Are you just starting out as a new vegan? Or maybe you need a reminder of what you need before you go shopping? This is the right place for you! I share with you the most important ingredients every vegan need.
If you are a regular reader of Suzinspire.com you know I wrote a few articles for beginners. But if you are new here or to veganism, you should read these first, and then come back to this article.
- Learn What You Can’t Eat on a Vegan Diet
- 20+ Meal Ideas That Make You Want To Go Vegan
- Plant-based Lifestyle – A Step by Step Guide
- What Nobody Tells You About Eggs + The Best Egg Substitutes
- The Ugly Truth About Milk & Cheese + Dairy Alternatives
- How to Replace Meat on a Vegan Diet + Best Protein Sources
Now, that you know everything, we can focus on filling up our pantry. Do you feel like it is completely empty now that you got rid off all the animal products? Or you still have something to eat, right?
Don’t be scared, there are still many things you can eat as a vegan! Or even more? At least, that’s what I noticed, I eat more variety of food now than before. It is interesting, right? You would think there is no much left to eat.
Let me tell you, there is! Tons of food! 😉
In this article, I will share the essentials you need as a vegan. I will collect the foods into different categories such as fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts, etc. At the end of the post there will be a little extra for you, so hang on! 🙂
Disclosure: Bear in mind that some of the links in this post are affiliate links and if you go through them to make a purchase I will earn a small commission. Keep in mind that I only recommend products because I love them and not because of the commission I receive from your purchases. You will buy the product(s) on the same price, and the decision is yours, and whether or not you decide to buy something is completely up to you.
Disclosure 2: I am no doctor or dietitian, and these are my own experiences and all the information I share with you can be found in the book: How not to die, or in The Complete Guide to Even More Vegan Food Substitutions, if not, I link the source.
WHAT SHOULD BE IN MY PANTRY?
In the following, I will include the most important ingredients every vegan need to have at home. Of course, this is not everything, there is still a lot of food out there. Let me know in the comments if I missed out something. 🙂
Fruits
This is a big group, maybe the biggest with the vegetables. Obviously, I can’t include everything, but I must say, eating fruits daily is essential! And you should eat a lot to keep yourself healthy, fit, young and happy. 🙂
Studies have shown that eating fruits make you happy and also protect you from depression. And the antioxidants in fruits help you live a longer life by protecting your telomeres.
You are getting old because the telomeres on your DNA are getting shorter. Certain activities like smoking triple the speed of losing telomeres while eating more fruits and vegetables protect them.
So what are those fruits that are high in antioxidants?
Berries
These are probably my favourite fruits, and it’s no wonder because they are delicious, easy to eat and super healthy!
What berries are there (this is not a complete list!)?
- blueberries,
- strawberries,
- raspberries,
- cranberries,
- mulberries,
- cherries and sour cherries,
- acai berries (this one is pretty expensive though),
- blackberries,
- blackcurrant
I usually go for the frozen berry mix, which you can buy in any shop. If you are lucky enough to grow your own fruits that’s a really good thing, but if not, the best thing you can do is buy organic berries at your local market.
Of course, the organic version is more expensive, you can’t afford it all the time. What I do is buying seasonal fruits at my favourite store (usually Aldi).
So, I recommend choosing 1-2 from the fresh fruits (which is seasonal at the moment), red grapes are also good, and the rest from the frozen section of your store. Also, you can buy dried fruit – I always have some dried cranberries or raisins at home.
Dr Greger says you should eat at least one portion per day, which equals to a half cup of fresh or frozen berries.
Other fruits
This is basically every other fruit. The recommended amount is 3 portion – 1 medium-size fruit/1 cup of chopped fruit – per day.
What I do recently is eating my fruits in the morning as breakfast. A lot of doctors and dietitians recommend starting your day with fruits because it is better for digestion.
If you can’t eat 4 portions of fruits at once, I say you should drink it as a smoothie. Or in a juice, if you have a juicer.
I just got my Ninja blender from amazon, and it works very well, I love it! I use this to make smoothies every day, and they are ready in no time. 🙂
What other fruits should you buy?
- apples (they are really good in green smoothies to have a nice flavour),
- banana (perfect for vegan ice cream),
- melon,
- dates,
- kiwi,
- lemon/lime,
- orange,
- tangerine,
- nectarine/peach,
- apricot,
- pear,
- pineapple,
- mango,
- plum,
- pomegranate,
- passionfruit/papaya/other exotic fruits
Again, you should look for the seasonal fruits, but if you crave for something you can buy the canned version (although they are usually full of added sugar!), or the frozen one.
