My Vegan Basics List
“Oh, nice!” said Miley, a semi-friend and foul-mouthed foodie columnist who follows my blog. “It looks like a line up of all my ex-boyfriends.” I often check my food posts with Miley, you see, just to be sure. And this time, as usual, I rather wish I hadn’t. Well, you know what? I’m not going to let the mental image of Miley’s ex-boyfriends put me off. On to altogether more wholesome things, people. Vegan basics? Let’s do it!
Committed vegans we are not, but certainly our diet is becoming increasingly plant-based and we all feel better for it. If I am going to spend money on meat, it will be oily fish or red meat for a bolognese. Shifting over to a more vegan way of eating has advantages for your body and your wallet, but it requires a certain level of organisation in order to have a stock cupboard that is going to be able to support this more sustainable and healthy way of eating. I mean, I always like to snack on brazil nuts, but now? We buy them by the kilo.
“To eat is a necessity, but to eat intelligently is an art.”
Francois de la Rochefoucauld
Here’s what I always have in my cupboard these days:
- Brazil nuts
- Peanut butter
- Lentils
- Kidney beans
- Chickpeas
- Mixed beans
- Cashew nuts
- Walnuts
- Olive oil
- Garlic
- Ginger
- Dried herbs (rosemary, thyme, sage)
- Coconut oil
- Wholegrain rice and pasta
- Oatmilk
- Turmeric
- Dark chocolate
- Dried apricots and figs
- Oatcakes
- Aloe vera juice
- Oats
- Honey
- Soya milk
- Ground almonds
- Rice noodles
- Vegetable crisps
- Vegan pesto
- Endamame paste
- Butter beans
- Paprika
- Cinnamon
- Bay leaves
- Ramen noodle
- Miso paste
- Marmite
- Tahini
- Pumpkin and sunflower seeds
- Wholegrain rice cakes
- Wasabi paste
- Chutney
- Avocado oil
If you haven’t heard of , check them out as this company allows you to bulk buy all your vegan essentials at a comparatively discounted price. In our area, several families often put together a single order and (in the pre-COVID19 days) have a monthly collection day when they all share a coffee and collect their items from one person’s house. Sounds like a hippie commune, right? But actually, it’s kind of lovely. I’ve always said no to joining in up until this point, but I’m thinking I might now give it a try. Maybe there’s a bit of hippie in all of us. Miley. Shut. Up.
“You don’t need a silver fork to eat good food.”
Paul Prudhomme