Showing posts with label ingredients. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ingredients. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Stocking the Vegan Pantry

Don't you love opening up the pantry to well-organized, well-stocked shelves of vegan goods? Or looking over a recipe and realizing you have everything needed to make exactly what you crave? Ah, life's true joys. When I first went vegan I spent a lot of time reading cookbooks and looking over their pantry lists asking myself if I had everything I needed to be a well-stocked vegan. Over time I have found answers to that question and in the process compiled my own pantry list.

Agar Powder- Used in place of gelatin. Not needed often, but virtually irreplaceable in certain recipes.
Apple Sauce- Makes a great egg replace for baked goods like muffins and sweet breads.
Baking Powder and Soda- Needed in almost every baking recipe
Bananas- So many uses: egg replacers, thickeners, and sweeteners to name a few
Brown Rice Syrup- A great, healthy sugar substitute with a caramel-like flavor.
Cocoa Powder- Morning, noon, and night there is always something in need of chocola-fying 
Coconut Milk- This fatty creamy milk is important in many savory dishes and necessary in many sweet ones.
Coconut, Shredded- Useful to have around for spontaneous baking inspirations.
Dried Beans- Buy in bulk because this should be the bulk of your protein.
Extracts-I always have vanilla, almond, orange, and peppermint in my pantry.
Flax seeds- These so-good-for-you seeds are great on salads, in baked goods, and even as a healthy egg replacer, like mentioned here.
Lentils- When stocked up on dried lentils and legumes, there is always a healthy, hearty dished to be made.
Maple Syrup- A great natural sweetener and if you eat pancakes as much as we do...
Margarine- Make sure you get non-hydrogenated. I use Earth Balance, probably one of the best options out there.
Nondairy Milk- There are so many now: soy, almond, rice, hazelnut, hemp, oat, coconut, each serving it's own purpose...more on that later.
Nut Butters- I love nut butters not only for my baking but when I'm feeling low on energy and I need a good protein kick. Sometime I eat it by the spoonful!
Nutritional Yeast- Sprinkle it on everything. It adds an earthy, cheesy, nutty flavor and gives you the much needed Vitamin B12.
Nuts-There was a time I didn't like nuts. Now they are in everything. Check out some of my favorite nut-rich recipes here and here.
Oats- I eat oats every day for breakfast (unless I'm having my Chocolate Peanut Butter Milkshake) but also use them regularly in my desserts.
Oils - Coconut oil, canola oil, olive oil, and peanut oil are all important for their different uses.
Onions- A long shelf life and a high demand among savory recipes = a bag of onions in my basement pantry.
Quinoa- A very good source of protein, all vegans should be chowing down on this stuff.

Rice- Likewise rice, in all it's varieties, is important to keep in stock. And don't forget rice and beans make a complete protein. 
Sea Salt- A good salt will improve almost every single recipe you come across.Seeds- Stock up on this good source of fat and protein and add to salads and stir fries 
Spices- Be well stocked on all kinds of spices. Buy in bulk, it's cheaper and fresher.
Tempeh- A great soy protein used in many different ways and a great alternative to tofu.
Tofu- This wonder food should always be stocked in your fridge and pantry. There is always a good reason for tofu.
TVP- Another great soy protein good to have handy. Here is my favorite thing to do with it.
Vegetable Broth- I always like to have a back up on hand because it seems whenever I'm out, I need it the most.
Vital Wheat Gluten- With this around you can make seitan (wheat meat) as often as you please.
Yogurt - I love coconut based yogurts but there is also soy and almond.  Great as a egg replacer or for breakfast.

I'm sure I've forgotten some things, but here's the basics of my vegan pantry.
What top foods are in yours?

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