Pantry Must-Haves

Everyone has their pantry staples list either in their head or on a piece of food-stained paper shoved somewhere in the kitchen. Well, here is your list, all neat and tidy...and with pictures! Well, look at you, so fancy with your picture list.

When you first decide to ditch the animal products, it might seem overwhelming to replace all your food items. What do you buy instead? Where do I find these things? Do I have to go to an expensive health food store to stock my pantry back up? These are all valid questions, questions I asked when I first went through my fridge and pantry after deciding to cut out the animal products. You can do it slowly over time or you can do it all at once in the middle of the night like I did. Either way, start buying these items and you will be set for most recipes!

Nutritional Yeast AKA "Nooch"

No, it's not bread yeast, it's magical golden flakes that have become like crack to most vegans. It's full of B-12 vitamins, and it adds a cheesy flavor to your dish. I sprinkle this stuff on popcorn, toast, noodles, use it as breading, and put it in a lot of casseroles. It's kind of expensive when you buy it in a store out of a container (depending where you live, it's like $8/bottle here), but I found my grocery store carries it in the bulk section for $8/pound (and that's A LOT of nutritional yeast). So, check your bulk bins for this before checking the health food isle.

Garlic Salt

I mean, why not. I love garlic and I love salt. Put the two together, and it's better than PB&J. I use Lawry's brand, because it has little parsley flakes in it, too. Super yum on EVERYTHING.

Turmeric

This little spice from a root (like ginger) doesn't get enough credit. Everyone should use this stuff. It has anti-inflammatory effects and is an antioxidant (click here to read why it's so good for you). It gives food a yellow color, like curry! But you will use it for tofu scramble to give it more of an "egg" look.

Salt

There are so many different kinds any more, but I'm here to break down the most common types for you.

*Himalayan Pink Salt: It's pretty and my kids prefer it on their "plain" noodles.

*Black Salt: This stuff is sparkly and has a much more potent salt flavor, so use less then usual! It contains activated charcoal, giving it it's rich color.

*Table Salt: Your usual salt shaker salt, more processed and contains additives.

*Sea Salt: Less processed, larger granules. Made by evaporating sea water.

Poultry Seasoning

I know, I know... seems like an oxymoron for a vegan to want poultry seasoning, but it contains no poultry, it's just a nice seasoning blend that happens to be marketed to be put on poultry. Lucky for us, there are no laws that say we have to use it on poultry.

I use it to marinate tofu or chickpeas for pot pie, or you can use it in a good seitan (pronounced Say-tan, it's a faux meat made from wheat gluten) recipe.

Cornstarch

Used as a thickening agent for stews and sauces, or used to give something fried (like tofu) a crispy outer layer. It has many household uses, too! Click here to see what this magical substance does!

Agave Nectar

This is a perfect sweetener to have on hand. It is great in coffee or use it in baking in place of honey (honey isn't vegan, see why here)

Vegetable Bouillon

This is just like beef/chicken bouillon paste, but better! It gives lots of flavor to any savory recipe. It's very concentrated, so a little goes a long way, but you can add it to a pot of rice while it's cooking to give it some oomph, or use in place of oil in stir fry veggies. It's truly a must-have!

Veggie Broth

You can either buy this or make it (my recipe here). It's super easy to make, and costs next to nothing because you just use veggie scraps that you would've just thrown away. Veggie broth is great for homemade soups, or substituting for water in certain recipes. You can cook noodles or rice in broth instead of water, then they come out packed with flavor with less need to season. You can use it to make sauces or dips, it's really just great to have in the fridge!

You will also want to keep the normal pantry things on hand, like flour, sugar, spices, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, etc.

Go on and stock up that pantry with these items and you'll be on your way to being vegan AF, just like me!

Keep cooking, friends!

-Kristin