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Some staple pantry items like crackers, cookies, cereals, pasta and condiments are loaded with sugar, unhealthy fats, sodium and even trans fats—ingredients that research suggests can place you at a higher risk for cardiovascular disease.

So what's the best strategy for a pantry sweep? Deborah Levy, RD, nutrition consultant for Carrington Farms, says: "For heart health, it is most important to focus on foods that are unprocessed, have no trans fats and are low in saturated fat (less than 5 percent of Daily Value, as shown on the nutrition label) and high in fiber (greater than 20 percent of Daily Value)."

Here's how to scrub your pantry of nutritionally empty junk foods and replace them with better-for-your-heart alternatives.