Being recipe developers, we have accumulated quite the collection of ingredients; spices and flours galore! I’ve narrowed down the list to these basic items that are essentials in our kitchen. Use this list as a guideline to build a vegan kitchen ready to make lots of healthy meals from scratch!

Read to the end for a summary infographic

• Oats – Whether it’s for oatmeal, overnight oats, homemade granola, or ground into oat flour for baking, we consume a lot of oats!
• Bread – Nothing easier and more versatile than toast.
• Cereal – The quickest breakfast around! Choose one that has less than 9 grams of sugar per serving (keep an eye on the serving size; is it 1/2 cup or 2/3 cup or 1 cup etc.) and is made from whole grains. I like to mix 2 cereals together: original Cheerios as a base then something like homemade granola or a Kashi, Nature’s Path, or Barbara’s Puffins cereal for a touch of sweetness.
• Dry pasta – Choose a gluten free one if necessary.
• Crackers – For when you’re craving a salty snack. Great for on-the-go too!
• Energy bars – Choose one that has less than 9 gram of sugar per bar (unless it’s a date-based bar like Larabars). I always keep one in my backpack in case of sudden hanger attacks mid-lecture.

• Bananas – I buy a bundle of 6 to 8 and which ever are overripe at the end of the week, I slice up and freeze for smoothies.
• Pre-washed baby spinach or baby kale – All da green smoothies!
• ‘Portable’ fruit – These make easy snacks to bring to campus. Apples, pears, plums, oranges, and grapes would be ideal in the fall. In the summer there’s more to choose from like peaches, berries, and cherries.
• Avocadoes – #AvoToast4Life. I usually ripen one avocado on the counter at a time, and keep the unripe ones in the fridge. This extends their shelf (er…fridge) life for weeks. Also if you have a ripe avocado that you aren’t ready to eat yet, store that in the fridge too.
• Fresh vegetables – A general rule of thumb I’ve created is to pick 4 to 5 types per week, about 1 per day (given you have some frozen vegetables on hand and will probably go out for a meal or two). Zucchini, carrots, bok choy, brussel sprouts, bell pepper, green beans, eggplant and etc. Go for the ones that are in season, as you’ll probably get the best mix between quality and price.
• Potatoes – Russet, Yukon, baby, or sweet, potatoes are a nice way to mix up the carbohydrate portion of your meal. We usually eat them roasted as cubes, wedges, or smashed.
• Onion – add sauteed or caramelized onions to any savoury dish and it will taste 100x better.

• Nut butter – I like keeping two varieties on hand: peanut butter and almond butter.
• Roasted unsalted nuts – For snacking and for baked goods.
• Tofu – Medium-firm and firm tofu need more love!
• Beans – Our favourites include chickpeas and black beans. Canned is convenient but dried saves a lot of money. Invest in a small slow cooker for about $15 dollars (Walmart!) so you can cook a week’s worth of beans for pennies. Now you can also make your own hummus!

• Frozen broccoli and/or cauliflower – The easiest way to get your veg intake in and bulk up a meal. A stove top-free method to cooking frozen cruciferous vegetables is to put a portion into a pot with a lid, boil water in a kettle, then pour the boiling water over your frozen veggies. Put the lid back on and wait 3 to 5 minutes. The boiling water is hot enough to defrost and heat your vegetables through, without overcooking them. Some nutrients will still leech out into the water, but it will likely be less than cooking it in constantly boiling water. If you have an oven, you can spray a baking tray with oil, arrange a single layer of frozen veg, spray oil on top of veg, season, and bake at 400°F for 30 minutes.
• Frozen peas and corn – Another easy way to bulk up any meal. As odd as it may sound, Chew suggests snacking on frozen peas.
• Frozen mango, peaches, papaya or pineapple – Pick one for your green smoothie!

• Canned pumpkin – Fall is pumpkin-everything season. Use it to make your own pumpkin spice latte, pumpkin oatmeal, pumpkin granola, pumpkin bread, pumpkin cookies….okay I think you get my point.
• Unsweetened almond milk – I almost go through a carton per week by using it in smoothies, oatmeal, or having it with my toast.
• Ground cinnamon – We love cinnamon and sprinkle it into our baking and on our toast and oatmeal.
• Maple syrup – This unrefined sugar can be used to sweeten baked goods, oatmeal, or even roasted veggies!
• Black pepper grinder – Freshly ground pepper is infinitely more flavourful than the pre-ground stuff. We can do without salt if we have black pepper.
• Garlic powder – For when it isn’t worth the hassle to clean a cutting board and knife just to chop garlic. A sprinkle of garlic powder (not garlic salt!) can reduce or even eliminate the need for salt.
• Oil spray – Coconut is our preferred type. This is incredibly handy for keeping a stir fry from sticking and coating vegetables before roasting in the oven.
• Soy sauce – You’ll need it to make recipes like peanut sauce and fried rice, which are staples in our diet. Tamari is a gluten free option; try looking for it in the natural foods aisle.
• Sesame oil – A drizzle of this makes any Asian dish better.
• Sriracha – For the spice lovers, I’m sure this speaks for itself.
• Salsa – Eaten with crackers, this is a really convenient and healthy snack.
• Prepared sauce/marinade – having something like a BBQ sauce is super handy for giving tofu flavour without going through the hassle of whisking together your own sauce in advance.
• Chocolate bars or chips – Very necessary for yummy baked goods. Choose a high quality (higher cocoa content) when possible.
• Baking powder and baking soda – To make all them delicious healthy cookies, muffins, breads, and cakes!