Making the move to plant-based cooking is exciting and liberating.
You are going to be shopping, cooking and living differently so take the time to clean out your fridge and stock up on new ingredients. Pretty much every plant-based or vegan cookbook has some recommended fridge and pantry ingredients to get started.
When I went fully plant-based in 2011 I reorganised my fridge and I’ve gradually improved on it. Now I always have some prepared vegetables, some bulk food cooked (like brown rice, beans and quinoa), some washed greens, and handy leftovers in glass containers.
I soak beans and nuts all the time and they are sometimes in the fridge depending on the weather. I also now buy in tofu, silken and firm as its become one of my favourite go-to staples. I keep frozen berries in the freezer, as well as frozen vegetables and even fresh ginger I can grate with the microplaner without defrosting.
I also moved to using only fresh ginger and local garlic all the time, not just on special occasions!
I grow greens and herbs in a cold frame in my Tasmanian garden so I pick them as needed. It’s like having a salad bar available all year.
For expediency – for now – I also buy plant milks, and keep my nutritional yeast, flax seed, hemp seed, miso and other add-ins in the fridge.