Foods that you keep on a regular basis: your shopping list

[hiddenfromview]

Ali,
nutritional yeast is a condiment that is made out of inactive yeast, I buy it in flake form (looks a bit like fish food, apparently it comes as powder too), and is also called engevita in the uk.
It is rich in b vitamins, and is used to enhance the flavour of dishes, it can also be used to give a cheesy flavour if you are not mixing it with anything else. i use it in salads, stirfrys, marinades, casseroles, sheperd's pie... although do keep in mind that the bvits get lost after the dish reaches a certain temperature... you can find it in health food shops, and its about £1.99 for a tub, which lasts ages.. hope this helps

[CurrantCottage]

Thank you "Hiddenfromview" - it sounds really good, I'll have to get some - probably online as there is a lack of good health food shops where I live - I like the idea of sprinkling it on mashed potatoes!!!

Thanks again for replying, I'm new here and am still trying to work out where I can and cannot post (I eat a vegan diet, am trying to go vegan but my husband and children aren't) and I appreciate any replies/help !!

Ali

[sugarmouse]

I am rubbish in this respect.
The only things I need in the house and panic if I dont have are
Instant packet soups (hard to find vegan ones sometimes but they do exist) for adding to cooking, and for snacking.
Salad
Cider (most important!)
Tomato juice for making soup and low fat sauces
Instant mashed potato for adding to soup as a thickener
Popadums and crispbreads
Tinned Tomatoes

On a lesser scale
Dried Chickpeas, I agree they make a brillaint finger snack!
Other fresh vegetables for cooking.
Purespreads
Pasta though I try to limit that one.
Frozen stir fry veggies

[loveganism]

Me and my boyf will be living together soon and I've been trying to work out our shopping budget, and what should be essentials, and what are treats.

I love stuff like Cheezly, but am a little dubious about its nutritional benefits (unless anyone knows any better :)). Even stuff like veggie mince- would I be better off buying a big bag of lentils instead? Are veggie mince and the fake meaty things even all that nutritious? Is it easy to live without vegan yoghurts, mayo etc?

I would love some examples of vegan shopping lists on a budget :)

My dad has definitely spoiled me over the years!

[Buddha Belly]

It is expensive for the first cupboard stocking shop but worth it.
Me and Helen always have the following the cupboard.
Big bags of:
TVP little mince not big chunks.
Pasta
Lentils
Chickpeas
Rice
Soup mix (lentils, split peas, barley etc. Not cup-a-soup type stuff)
Tinned:
Tomatoes
Tomato puree
Beans
Coconut milk

Stock
Bisto Gravy granules (mixed with TVP makes wicked shepherds pie)
Soya sauce
Liquid Aminos, we call it amigos though
Baking powder
Plain and self raising flower

Herbs/ Spices, most supermarkets do basic ranges of these.
Curry Powder
Pepper
Salt
sage
Garlic
Peri Peri
cumin
ground coriander
cinnamon
basil
oregano

These are the basic things for most, easy to make can't be arsed doing any fancy cooking, meals.
It is easy to live without mayo etc but it is a good treat. The yogurts are good to chuck on cereal for breakfast. The meaty type replacements can easily be done without, it is mainly a psychological thing to have that part of a meal. I am happy with a huge plate of veg but others like to have veggie pies and that. I do like pie all the same though.
When we moved in together we saw it as a utopia of delightful meals shared over the table with a slow glass of wine. It has now degenerated into one of us moaning all the way through cooking scrambled tofu, again.
Anything that is quick to cook is good.

Oh yeah.. well done on moving in together. Is it soon? Is he vegan? Have you lived away from home before? What area are you moving too?

[harpy]

I love stuff like Cheezly, but am a little dubious about its nutritional benefits (unless anyone knows any better :)). Even stuff like veggie mince- would I be better off buying a big bag of lentils instead? Are veggie mince and the fake meaty things even all that nutritious? Is it easy to live without vegan yoghurts, mayo etc?

