7 Pantry Items For the Beginner Vegan
Often the thought of switching vegan/plant-based is paired with the idea that the foods are flavourless and there’s going to be a lot to loose. Being on the other side, I can say with full confidence that I’m enjoying way more flavour in my food now than I ever have before and I’ve only gained more love and knowledge for the foods I eat. But I wanted to help ease the transition for anyone curious in living a more veggie forward life so I came up with 7 pantry items for the beginner vegan to have on hand.
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Accessibility
I’ll be the first to admit that I love a good speciality food store or local farmers market. I love scouring through the aisle’s finding new vegan goodies I’ve never tried before.
But if we’re talking our day to day foods, I shop at the same grocery store as the next omnivore family.
I wanted to share what I feel are some of the most useful and important ingredients to have in your home that you can get from most local grocery stores to aid in switching to a more veggie forward lifestyle.
Some of these already may be staples and some, you might not have ever heard of before.
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Not so big change
For the most part, being an herbivore doesn’t change the meals that you eat, just how you’re eating and preparing them.
I can honestly say that I eat all the same meals, I’ve just adjusted them to make them vegan friendly and its usually within those adjustments that you need these items in your kitchen.
Don’t get me wrong, there are a ton of ways to fulfill the nutrients you need and various different ways to adjust recipes. I just like to provide a starting point because I believe that’s the hardest part of it all. Just getting started.
When it comes to being a veggie you’ll find that a lot of your diet will start to consist of more Spanish, Latin and Asian inspired cuisines and flavours. These cultures already tend to eat a more veggie forward diet with a lot of beans, legumes, nuts and seeds. So it’s natural they’re quite a bit ahead of us when it comes to flavouring veggie forward meals and eating more balanced through nuts, seeds, beans and legumes.
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the legal stuff
In true transparency, I’ve added some links to this post that are affiliate links. This means that I do generate a small income from you purchasing through the link. Running a blog costs money and this is one way to ensure there will be more posts in the future.
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Meal ‘Plumper’s’
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Hemp hearts
These make the list for the nutritional benefit and the fact that they’re so easy to add into anything. Hemp hearts or hemp seeds are actually a nut and therefore have a slightly nutty flavour.
Hemp hearts are a fabulous source of healthy and essential fats: omega -6 and omega-3. They are also a phenomenal source of protein with 25% of their calories coming from a great quality and easy to digest protein.
We can’t forget about the fact that they’re also full of other nutrients like vitamin e, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, magnesium, sulfur, calcium, iron and zinc.
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Where to add them
I have hemp hearts a minimum of twice a day but sometimes I end up having them with every meal.
I add a tablespoon to my oatmeal in the morning. Then a tablespoon or sometimes 2, to my smoothie at lunch. I also add them as a salad topper, in pancakes and sauces. I coat avocado slices for my son (11 months old) as an aid to grab the avocado and fulfill his fat needs. You can honestly add them in anything and not even notice they’re there.
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Chia seeds
These are pretty similar to hemp hearts in the fact that they are so versatile as well as nutritious. I do have to say, they aren’t as easily hidden in dishes and I am most definitely a little more picky on where I like to add my chia seeds.
When we’re talking about nutrients, chia seeds will definitely always come out as a super food. They’re a great source of calcium, manganese, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc, vitamin b3, potassium, thiamine, and vitamin b2.
Not only all of that, but chia seeds have an unbelievable amount of fibre… they’re actually pretty much all fibre. Fibre is one of the most important nutrients out there but it isn’t talked about a whole lot (maybe I should do a post on fibre!?!) But they’re also high in protein as well, and again, that gewwd good protein that’s easy to digest .
One of the reasons chia seeds are so great is also one of the reasons I’m pickier about where I add them. They can absorb 3 times their weight in water making them almost jelly like. This makes them a great thickener or binder for cooking or baking!
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Where to add them
Once again I add1 tablespoon of chia seeds to my oatmeal every morning. My husband adds them to his smoothies. I don’t really enjoy them in my smoothie because of how thick it makes it but that’s what he loves about them. For that reason they’re great as a thickening agent in baking — they make for a great egg replacer if you grind them down. I’m sure you’ve heard of chia pudding’s before, I also add these to my pancakes for another nutritional boost.
