Whenever I’m in another person’s apartment [or house, condo, general abode], I am always a bit fascinated by the contents of their kitchen. I remember finding a jar of Peter Pan peanut butter in a friend’s pantry and thinking, “Oh. I forgot people still eat non-natural pb.” Another friend’s roommate had recently made the commitment to lose weight; yet I was still surprised when I found practically every Weight Watcher’s product in existence, from yogurts to individually wrapped brownies, inside her refrigerator’s door.
You can learn so much about people by what they keep on their shelves. Is she a snacker? A diet fiend? Does she order takeout every night? Does she eat breakfast each morning?
I’m relatively sure that visitors to my kitchen would be quick to realize I am both a health nut and a foodie. As my sister lives on a short list of essentials [pita, hummus, Fage, cereal, frozen blueberries] supplemented by whatever I cook or purchase, the refrigerator and cabinets are pretty much my domain. Here’s a peek inside the fridge:
I like to call this the oatmeal shelf, where essentials like almond butter, flax, and soy milk sit together, ready for their daily usage.
Down at the bottom is where the magic happens:
I love the day after I’ve done a grocery haul, when the fridge is just overflowing with produce.
This is the alternative PB&J zone: tahini, peanut butter, homemade pistachio-cashew butter, maple butter, raspberry preserves, strawberry preserves.
Greek yogurts get their own space – mine is the 2%, my sister’s is the zero. [As a side note, I recently spotted Fage 5% for the first time and had to try it: it was un.be.lievable.]
Beverages live at the top:
Yup, all we have is wine and water. Neither my sister nor myself have ever enjoyed soda, so aside from coffee and tea, it’s either hydrating H20 or a bottle of this goodness. [And this is just what's in the fridge: there is another area where we store all the red, plus backup white].
Plus a Costco-sized container of hummus and loads of tupperware from all the good cooking.
Unpictured, there are also various condiments with which I occasionally cook: miso, Bragg’s, dijon mustard, sesame oil, barbecue sauce. There is usually a carton of organic eggs, but we’re currently out. [Our fridge is not missing bread, by the way: it's in the freezer.]
I think this is a good reflection of my love of the basics, the real, and the homemade.
What’s in your refrigerator?
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i love this post! i am too quite fascinated ;) with what is in others fridge and pantry’s, it does tell a lot about the persons life and about them… and it is so weird/funny to go to someones home and i also saw like un natural skippies PB and thought the same thing, i am so used to seeing bloggers foods etc ;) but ah i love what is in your fridge, so much of the same staple that i have…!
i have Ezekiel bread, whole wheat wraps, oikos Greek yogurt, trader joes raw almond butter, cashew butter, TJ PB, and also some other PB i think once again organic (which i see you have the tahini) oh and of course tahini, i get brads brand…its quite good…also hmm lots of different jams, chutneys, and oh hemp milk and coconut milk, and at the moment a big pot of pre made quinoa. + a lot of my mom’s stuff and my brother who is home for break is corrupting our fridge lol ;P with his soda and other junkie foods…
xx
Eliza
My fridge at home is shared with the family but you can certainly tell which are my drawers =)
I always keep some Trader Joe’s Tortillas, a variety of produce and fruits that I like cold (strawberries in season and apples – ALWAYS apples), some laughing cow cheese or other cheese options, tofu and tempeh, hummus, and greek yogurts. I buy basically the same things every week and don’t cook much with leftovers but hopefully once I graduate and am home for good and more stable, I’ll be able to test out varieties of food in greater amounts.
My family loves to mock my “health/food nut” choices, but they are supportive nonetheless. Even willing to try things sometimes ;)
I love your organizational structure though, you’re a woman after my own heart!
Nicole G
I’m so excited to have a sneak peak into your fridge! Mine is actually pretty similar. The top side drawer is totally reserved for PB, Flaxseed, Jelly, all my morning essentials!
This is such a cool post! Great idea!
There is lots of peanut butter in our fridge too. We get Jiff Natural, in between health food store and junk. Also Nutella, my fave. There’s lots of soymilk because I go through almost four a day usually. (chocolate, but also one vanilla because my mom insists). There’s plenty of goat cheese and tofu and TONS of eggs. Also lots of veggies like this enormous bag of carrots. And YOGURTS!!!! So many. :) In the freezer there’s tons of sorbet and soy burgers, in the pantry beans, rice, potatoes, gluten-free pasta, chips, cookies, nuts, and dried fruit galore, oh and like every kind of oil that exists, and sitting out in these stacking-baskets we have fruit like you’ve never seen it before. :) Aaaah, we also have a huge walk-in pantry (it’s under the stairs) and an entire wall is taken up by teas!! Yaaaay! :)
It is interesting to go to someone else’s house and see skim milk. I almost feel like “What the heck is THAT??!” And then realize, “Oh yeah, it’s skim milk… I drank that once, only watered down.”
funny, i have the same curiosity in regards to people’s in-house food choices. i eat pretty much the same way you do, but fewer veggies (poverty strikes, and i’m lazy) and more whole wheat bread and kashi cereal. yep. that’s the only difference. oh and more chicken ’cause i’m a protein feind. feind!
I love seeing inside people’s fridges…definitely gives you a great idea of their eating habits! I have a lot of dairy products- Fage, Quark, fromage frais, milk and soy milk. Annie’s Organics salad dressing, teriyaki sauce, ketchup, Ceasar dressing, garlic on one shelf. One shelf has things like nut butter, pumpkin butter and jam, and of course the produce drawers are overflowing. I also have hummus, babaganoush…and pretty sure that there is parmesan somewhere lurking in the back. I keep protein bars in the fridge too :D
i have that same tahini!! is tahini and almond butter supposed to be in the fridge…if so i got some moving to do…. haha
i wish they sold fage here :( i am so deprived
I always peek in people’s “fridges” (as we call them over here!), it’s surprisingly revealing. I can’t wait to have my own place where I can fill out my fridge exactly how I want it- mine would proably look pretty similarly to yours but with the English equivalents. My mini university fridge sucks, I can never pack in all the fresh produce I want to :(
xx
P.S. Does flaxseed powder have to be kept refridgerated??
Can’t wait to see your fridge in person! And even more anxious to have an actual fridge of my own ;)
Even though I don’t know you, a peek in your refrigerator tells me we’d be great room mates!
Mine currently has a humungous bar of dark chocolate from France, many varieties of mustard, hopefully some white wine, onion, rosemary and some leftovers!
My refrigerator has many of my mom’s and brother’s items, but if you look exclusively at mine it would be a lot.of.produce, greek yogurt, tempeh, tofu, condiments galore (bbq sauce, almond butter, jams, etc), almond milk…actually not to different from yours!
I’m a serious cart and fridge peeker..I always want to see other’s choices. Often times thats how I get the best ideas to buy things or make them. Love your organization..and the oatmeal shelf is just as mine..crazy!!
Maggie
beautiful post! I too am fascinated by the content’s of one’s fridge. WHen I am ddrunkenly stumbling around at a random house party i like to take a peek in the fridge- usually i’m more disgusted than anything (college kids… enough said) hahaha. But i too have the same reaction to ‘regular’ peanut butter- it is bad. & right now, in my teeeeny dorm room fridge I have: nonfat kefir (b/c lowfat wasn’t on sale :\ ), roasted eggplant hummus, fage 2%, egg whites (for oatsss..duh), a banana, some bread, & some all natural cheddar cheese!! haha
[...] I gave a peek into my refrigerator. [...]