building a vegan pantry

When some people first think about vegan food they often think about deprivation, all the things that you don't eat, instead of all the delicious things you will be eating. With this in mind, I thought I would create a list of foods we keep as our regular items most of the time and that are referred to in recipes on the blog. 
If you were beginning to build a vegan pantry you don't need everything on this list, but you may want at least one from each section to start with and then over time add more just to have variety.  Although we have some gourmet bits and pieces in the house some of our favorite meals are super basic. For example we both love brown rice with beans and some chopped up veggies. Add a sprinkle with shoyu or plum vinegar and some sunflower seeds and you are done. It can be as complex or as simple as you like. The general rule I try to follow is that main meals should contain a bean of some sort, a grain or some sort and something green. After that the sauce, other veggies etc can all be anything you have or fancy.

Basics
milk (soy, almond... whichever one you like. Try a few different brands as they are all so different). 
fruit (whatever is in season)
vegetables (seasonal but always onions, garlic, something green and leafy and something starchy)   

Grains
brown rice (short/long/basmati) 
millet
quinoa 
amaranth
buckwheat (raw)

Processed gains
cous cous 
whole grain pasta (We like spelt, buckwheat, quinoa, and wholegrain wheat)
flours (rice, coconut, spelt, wheat)
bread
noodles (soba, udon)

Beans/ lentils (we keep a mix of dried beans and tins for quick meals)
adzuki
black turtle beans
mung beans
brown lentils 
red lentils 
yellow split peas
green split peas
chickpeas
butter beans
borlotti beans 

Bean products
tofu
tempeh 
mochi

Sweeteners
brown rice syrup 
pure maple syrup
coconut sugar
raw honey (not vegan I know but I don't have a problem with local, small business honey) 

Nuts and seeds (keep small amounts of nuts/ seeds in your fridge and keep the rest in the freezer to stop them going rancid)
almonds
cashews
brazil nuts
pecans 
walnuts 
pumpkin seeds
sunflower seeds
chia seeds
flax seeds
flax meal (for making egg replacements when baking)

Condiments
tamari (Chinese style soya sauce)
shoyu (Japanese style soya sauce)
mustard
ume plum vinegar
ume plum paste/ whole plums
brown rice vinegar
apple cider vinegar
a range of spices (cumin, coriander seeds, mustard seeds, pepper, chilli, paprika, cardamon etc)
sea salt
miso
Korean style chilli paste
olive oil
sesame oil
rice bran oil (baking only)
lemons (not really a condiment but they become one in our house)
vegan mayo
tomato chutney 
white truffle oil

Extras
seaweed (dulse, wakame, nori)
dried mushrooms
olives
capers
pickles
dried fruit (figs, raisins, apricots, peaches)
 
 



 

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