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Ok, vegan newbies, here’s a vegan fridge post just for you. Oh, and panicked parents that have to cater to suddenly vegan kids. I got your back. Is easy. EASY.
I have a post on vegan shopping lists, which is super helpful for vegans, but this is more for people that have a) just watched Cowspiracy and have gone vegan, or b) vegans coming to stay for a few days.
Dairy alternatives
Milk
Get, and I cannot stress this enough, oat milk. UNLESS they’re/you’re gluten intolerant, in which case just pick the cheapest GF option.
Oat milk is the least weird-tasting in tea and coffee, which is probably the most important thing. It’s also pretty good with cereal, I understand.
I don’t eat cereal for the same reason I don’t eat stirfry – it doesn’t fill me up in the slightest, and I’m hungry again in half an hour.
Oat has a low impact on the environment (it does in the UK, anyway, because we can grow it, unlike, say, almonds) compared to most other milks, so you’re covered if your vegan friends are v pro-environment.
Cheese
Don’t bother.
Just don’t.
If you’re desperate, the Violife coloured cheddar-style slices aren’t horrendous.
Cheeses from the Tyne Chease company are LUSH but only available online, so you’d have to be pretty organised. Is worth it though.
Butter
We all know that I’m head over heels in love with the Naturli’ vegan spread (it’s in a little black tub or block and you can get it in Sainsbury’s), but Flora have pledged to go completely plant-based in the near future which is banging.
Sauces/ Dips/ Spreads
You will need:
- Hellmann’s vegan mayo
- Sacla hummus
- Nando’s sauce/ketchup/ brown sauce
- Avocados for guac. Unless they’re v v environmentally friendly and eschew avocados.
If you’re going vegan yourself, head to Holland and Barrett and grab yourself some vegan Worcestershire sauce, some tahini, and some agave syrup.
Fruit/veg
ANY. It’s all vegan. Even figs, with the liquidised wasp in (google it, is true).
Treats/ snacks
Tesco’s free from Rocky Road. So freaking good.
Quorn smoky ham-free ham. So good for a quick sandwich. Make sure you get the smoky one though because the other Quorn ham isn’t vegan.
Dates and nut butter. I’m not kidding. Such a great snack for when you want something sweet.
Wine. If you’re having people over for drinks and they’re vegan or you’re new to veganism, hit up the Co-op for wine, because their own-brand labeling clears says if a product is vegan. Tesco and Sainsbury’s are getting better, but Co-op is way ahead of the game.
If you’re US-based then none of this has probably made any sense at all. I apologise. Anyway, I hear that Trader Joe’s has a nice range of cheap vegan wines.
Protein
By protein, I mean the bit of the meal that isn’t potatoes/rice/ pasta or vegetables.
You can’t go wrong with vegan sausage. I personally like the Linda McCartney ones, but it’s all a bit of trial and error discovering the ones you like. Sainsbury’s do a whole line of ‘shroom’ sausages – chorizo style, chipolatas, Cumberland, etc. They’re pretty good, but Linda’s the one for me.
Don’t panic about this bit though. A tin of beans will fill this portion of the plate in a pinch. Even some peas. Very few people have ever died of protein deficiency that wasn’t severely malnourished. As long as you feed your vegan big portions, they’ll be happy.
…The end
I hope this post is helpful. Really, I do. There’s nothing worse than feeling like you can’t feed either yourself or someone else adequately.
It can be quite nerve-wracking for a vegan to go and stay with a non-vegan. You’re worried that you’re being a nuisance, that they won’t understand what it entails, that they’ll think you’re rude etc, etc.
And no, vegan-sceptics, that doesn’t mean that you’re right and we’re wrong. Just that us vegans are sensitive souls and we’re very aware that we sometimes have to put people out.
I also imagine it must be pretty daunting to a lifelong non-vegan to have to feed someone that, from the outside, doesn’t seem to eat anything.
Remember: as long as you have oat milk, margarine, bread, and a tin of beans, everything will be FINE.
