Plant Based Essentials: Part 1

I asked over on my insta stories what people wanted to know when it came to plant based cooking and the main question was what would I put on my plant based essential shopping list and what basic store cupboard essentials do I have and use when the fridge is looking empty. So with this information I have scurried around my kitchen to share with you what I really keep in and what honestly keeps me on track with daily healthy meals.

I don’t want to overload you with information so over the next month I am going to focus in on certain staples I use most days with ideas of how to use them.

FIRST UP Spice Life

Ok first things first, Spices. Before I decided to go plant based I had spices, but honestly hardly used them, now I use them everyday, I have literally spiced up my life. Here I just want to share with you some spices you should get involved with, you will be unstoppable in plant based cooking doing so.

Let’s get stuck in…SPICES : Onion & Garlic Granules // Cinnamon // Cumin // Coriander // Basil // Oregano // All spice // Parsley // Cayenne Pepper // Tumeric // Chilli Flakes // Sweet Paprika // Hot Paprika // Mixed Spice // Garam Masala // Bay Leaves // Piri Piri Seasoning // Nutmeg // Rosemary // Chilli Powder // Thyme // Black Pepper // himalayan salt // Mustard Seeds // Ginger // Cardamon

I always have fresh Garlic, Ginger and chillis in. I would recommend Chopping them up and putting in small containers in the freezer so you always have those to use also. I do the same with my Parsley and Coriander, I buy it fresh , chopp it up and place in container and freeze.

Tinned Beans and Lentils

Chickpeas, Lentils, Black beans, cannellini beans, Kidney beans, which ever you prefer or grab a selection like me. TIP** if you see a recipe with a particular type of bean and you don’t have it in, use whichever you have. I do this heaps, sometimes I make hummus for example with chickpeas, other times with cannellini and other times black beans, yes the taste varies but it still tastes great. It’s also good to remember here that every food varies in nutrients so it is also a great idea to mix it up.

What can you cook with legumes?

You will be surprised the amount of delicious meals you can cook up with beans and lentils as the main ingredient, and the best part is that they are cupboard staples so you can pull them out when you really have a bare fridge.

Oven baked Cannellini , Chickpea medley // Turn the oven to 180 °C then simply drain your beans (1 can of each) add them to an oven proof dish and add in garlic, if fresh crush 6 cloves or use 1 Tbsp of garlic granules, then add in 1 Tbsp Onion granules, 1 Tsp Chilli flakes and 2 Tbsp Paprika, drizzle over 2-3 tbsp of Olive oil and mix the ingredients all together. Bake for 25 mins stirring half way. This is a great option for lunches as can be stored in the fridge for 3-4 days and added to salads, jacket potatoes, put in a wrap or used as a sandwich filler. This is so simple and one of my faves as it’s so versatile. You can even mix this through pasta with some fresh spinach/rocket and parsley with an extra drizzle of olive oil.

Check out My Insta for some more Inspo

Chickpea Curry

If you follow my insta you will know this is one of my absolute favourites, so here is the recipe for you guys to try if you haven’t already

Cashew Chickpea Curry : Plant Based/Vegan

Simple Chilli

Another fave, it’s great to batch cook and freeze, or make it for a dinner and use the rest for lunches. It’s great on its own with salad, with rice or Sweet potato jackets. I have a recipe, if you haven’t tried, give it a go, you won’t be dissapointed.

Winter Warmer Chilli with Cashew Cheesy Sauce – Plant Based/Vegan

My Favourite Meatless Balls

These are so versatile. You can enjoy these with Pasta, With a salad for lunch, you can make a delicious pitta filled with these, or like me you can make a batch leave them in the fridge and snack on them …

Check out my insta Post for Recipe

Introducing Plant Based Meals to your life

There are so many more recipes I would love to share, but I will show daily Inspo over on my instagram page. In this post I just wanted to give you some simple, cost effective easy recipes to get stuck into. I decided to go plant based over night but my advice make more days and nights plant based. I have so many questions regarding how I am plant based and how do I find it so easy. I want to say at the start, I was overwhelmed, this was a big change for me and honestly I feel I have had to learn to cook all over again, using ingredients I hadn’t used before but in the process I eat far more nutritious meals and fallen in love all over again.

If you are just starting out, make small changes and try some of these recipes you will learn so much from just trying out new stuff, and get creative with you all by yourself.

I will work on a few shopping lists so I can too share those with you, I would love to know your thoughts and any questions you may have and if you try any recipes let me know 🙂 I am currently updating my blog with more tasty plant based meals for you to try. Next Stop, easy Lunches.

Enjoy and remember to use your time in the kitchen as your time out, your time to relax and focus on feeling your body with great food.

Sarah xoxo nourished by me