Vegan Storecupboard Challenge Winter 25 onwards

leftatthetrafficlights

@Brie - that salad looks lovely! 😋 I love quinoa when it's done properly - I had it out once and they hadn't soaked and rinsed it so it had a really bitter taste to it 🤦‍♀️ I make wraps with quinoa too - it's a very versatile grain! I hope you work out what the dressing was - might be worth asking wherever you got it from, most restaurants/cafes are happy to tell people these days so it would just be a case of getting the proportions right 😉

Sorry about the lack of piccies- basically, I just haven't eaten a proper meal - I've had a tofu salad sandwich and a couple of marmite rice cakes with pate over the past 2 days! 🤦‍♀️ I'm determined to start eating properly again though so am cooking today - don't know what yet but I'll post it once it's done! 😂

leftatthetrafficlights

Food was finally cooked yesterday! 🙌 Admittedly, I didn't eat any of it - currently got a really sore roof of mouth and sore throat so it's like having broken glass in whatever I try to eat 🙄🤦‍♀️ Oh well, I'm sure I'll be fine in a day or two 😉

Anyway, dinner was an onion, cavolo nero, black beans, tomatoes and vegan chorizo dish with liquid smoke and smoked paprika served with my usual grain mix (rye berries, barley groats, oat groats, short grain brown rice, barberries, sunflower seeds and hemp seeds) Dh said it was lovely so hopefully I'll get some of it very soon!

Brie

hope you feel better soon….and I swear it wasn't me that gave you the sore throat…..(cough, splutter, snuffle)

leftatthetrafficlights

Thanks @Brie 😁 hope you do too!

So last night I had a spoonful of the grains and bean/kale thing it tasted lush but too painful to eat more. Got to say that I was disappointed with the vegan chorizo - spicy but little flavour to it and the texture wasn't great either, I won't buy it again!

Tonight we'll just be finishing off the leftovers - if I can eat a normal amount we may need to grab a couple of potatoes from the garden to bolster the volume of food but there should be enough.

Tomorrow I'm either doing a bean chilli and quinoa wrap stack which I'll top with a cashew cream and serve with salad or a bean and veg curry with chutneys and naan bread.

I've got a couple of things in the fridge that I need to check the dates on - we bought a mushroom tofu to try out and some pulled shitake mushrooms a couple of weeks ago - if I can't use them in time I'll whack them in the freezer for later.

From now on, I am planning my meals daily around what needs using up /is ready in the garden. Having a 'meal plan' as such used to be a real help to me but getting quantities right is a struggle which has meant buying unnecessarily and sometimes I just don't fancy anything I've planned! 🤦‍♀️That has to stop as I want to spend the bare minimum on food and use up what I already have. The bean dish tomorrow is to use up the cooked beans in the fridge and some veg from the garden so it's a good start! 😁

I'll post piccies of whatever bean dish I choose tomorrow 😋

leftatthetrafficlights

Forgot to take piccies but we had the curry! It was very nice and did us two days plus dh's lunch today 😁

My mouth is almost back to normal now so I can eat again - good for my face, not so much for the waistline! 😂

My dd gave me some figs on Wednesday that she'd been given by a client so tonight we had those roasted with Greek style 'cheese', some new potatoes from the garden with a dijon and maple dressing, mushroom tofu with a cashew cream, rocket, strawberries, blueberries, black grapes and a few more 'cheese' cubes with blood orange balsamic vinegar. It was absolutely delicious! 😋😍

It feels like an age since I've had really lovely food so it was a genuine pleasure to eat - not many leftovers but enough to cover lunch tomorrow.

There's plenty of cashew cream still so I will need to decide on how to use that up over the next couple of days - at the moment I'm too full to think! 😂

bluenose1

Been getting a lot of inspiration from you @leftatthetrafficlights.

I went pescatarian a couple of months ago, mostly vegetarian. Got lots of ideas and recipes from getting the Deliciously Ella cookbooks and listening to Wellness Scoop podcast . I tend to eat a lot of overnight oats with fruit and seeds and cook mostly curries with various beans and have massively increased my plant food and fibre. Hoping to get more adventurous.

leftatthetrafficlights

@bluenose1 - thanks for dropping in! I'm glad you're finding some inspiration here 😁

Tonight's dinner was a combination of leftovers plus my usual grain mix, my rocket and fruit with blood orange balsamic and the pulled shitake mushrooms with some hoisin sauce. The mushrooms had a beautiful texture but I think they could do with being warmed in a sauce rather than adding something afterwards 🤔 we'll definitely have then again to test it out! 😁

Tomorrow we're having butter beans cooked in lemon and dill flavoured stock and served with lemon and dill cashew cream; salad made with cavolo nero (shredded and massaged with fresh orange juice) and mixed leaves from the garden along with my usual fruit additions; my usual grain mix and steamed beetroot. I have a real citrus thing going on at the moment so I may do a tomato salsa to go with it with lime and mint 🤔😂

leftatthetrafficlights

Busy day ahead - we're doing the reorganisation and inventory of the freezers today! 😳 I completed the inventory of the tins/jars/pkts etc cupboard at the weekend so I'll be able to update on here once it's all done.

I've been thinking about how I actually want to do this challenge - September is my proper restart and I am going to try to use up as much as possible from my stores to reduce my grocery budget as far as I can.

My intention is to update my inventory monthly - I'm keeping a paper copy in the kitchen, crossing off stuff as it's used and adding any additional purchases. I will also post my fresh food purchases on a weekly basis. I'll post what I've eaten/made as I have been doing and will try to remember to take piccies!

