Stocking Your Vegan KitchenStocking your vegan kitchen? Here is an exhaustive list of the staples, including vegan foods, vegan food pyramid, and vegan nutrition.
Have you decided to make a life change and need to stock your vegan kitchen? Are you worried about what to buy and where to find it? Don't worry... life changes don't have to happen overnight. All you need to do is start building your supply of the essentials. If you need a complete vegan grocery list, check out this link. What I did was gradually add to my cabinet and supply of grains and beans. I started with the basics that I kept seeing in every recipe, and as I expanded my recipes, I added more spices, beans, grains, and nuts. Even now there are still things that I hope to add in the future. Don't feel like you have to revamp your kitchen all at once.
When I was in the grocery stores, sometimes the only thing I knew about some of these items was the name. Sometimes I felt pretty silly tramping around trying to find things I had never seen before.
This is your guide to the healthy foods you will be adding to your cabinet. I have a picture of everything important so you won't have to look as lost as I did at the store.
This vegan shopping list is divided into a few sections. The first is the fundamental building block of your diet: whole grains. Remember that you are looking to have about 6-11 servings of whole grains each day, and that servings are much smaller than we normally assume. The easiest way to remember it is that a serving would normally fit in your hand. ________________________________________________________ By the way, our subscribers to "Vegan Bytes" get more tips on stocking their vegan kitchens and learn how to put together delicious meals...
Plus...
______________________________________________________________
The next layer is vegetables. You should have about 3-5 servings of vegetables each day, and you should try to vary them as much as you can, eating from the colors of the rainbow.
I have also included information on legumes and beans that will help you decipher recipes that call for beans you have never heard of. The vegan food pyramid suggest 2-4 servings of beans daily, as well as 2-4 servings of fortified dairy substitutes. Many times those dairy substitutes come from beans or from the nuts and seeds category. It's suggested that you eat nuts and seeds sparingly, along with oils and sweets. The last page about stocking your vegan kitchen is the spice cabinet page. I always thought spices just made foods taste better-- I had no idea that many of them are so healthy for you. On the spices page you will see pictures of the colors, which should help when choosing them at the store. Overall, stocking your vegan kitchen should be a fun process-- it's like picking up a new hobby! You can try yahoo shopping when you get ready to stock your kitchen with vegan foods.
Done with Vegan Kitchen? Return to Vegan Cooking
|