I tend to prioritise pulses like lentils and beans as dietary staples, and to keep the fake meats and cheeses as occasional treats (though I'm not convinced the meats are a treat really :p). Not only are pulses cheaper but they're more "natural" (i.e. less processed) foods and therefore better for one I suspect. The main soy type thing I buy is tofu as I find it very useful for stir fries and what not.

We keep pulses, nuts, seeds, rice, pasta and other grain-type things such as quinoa on hand, along with tinned tomatoes, and get a vegetable and fruit box delivered once a week. I haven't done the sums but we don't seem to spend all that much on food in spite of mostly having organic stuff. An additional advantage of this arrangement is that we don't have to do a great deal of shopping, except for things like toilet paper :D

[KcCrash]

I buy whatever is cheap at the moment!I am very frugal and very skint. lol
But, I do try to always have
tomato juice for making tomato soup or veg soup.
tomato puree for same reason
Canned tomatoes for soups and for general cooking, adding to soy mince and curries, chillis..etc
Dried beans, whatever is cheap they often get reduced, chickpeas,kidney beans
peal barley for putting in soups or whatever I am cooking.
Dried peas
pasta shapes, for adding to soup. Wholemeal..I kno pasta isn't too good for me!
Brown rice
salad, alwyas buy when reduced
stock cubes, seasonings, pepper, chilli paste
Raw popadums for snacking
dried instnat mashed potato, shops own brand, its very cheap, I can use it to thicken soups, for feeding to the ratties! and for myself to eat.
Olive oil, pure spread for cooking
Frozen onions for adding to cooking, last longer than fresh obviously and a good staple
frozen peppers for same reason, I cook and blend those and make soups and add them to stir fries.
Soya mince. I cook most things from scratch or therabouts to save money but sometimes I buy this seasoned.
Vegan salad dressings or creams
soy milk, which i put into an ice cube tray and freeze so it cant go off. I use it in cooking.



I scan reduced sections for things and think about what I could make with them, and occasionally spend on stuff like vegan pesto,cheese,'meat' or bread. but only if i have extra monies. I live of beans, bread, grains and veg.

[Risker]

Bread
Lettuce
Milk
Eggs

EDIT: Whoops! Wrong forum.

[terem]

Hah, silly Risker.

Garlic, Lentils, Bread, Spinach and Artichoke Hummus, Vegan Earth Balance butter, Pasta, Tomato Sauce, Oregano, Basil, Parsley, Ketchup, Olive Oil, Cooking Oil (usually Sunflower Oil), Pepper, Beans (all kinds), Cinnamon, Pepper, Kale, Onions, Soy Milk, Peanut or Almond Butter, Blackberry/Strawberry Jelly

[CrunchyMomma]

Here's a list of stuff I can get at my local Publix, which is a chain grocery store here. I also shop my local Kroger's health food department. They have a pretty decent selection:

Produce:
Green leaf lettuce
Plum tomatoes
Bananas
Strawberries
Mushrooms (I buy what's on sale, usually)
Baby spinach
Baking potatoes
Navel oranges
Onions (red ones when Vidalias aren't in season)
Red bell peppers
Cilantro
Chives

Refrigerated:
Earth Balance vegan butter
Vanilla soymilk
Plain soymilk
Chocolate soymilk (I know, it's a lot of soy milk, but the chocolate is mostly for my kiddo LOL)

Frozen Foods:
Welch's frozen juice concentrate cans (I prefer Welch's over Minute Maid because the Welch's doesn't contain HFCS)
Frozen veggie medleys
Tofutti Cuties

Dry/Canned Staple Items:
Sweet corn
Pinto beans
Butter beans
Kidney beans
Diced tomatoes
Tomato sauce
Organic peanut butter (I like Kroger's Private Selection brand. It's reasonably priced, certified organic and vegan)
Whole wheat flower
Cornmeal
Turbinado sugar (I use Sugar in the Raw)
Maple syrup without HFCS
Molasses
Coffee
Whole wheat pasta
Jasmati Jasmine rice
Apple cider vinegar
Sea salt
Kelp flakes
Tabasco sauce
Silken tofu (the kind that isn't refrigerated. Some stores sell it in the ethnic foods section. My Kroger has it in their health food dept.)
Ketchup
Mustard
Olive oil cooking spray (I use Spectrum)


Some of the other stuff I buy at the specialty shops like the vegan snacky stuff such as Ricemallow, Bac'uns, St. Claire's Lemon Tarts, etc. and my nutritional yeast.


