Being stuck in quarantine under “stay at home” orders has caused a lot of my friends to struggle with how to stay satisfied while eating from their pantries.
If you don’t cook much – now is a GREAT time to learn! It’s much cheaper and more satisfying than ordering food in everyday, or simply subsiding on snacks.
To make this adjustment to cooking at home easier on you, I made a grocery guide of easy, inexpensive, and healthy things you can cook for yourself!
Groceries to stay stocked up on (for weekly or bimonthly grocery shopping)
PRODUCE
Whole raw carrots
Bell peppers
Mushrooms
Broccoli or cauliflower
Sweet potatoes or Yukon potatoes
Bananas or apples
ALTERNATIVE MEATS & DAIRY
Almond milk or plant milk of your choice (oat milk is delicious!!)
Tofu or seitan
CANNED
Chickpeas
Black beans
Coconut milks
Canned vegetable of choice (I usually go for green beans and tomatoes)
DRY
Peanut butter or almond butter
Whole oats
All purpose flour or whole wheat flour
Flax seed
Baking soda
Baking powder
Chocolate chips
Tortilla chips
Pasta
Olive oil
DIPS
Salsa
Hummus (you can also just make hummus with the chickpeas)
SPICES/SWEETENERS
Soy sauce
Curry paste or curry powder
Garlic in a jar
Honey or maple syrup
Red pepper flakes
Chipotle seasoning
FOR THE HECK OF IT
Leftover wine or vodka you’re fine cooking with
If you have these items in your pantry, you can make:
MEALS
Vegetable coconut curry
Wine & tomato pasta sauce
Creamy tomato vodka pasta sauce
Black bean, potato, & sautéed vegetables with homemade tortillas
Potato and tofu scramble
Veggie pot pie
(The list could go on and on…)
SNACKS
Bananas and peanut butter
Apples and peanut butter
Chips and salsa
Chips and hummus (here’s a recipe for homemade hummus)
SWEETS / BREAKFAST
Chocolate chip cookies
Chocolate chip oatmeal cookies
Peanut butter cookies
Peanut butter oatmeal cookies
Waffles
Pancakes
Banana bread
Oatmeal
Eating plant-based is both satisfying AND inexpensive
Each week, I spend about $50 in groceries, coming out to $200 a month in food expenses. Eating a plant based diet gives me more room in my budget to save, without sacrificing eating satisfying and delicious food everyday!
If you end up making something with these ingredients, please share it with me! I’d love to see what you come up with.
- I made this delicious vegan pot pie with flaky biscuits on top from things out of my pantry ✨
Until next time,
Sophia
Sophia Elise 