8 Must Haves For All You Vegan Newbs!

So, ok. You took the 14-day vegan challenge, or the 22-day challenge, or the 30-day… look,  you took some vegan challenge of some undetermined length of time and now you just don’t want to stop. Well, congrats! Here’s your graduation cap, careful it’s made outta bok choy and turnip greens. (Relax, it’s not made outta bok choy and turnip greens… in fact, the hat is figurative. Enjoy it nonetheless.)

But here you are.  The “holy %$#@, I did it and I feel great” phase is over. No more scouring the surrounding areas for nifty, new vegan restaurants to save you from yourself now though.  You can’t go out to eat for the rest of your life. Who are you, Rockefeller?  No, you’re not.   At this moment, you’re home and smelly in your torn college sweats with the fridge door open and a furrowed brow. Before long you’ll have cold ankles.  Well fear not, we’ve got you covered.  We’ve all blazed this trail for you and we’re happy to report back, it’s all gonna be ok.  Get your reusable bag, get your steely reserve and let us head on down to the most vegan friendly grocery store you know.  We got some vegan shopping to do.

Gazetta

You’re gonna want some nutritional yeast.

This is to stave off those vestigial cheese cravings. It’s so cheesy and delicious, and so vegan.  We like to call it “nooch.”  You can put this stuff on, or in, anything. Put it in a soup. Put it on your salad. Put it in a dip, any food is valid.

Ahem. But seriously.  Also, the coup de gras, put it on your popcorn.  Oh, the popcorn.  It’s  so glorious.  There, we got the munchies pretty well covered for now.  Also, tons of fiber, protein and B-vitamins.  It’s, like, tailor-made for vegans.

summerland

Dig in to that bulk bin of quinoa like you mean-wah.

Keen-Wha.  You definitely want this stuff. It packs a nutritional punch! You can eat it hot or cold and during this transitional time you’re gonna need the versatility.  Quinoa adapts well to many different flavors.  Filling and comforting, quinoa’s  a lot like that one friend that you know you can lean on when you need to.  Quinoa is gonna be there for you on all your emotional “moving-days”.

Zazzle

Nuts and nut milk.

Vegan or not, we can’t understand why anyone would still be drinking cows milk.  But look, you got a bunch of choices here and there’s no real standout, it’s all a matter of choice.  You got your  almond milk,  your coconut milk, your cashew milk, we even have some seed milks over here.  Load up.  You drink coffee?  Here, vegan coconut creamer.  Toss that in your cart.  You can thank us later.

trainaggressive

Lentils are essentials. 

Lower your cholesterol, stabilize your blood sugar, keep the basement plumbing clear and running, if ya get what we’re saying? And we think you do. Nothing bad to say about this superfood.  S’why they rhyme with “essentials“.

wiki

Chickpeas! Who wants hummus?

Shut up, everyone wants hummus!  Get a box.  Did you see they come in boxes now?  They’re, like, a dollar too.  Get two boxes. Get four.  Go crazy! You can make tons of stuff with chickpeas!  And EVERYONE wants hummus.

haaretz

Green leafys…

Don’t make that face.  We know it’s not glamorous, but who are you?  Do you want quality and longevity of life or do you want to be glamorous?  Yeah, thats what we thought.  Kale, kale, spinach and kale in that order. Come on, the lines are getting longer!

The Mullies

Lets go with the coconut oil next.

Your lips chapped? You want a raw vegan sweet treat?  You still caring for the “bushel of veggies” tattoo on your forearm? Hair a little dry?  We’re gonna need coconut oil.  This is a head-to-toe, inside-and-out elation situation.  Good for your heart, your metabolic health, your bone health… You don’t even want a sunburn without coconut oil in the house.  It’s good all the way down to the bone, man.  To the bone! Ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-baaaad— it’s bad to the bone.

meritandfork

 Vital wheat gluten.

Pssst. We might have to keep this one quiet. It’s not going to be a popular suggestion with some of the others. But when you get to feeling like you’re missing a meat and potatoes kind of supper and your missing it real bad, and you will, you take a half hour and you make some seitan and then you dig into that seitan, because sometimes that just feels right.  Also, don’t let the the word “gluten” scare you, if you can survive the scarfing down of the 4 pound calzone at Mama Angelina’s every weekend, you’ll be fine with a little seitan here and there.

Lead Image Credit: Mom Parenting