When you pick up the items on our $50 Pantry Stock Up list (see below), you’ll be ready to add a few fresh ingredients, herbs and spices to be able to cook 14 of our favorite recipes. We’ve featured all of these recipes individually in these “From Our Pantry” posts on Oats, Soup, Chili and Stew, Brown Rice and Quinoa. This post rounds out the list with a couple of pantry recipes featuring Italian cuisine.

Tuscan Tuna Salad

This tuna salad served atop toasted sourdough bread makes a satisfying lunch or dinner. The beans, tuna and walnuts offer interesting contrasts in texture, while providing fiber, protein and healthy fat. Your Pantry List provides the tuna and cannellini beans, and you’ll add fresh parsley, onion, lemon juice, olive oil, walnuts, seasoning and sourdough bread.

Orecchiette with Broccoli Rabe, Sundried Tomatoes and White Beans

This quick vegetarian pasta combines the pleasingly bitter taste of broccoli rabe with toasted garlic and bold sun-dried tomatoes. Your Pantry List will supply the pasta, sun-dried tomatoes and cannellini beans and you’ll add garlic, broccoli rabe, olive oil and seasoning.

Here’s the complete Pantry Stock Up List (download the pdf) that gives you all the pantry ingredients needed for these two recipes and 12 more.

• 1 lb black beans
• 1 lb lentils
• 1 lb quinoa
• 2 lbs brown rice
• 3 (32-oz) boxes vegetable broth
• 1 (32-oz) box chicken broth
• 1 lb rolled oats
• 2 cans cannellini beans
• 1 can black beans
• 1 lb orechiette pasta
• 1 lb pasta, your favorite kind
• 1 jar unsweetened applesauce
• 1 (32-oz) box unsweetened soymilk
• 1 (32-oz) box unsweetened almondmilk
• 1 (5-oz) can tuna
• 3 (15-oz) cans diced tomatoes
• 1 package no-oil sundried tomatoes
• 1 jar pasta sauce

We priced these in our 365 Everyday Value® line and the list came in around $50. We encourage you to visit our bulk department and keep an eye out for sales for even more value.

Do you have a favorite Italian recipe that comes together easily with help from a well-stocked pantry? Please share in the comments.

Curious about Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax? Here’s how Universal Pictures describes the movie:

From the creators of Despicable Me and the imagination of Dr. Seuss comes the 3D-CG feature Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax, an adaptation of the classic tale of a forest creature who shares the enduring power of hope.  The animated adventure follows the journey of a 12-year-old as he searches for the one thing that will enable him to win the affection of the girl of his dreams.  To find it he must discover the story of the Lorax, the grumpy yet charming creature who fights to protect his world.

In hopes of spreading the eco-message of the film, we’ve partnered with Universal Pictures on our Kids for Our Planet contest as well as on pre-screening events and ticket giveaways in some of our stores. (Check here to see if your store’s included.)

Whether it’s saving Truffula Trees and Brown Bar-ba-loots or protecting the planet locally, the Kids for Our Planet essay contest celebrates kids who are doing more than their fair share to protect the planet. Help us celebrate their commitment to the environment by nominating them in the Kids for Our Planet essay contest. Parents and teachers are invited to share how a kid or group of kids they know are using their energy and creativity to make our planet a better place.

To enter a hero, visit our Kids for Our Planet contest on Facebook. (You’ll need to have your own Facebook account and “follow us” to enter.) You’ll be asked to write a short essay, no more than 350 words, describing the efforts of a child or group of children who are making a positive impact on the environment. Feel free to include links to web pages, Facebook pages or other online locations that help tell the story.

The essay contest will be judged based on:

• expression of the contest theme “Kids Making a Difference for the Planet” — 50%
• creativity of the submission and clarity of the description of the efforts — 20%
• impact the efforts had or are having on the environment — 30%

You can only nominate a specific kid or group of kids one time, so make sure you tell their story the best way you know how. You can nominate more than one kid in separate entries, though. (Oh, and by “kid” we mean ages 5 to 14.) For a full list of contest rules and criteria, visit the Kids for Our Planet Facebook contest page.