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Cashews
Cashews have a great source of protein, magnesium, calcium and copper. Because of this, cashews have been shown to reduce LDL cholesterol levels (the bad cholesterol). Copper deficiency’s can cause osteoporosis and helps with maintenance of collagen.
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Where to add them
You’ll learn pretty fast that cashews are a staple amongst the vegan community. They’re often used as a way to thicken soups, stews and as a base for creamy sauces. To do this you want to soak your cashews in water for 1+ hours then drain and blend until smooth adding water until you reach your desired consistency.
Of course you can have cashews just as is, in trail mixes, as your milk alternative, toasted as a salad topper, in a stir fry or however else you enjoy your cashews ☺️
PS. As I’m writing this I couldn’t help but take a quick break to run into my kitchen and make a cashew trail mix 🤤
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Pumpkin seeds
Pumpkin seeds are a must in our house hold. Having a hubby that’s working to build muscle he ensure he reaches his peak protein levels.
Something I just learned while writing this blog post is that pumpkin seeds are largely used in Mexican cuisine and typically referred to as pepitas Spanish for ‘little seed of squash.’
Pumpkin seeds are also packed full of nutrients and have a higher than average protein level. They have been proven to help lower bad cholesterol, improve heart and liver health as well as help aid in insulin sensitivity.
Along with aiding in insomnia, the immune system, digestion, pregnancy, urinary health…the list is almost endless.
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Where to add them
My husband loves adding some to his smoothie to boost up his protein levels where I like to add them to…you guessed it, my morning oatmeal 😂
They’re also great as a salad topper, granola, in baking (like banana bread, cookies, protein balls etc).
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For Cooking
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Soy sauce (or Tamari {GF})
As mentioned above, you’re going to face a lot of Asian inspired dishes which makes soy sauce a must! I wouldn’t be surprised if you already have this in your kitchen. It’s often a staple in many households these days.
Soy sauce is awesome for adding flavour to dishes, cooking with and marinating your tofu in as well as, is used in making a lot of vegan friendly versions of sauces and dips.
Tamari is the same but gluten free for all my celiac followers out there (something I only recently learned 😯
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Sesame oil
This was a game changing oil to buy for our Asian dishes. I’m not going to lie, I was notorious for always just using whatever oil I had on hand and only ever bought olive, coconut and vegetable oil. Sesame oil, in my opinion is a must! The flavour it adds is so important to adding that uniqueness to the dish.
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Nutritional Yeast
Coming in with my last recommendation is Nutritional yeast.
Haven’t heard of it?
Me either, until I went vegan.
Nutritional yeast is well-known in the vegan community for it’s B12 content. B12 is the only supplement that is recommended to all vegan’s as the main way people get their B12 is through animals.
Animals themselves don’t produce B12. B12 is actually found in dirt, err was found in dirt. But now with all the pesticides and sprays we’ve pretty much killed the natural source of B12. Animals are given B12 supplements, which are then passed onto humans through the consumption of animal meat and secretions.
With veganism on the rise we have started to see other plant-based products being fortified with B12 as well.
Nutritional yeast is also another, great source of protein, fibre and many other vitamins and minerals.
Nutritional yeast has been proven to boost energy, support the immune system and reduce inflammation, lead to healthier skin, hair and nails.
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Where to add it
Nutritional yeast has a combination of a cheesy and nutty flavour. Therefore its a great way to get the cheesy flavour when making a vegan friendly cheese.
Because of its cheesy flavour you can have it a variety of ways like:
- Sprinkle on popcorn
- Mix into risotto
- Use in vegan cheese sauces
- In cheesy pasta’s like my Vegan Alfredo sauce or a vegan queso sauce
- Add into scrambled tofu to for a vegan substitute of cheesy scrambled eggs
Because you often have to make your own vegan version of sauces and dips as the store bought versions typically have dairy or egg in them its important to have some nutritional yeast in your home. I find the bag lasts me a pretty decent amount of time (upwards of a couple months).
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By making these small adjustments like adding hemp and chia seeds to my oatmeal and smoothie every day, I don’t need to worry about my protein intake. When they say eat balanced they really mean in every sense. Incorporating legumes, nuts, seeds, whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and of course your sweets as well! You don’t need to worry about meeting the needs of the food pyramid with only a protein, whole grain and vegetables. It’s about completely diversifying your plate; and when you do it’s like a flavour explosion in your mouth.
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References:
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/6-health-benefits-of-hemp-seeds#section1