I created a list for you of food that can be found pretty much anywhere, and that can be mixed and matched to create hundreds of different delicious dishes! I could probably just buy these at the store for a year and be perfectly happy. Because everyone's tastes and likes are different, there might be something on here that you don't like. That's okay! Instead, see if you can find anything that might be similar, and that you like. Hope you enjoy!
1. Avocado
If I had to choose my favorite most versatile food, this would be it! It's easy to prepare style and the sheer number of different ways you could prepare this queen fruit makes it a very common item in my dishes. Avocado toast/sandwiches, making home-made simple guacamole on lettuce cups, or using them as a vegetable dip are some of my favorite ways to eat them. Don't feel like doing any major prep? Slice that baby open, deseed, maybe top with some salt or soy sauce, and there's a good, yummy, and easy snack! Just make sure you get your avocado when it's at the right stage of ripeness (should feel slightly soft to a gentle squeeze). Just like any vegetable it's not going to taste very good if it's not ripe.
2. Big Leafy Greens
I'm talking the big kahuna of leaves here people! Dino kale, green leaf lettuce, romaine, and the list keeps going. To be honest, I don't know half the names of the big leafy greens I get. This is how I shop: browse around the produce area and see what looks good and catches my eye! That's intuitive eating for you. The big greens are great to use as serving "cups" with any dish you make. Scrambled tofu, sliced/mashed avocado, and bean dips (e.g., hummus) go great smothered on big greens. Of course, chopping those greens to make a delicious salad with some avocado and beans thrown on top is always delicious.
3. Your Favorite Bean
My go-to is usually black beans or garbanzos. I love making black bean soup because it's super easy and very tasty, I buy them in a can, throw on a pot and boil, perhaps add in some water or vegetable broth (soy sauce and water adds extra flavor to your broth in a pinch) throw in some other magical veggies on this list for some soothing and easy soup on a cold day.
My favorite garbanzo bean dish is smashing up the beans with a fork, and mixing in some vegan mayonnaise and mustard to make more of a "garbanzo salad" type dish. Eat it on top of your big leafy green, bread, or seaweed wrap, and you've got a quick and scrumptious meal.
4. Your Favorite Hearty Vegetable
Broccoli,
Carrots,
Green beans,
Oh my!
What are your favorite fiber-rich veggies? Throw one (or two) of these in your meal for some good crunchy balance.
5. Fruit of the Season
I absolutely love fruit. I have fruit as a part of breakfast, as dessert, or as a snack. If you have a fruit you like in season, that my friends is your golden time. That's likely when the fruit will be at it's most fine taste and cheapest! Type of fruit will vary from climate to climate. If I lived in the tropics, my favorite fruit would definitely be papaya!! I live in San Diego, which has a more arid climate. I recently enjoyed some of the sweetest blackberries from Mexico, but when I buy local fruit, I enjoy our citruses (blood orange, grapefruit, tangerines). Buy local if you can because it's generally kinder to the environment due to lower transportation emissions, and you are supporting your local community of farmers!
6. Your favorite flavor enhancer
This one is optional, but sometimes I feel like a little extra flavor in my dish. Garlic salt, soy sauce, sriracha, mustard, and Bragg's are some examples. Since I've started preparing my own food more and more, I've started to try and use less of these flavor enhancers so that the true taste of whatever it is I'm making comes out more. With that said, I grew up eating very salty, creamy, or sweet foods, so there is a part of me that still craves that kick!
7. Your favorite starchy food (aka potato, rice)
This is where the carbs come in! Some people run when they hear the word "carb", but this is how I burn my energy people. Sometimes I just throw the whole potato in the oven to broil, add on some seasoning and eat it in the skin if I'm feeling lazy. If I'm feeling fancy, I might pick up ube sweet potatoes from the farmer's market (ooh la la!), or throw some vegan marshmallows on an orange sweet potato. One thing I really want to try soon is slicing the potato into wedges to make my own fries, and dipping in home-made guacamole...yummmm.
