My Vegan Basics List

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