Eggs
- Tofu and wraps
- Veggie and produce I keep in containers like figs, turmeric, and ginger
- My starter
- Whatever I need to defrost for meals
Bottom Shelf
All fruits and veggies. I keep my berries all together unwashed, because it keeps them fresh. I try to arrange my veggies with greens on one side and the the rest on the other.
Left Drawer
Ready to eat fruits and citrus waiting to juice is kept in 2nd frig.
Right Drawer
All smaller produce is kept here, such as avocados, peppers, leftover pieces, and herbs.
Right Door
- Juices
- Milks
- Jams
- NingxiaRed Wine
Left Door
- Cheese
- Butter
- Dark Chocolate
So, that’s how I stay organized in my refrigerator to keep this a whole food family. It took some initial work to get organized to determine what worked best for me, but after that, it’s been a breeze and makes me oh, so happy!
Coming Next: My freezers, how we eat from a loaded frig each week, and kitchen equipment needed to maintain a whole food triathlete.
I am a home cook that does things my way. In my kitchen, I make breakfast, pack lunches, prepare snacks, and cook dinner. During the week, we eat real food that is homemade, organic, and local. On the weekends we do explore more of our local restaurants. I bake my own bread, juice fresh oranges every other day, and make my own kombucha and other weekly favorites.
