What do you consider to be staples?

I just looked up the actual definition of “staple:” it’s a main or important part of your diet.

That means that what I consider to be a staple may be something you never keep on hand. And an item you never consider being without might be one I only buy when I need it for a specific recipe!
Staples are important because they simplify in meal planning. If we know what we keep on hand, we can just buy the fresh items, or the things we use an entire container of (like a jar of pasta sauce). (that’s not a good example. In my family growing up, pasta sauces were a total staple. We had a TON of them sitting in the pantry!)

Some of the things I just refuse to be out of (because I’ll be in trouble when I go to make a meal and realize I’m missing a key ingredient):

• onions (sorry, mom)
• minced garlic (I know a lot of people want to mince it fresh, but I love the convenience)
• peanut butter (not just for emergency PBJ sandwiches: I love Thai and that features PB frequently)
• soy sauce (I didn’t realize just how important this ingredient is until I ran out last week and suddenly couldn’t do half of the recipes I’d planned for the week!)
• tortillas (for quick wraps, quesadillas, and for my daughter’s favorite snack, a tortilla filled with shredded parmesan!)

What do you make sure you have on hand? And even more helpful (I hope ;) ) , what should you start making sure you always have on hand?

One big (simple!) tip:

I have a whiteboard on my fridge, and as soon as I get close to running out of a staple, I write it on the board. Then when it’s time to write out the grocery list, I grab the whiteboard to make sure they get included. So no more soy sauce emergencies!