If you haven't guessed already, I can be a little lazy when it comes to food prep (I'm a full-time working gal, what can I say?), so I don't often make rice. However, this is an excellent item to have to prepare simple stir-fries, put in soups, or just put on the side of your veggie of choice.
8. Plant-based milk
For my cereal, oatmeal, coffee, mac & cheese, or just to have by itself, I pretty much always have a box of milk in my fridge. No lack of variety here-- choose from almond, soy, rice, coconut, hemp, or flax seed (there may be even more to add to the list because they're always producing more varieties).
9. Your favorite "wrap"
That is, what you like to wrap your toppings with. Bread is always a good choice, but I personally love wrapping my avocado and/or rice in seaweed. Vegan sushi! I like putting strips of grilled and seasoned tofu with avocado in seaweed wraps.
10. Tofu (or your meat substitute of choice)
Are you still reading? Did you make it this far? Great, you are awesome, and thank you. Yes, tofu. I try to eat a whole-foods plant-based diet as much as possible. By that I mean the food in it's original, unprocessed form (e.g., eating a soy bean rather than tofu). With that said, I don't all the time. I also remember when I first when veg, it felt weird, and like something was missing if I didn't have something with "substance" (aka "meaty") on my plate. For instance, a mock chicken, or vegan meatballs. I'm now 100% okay with eating a plate full of vegetables, but it seems it might be a little easier on those in the early months of transitioning to have that mock meat option in. Up to you!
So that's it folks! I hope this helps shed some light on how easy it is to stock your fridge and create a tasty variety of dishes. Being vegan certainly doesn't have to be difficult or expensive, it's just learning a new grocery list. I also wanted to say that how good your fruit and vegetables taste depends largely on how fresh and ripe they are. I know it sounds obvious, but some people might claim to not like something when it is actually wasn't picked when it was fully ripened, or maybe it's been off the tree/vine too long so it's no longer fresh. Just something to keep in mind when you are buying your items, and perhaps incentive to get things at your local farmer's market because that's always where it's freshest. Now get out there and mix these items into your new favorite dish!!
1. Avocado
If I had to choose my favorite most versatile food, this would be it! It's easy to prepare style and the sheer number of different ways you could prepare this queen fruit makes it a very common item in my dishes. Avocado toast/sandwiches, making home-made simple guacamole on lettuce cups, or using them as a vegetable dip are some of my favorite ways to eat them. Don't feel like doing any major prep? Slice that baby open, deseed, maybe top with some salt or soy sauce, and there's a good, yummy, and easy snack! Just make sure you get your avocado when it's at the right stage of ripeness (should feel slightly soft to a gentle squeeze). Just like any vegetable it's not going to taste very good if it's not ripe.
2. Big Leafy Greens
I'm talking the big kahuna of leaves here people! Dino kale, green leaf lettuce, romaine, and the list keeps going. To be honest, I don't know half the names of the big leafy greens I get. This is how I shop: browse around the produce area and see what looks good and catches my eye! That's intuitive eating for you. The big greens are great to use as serving "cups" with any dish you make. Scrambled tofu, sliced/mashed avocado, and bean dips (e.g., hummus) go great smothered on big greens. Of course, chopping those greens to make a delicious salad with some avocado and beans thrown on top is always delicious.
3. Your Favorite Bean
My go-to is usually black beans or garbanzos. I love making black bean soup because it's super easy and very tasty, I buy them in a can, throw on a pot and boil, perhaps add in some water or vegetable broth (soy sauce and water adds extra flavor to your broth in a pinch) throw in some other magical veggies on this list for some soothing and easy soup on a cold day.
My favorite garbanzo bean dish is smashing up the beans with a fork, and mixing in some vegan mayonnaise and mustard to make more of a "garbanzo salad" type dish. Eat it on top of your big leafy green, bread, or seaweed wrap, and you've got a quick and scrumptious meal.