Are veggie mince and the fake meaty things even all that nutritious? Is it easy to live without vegan yoghurts, mayo etc? !

The answer to your question is yes and no. Is a soy-based burger patty less fattening than a beef one? Yes, but there is a trade-off and it's usually with sodium. A lot of the "hand-hold" meat and dairy substitutes have to trade one bad thing for another to make them taste somewhat comparable to their non-vegan counterparts. If they didn't, nobody would eat them. Most people who are trying to eschew mayo, for example, would probably rather give up mayo altogether rather than eat something on their potato salad that tastes like dung. So in that respect I, personally, think it would be better to ween yourself off of the analogs and aim for a diet consisting mostly of fresh, healthy vegan foods. But that's just me. I have to be really careful with my sodium intake.

Substitute foods are also pretty costly. Yes, it is a tad less expensive to buy a box of Boca burgers than it is to buy ground beef to make the same amount; however, if you're living off of veggie burgers you are going to spend a lot more money than you would buying fresh produce. What I had to do (bear in mind I'm still new at this, so I'm far from an expert on the subject. This is just my opinion here.) was pick the one food I knew I would struggle giving up when I decided to transition to vegan. For me that was cheese. I'm willing to spend a bit extra and splurge on the vegan-friendly cheese substitutes and give up the fakin' bacon, soy burgers, etc. and save those for special occasions like Summer cook-outs.

Milk is the tricky one because a lot of recipes call for it, so if you do a lot of cooking at some point you'll need to buy a milk substitute and keep it on-hand. I prefer soy, myself, but try to use it sparingly.

[herbwormwood]

Me and my boyf will be living together soon and I've been trying to work out our shopping budget, and what should be essentials, and what are treats.

I love stuff like Cheezly, but am a little dubious about its nutritional benefits (unless anyone knows any better :)). Even stuff like veggie mince- would I be better off buying a big bag of lentils instead? Are veggie mince and the fake meaty things even all that nutritious? Is it easy to live without vegan yoghurts, mayo etc?

I would love some examples of vegan shopping lists on a budget :)

My dad has definitely spoiled me over the years!

Veggie mince can be a budget buy if you look out for the plain, dried kind, which is sold in health food shops and some ethnic shops as texturized vegetable protein, TVP mince, TVP chunks.
There is a SUMA brand sold in health food stores and a Heera brand sold in ethnic stores.
Some scoop shops sell it too in the loose dried food bins.
Its a good protein source.
Ethnic stores are good for cheap spices, and sometimes speciality food, for example middle eastern stores usually have very good boxes of dates at cheap prices, and far eastern stores usually have cheap tofu and sea vegetables.
Other items which go on my budget list are large bags of brown rice, red lentils, dried beans, and chick peas, large 1 KG tub of marigold vegetable bouillion.
Tinned tomatoes and passata are good for making pots of home made chilli and stew.
Seasonal vegetables from the market or if you can find a real greengrocer.

Some vegetables may be more economical to buy frozen. I usually have frozen peas, sweetcorn, green beans.
I use leaf tea as well as tea bags, it is more economical.
I have soya milk every day.... a the moment I use a lot of soya soliel, because I an get it delivered, but if you can get to sainsbury's, tesco or morrison's you will find their own brand soya milk comares well with the price of cow milk.

