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Pantry Purge

This might sound obvious: It’s easiest to avoid junk food when there’s no junk food to be had. But keeping up that boundary can be tricky, especially if we live with others. To stay on the right side of things, it can help to set a schedule for cleaning out your kitchen and pantry. We recommend at least quarterly, but you can clearly adjust up or down according to what makes sense for you. 

Assess each food just as you would something you’re considering buying or eating and ask yourself the following questions:

How processed is it?

  • Think about how close a food is to its natural state; this indicates how much it’s been processed.

Always choose the least processed options.

  • An apple, for example, is unprocessed, while apple juice is highly processed. Likewise, intact whole grains (quinoa) are minimally processed, processed whole grains (whole grain bread) are more processed, and refined grains (pasta) are highly processed.

What is the carb:fiber ratio?

  • The faster your body can digest a carb, the faster your blood sugar will spike. But fiber slows digestion. Dividing a food’s listed carbs by its listed fiber shows how it affects your metabolism.

For anything above 10:1, do not pass go; those are always red foods.

  • When you’re actively working on weight loss, try to get to 5:1 (or lower). 

Are there any red flag ingredients?

  • Some ingredients are particularly harmful for weight. 

Do not consume processed meats, hydrogenated oils, or artificial sweeteners.

  • These all have adverse effects on metabolic health.

Here’s a shortlist of some of the more common items you might have in your house that you’ll want to avoid. 

What to purge

FREEZER

  • Frozen fruit or vegetables with added sugar (you’ll see this in the ingredient list)
  • Frozen pie crust, bread, rolls
  • Frozen entrees containing rice, pasta or bread (ie pizza)
  • Ice cream, sorbet, frozen sweets

FRIDGE

  • Baked goods
  • Bread, tortillas, canned biscuit dough
  • Juice
  • Sugar-sweetened beverages (containing sugar or artificial sweetener such as sodas, diet drinks, sweetened iced tea, lemonade, sports drinks, punch, vitamin water)
  • Flavored yogurt or milk (unflavored is fine)
  • Processed meats 
  • Condiments with more than 5g added sugar per serving
  • Canned, sweetened whipped cream or other sweetened non dairy toppings or coffee creamers
  • Chocolate syrup and fudge sauce
  • Sweetened apple sauce (you’ll see “sugar” listed as an ingredient)
  • Jams/jellies

PANTRY

  • Powdered drink mixes with added or artificial sweeteners, such as lemonade, iced tea, cocoa mix
  • Canned baked beans or other canned beans with added sugars
  • Canned fruit
  • Spaghetti or marinara sauce with more than 5g added sugar per serving
  • Cold or hot cereals made with flour 
  • White rice, rice pilaf mixes
  • White pasta
  • White flour
  • Corn grits
  • White crackers, rice cakes, bread crumbs, croutons
  • Potato chips
  • Granola bars, fruit snacks, pretzels
  • Candy
  • Brownie, cake, cookie mixes
  • Jell-O, pudding mixes

What to add

We’ve worked closely with Calibrate Food Experts, coaches, and members like you to develop a Calibrate-approved list of food finds.

As you read that list, keep in mind that none of the items on this list are required for the program, and the links we’ve shared just represent creative ways you can start to explore this new eating plan. There are countless other foods for every palate and price point that work with Calibrate, and you’ll learn more about them as the program continues. 

Lastly, if you’re adhering to a gluten-free or vegan diet, this is also a good time to take a look at our Gluten-Free and Vegan Guide (spoiler: Calibrate works really well with both).