Most people tell me that it looks too hard to be vegan, but a well-stocked kitchen with all your essentials will make it easy to feed your family, healthy nutritious meals!
These are my Top Essentials:
Plant-based Milk. My favorite as well as my families is Ripple. It’s delicious and It’s 100% dairy-free, vegan, nut-, lactose- and gluten-free. Best of all, it’s packed with nutrition — 8g of protein per serving, 50% more calcium than 2% dairy milk, more Vitamin D and Iron, and naturally sugar-free. And the best part my kids love it!!
Nutritional Yeast. This is an absolute must-have in every vegan kitchen! Even if you are not vegan this stuff is amazing! I love using it on top of potatoes, tofu, sprinkling it over popcorn, and making delicious “cheesy” vegan spreads! It is also great in soups and sauces.
Spices and Herbs. Are a great way to flavor your food. My favorites are basil, garlic salt, Himalayan salt, kosher salt, lemon pepper, cumin, turmeric, and dill. These are a must in my kitchen.
Maple Syrup. I love maple syrup as a sweetener alternative to honey. I love adding it to my sauteed mushroom & onions. Sweetening my tea and of course on top of pancakes.
Liquid Smoke. Liquid smoke is great to add a nice bold smoky flavor to food. My favorite is when I make vegan “bacon” using either portabella mushroom, eggplants, or rice paper. Also really great with sauteed mushroom & onions (add the maple syrup and nutritional yeast to give it a sweet and savory flavor).
Mushrooms. I love mushroom, they are absolutely one of my favorite things to eat!
Beans. Buy all the beans!! Seriously you can live off of them for weeks if you are on a tight budget. And there are so many uses for them. Black beans are great for dips, bean burgers, casseroles, nachos and so much more. Garbanzo beans are great for pretty much everything you can cook and bake with them! (make sure to have that water, it can replace eggs in recipes, make butter, mayo. and delicious desserts).
Potatoes. What vegan doesn’t have potatoes in their kitchen? This is a staple in our house.
Dates. These are seriously earth’s candy! Not only are they delicious all on there own, but they are great to use as a sweetener! Use a couple of dates in your homemade vegan milk to give it a nice sweet taste.
Vegan Mayo. If you can’t make it yourself from that leftover aquafaba (garbanzo bean water) pick up a jar from the store.
Sriracha. Sriracha, What can I say it is great! Who doesn’t like sriracha?
Seeds. Hemp, chia, flax, pumpkin, and sesame seeds. These are a must, Not only are chia and flax a great source of protein, but also excellent egg replacers! Chia seeds are also amazing in your favorite vegan milk (to make pudding). Hemp seeds are great for cooking, making your own hemp milk, they are also a great source of amino acid. Pumpkins seeds sprinkle with your favorite spices are a great snack and are a great source of iron that helps maintain high energy. Sesame seeds are great to maintain a healthy heart and are also great sprinkled in salads and on top of vegan sushi.
Quinoa. Quinoa is packed full of nutrients: protein, fiber, manganese, magnesium, phosphorus, copper, iron, zinc, potassium, b-vitamins.. to name a few. But there are also so many uses for it. Salads, burritos, quinoa bowls, I even like it in my soup!
Vegetable Broth. If you love soups, and curry veggie broth is a must!!
Nuts. Besides them being packed full of protein and antioxidants. They help reduce inflammation and are high in fiber. They can also be used to make delicious spreads, sauces, and cheeses!
Cashews. I am listing cashews separately from nuts because I believe cashews should just be their own food group! So many different things they can be used for. Sauces, spreads, and cheeses.
Coconut Oil. Ah so many great things about coconut oil. What is it not good for?
Olive Oil. I honestly only cook with either olive oil or coconut oil. It is a base in almost all of my spreads, cheeses, and sauces that I make. Not only is it great for cooking it is also really great for your skin!
Apple Cider Vinegar. I use apple cider vinegar for many things. It is an important ingredient in most of my spreads that I make, along with my homemade vegan, butter, mayo, and sour cream. It is also great in a stir fry!
Tofu. We don’t often buy tofu, but for those that don’t mind it, it is an excellent source of protein. I like to use it mostly for breakfast usually only once a week.
Bananas. We love banana’s in our house, we seriously buy at least 5 bunches at a time, we go through them so fast! And they are a powerhouse of nutrients!!
And of course your favorite Fruits and Vegetables!! Seriously ALL the veggies and fruits!
-Not food-related, but having appliances that make the veg life easier is a plus! Such as a good blender (Vita-Mix), food processor, Kitchen Aid with veggie slicer attachments.