[loveganism]

Thank you for the responses everyone- big, big help :) I'm a bit of a junk food binge-eater (some of the items on your lists made me drool, haha!), so living in a house without chocolate puddings and marinated tofu in the fridge will do me a lot of good- your shopping lists all look pretty well-rounded (a lot healthier than omnis I know).

Does anyone here bake their own sweet treats instead of buying them?

[loveganism]

Oh yeah.. well done on moving in together. Is it soon? Is he vegan? Have you lived away from home before? What area are you moving too?

Thank you :) He's currently a veggie (who has no problem with vegan dinners I make), but has maintained that when we live together he will try to be vegan. He likes his cheese tho! Might be a challenge. It'll be our first home- we're going to see the house we like this Saturday! (I'm near Heathrow).

[Daffodil]

[QUOTE=theashleybeyer;88195]wondering if anyone recommends some staple foods that would be easily made into many different meals, etc../QUOTE]

well I always have stuff like rice, seeds, nuts, all types of beans, dried seaweed, soy sauce, herbs and spices, frozen peppers and sweetcorn and sometimes pasta, dried fruit and flour and soya milk. Then I get an organic fruit/veg box delivered once a week and i find i can make loads of varied recipies from this stuff. you'll find you're cooking a lot more but i make enough for 2 or 3 days at a time and keep in fridge, and if it's not eaten then i freeze it. this way i'm only cooking about twice a week.
I even freeze cakes etc, ready sliced so i can just grab a slice when i want one (only takes half hour to defrost).

good luck :D

[Ms_Derious]

Tinned chickpeas.... cheap(ish), tasty and a good basis for any meal. I think at least once a week I throw some chickpeas in pan with some form of spice, and some tomatoes, then just throw in anything that looks like it's getting as 'ripe' as is good for it. This is nice over rice, pasta, or on toast for the criminally lazy.

I don't actually think that being vegan needs lot more specialist foods... I just try to eat a few more greens (for iron) fortified soy (for calcium) and pulses for protein. Other than that, it's mostly whatever veggies are in season/on special at the time :)

Of course, soy sauce, nutritional yeast and spices are the cornerstones to vegan cooking.

[cobweb]

I typically buy:
potatoes (tons of potatoes!!)
veg
apples
cereal
soya milk
houmous
bread
tofu
veg sausages
pastry
soy sauce
gravy
ingredients for baking

[karmafunk]

Being a new Vegan I thought it would be nice to see what other vegans are eating and incorporating into their diet.

I am going to include my shopping list to start.

I hope this works. :umm:

I already have a fridge full of veg like leeks, courgettes, potatoes, onions, tomatoes, green beans, peppers, etc. I also have a cupboard full of lots of different types of dried beans and pulses.

So here it is.

Chillies
Aubergine
Swede
Forest friendly Soya Milk
Broccoli
Cous Cous
Rooibos Tea
Crusty Bread
Portabello Mushrooms
Kiwi Fruit
Organic oat Milk
Chick Peas
24 tins of chopped tomatoes ( Yeah I like to buy in bulk from Lidl)
24 tins of kidney beans
24 tins of baked beans
6 cartons of Multivitamin Tropical Drink
Greek Biscuits
Halva Cocoa
Loukomia
Lemon Ice Tea
Cranberry Juice
Raspberry Jam
Lentil Soup
Pitted Green Olives
Jar of Roasted peppers
Potato wedges
Stir Fry Vegetables
Peanuts
Orangeade
Sour Cherries in Syrup
3 Mangos
Garlic
Vitamin tablets (for occassional use)
Large jar of Molasses
Almond Butter
Agave Syrup
Natex Yeast Extract

I shopped at 4 different stores for this lot and should last me a while. I buy my fresh veg weekly. :)

[RubyDuby]

I happen to have our shopping list from yesterday sitting right ere next to the comp...

garlic
fresh lettuce, carrots, cabbage
canned mushrooms, chick peas, tomatoes
frozen broccoli, spinach, corn
dried split peas, lentils
olives, black and green
gardenburger/boca products
tofu
whole grain hamburger rolls
Silk (the milk)
fruit juice and soda
whole grain crackers
ketchup
sweet vidalia dressing
earth balance
tvp
nutritional yeast
gravy packets
chocolate syrup (:D)

eta: we buy any other fresh veg as we need it, except the salad stuff and always have a large quantity of potatoes and onions on hand.

