By Naturopath, Robyn Chuter. Previously published in our Autumn 2017 True Natural Health Magazine
So many clients have asked me how to stock the kitchen so that they can prepare wholefood, plant-based recipes that I decided to write an article about it.
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.
- A few cans of legumes for ’emergencies’, that is, 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, for example, oat, whole-bean soy and almond
- Fresh ginger
- Wholemeal spelt flour for baking
- Several varieties of nuts (for example, Brazils, almonds, cashews, walnuts, pecans) and seeds (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 fruits and vegetables, which form the centre-piece of every meal in our household, and fresh herbs.
Gadgets and accessories
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 (such as 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. It even has a 40°C setting which is perfect for making plant-milk yoghurt (I use Bonsoy and a non-dairy culture which I buy from Green Living Australia)
- High-quality PTFE-free and PFOA-free non-stick saucepans, frying pans and bake-ware, such as 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, ranging from a paring knife to full-sized chef’s knives, and kitchen scissors.
Reproduced from Empowered, 17th January 2017, with the kind permission of the author.
Robyn Chuter’s website is www.empowertotalhealth.com.au