Submissions will be accepted online from January 25 through February 8; and winners will be announced on February 15. One Grand Prize Winner will receive a private screening of Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax for up to 200 friends and family in your local movie theater the night before the movie’s official release to the public! (That means the pre-screening will be on March 1^st .) Three 2^nd Prize Winners will receive The Lorax eco-friendly gardening tote set with stainless steel tools and a copy of The Lorax book tucked inside.

One of the great things about the Lorax is that his powerful message still resonates and inspires kids today, years after Dr. Seuss created him. Whole Foods Market has a long history of supporting our environment and we are really excited to partner with Universal Pictures to celebrate real kids who are doing more than their part to protect the planet. We hope you’ll take the time to share their story!

When you pick up the items on our $50 Pantry Stock Up list (see below), you’ll be ready to add a few fresh ingredients, herbs and spices to be able to cook 14 of our favorite recipes. We’ll feature all of these recipes individually in these “From Our Pantry” posts throughout this month. This time we’re talking quinoa. (You can see our earlier posts on Oats, Soup, Chili and Stew and Brown Rice.

Quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wah) has all the goodness of whole grains — the B vitamins, the fiber, the minerals — and it’s actually a small dried seed that’s been cultivated for thousands of years in South America. This little powerhouse has the highest protein content of any other grain. And since it contains all eight essential amino acids, quinoa is considered a complete protein.

Quinoa’s light and fluffy in texture but has that whole grain ability to fill people up. It’s so versatile it can be substituted for rice, pasta, couscous, bulgur or millet in just about any recipe. And it’s gluten free – excellent news for anyone with a gluten allergy or sensitivity.

First things first, you need to learn how simple and quick it is to cook quinoa. Here’s our step by step instructional recipe called Learn to Cook: Quinoa. Whether you choose brown, red or black quinoa, cooking is similar.

Now that you’ve got the basics down, try these:

Zesty Quinoa with Broccoli and Cashews

Serve this side dish alongside baked tofu chunks or your favorite lean protein. In addition to your pantry staples of quinoa, sundried tomatoes and vegetable broth, you’ll add broccoli (frozen will work), lemon juice, onions, cashews and a bit of wine for a carnival of flavors and textures.

Beef and Quinoa Meatballs

Sneak whole grains and veggies into crowd-pleasing meatballs with this easy recipe that will stretch your food dollar, too. You’ll add ground beef, chopped veggies and seasonings to your cooked quinoa. Serve with your favorite pasta and marinara sauce or on a hoagie with cheese for a dynamite meatball sub sandwich.

Here’s the complete Pantry Stock Up List (download the pdf) that gives you all the pantry ingredients needed for these three recipes and 11 more.

• 1 lb black beans
• 1 lb lentils
• 1 lb quinoa
• 2 lbs brown rice
• 3 (32-oz) boxes vegetable broth
• 1 (32-oz) box chicken broth
• 1 lb rolled oats
• 2 cans cannellini beans
• 1 can black beans
• 1 lb orechiette pasta
• 1 lb pasta, your favorite kind
• 1 jar unsweetened applesauce
• 1 (32-oz) box unsweetened soymilk
• 1 (32-oz) box unsweetened almondmilk
• 1 (5-oz) can tuna
• 3 (15-oz) cans diced tomatoes
• 1 package no-oil sundried tomatoes
• 1 jar pasta sauce

We priced these in our 365 Everyday Value® line and the list came in around $50. We encourage you to visit our bulk department and keep an eye out for sales for even more value.

Do you have a favorite recipe using quinoa that comes together easily with help from a well-stocked pantry? Please share in the comments.

When you pick up the items on our $50 Pantry Stock Up list (see below), you’ll be ready to add a few fresh ingredients, herbs and spices to be able to cook 14 of our favorite recipes. We’ll feature all of these recipes individually in these “From Our Pantry” posts throughout this month. This time we’re talking brown rice. (You can see our earlier posts on Oats and on Soup, Stew and Chili.)

