HEALTHY VEGAN SHOPPING LIST FOR BEGINNERS

Now that you have decided to go vegan or simply have a healthier diet, are you struggling to figure out what to buy? This healthy vegan shopping list for beginners is a good starting point. Not only will it show you what to look for next time you go shopping, but it will also help you take your health to the next level.

I am so excited for you that I prepared a gift to make your life easier. At the end of this post, you can download your own healthy vegan shopping list and have it a click away every time you go shopping.

Before we start, let me walk you through some relevant notes and observations. If you are not interested, jump directly to the healthy vegan shopping list here.

HOW AND WHERE I SHOP 

I am a lover of clean food, nutritious, quick and simple to prepare. It goes without saying that my shopping list does not include vegan junk food and only includes occasional processed foods when there is no other alternative.

Please don’t get me wrong. I don’t mean to be righteous. It is important to keep in mind that being vegan does not necessarily mean being healthy. My choice is to follow a whole plant-based vegan diet and my shopping list reflects that choice.

In my experience, feeling healthy starts with shopping, which is enhanced by an immense feeling of gratitude for the abundance of beautiful nutritious foods available in this world.

Why should I choose something that is detrimental to my health? 

Keeping my body healthy is my responsibility. The act of saying no to foods that I know are not good for me, no matter what they taste like, is proof of self-love.

Big supermarkets are never my prefered suppliers, especially because I feel uncomfortable in these consumerist meccas where the majority of products I would never contemplate taking home. That leaves me with local shops, markets and specialized healthy food shops. 

A NOTE ABOUT NUTRITION CONSIDERATIONS

When planning what to include in your healthy vegan shopping list, it is important to keep in mind recommended daily intakes of macronutrients (carbohydrates, proteins and fats) and micronutrients (vitamins and minerals).

These values are presented in the RDA – Recommended Daily Allowance. – “… the daily dietary intake level of a nutrient considered sufficient by the Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine to meet the requirements of 97.5% of healthy individuals in each life-stage and sex group.” 

 Source: Wilkipedia (Find table of RDA in this link)

PAY ATTENTION TO THESE FOOD PRODUCTS

Vegan Junk Food – As I have already mentioned, vegan does necessarily mean healthy. Supermarkets are increasing their vegan offer by the day, but most food products are highly processed, contain artificial flavours and high quantities of salt. If your objective is to be a healthy vegan, pay attention to what you pick from the shelves.

Vegan “meats” and “cheeses” -The same applies here. Foods that imitate shape, texture and taste of animal products are packed with undesirable components. When going “healthy vegan”, my suggestion is to move on from old habits and embrace new flavours and explore new foods.

Vegan Sweeteners – They may be less processed, thus “healthier”, but they are still sugars! Consume them in moderation.

Vegan protein bars – One of the tendencies of newbie vegans is to consume vegan protein bars to compensate for the lack of animal protein. These bars usually have large amounts of refined sugar. In addition, the process of extracting protein from plants strips them from their nutritional value. The best strategy is to obtain protein from vegetable sources. There are plenty!

A NOTE ABOUT FRUITS AND VEGETABLES ON THIS LIST

The list of fruits and vegetables can be endless if you include tropical and exotic produce. But these are often picked green and travel sometimes very long distances to reach our supermarkets. This makes them more expensive, less nutritious and with a carbon footprint than can be avoided when eating local produce.

I choose to consume mostly what is in the season, for the reasons mentioned above, but also because I realized that nature gives us what our body needs at the right time of the year. 

Have you ever thought about why citrus fruits, rich in vitamin C, are available in the winter and juicy, thirst-quenching watermelons in the heat of the summer?

What about hearty sweet potatoes and pumpkins in autumn/winter and juicy zucchini, tomatoes and peppers in the summer?

Just something to keep in mind when you go fruit shopping.

We are blessed to harvest the majority of the fruit and vegetables we eat from our farm. The recipes you will find in this blog are mostly with homegrown and local ingredients – whether we are home or traveling somewhere.

Adjust your fruit and vegetable lists to your location.

And remember that the key to flavour-rich vegan dishes is the quality of the ingredients and the herbs and spices you add to them.

Whenever possible, buy organic, local, unprocessed foods and ingredients.

Now, let’s look at the shopping list.

HEALTHY VEGAN SHOPPING LIST FOR BEGINNERS

Now that you know what to look for and what to avoid let’s dive into this healthy vegan shopping list for beginners that I put together especially for you.

DAIRY-FREE MILKS

• Oat Milk
• Almond milk
• Soya milk
• Rice milk
• Coconut milk
• Mixed nuts milk

(There are other dairy-free milk options, but these are the ones I usually consume.)

