Plant based eating - Cupboard essentials
- The Honest Project
- Mar 2, 2015
- 2 min read
When moving towards a plant based diet, a little re-thinking of your usual cupboard essentials is required. It goes without saying that you will be buying lots of lovely fresh fruit, vegetables and herbs, but it also helps to have some cupboard staples close at hand. These will help you to make delicious and nutritious meals with all of your fresh plant based produce.
If you are moving towards a plant based diet it is most likely you are doing it for health reasons, to give you more energy or maybe to lose weight. Whatever the reason, there is no point in eating lots of beautiful fruit and vegetables if you are going to prepare them using other ingredients that do not make the grade on the healthy eating scale. In the table below, is lists of common ingredients used in plant based cooking. It is not an exhaustive list, but is designed to get you started.
If this shopping list seems a lot all at one go, don’t worry. Just start adding a few items to your weekly shop and you will build up your cupboard in a very short time.
General hints and tips:
Buy organic and unrefined where possible. This is especially so when it comes to oils.
I always have canned goods on standby.
You cannot beat fresh herbs for taste, and dried ones really don’t compare. Despite this I usually keep a selection of dried herbs in the cupboard for herb emergencies and handiness.
You can make your own nut milk, but again if you don’t have the time just now, buy unsweetened versions.
You can always make your own stock but if you prefer to buy a premade stock, buy a brand that is low in salt. I like Marigold and Kallo.