Brown rice is a nutritious whole grain that delivers fiber, protein and selenium. It is not another type of rice; it’s the same as white rice without all the good stuff removed in processing. Whole grains in general are packed with nutrients and fiber, which aids in healthy digestion and weight management. These are the “good carbs” that help balance your diet and can fill you up.

First things first, you need to learn how absolutely simple it is to cook brown rice. Here’s our step by step instructional recipe called Learn to Cook: Brown Rice. (Um, but really, there’s only about two steps.) Read through the customer comments on the recipe. They share some great ideas for using a rice cooker and how to adjust the recipe to better suit temperature issues when cooking on electric or a ceramic cooktop.

Now that you’ve got the basics down, you can whip up some dinner and dessert.

Brown Rice with Chicken and Broccoli

Lean protein, greens and whole grains all in this one-pot weeknight meal. In addition to your pantry staples, you’ll need a boneless, skinless chicken breast (a package of frozen makes this easy), onion, garlic, broccoli florets (again, frozen can make this even easier) along with a bit of fresh thyme and pine nuts.

Almond Brown Rice Pudding

A rich mixture that’s not too sweet but just enough to be enjoyed as a warm after-dinner treat. This non-dairy pudding uses unsweetened almondmilk for a creamy texture. You’ll need dates, raisins, almonds, cinnamon along with almond and vanilla extracts in addition to your pantry staples.

Here’s the complete Pantry Stock Up List (download the pdf) that gives you all the pantry ingredients needed for these three recipes and 11 more.

• 1 lb black beans
• 1 lb lentils
• 1 lb quinoa
• 2 lbs brown rice
• 3 (32-oz) boxes vegetable broth
• 1 (32-oz) box chicken broth
• 1 lb rolled oats
• 2 cans cannellini beans
• 1 can black beans
• 1 lb orechiette pasta
• 1 lb pasta, your favorite kind
• 1 jar unsweetened applesauce
• 1 (32-oz) box unsweetened soymilk
• 1 (32-oz) box unsweetened almondmilk
• 1 (5-oz) can tuna
• 3 (15-oz) cans diced tomatoes
• 1 package no-oil sundried tomatoes
• 1 jar pasta sauce

We priced these in our 365 Everyday Value® line and the list came in around $50. We encourage you to visit our bulk department and keep an eye out for sales for even more value.

Do you have a favorite recipe using brown rice that comes together easily with help from a well-stocked pantry? Please share in the comments.

When you pick up the items on our $50 Pantry Stock Up list (see below), you’ll be ready to add a few fresh ingredients, herbs and spices to be able to cook 14 of our favorite recipes. We’ll feature all of these recipes individually in these “From Our Pantry” posts throughout this month. This time we’re talking Oats. (You can see our earlier post on Soup, Chili and Stew here.)

With oats in your pantry, breakfast is just a pot away. These days, it would be hard to find someone who hasn’t heard about the benefits of whole grains, especially oats! They are an especially comforting, nourishing way to start the day, providing stick-to-your-ribs good taste along with good nutrition.

For our Pantry Stock Up, we’ve called for rolled oats, which are whole oat groats that have been steamed and run through rollers to flatten them out. They are thicker, heartier and chewier than quick cooking and instant oats, which are flaked.  The old-fashioned rolled oats stay with you, keeping you satisfied longer. Here are a few ways to cook up oats for breakfast using your pantry staples along with a few other ingredients.

Simple Oatmeal

This basic dish cooks up in about 10 minutes using pantry staple of oats and soymilk. You can substitute water, milk or another preferred non-dairy milk if you like. Dress up this classic cold-weather breakfast with a topping of applesauce, nuts, fresh or dried fruit, honey, maple syrup or brown sugar.

Overnight Oatmeal

No time to cook in the morning? No worries. Simply mix the ingredients together and refrigerate overnight. Enjoy it cold or warm the next morning. You’ll use pantry staples of oats and soymilk plus a bit of lemon zest, vanilla extract, chopped nuts and dried fruit.

Oatmeal and Apple Pancakes

These nutritious and delicious silver dollar pancakes are a great way to get your oatmeal. With only five ingredients — oats and applesauce from your pantry staples and eggs, butter and syrup from your fridge — they’re simple to make any day of the week.

