These are just some of my favorite things...

The Mess I Make

Pantry Essentials

Tomato sauce - I can use this as a base for any Indian curry and enchilada sauce.

Canned beans - I always have garbanzo beans, black beans, red kidney beans, vegetarian low-fat refrained beans on hand. Readily available for quick dinners.

A variety of spices: Paprika, oregano, rosemary, herbes de provence, garlic powder, onion powder, ground cumin, sea salt and giant bottle of taco seasoning just to name a few. A well stocked container of Indian spices - turmeric, garam masala, coriander powder, cumin seeds, mustard seeds, red chili powder, cloves, cinnamon sticks, bay leaves, cardamom, saffron.

Dry pasta and pasta sauce - Always have these on hand. Jazz up your pasta sauce by adding fresh minced garlic and herbs and voila, you have a gourmet meal ready in minutes.

Noodles - Indian Ramen, Ban Pho for Pad Thai and noodles for Lo mein.

Caffeine - Coffee Beans, English Breakfast Tea, Green Tea, Matcha. Is it obvious that I can't function without caffeine?

Dry beans and legumes - For Indian daals (soups).

Quinoa and Rice - A base for any curry or sauce entrees.

Flour - Whole wheat flour and all-purpose flour are a must. I've added Almond Meal to the pantry when I'm looking for a healthier alternative to dessert.

Hard Taco Shells - My answer to quick dinners. Heat up canned refried beans, cut up veggies, top it with cheese and there you have it, a delicious and quick taco dinner.

Trader Joe's Roasted Red Pepper Tomato Soup - This soup has come to the rescue many times. I've made several different versions but my favorite is adding taco seasoning and black beans.

Coconut Oil Spray & Extra Virgin Olive Oil Spray - Healthier option to using oil.

Sauces - Soy sauce, rice wine vinegar and extra Sriracha bottles.

Bread - Well, this needs no explanation, I hope.

The Mess I Make

Fridge Essentials

Cheese - My protein.

Spreadable Extra Virgin Olive Oil with Sea Salt Butter - In our fast paced life, I don't have time to wait for the butter to come to room temp, so I prefer having spreadable butter on hand at all times.

Almond Milk - For cereal or a fruit smoothie for a snack or breakfast.

Non-Fat Vanilla Greek Yogurt - This is my perfect dessert. I love adding grapes to my yogurt.

A variety of nuts - I love snacking on almonds and other nuts and by refrigerating them, you can extend their shelf life.

Eggs - For breakfast, dinner or lunch.

Herbs - Jazzes up pretty much anything.

Cilantro chutney - A staple condiment for an Indian family.

A variety of sauces, especially Sriracha - Because my husband adds Sriracha to everything!

The Mess I Make

Grocery Essentials

Onions

Tomatoes

Potatoes

Carrots

Frozen Peas

Frozen Corn

Garlic

Lemons

Herbs - Parsley, Cilantro, Mint

Fruits - Bananas, Apples, Grapes and whatever else is in season.

The Mess I Make

Kitchen Essentials

Heavy bottom pot - A great investment. It really makes a difference in cooking and food generally doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan so it cuts down on cleaning time.

Dutch oven - Great for soups and sauces.

Ceramic saute pan - Ah I can't live without this. I have never had an issue with food getting burnt and it doesn't take much oil/grease to cook.

Blender with Food Processor Attachment - This has saved me a lot of cabinet space.

Stand mixer - Great investment. But if you don't want to spend the money or have the space for it, then you should be ok with a Hand held mixer, which is what I started with and still use it when I have a small amount of liquid to whisk.

Garlic press - I prefer mincing fresh garlic but some days when I'm being lazy, I bust out the garlic press.

Kitchen scale - I didn't think I would use this much but it was on sale so I bought it. It was a good call.

Ginger grater - I bought this beautiful ceramic ginger grater from Japan. It really finely grates the ginger avoiding the fibers.

A good knife - Invest in a good knife, trust me. You don't need a whole knife block, just get a good chef's knife, slicing knife and a bread knife. I bought a knife block when I got married because I liked the idea of a knife block, but it is just taking up counter space now.

Silicon spatula - These are incredible! I have separate spatulas for baking and cooking regular food. I wouldn't want my cakes to have hints of paprika and garlic.

Wooden spoons - Great for soups and stews. I also keep a wooden spoon designated for baking.

Silicon mini oven mitts - I don't like regular oven mitts because they're always too big and bulky. I don't have good dexterity with them on, which makes me nervous that I'll drop the hot pan out of the oven. I prefer these mini oven mitts instead. Or I sometimes just use a kitchen towel in one hand and a mini oven mitt in the other. Whatever's readily available when the kitchen timer goes off!

Whisk - Most people use whisks to whisk eggs for omelets and scrambled eggs but for some reason, I prefer using a fork. I use my whisks for sauces or when I add lot of spices into my soups, I prefer using a whisk to incorporate everything and prevent clumps of spices.

Zester - I love adding lemon zest to anything I can. Buy one with a cover so you don't accidentally scratch yourself.

Mixing bowls with lids - Its the title things that matter. I love having lids to my mixing bowls. When I have to mix something and then refrigerate it, it makes things so easy.