What foods are always in your shopping cart/ fridge/ pantry?

[Man On Bike.]

Please make this thread sticky for the benefit of new vegans.

I have started this as a quick reference guide for people who are new to veganism, aren't sure what food to have in the kitchen, and may be on a low budget.

Feel free to add anything you feel would be a valuable addition in terms of nutrition, and/or is used in many simple recipes. But lets try not to make the list too long - I'm just trying to keep it basic for beginners.

I have not included herbs or spices here because I don't think they're essential for vegan nutrition, and they're quite specific to recipes.

I've marked * next to the items that tend to be more expensive per kg and that I feel aren't as essential as other items on the list.

here goes...




Carbohydrates:

Pasta
Noodles
Brown rice
Quinoa*
Cous Cous
Whole wheat bread
Potatoes
Breakfast cereals (oats, cornflakes, wheat flakes etc)

Apart from bread and potatoes, these items will keep for years without spoiling, so you can stock up on large amounts of them if you can afford to.

Potatoes will keep for a while but it's best to buy them regularly.





Protein:

Lentils (green, red, yellow)
tinned Kidney beans (because dried beans take ages to prepare)
tinned Chick peas
Tofu*
Seitan*
Tempeh*
Nuts - peanuts, walnuts, cashews etc
Peanut butter
Various other tinned beans*: black beans, black eyed peas, gungo peas, butter beans, borlotti beans, white haricot beans






Fats:

Nuts
Margerine
Extra virgin olive oil
Cooking oil
Flax seed oil
Olives





Fruits & Vegetables:

Frozen:

Peas, brocolli, carrots, sweetcorn, cauliflower, green beans etc.

Tinned:

Peeled Plum tomatoes (very cheap and versatile - for pasta sauces, curries, chilli non carne etc)

Sweetcorn

Fresh:

Tomatoes, cabbage, carrots, potatoes, onions, courgettes, aubergines, peppers

Bananas, apples, avocados*, oranges, lemons, grapes,

Dried:

Grapes (Raisins, sultanas, currants), apricots, prunes



Drinks:


Soya milk (for breakfast cereals. although porridge is fine if made with water.)
Fruit juices (apple, orange, grapefruit etc.) not really needed if you eat fresh fruit.



Supplement:

Liquid Vitamin B complex (contains vitamin B12 as well as other B vitamins)

Nutritional yeast flakes* (contain vitamin B)

Iron tablets (may be unnecessary unless you're low on iron...)


Seeds:

It's a good idea to eat seeds like

Sunflower
Pumpkin
Flax (linseed)
Sesame seed

as they contain 'good fats' (Omega's) and protein

Grind them to make them easier to digest.

herbs and spices and flavours and stuff

fresh chillies and / or dried chilli powder

garlic

cumin seeds
turmeric
paprika
garam masala

fresh coriander
basil*
parsley*
sage*
oregano*
thyme

fresh ginger

black peppercorns

salt


* get these herbs fresh if you think you'll be using them very often, otherwise get dried ones

[xrodolfox]

I would add "tempeh" and mexican black beans to the protein list.

"Whole wheat Bread" would be great for the grains list.

This is a great list!

[soniczip]

other fruits: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fruits

[ninearms]

Balsamic vinegar

[gdx]

i'd add
dried banana chips
they last a lot and make a good quick (and portable) snack.

[abbie]

Balsamic vinegar

i second that! and i would add millet in the carbs

[xbojanx]

dried banana chips

here it's made with honey, so watch out

any dried fruit is good portable meal, but it sucks that it could be prepared with sugar - most of "exotic" fruits are prepared that way here

For carbs:
corn

Protein:
Okara - remains of soy grains after squeezing milk out of it - good for vegburgers

Drinks
Cereal coffee
Other milks (rice, oath, corn etc)
good old fashioned water

Suplement:
Marmite like stuff, I don't know how others are called and Marmite in now taken by evil


It would be good to expand the list of nuts

[Hiking Fox]

Dried pulses are loads cheaper (and taste much nicer) than tinned, tho it's an arse if you forget to soak 'em...

[Man On Bike.]

Dried pulses are loads cheaper (and taste much nicer) than tinned, tho it's an arse if you forget to soak 'em...

True, and dried lentils are on the list, but I think the convenience benefit of tinned chickpeas and beans outweigh the cost benefit of dried ones...

[Fallen_Horse]

Do we really need margarine on that list? Too much hydrogenation and emulsifiers for me...

[Man On Bike.]

Not all margerines contain hydrogenated fats. And what's wrong with emulsifiers?

[gdx]

dried banana chips

here it's made with honey, so watch out

just checked... not honey and no sugar in the packs that i usually buy... it says: "ingredients: dried bananas" nothing more...
glad there's no honey because i eat a lot of that stuff!

good call on marmite/vegemite btw, that thing is very good, i remember that one was delicious and the other one was too salty, but i don't remember which one, vegemite i think was the salty one...

[xbojanx]

Here honey is praised in enormous amounts
You can buy milk with honey, juices with honey, even Corn flakes are coated with honey...and I never liked honey...


And as far as I remember, Marmite was extremely salty and strong taste...never tried other of that kind.

[Rochellita]

How about powdered vegetable stock or cubes for flavour in soups etc? In the UK I use Marigold Vegan and almost never cook without adding it to something. Also tamari.

[revolushuneyz]

what about kale or spinach (depending on price). They are both staples in my place.

Edited to include:
I also have a table of the "super foods" adapted to a vegan's lifestyle. If a person can afford, I always offer it up. I am also a huge "organizational" geek.