[Hemlock]

I'm a 100% raw vegan now (or as far as humanly possible) and doubt the quality of supermarket veg so I order a weekly box of seasonal organic fruit and veg from Riverford organics (see Google).

It costs £14 a week although I may need to upgrade from a medium to a large box and I ask them to leave out vegetables that need to be cooked like potatoes and swedes.

If there is any left over before the next box arrives I make them into smoothies and freeze them.

It's cheap, easy and they deliver to my door. We've been using them for about 6 months now and they are amazing and ecologically sound. I also sprout from home. If we need to buy anything we'll get raw bars from the health food shop but I've gone off packaged food now, it doesn't taste the same as fresh.

[Tallulah]

Beans
Brown rice
Beans
Hot sauce
Beans

I love beans!!! Lol

[BlackCats]

I'm not very good at buying fruit and veg in season which I know is naughty::D

Apples,
Mango,
Pineapple,
Plums,
Kiwis,
Oranges.

Carrots,
Parsnips,
Potatoes,
Peppers,
Onions,
Spinach,
Tomatoes.

Bread rolls,
Tortilla wraps,
Bagels,
Sliced wholemeal bread,
Crumpets.

Pure spread,
Soya or rice milk,
Tofu - firm and silken,
Soya cream,
Raspberry jam,
Soya yoghurt.

Linda McCartney sausages,
LM sausage rolls,
Oven chips.

Pesto,
Kidney beans,
Chickpeas,
Baked beans,
Tinned spaghetti,
Passata,
Yeast extract,
Peanut butter,
Tomato ketchup,
Crisps,
Crackers.

I also buy flour, sugar, spices, green and black tea when I run out.

I made the mistake of buying salad cream recently.:pissed: I will go back to getting Plamil mayo.

[baby_vicuña]

Well, my list is pretty limited as far as fruits and veggies (I have fructose malabsorption). Oh, and everything is gluten free.

lettuce
spinach
celery
potatoes
lentils
quinoa
tofu

pistachios (roasted)
pumpkin seeds (raw and roasted)
sunflower seeds (raw)

rice noodles
rice-based bread baking mix
rice flour
rice tortillas
rice & corn chips
corn flour based cereal (called Gorilla Munch)

soy milk (Silk)
rice milk (Rice Dream)
tea (all different kinds)

various spices
extra virgin olive oil
OrganicVille salad dressing
peanut butter
sunflower seed butter

evaporated cane juice (sugar)
soy ice cream (So Delicious)
dark chocolate (Green and Black's)

nutritional yeast
multivitamin (Deva)

I too have a total of four stores I shop at, but one is mostly for bath stuff.

[RubyDuby]

I'd like to add, mine was a specific shopping list... not THE shopping list. It changes often.

[Mr Flibble]

Thanks for that Mr Fibble. I noticed you had Thai curry paste on your list, where do you get it without fish oil in it? I havent seen any yet.

Several years back there was none in supermarkets at all, which was highly annoying; you just had to keep an eye out in oriental supermarkets (though I did once get an amazing green curry paste for 69p in Peckham that lasted for months).

These days there are several own brand supermarket ones that look OK. I tend to buy ones made by this company (http://www.thaitaste.co.uk/brochure/currypaste.php) (ingredients on site), which are available in Waitrose (not sure about Solihull branch) and larger Tescos/Sainsburys. They do a very good satay too.

[karmafunk]

I do miss Thai food when out. There are few vegan options. I found a vegetarian Pad Thaii in Canada recently but it turns out they use Oyster sauce in the sauce mix.

I'll shop around and see what I can find or maybe even make my own.