My Pantry- Staples to keep my food delicious and never boring!

So here is a  semi comprehensive list of food items I always try to keep on hand

• Pesto- there is nothing that quite packs the flavor punch of a good pesto, for about $4.00-5.00 per jar  its worth it , since generally you only use it a teaspoon at a time- the trick with pesto is to keep it fresh , it should be added to the dish right before serving , so the flavor remains bright and delicious, and maximum impact.
• Brown mustard for such a tiny tiny amount of calories (1T=10-20) it really is quite good you can get coarse ground mustard or my favorite brown mustard with horseradish
• Salsa- get lots of different types, everything from super fiery hot down to mellow corn and black bean salsa to sweet peach or pineapple flavors- such a great variety and its vegetables, so 2T=20-35 calories
• Hot sauce- I like to keep a standard red, a nice jalapeno green hot sauce and sriracha which is a sweet medium hot sauce on hand again a few drops goes a long way
• Fresh or jarred fresh Garlic- everyone knows the flavor, and honestly if you're not cooking with a lot of sauces and salt, you will come to rely on really flavorful impact foods similar to the rest of my list
• Onion-honestly I use onion in much of my cooking at home as an integral part of the meal, typical meal in my home consists of at least 2-3 onions in it, several reasons, 1- it "extends" my meat out to feed a large family and 2- it lowers calorie counts in any meal .
• Curry seasoning- I like masaman and great flavors from curry 
• Lentils- there is nothing like the warm smoky flavor of lentils and they cook very quickly-about 30 minutes
• Brown Rice- say all you want about your favorite rice dishes,with less processing no bleach and more flavor, brown rice is a staple in out home.
• Frozen Vegetables- look into my freezer you will see tons of frozen vegetables- we eat nightly 2-4 lbs of vegetables for dinner ( Family of 9).
• Chorizo- beef or soy for less than 1.50 for a tube its definately a great ingredient to have on hand
• Tofu- we are not going to get in to the debate pro or con on the merits of this food, my family likes it , and we eat at least 2-4 meals a month with it.its also VERY reasonable, you can buy a tub of tofu for about $2.00
• Whole wheat pasta- wait for it to go on sale , and then stock up!
• Spaghetti sauce-jarred Brand and flavors are up to you, but it makes for a quick meal that's better than fast food, try to get ones without too much added sugar
• Spinach- for the price and nutritional punch  I keep fresh and frozen on hand
• Baby carrots- again , if healthy snacks are available and convenient you will eat them , rather than making a trip out to get something less than healthy
• Cucumbers - my daughters would cry if we didn't have cucumbers in the house  they will literally grab one and eat it whole
• Fresh Fruit- we always have the "big 3" apples oranges and bananas and in season a melon or two , mangos grapes strawberries etc.
• Lettuce-It really doesn't matter if you buy head lettuce or bagged prepared salad mixes, since we are going to always mix wonderfull stuff in with it to amp up the nutrition.
• Fish- I like to buy the frozen fillets  because I don't live in an area where a lot of fresh fish is available Swai,Tilapia,Salmon are the main ones I carry
• Avocado-when they are in season, which lasts about 6 months you can buy them for very cheap and they are wonderful smooth cool flavor that nothing compares to
• Peanut butter- obviously as a mom we have peanut butter in the house all the time- but I love it with my baby carrots theres just something "fun" about it