Attention: Many non-dairy kinds of milk have added sugar. Look for alternatives with no added sugar. Also, stay alert for added flavourings, if you want to keep it as healthy as possible.

In future posts, I will show you how I make my own oat and almond milk. You may subscribe to my newsletter not miss it.

OILS & BUTTERS

• Coconut oil
• Olive Oil
• Coconut butter
• Sesame oil
• Gape seed oil
• Avocado oil
• Truffle oil
• Walnut oil

GRAINS 

• Whole rice
• Basmati rice
• Wild rice
• Quinoa (white, black, red)
• Millet
• Bulgur wheat
• Buckwheat
• Barley
• Couscous
• Oats

 PASTA

• All types of wholewheat and vegetable pasta

SOY PRODUCTS

• Tofu
• Tempeh
• Dried Soya (chunks, fine – mince-style)
• Soy Sauce (low salt)

BEANS & LEGUMES

• Black beans
• White beans
• Kidney beans
• Red beans
• Black-eyed peas
• Broad beans
• Lupini beans
• Lentils (green, orange and brown)
• Chickpeas
• Peas

NUTS

• Peanuts
• Walnuts
• Almonds
• Hazelnuts
• Cashew nuts
• Brazil Nuts
• Pistachio

SEEDS

• Pumpkin seeds
• Sunflower seeds
• Sesame seeds
• Chia seeds
• Flaxseeds

DRIED FRUITS

• Dates
• Cranberries
• Apricots
• Figs
• Sultanas
• Raisins
• Prunes

FRUITS

• Apples
• Pears
• Peaches
• Oranges
• Grapefruit
• Tangerines
• Lemons
• Avocados
• Pomegranates
• Loquats
• Guavas
• Watermelons
• Strawberries*
• Blueberries*
• Bananas*

*  There are the only fruits on this list that we buy out at the moment as we still cannot harvest them from our orchard and veggie garden. We buy bananas because they are our stable fruit. But, yes, we have planted a banana tree and a blueberry bush. Now we just need to give them love and wait for the fruit. As for strawberries, we will plant enough of them in due time and then freeze the excess for the off season.

VEGETABLES

Leafy and Cruciferous Vegetables

• Lettuce
• Spinach
• Kale
• Cabbage
• Red cabbage
• Chard
• Bok Choy
• Cauliflowers
• Broccoli

Roots Crops and Tubers

• Carrots
• Beetroots
• Radishes
• Sweet Potatoes
• Potatoes
• Garlic
• Onions
• Ginger
• Turmeric

Flowering Vegetables

• Zucchini
• Aubergines
• Butternut Squash
• Tomatoes
• Cucumbers
• Pepper (red, green, yellow, orange)
• Chilli peppers

Others

• Mushrooms
• Leek

AROMATIC HERBS AND SPICES

Fresh Herbs

• Basil
• Oregano
• Parsley
• Rosemerry
• Bay leaves
• Coriander
• Chives
• Mint
• Thyme 
• Lavender
• Lemon-Grass
• Lemon Verbena

Powder, Seeds and Ground

• Ginger powder
• Turmeric powder
• Paprika powder
• Smoked paprika powder (regular and hot) 
• Dry Coriander
• Dry Oregano
• Ground cumin
• Mixed herbs (Province and Italian)
• Chilly (dried – full and bits)
• Peppercorns seeds
• Cinnamon powder and sticks
• Cardamon pods
• Clove
• Mustard seeds
• Poppy seeds
• Za’atar
• Garam Massala
• Curry
• Nutmeg
• Vanilla pods
• Salt (Himalayan and sea salt)

FLOURS

• Whole flour
• Chickpea flour
• Coconut flour
• Oat flour
• Rye flour
• Bread mix (we avoid mixes that include white flour)

JARRED OR CANNED PRODUCTS

• Coconut cream
• Coconut milk
• Coconut oil

SWEETENERS

• Molasses
• Agave syrup
• Maple syrup
• Date syrup
• Brown sugar
• Coconut sugar

PASTES & NUT BUTTERS

• Vegan Thai curry paste (green and red)
• Tahini
• Peanut butter
• Almond butter

MISCELLANEOUS

• Apple Cider Vinegar
• Balsamic Vinegar
• Dijon Mustard
• Protein powder
• Nutritional yeast
• Cacao powder (dark, vegan)
• Sundried tomatoes
• Dried mushrooms

I hope this healthy vegan shopping list helps you to make food choices that will allow you to enjoy vibrant health, more energy and overall wellbeing.

Healthy food builds a happy body!

This is the second post of the GO VEGAN SERIES, created to help all those contemplating a vegan diet and lifestyle. Be sure to check out other posts.

Let me know if you use this list, how was your shopping experience and what additional healthy foods you found on your side of the world.

May The Bliss be with you!

With love, from Lu