vegetarian store cupboard?

Prudent

My daughter has become a vegetarian. I get a cooked lunch at work every day which includes meat and fish. I have decided just to give up buying non vegetarian food at home as it seems easier than making two meals. I have given all the remaining meat and non vegetarian products to a friend.( After racking my brains for who wouldn't mind the fact it all was bought on 'reduced to clear' before going into the freezer :rotfl: .)

Now I have space in the cupboards can anyone help me to know the basics to restock with? I do have things like tinned tomatoes, rice , past, red lentils etc as I used them anyway. Oh and some marigold stock because I love it.

seraphina

Canned pulses - can't live without them. A can of chickpeas + can tomatoes = dinner in 30 mins. You can make curry, or a pasta sauce, or a casserole thing, the possibilities are endless!

I love Marigold stock too, it's brilliant.

I also keep some veggie sausages/Quorn pieces in the freezer - I don't use TVP/soya much but they are good storecupboard staples.

Apart from the above, I guess my storecupboard is pretty similar to a meat-eating household - flour, rice, pasta, spices, herbs etc.

laughing_cow

A quick look through my veggie cupboard...........

- Coconut milk - useful in soups + curries, although a bit fattening!
- Arborio rice to make veggie/mushroom risottos
- Couscous, quinoa and rice noodles for a change from rice + pasta
- Pine nuts (bit pricey, but toasted and added to pasta, salads etc, they are worth the difference they make
- Almonds + sunflower seeds - add to salads etc for extra nutrients - eg a lovely salad of watercress, fennel, orange, black olives and almonds.
- Olives, capers, sun-dried tomatoes, artichokes - for pizza, pasta, stews, salads etc
- Tabasco, flavoured oils, mustards, soy/tamari, spices, marmite, mushroom ketchup for adding flavour to dishes
- Peanut butter - can be used in baking and to make satay sauce
- Lentils + beans (tinned or packet) for soups + stews
- Chickpeas - for stews and curries, and to make hummus when I can't be bothered to get out of my pyjamas on a Saturday and go to the shop :rotfl:
- Dried porcini mushrooms - bit pricey, but add lots of flavour to a mushroom risotto
- A few jars of sauce for when I haven't time to make my own - I usually add my own veggies/olives/herbs to shop bought pasta sauce
- Tofu - I prefer the Cauldron brand which is chilled, but you can also buy packs of it for the store cupboard, useful as a standby.
- Rice flour spring roll wrappers - which I use to make either the normal fried spring rolls, or unfried, as 'summer rolls', stuffed with veggies, coriander, tofu, beansprouts etc - dip them in chilli or soy sauce

In the fridge I've usually got eggs, lemons, limes, garlic, chillies, ginger and tahini. I should add that I'm allergic to dairy, so I have soya milk, but you can obviously have normal milk, cheese, cream etc. I also grow fresh herbs on my balcony.


Good grief, that's loads I should stay in more often and actually eat some of it :rotfl:

Chell

Balsamic vinegar is very useful for adding to pasta sauces, chillis etc for extra flavour.

Bogof_Babe

Husband is veggie too, so most of my store cupboard is suitable for both of us (I do keep a sneaky supply of tuna, corned beef etc. at the back ).

Unfortunately he isn't keen on pasta or rice, but will put up with them once a month or so, but loves baked beans, especially the tins with veggie sausages in (Sainsburys about 69p). Packets of Beanfeast make a base for curry, shepherds pie, or spag bol (he doesn't mind spaghetti too much), and I also keep tins of mushy peas and other veg for when there is not much fresh veg in the shops.

We mostly live out of the freezer - veggie burgers, sausages, Dalepak quarter pounders, spinach & ricotta canneloni, mushroom quiches, basic cheese & tomato pizzas that I add mushrooms and sliced onion to, and last but very definitely not least....... oven chips!!!!! :rotfl:

We eat nearly every main meal with bread, and he often has a bowl of cereal afterwards instead of pud.

Sharra

Marmite is a must - add it with soy sauce to all those quorn/soya mince dishes for added flavour.

Gingham_Ribbon

I suggest building it up slowly, like a newbie Old Styler. Wait and see what you both like before you stock up on it.

Ruby_Pudding

Gingham_Ribbon wrote:

I suggest building it up slowly, like a newbie Old Styler. Wait and see what you both like before you stock up on it.

I was just going to post something similar......:D

I can't tell you the amount of stuff I have wasted money on over the past 25 years - just because as a 'veggie' I thought I should be eating it. Miso soup, quinoa, larva bread, tofu, mung beans, pumpkins seeds.........all gone in the bin.

I would suggest building up a base of really healthy but tasty dishes that the whole family will eat and collecting the ingredients as you go. Once a month (or whenever the budget allows) try something a little bit more experimental from a veggie cafe or takeaway. Then you can be sure you like something before splashing out on expensive ingredients.

laughing_cow

Ruby_Pudding wrote:

........ Once a month (or whenever the budget allows) try something a little bit more experimental from a veggie cafe or takeaway. Then you can be sure you like something before splashing out on expensive ingredients.

Yes - that's something I do. I copy dishes that I've eaten when out. Re the summer rolls I mentioned above - I asked the man at the Vietnamese cafe near work how to make them, although admittedly mine are not quite as good!

It's the same with all the other 'experimental' veggie foods you mentioned like tofu and quinoa - all my successful dishes with these are ones I've copied after eating them in restaurants.

GardenMillie

Like some of the others I couldn't live without chick peas, you can do so much with them. I would try a couple of veggie soups or stews and freeze them in portions, always handy if you can't be bothered cooking. My favourite soups are:

Tomato & chickpea
Broccoli & cream cheese
Curried cauliflower

Happy cooking:T