I've changed the title of the thread as I have been awol for far too long to do a new thread this winter so I'll run this one until winter 2027 😉

Along with doing the inventory today, I'm also making a batch of tofu for the freezer and some soya milk for dh - I made some the last time I did tofu and he really liked it (I sweetened it by adding dates to the beans in the milk maker) so if I do a batch every few days it will save a fortune on milk for his cereal 😉

Last night I had a small salad of broccoli sprouts, black grapes, strawberries and blueberries with blood orange balsamic, butter beans with cashew cream and my mixed grains with barberries, sunflower seeds and hemp seeds. I didn't eat until around 9pm and forgot to take a piccie but I'll get one of today's dinner which will include all of that plus a few other bits! 😉😂

leftatthetrafficlights

Inventories completed! I haven't included open herbs/spices/sauces etc as it would take forever - I also haven't added my frozen berries or fridge stuff as that changes daily 😉 No quantities on the pulses and grains - I have kilos of them all.

Beans
beluga lentils
black beans
black eye peas
butter beans
cannellini beans
carlin peas
chick peas
dark speckled lentils
french beans
green lentils
marrowfat peas
moong dal
mung beans
pinto beans
red kidney beans
red lentils
scarlett runner beans
soya beans

Grains
barley groats
basmati rice
buckwheat
millet
oat groats
quinoa
rye berries
short grain brown rice
sushi rice
teff grain
wheat grain
wild rice

Pasta & Noodles Packets
fusilli lunghi 0.75
lasagne wholewheat 2
macaroni wholewheat 2.75
noodles wholewheat 2

Tins/Jars/Pouches/Bottles
apple sauce 1
baked beans 1
baked beans with vegan sausages 1
barberries 1
apple sauce 1
balsamic - black garlic 1
balsamic – blood orange 2
balsamic - fig & date 1
balsamic mixed fruit 1.5
black olives (Greek style) 2.5
broccoli sprout seeds 0.5
brown sauce 3
cantina beans 1
caperberries 1
capers in brine 1
cashew nuts 1kg
‘chicken’ stock powder 1
chilli sauce - linghams 1
chilli sauce - sweet 1
chocolate spread 0.5
chutney - tomato 0.75
cocktail cherries 1
cranberry sauce whole 1
curry paste balti 1
curry paste tikka masala 1
grains – mango, chilli & lime rice 1
grains – mediterranean 1
grains – mexican rice 1
grains - spanish style 1
green olives with lemon 4
harissa rose 1
harissa tubes 3
hemp seeds 1
hoisin sauce 1
inari 1
kombu 1
liquid smoke 4
mandarins 2
mango chutney 2
mango chutney - cooking 1
mint sauce 1
mirin 1
mushy peas 1
mustard - dijon 1
mustard - english 2
mustard - french 1
nori 3
pate 5
peach slices 1
recipe kit – chipotle barbacoa 1
recipe kit – citrus carnitas 1
redcurrant jelly 1
refried beans 1
roasted pepper tapanade 4
roasted red peppers 1
red pepper drops 2
sag aloo 1
soy sauce 2
stuffing 2
sunflower seeds 1kg
taco wraps (soft) 1
teriyaki sauce 1
tomato ketchup 5
tomato ketchup pickle 2
tomatoes - dehydrated 1
tomatoes chopped 1
tomato puree 1
vinegar - apple cider 1

Walnuts 1kg
wasabi 1
worcestershire sauce 3


Herbs & Spices
bay leaves 1
berebere spice mix 500g
chillies red dried 3
chinese five spice 1
coriander ground 2
coriander seeds 1
cumin seeds 1
dill 2
garam masala 1
garlic granules 2
ginger ground 2
italian seasoning 1
kala namak 1
korean red pepper powder 500g
lemon grass paste 1
pemon (preserved) paste 1
longpepper 100g
nigella seeds 2
onion granules 1
oregano 1
paprika smoked 1
sage 1
thyme 1
turmeric 3

Freezers
apple stewed 1
beans – runner 2
beans - french 1
beans - purple 1
broccoli 3
brussel sprouts 1
burger beetroot 1
burger beyond x2 1
cabbage – red 1
carrots 1
cannellini beans 1
cavolo nero 2.5
chard 2
chard - stalks 1
chicken thighs - this isn't 1
chillis 1
chinese pancakes x 6 10
chips 0.75
curry 2
edamame beans 2.5
fennel - braised 10
fennel - stock 4
hot dogs 1.5
kohl rabi 2
‘lamb’ kebabs x 4 4
mixed berry bag 1
parsnips 2
peas 3.5
pork juicy marbles 11
puff pastry 2
rawsomes x 6 2
rhubarb stewed 1
sausages – richmond 1.25
sausages - this isn't 5
seitan 1
sourdough pancakes 2
steaks x2 - juicy marble 4
steaks x2 – this isn’t 5 4
stock 1
squash 1
swede 1
sweetcorn 1
sweetcorn cobs 8
tempeh 12
tempeh smoked 2
tofoo 1
tofoo smoked 2
tofoo stir fry 1
tofu 2
tofu – mushroom 7
tomato sauce - roasted 1
tomato & bean sauce box 1
tomato & courgette sauce 32
tomatoes roasted 1
veg mixed (steamfresh) pouches 6

I will be adding the tofu I'm making today and okara meatballs and/or burgers once they are made to the freezer list later 😁

leftatthetrafficlights

Last night's dinner was butter beans with cashew cream, mixed grains (usual mix of rye berries, barley groats, oat groats and short grain brown rice with barberries, sunflower seeds and hemp seeds), squash, sweetcorn, roasted tomatoes, cavolo nero salad massaged with fresh orange juice, broccoli sprouts, pomegranate, black grapes, strawberries and blueberries with blood orange balsamic. Nomnom! 😋