What I always have at home is a banana. Of course not only one. I like to make smoothies from them or if it’s summer, a nice vegan ice cream. But they can be used as egg replacement in cakes or cookies. Or you can make really good banana bread from them.
Vegetables
I share four different types of vegetables with you:
- beans (like chickpea, kidney/black beans, peas, lentils, tofu, hummus, etc.)
- cruciferous vegetables (like broccoli, cauliflower, kale)
- greens (like spring greens, young salad greens, rocket)
- other vegetables (carrots, sweetcorn, courgettes, garlic, onions, pumpkins or sweet potatoes)
Let’s see them one by one.
Beans/legumes
These are one of the most important ingredients every vegan should have. They are really good protein sources, and super healthy!
Why should you eat more beans? Besides they fill you up because they contain a lot of fibre, they are full of vitamins and help to prevent cancer.
Beans are so healthy that you can throw away half of their nutrients and they are still considered really healthy foods.
From the book “How Not To Die“
Oh, and did I say that you can make incredible beanburgers from them?
Like this one, I made a while ago.
What kind of beans/legumes are there?
- soybeans/edamame,
- black beans,
- cannellini beans,
- chickpeas/garbanzo beans,
- pinto beans,
- kidney beans,
- adzuki beans,
- lima beans,
- haricot beans,
- green peas,
- yellow peas,
- lentils (green, red, brown)
- etc.
I usually buy chickpeas (they are perfect for a curry with kale), kidney beans/black beans (for burgers or chilli) and some type of lentils. And of course, tofu! I just love it, it’s a really good substitute for meat/egg/cheese.
The recommended daily amount is 3 portion. One portion can be:
- 1/4 cup of hummus or bean pasta,
- 1/2 cup of cooked bean, pea, tofu or tempeh,
- 1 cup of fresh peas
Also, if you care about food combining, I suggest eating your beans for dinner – as they are one of the main protein sources -, and you won’t feel bloated all day.
Cruciferous vegetables
For me, consuming these vegetables was the hardest. But I came around, and now I like them.
What are they?
- arugula,
- broccoli,
- Brussels sprouts,
- cabbage,
- cauliflower,
- kale,
- curly kale,
- radish,
- horse-radish/watercress
I think I hated all of them, they were “too green” for me. 😀 How about you?
Since I became vegan, I started experimenting with them. Maybe you have seen my arugula pesto or the chickpea and curly kale curry I mentioned above. And would you try a crispy cauliflower steak? 😉
These vegetables are not just tasty, but really healthy. For example, the broccoli is really good for preventing DNA damage and against the metastatic development of cancer.
They are also good for your brain and eyes, and the microgreens like radish sprouts or spinach sprouts are the best because they have a significantly higher nutrient density.
But how much should you eat from cruciferous vegetables?
The recommended amount is one portion, which is equal to 1/2 cup of chopped vegetable or 1/4 cup of Brussels sprouts/broccoli sprouts or one teaspoon of horse-radish.
Leafy greens
I am sure you heard the expression Eat your greens!. But what do we mean by greens? Or more precisely, what does Dr Greger mean by that?
- arugula,
- American kale,
- curly kale (black, green and red),
- mesclun salad mix (light leaf mix),
- mustard leaves,
- spinach,
- sorrel,
- chard
And how much should you eat per day?
At least two portions, one portion can be 1 cup of raw greens or 1/2 cup of cooked.
These can be easily added to any of your meals, and sometimes you wouldn’t even notice that they are there.
For example, you can add some spinach to your morning smoothie along with apples, bananas and some blueberries and you are good to go. 😉
Dark green, leafy vegetables are the healthiest foods on our planet. These offer the most nutritional value per calorie from whole foods.
So they are one of the most important ingredients every vegan need, and we should eat more of them!
Although, there is one microgreen you need to avoid: the alfalfa sprouts!
The seeds of alfalfa sprouts are full of microscopic depressions and cracks, where bacteria – from the irrigation water that has been contaminated with manure – can hide. Therefore, even the consumption of home-germinated alfalfa seeds is not considered safe.
But I always have some fresh spinach, curly kale or mixed baby leaves in my fridge to use them in smoothies or add to salads. How would you eat them?
