"You can pick these up in the shop on the way home from work."
Donal Skehan has returned to Irish TV with his show, Meals in Minutes.
Since the last series, the award-winning food writer, TV presenter and YouTube star has become a dad to baby Noah and settled in California with his wife Sofie.
Donal says these big changes have taught him the value of quick, tasty and nutritious meals on the go.
iRadio caught up with the 32 year old and asked him about the staples we should all have in our kitchen cupboards.
Donal said he always makes sure the basics are stocked up, but revealed his "go-to cheat ingredients".
1. Gnocchi
"Gnocchi, which is something that a lot of people pass up. It's in the fresh fridge, you'll see it, and it literally cooks in three minutes."
"It's basically fresh pasta and that added to anything is absolutely gorgeous. You can keep it in the freezer so that's a really good and handy one."
2. Chicken thighs
"I'm obsessed with chicken thighs because they're far more flavourful than chicken breasts and they're a little bit more inexpensive."
"So, I keep them in the freezer and if I ever see them in the supermarket on sale I'll try and get some and jam them in."
3. Spice paste
"Any spice paste, like a Thai curry paste or a Harissa paste, or anything like that where it's basically a whole load of ingredients jammed into one little tiny jar."
"They tend to be a really great flavour-maker and the start of many meals, so it you see any of those, they tend to be quite handy to keep in the store cupboard."
Garry and Fionnuala also chatted to Donal about his new role as a dad, early mornings, and what he'd cook for them if he had them around to his home.
Listen to the full interview below.
Tune into Donal Skehan's Meals in Minutes on Wednesday evenings at 7.30pm on RTÉ One.