Here’s the complete Pantry Stock Up List (download the pdf) that gives you all the pantry ingredients needed for these three recipes and 11 more.

• 1 lb black beans
• 1 lb lentils
• 1 lb quinoa
• 2 lbs brown rice
• 3 (32-oz) boxes vegetable broth
• 1 (32-oz) box chicken broth
• 1 lb rolled oats
• 2 cans cannellini beans
• 1 can black beans
• 1 lb orechiette pasta
• 1 lb pasta, your favorite kind
• 1 jar unsweetened applesauce
• 1 (32-oz) box unsweetened soymilk
• 1 (32-oz) box unsweetened almondmilk
• 1 (5-oz) can tuna
• 3 (15-oz) cans diced tomatoes
• 1 package no-oil sundried tomatoes
• 1 jar pasta sauce

We priced these in our 365 Everyday Value® line and the list came in around $50. We encourage you to visit our bulk department and keep an eye out for sales for even more value.

Do you have a favorite recipe using oats that comes together easily with help from a well-stocked pantry? Please share in the comments.

Are you familiar with the Martha Stewart Living Daily Giveaway? Each day visitors to their site can enter to win some great stuff. This month, the daily prize is a $50 Whole Foods Market Pantry Staples Stock Up. Yeah!

Awarded as a $50 Whole Foods Market gift card, winners can stock their pantries with our list of staples to keep on hand for healthier meals and a healthier budget. Running the gamut from beans, grains and oats to broths, diced tomatoes and pasta sauce, you’ll be fully stocked and prepared to drive past that drive thru in favor of healthy meals at home. Just add some fresh ingredients and spices and you’ll have everything you need to cook 14 of our favorite recipes.

Regardless of whether you win a prize, our Pantry Stock-Up List is designed to make you a winner when it comes to fixin’ dinner.

• 1 lb black beans
• 1 lb lentils
• 1 lb quinoa
• 2 lbs brown rice
• 3 (32-oz) boxes vegetable broth
• 1 (32-oz) box chicken broth
• 1 lb rolled oats
• 2 cans cannellini beans
• 1 lb orechiette pasta
• 1 lb pasta, your favorite kind
• 1 can black beans
• 1 jar unsweetened applesauce
• 1 (32-oz) box unsweetened soymilk
• 1 (32-oz) box unsweetened almondmilk
• 1 (5-oz) can tuna
• 3 (15-oz) cans diced tomatoes
• 1 package no-oil sundried tomatoes
• 1 jar pasta sauce

Now that you have a well-stocked pantry, just add fresh ingredients, herbs and spices to be able to cook all of these recipes:

• Simple Black Bean Soup
• Beef and Quinoa Meatballs
• Zesty Quinoa with Broccoli and Cashews
• Lentil Chili
• Brown Rice with Chicken and Broccoli
• Oatmeal-Apple Pancakes
• Overnight Oatmeal
• Tuscan Tuna Salad
• Mexican Taco Stew
• Orecchiette with Broccoli Rabe, Sundried Tomatoes and White Beans
• Almond Brown Rice Pudding
• Learn to Cook: Brown Rice
• Learn to Cook: Quinoa
• Simple Oatmeal

So head on over to the Martha Stewart Living Daily Giveaway; you can enter every day of the month for a chance to win. Please note: no magazine subscription purchase is required to enter the giveaway. If you accidentally subscribe, please email dailygiveaway@marthastewart.com. Good luck and good eating!

When you pick up the items on our $50 Pantry Stock Up list (and below), you’ll be ready to add a few fresh ingredients, herbs and spices to be able to cook 14 of our favorite recipes. We’ll feature all of these recipes individually in these “From Our Pantry” posts throughout this month. Let’s get started with three: warming soup, chili and stew.

Simple Black Bean Soup

Along with the pantry staple of black beans, you’ll add fresh bell pepper, onion, garlic, lime juice, avocado and spices. Cooking dried beans is low maintenance and a great value. Make sure to plan ahead and allow time for soaking the beans. Serve with hot sauce or salsa, if you like.

