The well-stocked fridge and pantry – wholefood, plant-based style

So many clients have asked me for a primer on how to stock the kitchen so that they can prepare wholefood, plant-based recipes in a jiffy, that I decided to write a post about it – that way everyone can benefit!

Here are the foods I make sure I have in the pantry, freezer and fridge at all times:

Pantry

• Onions – brown for cooking, and Spanish (red) for salads
• Fresh garlic
• Potatoes – both ‘regular’ white potatoes and sweet potatoes
• Several varieties of dry legumes e.g. chick peas, pinto beans, black beans, lentils – good fruit and veg shops have these in money-saving 1 kg packs; my household goes through so many legumes that I buy them in 5 kg bags from Honest to Goodness
• A few cans of legumes for ’emergencies’ i.e. when I’ve run out of home-cooked ones, which I cook in bulk and freeze until required
• Organic canned diced tomatoes – no added salt, in BPA-free cans
• Organic passata (tomato purée) – no added salt
• Tomato paste – no added salt
• Rice – red, black and brown varieties
• Quinoa
• Rolled oats (traditional, not quick oats)
• Steel-cut oats
• Polenta
• Freekeh (green wheat)
• Legume pasta (Explore Asian brand – it’s gluten free and highly nutritious)
• Nutritional yeast – for adding a ‘cheesy’ flavour to meals and sauces
• Nori sheets and other varieties of seaweed including wakame, arame and dulse
• Dried fruit including dates to replace sugar in baking, goji berries, dried apricots and figs, along with sun-dried tomatoes (loose ones, not packed in oil) which I use almost daily to add flavour and texture to soups, casseroles and stews
• Cacao (raw chocolate) and carob powder
• Several varieties of vinegar including balsamic, white balsamic, raspberry wine, pomegranate balsamic, and apple cider
• A wide range of dried herbs and spices including oregano, basil, thyme, dill, turmeric, cumin, coriander, paprika, cinnamon, cardamom, sumac, saffron, dehydrated onion flakes and garlic powder, plus vanilla

Freezer

• Peas
• Chopped spinach (I buy the cubes, which defrost quickly)
• Berries
• Mango
• Cooked legumes, drained and packed into storage containers or zip-lock bags

Fridge

• Ready-made plant milks e.g. oat, whole-bean soy and almond
• Fresh ginger
• Wholemeal spelt flour for baking
• Several varieties of nuts (e.g. Brazils, almonds, cashews, walnuts, pecans) and seeds (e.g. pepitas, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, linseed/flaxseed, hemp, chia)
• Tahini
• Nut butters – peanut, ABC (almond-Brazil-cashew), macadamia or whatever variety I’ve made in my Thermomix
• Wholegrain mustard – low-sodium
• And of course, a wide variety of seasonal fresh fruit and vegetables, which form the centre-piece of every meal in our household, and fresh herbs.

In addition, here are some gadgets and accessories that I would find it very hard to live without:

• All-in-one kitchen machine – I have a Thermomix which cooks, steams, chops, kneads, blends and purées; if the Thermomix is outside your budget, take a look at some of its lower-priced competitors such as the ThermoChef or Maxika SuperChef
• If you don’t have an all-in one kitchen machine, you’ll need a high-powered blender (e.g. Vitamix, NutriBullet, Blendtec) and a food processor
• Multi-cooker – my Phillips multi-cooker is a pressure cooker (great for cooking legumes in just a fraction of the time that they would take on the stove), slow cooker and rice cooker, with a sauté function for browning onions before you add other ingredients, and even has a 40°C setting which is perfect for making plant milk yogurt (I use Bonsoy and a non-dairy culture which I buy from Green Living Australia)
• High-quality PTFE- and PFOA-free non-stick saucepans, frying pans and bake-ware e.g. Neoflam, Green Pan, Pyrex, silicone bake-ware
• Non-stick baking paper and baking cups – these allow me to cook delicious sweet potato ‘chips’ in the oven, without oil, and save me from the hassle of greasing and flouring cake and muffin tins
• Vegetable dicer/slicer
• Herb scissors – this clever gadget has 5 separate blades, all closely spaced, allowing me to finely chop fresh herbs in no time flat
• And of course, good quality knives from a paring knife to full-sized chef’s knives, and kitchen scissors.

What about you? What healthy staple would you absolutely not be without? Post a comment and share your must-haves!

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