Other vegetables
And here come the other vegetables you probably know (and love).
Just a few examples:
- asparagus,
- beetroot,
- bell pepper,
- carrot,
- corn,
- garlic and other types of onions,
- purple potato,
- sweet potato,
- pumpkin,
- tomato,
- zucchini/courgette,
- aubergine/eggplant,
- cucumber
Photo by Iñigo De la Maza on Unsplash
Which one is your favourite? I am obsessed with tomatoes and I really like sweet potatoes. 🙂
Mushrooms
I should say a few words about mushrooms because they are really healthy. Although I never liked them, I will try to incorporate them into my meals.
Mushrooms contain ergothioneine, which is an amino acid and our cells need it because if we don’t get enough of it, we speed up DNA damage and cell death…
And trust me, we don’t want that. So let’s eat more mushrooms! 😉
What are some other important ingredients every vegan should have?
Now that we talked about fruits and vegetables, it is time to move on and take a look at grains.
Whole grains
There is a misconception about gluten, and that you should eat gluten-free. If you are not allergic or intolerant, you can and you should eat grains.
But I am not talking about white/plain flour because that is not really good for you. Of course, it is vegan but highly processed and refined. Basically, it is just zero-calorie, which means that it has only calories and no nutritional benefits.
So what are some good sources of whole grains?
- barley,
- brown rice,
- buckwheat,
- millet,
- oats,
- popcorn,
- quinoa,
- rye,
- teff,
- whole wheat,
- wild rice
The recommended amount per day is 3 portions, which can be:
- 1/2 cup of warm cereal flakes or cooked porridge, pasta or corn
- 1 cup of cold cereal,
- 1 tortilla or 1 slice of bread,
- 1/2 bagel or English muffin,
- 3 cups of popcorn
Yes, popcorn is a healthy snack but only if you make it at home. Here is an easy and healthy recipe without oil.
And you can have 9 cups of popcorn a day! This is pretty good, right? 😉 But I say, eat a variety of foods, not just popcorn.
Why should we eat whole grains? Besides the fact, they taste good?
Whole grains reduce the risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity and stroke.
From the book “How Not to Die”
Consuming more whole grains could save the lives of more than 1,7 million people worldwide every year.
What do I always have at home?
Some whole-wheat pasta, whole grain flour, oats, quinoa and brown rice.
Why can’t we just eat white rice? I would say occasionally it is fine, but it is not as healthy as brown rice. It is kind of the same with white flour and whole-grain flour. White rice is, in fact, brown rice without the good stuff. It is refined and doesn’t contain useful nutrients.
Nuts and seeds
The most important seeds are the flaxseeds or linseeds. We should eat 1 tablespoon of it every day.
Add to your cereal or top your bread with it, it doesn’t matter, just eat it in ground form. Recently I use it as an egg substitute for cookies.
Other nuts and seeds:
- sesame seeds,
- chia seeds,
- sunflower seeds,
- pumpkin seeds,
- hemp seeds,
- poppy seeds,
- walnuts,
- peanuts,
- hazelnuts,
- macadamia nuts,
- brazil nuts,
- almonds,
- cashews,
- pistachios,
- pecans
Recommended amount: 1 portion/day, which can be 1/4 cup of nut or seed or 2 tablespoons of peanut or another nut/seed butter.
These nuts and seeds are high in minerals, vitamins and healthy fat, and researches proved that you can add 2 extra years to your life if you eat nuts regularly. This sounds like a deal you should take, right? 🙂
Herbs and Spices
Sometimes our life needs to be spiced up, as well as our food!
I love spices, my current favourite is smoked paprika, it smells so good! 🙂
Dr Greger says that the healthiest spice is turmeric/Curcuma, and you should eat it every day. It is really good against cancer because it is able to reprogram that particular self-killing mechanism into cancer cells.
Each cell has so-called cell death receptors, which initiate a series of self-killing, but cancer cells can turn off their own death receptors. And curcumin is able to reactivate them.
Curcumin (the pigment in turmeric) has been shown to accelerate post-operative healing and provide effective treatment for rheumatoid arthritis.
Recommended intake: 1/4 teaspoon per day.
Although be careful with this if you have gall stone or gall problems! It can make it worse!
What other spices do you need? What spices do I use?