Lentil Chili

This simple vegetarian chili recipe uses lentils instead of beans. Along with the pantry staples of lentils, vegetable broth and canned diced tomatoes, you’ll add fresh onion, bell pepper, garlic, cilantro and spices. Brown lentils work best as they will hold their shape even when tender after cooking. Lentils are a favorite staple as they cook more quickly than beans, and they don’t require soaking. Serve over brown rice or with whole-grain hearth bread.

Don’t just take our word on this Lentil Chili recipe; it’s a favorite on our website — rated 4 stars by 77 people.

Mexican Taco Stew

An easy-to-throw-together, affordable, top-rated (4 stars by 92 people) stew that feeds a crowd. Along with the pantry staples of canned black beans, canned diced tomatoes and chicken broth, you’ll add onion, garlic, zucchini, frozen corn, ground turkey or beef, and taco seasoning. Top bowlfuls of this hearty tomato and corn stew with your favorite salsa if you like.

Here’s the complete Pantry Stock Up List (in PDF and below) that gives you all the pantry ingredients needed for these three recipes and 11 more.

• 1 lb black beans
• 1 lb lentils
• 1 lb quinoa
• 2 lbs brown rice
• 3 (32-oz) boxes vegetable broth
• 1 (32-oz) box chicken broth
• 1 lb rolled oats
• 2 cans cannellini beans
• 1 can black beans
• 1 lb orechiette pasta
• 1 lb pasta, your favorite kind
• 1 jar unsweetened applesauce
• 1 (32-oz) box unsweetened soymilk
• 1 (32-oz) box unsweetened almondmilk
• 1 (5-oz) can tuna
• 3 (15-oz) cans diced tomatoes
• 1 package no-oil sundried tomatoes
• 1 jar pasta sauce

We priced these in our 365 Everyday Value® line and the list came in around $50. We encourage you to visit our bulk department and keep an eye out for sales for even more value.

Do you have a favorite soup, stew or chili that comes together easily with help from a well-stocked pantry? Please share in the comments.

Our Whole Trade® Guarantee ensures fair prices are paid for products, better wages and working conditions, and sound environmental practices. These Whole Trade bell peppers also generate a 1% donation of retail sale value to the Whole Planet Foundation.

These peppers come from Divemex, growers we have worked with for a few years now. We were pleased when Fair Trade USA came in as a certifier and helped the company meet their rigorous standards, which now qualifies the peppers for our Whole Trade Guarantee.

Recently, a group from our produce team visited the Divemex 175-acre greenhouse farm. They toured the facilities, learned about their production techniques and met some of the 600 people who are employed at the farm. Here’s what Matt Rogers of Whole Foods Market Produce had to say about the trip:

It was still a couple of weeks before harvest when we visited, but we saw some nice green peppers maturing on the plants. From a quality perspective, we like to see peppers with good blocky shape, full seed pack, even cavities around the seeds, and nice thick walls. Color comes on about three weeks after a pepper is mature and green. In the next five months, this farm will produce more than 10 million pounds of colored bell peppers!

With the Fair Trade certification, Whole Foods Market and our customers receive independent verification that working conditions and environmental practices on the farm meet high standards. Fair Trade also requires that a part of our purchase price be passed through to a fund controlled directly by the workers on the farm. The workers vote on how to invest the money to benefit their communities.

We met with the workers committee and they explained that the workforce had already voted to support three distinct education support programs for different interest groups:

• One for children of workers to support basic needs associated with attending primary school (uniforms, transportation, etc.)
• Another for workers themselves who want to continue their secondary education while they work
• And a separate one for workers seeking professional training of some sort to advance their careers.

Many of the workers at this farm are migrants from other areas of Mexico and special attention has been paid to ensure the families of these workers will also have access to the programs. We’re always excited to be able to support growers like Divemex who take the quality of their product and the wellness of their workforce seriously.

We hope you’ll pick up these peppers in our stores and help make this new program a success. Tell us what you think. When you buy something like bell peppers, do you consider the impact your purchase makes?