4. Your Favorite Hearty Vegetable
Broccoli,
Carrots,
Green beans,
Oh my!
What are your favorite fiber-rich veggies? Throw one (or two) of these in your meal for some good crunchy balance.
5. Fruit of the Season
I absolutely love fruit. I have fruit as a part of breakfast, as dessert, or as a snack. If you have a fruit you like in season, that my friends is your golden time. That's likely when the fruit will be at it's most fine taste and cheapest! Type of fruit will vary from climate to climate. If I lived in the tropics, my favorite fruit would definitely be papaya!! I live in San Diego, which has a more arid climate. I recently enjoyed some of the sweetest blackberries from Mexico, but when I buy local fruit, I enjoy our citruses (blood orange, grapefruit, tangerines). Buy local if you can because it's generally kinder to the environment due to lower transportation emissions, and you are supporting your local community of farmers!
6. Your favorite flavor enhancer
This one is optional, but sometimes I feel like a little extra flavor in my dish. Garlic salt, soy sauce, sriracha, mustard, and Bragg's are some examples. Since I've started preparing my own food more and more, I've started to try and use less of these flavor enhancers so that the true taste of whatever it is I'm making comes out more. With that said, I grew up eating very salty, creamy, or sweet foods, so there is a part of me that still craves that kick!
7. Your favorite starchy food (aka potato, rice)
This is where the carbs come in! Some people run when they hear the word "carb", but this is how I burn my energy people. Sometimes I just throw the whole potato in the oven to broil, add on some seasoning and eat it in the skin if I'm feeling lazy. If I'm feeling fancy, I might pick up ube sweet potatoes from the farmer's market (ooh la la!), or throw some vegan marshmallows on an orange sweet potato. One thing I really want to try soon is slicing the potato into wedges to make my own fries, and dipping in home-made guacamole...yummmm.
If you haven't guessed already, I can be a little lazy when it comes to food prep (I'm a full-time working gal, what can I say?), so I don't often make rice. However, this is an excellent item to have to prepare simple stir-fries, put in soups, or just put on the side of your veggie of choice.
8. Plant-based milk
For my cereal, oatmeal, coffee, mac & cheese, or just to have by itself, I pretty much always have a box of milk in my fridge. No lack of variety here-- choose from almond, soy, rice, coconut, hemp, or flax seed (there may be even more to add to the list because they're always producing more varieties).
9. Your favorite "wrap"
That is, what you like to wrap your toppings with. Bread is always a good choice, but I personally love wrapping my avocado and/or rice in seaweed. Vegan sushi! I like putting strips of grilled and seasoned tofu with avocado in seaweed wraps.
10. Tofu (or your meat substitute of choice)
Are you still reading? Did you make it this far? Great, you are awesome, and thank you. Yes, tofu. I try to eat a whole-foods plant-based diet as much as possible. By that I mean the food in it's original, unprocessed form (e.g., eating a soy bean rather than tofu). With that said, I don't all the time. I also remember when I first when veg, it felt weird, and like something was missing if I didn't have something with "substance" (aka "meaty") on my plate. For instance, a mock chicken, or vegan meatballs. I'm now 100% okay with eating a plate full of vegetables, but it seems it might be a little easier on those in the early months of transitioning to have that mock meat option in. Up to you!
So that's it folks! I hope this helps shed some light on how easy it is to stock your fridge and create a tasty variety of dishes. Being vegan certainly doesn't have to be difficult or expensive, it's just learning a new grocery list. I also wanted to say that how good your fruit and vegetables taste depends largely on how fresh and ripe they are. I know it sounds obvious, but some people might claim to not like something when it is actually wasn't picked when it was fully ripened, or maybe it's been off the tree/vine too long so it's no longer fresh. Just something to keep in mind when you are buying your items, and perhaps incentive to get things at your local farmer's market because that's always where it's freshest. Now get out there and mix these items into your new favorite dish!!