- garlic powder,
- cayenne pepper,
- black pepper,
- chilli powder,
- curry powder,
- mixed herbs,
- rosemary,
- thyme,
- basil,
- cinnamon,
- cumin,
- paprika,
- oregano,
- parsley,
- sage
- spice mixes like BBQ, fajita, Piri Piri, Taco
Try to reduce the amount of salt because too much salt is harmful to you and it can cause high blood pressure, which leads to some unwanted events – like stroke or heart attack…
How much salt can we eat? The recommended amount is 1/2 teaspoon per day.
So try to use less salt when you cook and avoid salty processed foods.
Some extra for you
As I promised, I not only share the basics with you but some special ingredients every vegan – or every person – should eat.
There are some so-called superfoods in the world that Mother Nature gave us. 🙂
Here are some examples:
The source of youth, it has anti-ageing and beauty preservative, also slimming effects. Sounds miraculous, right?
It is a little bit expensive, though it is worth a try. The acai berry contains a lot of antioxidants, more than goji berry. It is good for the heart, and it decreases the inflammation and cholesterol level.
This berry is also good in the fight against cancer. Moreover, it slows down skin and brain ageing.
And if it’s not enough, it stimulates metabolism and it may also have an appetite suppressant effect.
So, would you like to buy it now? 😉
This wonder is full of protein (it has all the amino acids), minerals and vitamins.
It is an anti-inflammatory, appetite-reducing, and excellent refreshing and invigorating agent.
Its taste is a little bit weird, but you can get used to it. Mix it with apple juice or melon. Or just add to your smoothie bowl.
It slows down ageing, benefits the eyes, mood, immune system, promotes sleep, increases energy and libido.
You can add this to your cereal, salads or smoothies. Eat with nuts or cover it in chocolate.
I could write a whole article about the benefits of maca (maybe I will one day), but now I just say a few words about this wonderful plant.
It improves your mood, gives you strength, increases stamina and libido, helps you build muscles and think.
Also, at first it will taste a little bit strange, but you can add it to your smoothies, cereals or even into pastries.
It slows down cell-ageing, improves all functions in your system and it has a vitalizing effect.
This is a super healthy plant, which contains more protein than egg or soy, 7 times more Vitamin C than orange, 17 times more Calcium than milk, 25 times more Iron than spinach and 15 times more Potassium than a banana.
This superfood delays the ageing of cells and has an anti-inflammatory effect. It is even good for easing depression.
I think I need this in my diet, do you?
There are more superfoods listed in this great book: Superfoods by Susanna Bingemer (only in Hungarian, sorry).
Shopping list
And these are the things I always have at home, but I don’t buy all of these every time because they last for weeks or even months.
Vegetables:
- Fresh (seasonal veggies, plus tomatoes, cucumber, carrots, leafy greens, onions, potatoes, sweet potatoes)
- Frozen (green peas, sweetcorn, mixed pepper)
Fruits:
- Fresh (seasonal fruits, lemon/lime, bananas)
- Frozen (mixed berries, pineapple, mango or exotic fruit mix)
Canned fruits/vegetables:
- beans (black, kidney, cannellini)
- chickpeas
- chopped tomatoes in tomato sauce
- jackfruit
- coconut milk (full fat, reduced-fat)
Grains, flours and nuts:
- oats,
- chickpea flour/gram flour
- whole-grain flour
- whole-grain pasta
- lentil or gluten-free pasta
- tortilla wrap
- wheat gluten
- milled linseed, sunflower seed, pumpkin seed
- quinoa
- brown rice
- almonds
- cashews
- peanut butter
Other things:
- plant milk (usually I buy soy or almond milk)
- Sriracha sauce (this is a must if you like spicy stuff!)
- soy sauce (light or dark, low in sodium)
- tofu or tempeh
- hummus
- chocolate
- nutritional yeast, herbs & spices
So if you have these at home, you can make yourself a lot of healthy and delicious meals. 🙂
Do you need a FREE PDF with the most important ingredients every vegan need? Click on this image and subscribe for your shopping list! 😉
Are you excited to go shopping now? I hope I made it easier for you. If you have any questions, just ask. You can write an email/comment or dm me on Instagram. 🙂
Also, follow me on Facebook for daily vegan facts and other extras! 😉
Take care, my darlings!
Love you all,
Suzie
Hello, I am Suzie the face behind Suzinpsire. I am here to share my passion for gastronomy, vegan lifestyle and travel. I believe that if you want something in life you should give something first. This is why I blog. 🙂