To celebrate the New Year, we want to show you that eating healthy can be affordable. Make your choices count by picking up our list of pantry staples — that rings up at about 50 bucks — and you’ll be set for healthier meals and a healthier budget. Running the gamut from beans, grains and oats to broth, diced tomatoes and pasta sauce, you’ll be prepared to drive past that drive thru in favor of healthy meals at home. Just add fresh ingredients and spices to have everything you need to cook 14 of our favorite recipes (we’ve listed them below).

To get the party started, we’re giving stuff away! All you need to do is send an email to pantrycontest@wholefoods.com by January 31st telling us what healthy foods are “must haves” for your pantry. We’ll select random emails in February for our pantry-focused giveaway. You might win:

$50 Pantry Staples Stock Up – We’re giving away 31 stock ups. Winners will receive a $50 Whole Foods Market® gift card along with a list of suggested pantry staples needed to make 14 of our healthy recipes.

Five grand-prize packages include:

• Pantry Staples for a Year – Each grand-prize winner will receive a Whole Foods Market gift card for $599 to use for stocking your pantry for a year.
• Customized elfa® pantry system from The Container Store ($500 value) – Each grand-prize winner will receive a customized pantry design from The Container Store and a $500 elfa Store More Card to makeover your pantry.

Regardless of whether you win a prize, our Pantry Stock Up List (download the list as a PDF) is designed to make you a winner when it comes to fixin’ dinner.

• 1 lb black beans
• 1 lb lentils
• 1 lb quinoa
• 2 lbs brown rice
• 3 (32-oz) boxes vegetable broth
• 1 (32-oz) box chicken broth
• 1 lb rolled oats
• 2 cans cannellini beans
• 1 lb orechiette pasta
• 1 lb pasta, your favorite kind
• 1 can black beans
• 1 jar unsweetened applesauce
• 1 (32-oz) box unsweetened soymilk
• 1 (32-oz) box unsweetened almondmilk
• 1 (5-oz) can tuna
• 3 (15-oz) cans diced tomatoes
• 1 package no-oil sundried tomatoes
• 1 jar pasta sauce

We priced these in our 365 Everyday Value® line and the list came in around $50. Feel free to visit our bulk department and keep an eye out for sales for even more value.

Now that you have a well-stocked pantry, just add fresh ingredients, herbs and spices to be able to cook all of these recipes:

• Simple Black Bean Soup
• Beef and Quinoa Meatballs
• Zesty Quinoa with Broccoli and Cashews
• Lentil Chili
• Brown Rice with Chicken and Broccoli
• Oatmeal-Apple Pancakes
• Overnight Oatmeal
• Tuscan Tuna Salad
• Mexican Taco Stew
• Orecchiette with Broccoli Rabe, Sundried Tomatoes and White Beans
• Almond Brown Rice Pudding
• Learn to Cook: Brown Rice
• Learn to Cook: Quinoa
• Simple Oatmeal

Some of these recipes make six servings and some make four. Altogether you’ll get a total of 66 servings with some leftover ingredients for future recipes.

Don’t forget to send an email to pantrycontest@wholefoods.com by January 31^st to be eligible for our random giveaways. What are your “must have” healthy pantry staples?

The fine print: No purchase necessary. Promotion ends January 31, 2012. Must be a legal resident of the US or Canada (except in Quebec, where it is void) age 18 or older to participate. Taxes on prize, if applicable, are the responsibility of the winner. Employees of Whole Foods Market, Inc., are not eligible. Void where prohibited.

Note: Looking for comments? Due to overwhelming response (yeah for everyone who wants to eat healthfully in the New Year!) and the technical challenges it created with our website server, we’ve changed the contest so you enter via email instead of by commenting. If you entered a comment on this post previously, your entry has been recorded and you don’t need to worry about not seeing it below. Good luck!

Need some help with your holiday meal? Check out our recipes and tips pages!

For those last minute “oh I forgot the…!” quick dashes to the market, find out what your local Whole Foods Market’s holiday hours are by checking your store’s webpage, twitter feed or facebook page. Please remember we are in the stores helping customers and may not be able to respond quickly to comments. Give your local store a call for time sensitive questions.

Wishing you and yours a peaceful Christmas filled with hope.