Refrigerated staples that take up prime real estate in my fridge at all times.

And I always had fancy cheese for last-minute visitors.

(Pre-kids, spontaneity wasin.)

Inside a refrigerator

Simply Recipes / Photo Illustration by Wanda Abraham / Getty Images

My priorities have expanded to include speed, health, and endurancefor my children and myself.

It often must be portable, too.

Here are 13 staples that now take up prime real estate in my fridgenext to the anchovies.

milk with cookies

Simply Recipes / Annika Panikker

Simply Recipes / Annika Panikker

1.

Milk

In cereal, coffee, or as is in a glass, milk goes fast in our house.

Whatever the format, milk (or milk) is a must.

scrambled eggs on a plate

Simply Recipes / Getty Images

Simply Recipes / Getty Images

2.

For breakfast, of course, but also, and maybe more often for lunch or dinner.

Theres hardly a faster protein with the potential for so much variety.

Gluten-Free Cauliflower Gnocchi Recipe pan saute the gnocchi

Simply Recipes / Jessica Gavin

Simply Recipes / Jessica Gavin

3.

Simply Recipes / Ciara Kehoe

4.

(Full disclosure: only one of my children eats pesto.)

Skillet Cacio e Pepe Tortellini With Wilted Greens in a Pot With a Serving Spoon, All on a White Kitchen Towel on the Counter, and Next to It, a Bowl of Cracked Pepper, a Glass of Water, and a Block of Pecorino Romani Cheese

Simply Recipes / Ciara Kehoe

Tortillas

Where would we be without quesadillas and tacos?

I don’t even want to image that world.

Shredded Cheese

I repeat: Where would we be without quesadillas and tacos?

Baked simple breakfast quesadillas on a wood cutting board with cilantro, black beans and scrambled eggs visible inside. The quesadillas are partially stacked and two forks and a blue linen are below and to the right. A small bowl of salsa is in the uper left corner.

Sally Vargas

He may eat half of it while cooking, but who can blame him?)

It’s one of the all-time greatest snacks: fun to eat, portable, and not messy.

Yogurt

Cups, pouches, smoothies, tubes, or however it comes, yogurt is another favorite snack.

Bowl of easy overnight oats topped with strawberries and yogurt.

Alison Bickel

And, depending on the mood, breakfast or dessert.

Easy Fruit

Fruit always felt like such a luxury before I had kids.

Now it feels both like a luxury and a necessity.

Platter of Vegetables and a Bowl of Veggie Dip

Simply Recipes / Lori Rice

Simply Recipes / Lori Rice

10.

Plus they take no time at all to cut.

Spinach

Yes, really.

A non-stick skillet filled with fresh spinach to make Spinach in Creamed Mustard Sauce.

Sally Vargas

Wilted spinach disappears anywhere, including in a quesadilla or pasta sauce, where I regularly throw it.

Broccoli

Despite the off-putting smell while its cooking (welcome home, kids!

They eat it, so I serve italmost every night.

Bowl of Blanched Broccoli for How to Blanch Broccoli

Simply Recipes / Lori Rice

Simply Recipes / Karishma Pradhan

13.

Ketchup

I rely on ketchup to get my kids to eat chicken.

Yes, I said it.

French fries with Ketchup

Simply Recipes / Karishma Pradhan

Im convinced that dipping is half the appeal.