How a minimalist approach (and store cupboard) could feed your can eat attitude
When it comes to maintaining your can eat attitude, it’s often useful to adopt a more minimalist approach rather than fretting about having cupboards full to the brim with ingredients you very rarely use. Personally, I’ve been taking a more minimalist approach to life over the past year (obviously quitting my full time job and striking out on my own made some elements of this rather a necessity!) and love how well this fits with having a can eat/can do attitude:
“Minimalism is a tool that can assist you in finding freedom. Freedom from fear. Freedom from worry. Freedom from overwhelm. Freedom from guilt. Freedom from depression. Freedom from the trappings of the consumer culture we’ve built our lives around. Real freedom.”
This is according to The Minimalists, Joshua Fields Millburn & Ryan Nicodemus, anyway. So, let’s talk essential gluten free and vegan kitchen cupboard staples, shall we? I’ve split my minimalist store cupboard must haves into 4 sections with no more than 5 ingredients that with just a handful of fresh ingredients could easily be adapted to cover breakfast, snacks, lunch and dinner all week.
Oils, vinegars etc
Coconut oil, Cacao butter or Rapeseed oil – for cooking
Tamari – for sauces and marinades
Miso paste – for soups and marinades
Maple syrup – for marinades, sweet treats and dressings
Tahini paste – for sauces, sweet treats and dips
Grains, seeds, etc
Quinoa – as a side to curry dishes or topper for soup, cold in salads or made into arancini balls
Millet flakes – for porridge, overnight “oats” or made into muesli
Pumpkin seeds – for topping veg bowls, making energy balls or muesli
Sunflower seeds – for making pesto, energy balls or muesli
Sesame seeds – for topping soups, making “milks” or rolling energy balls in
Fruits, veggies and pulses
Dates – for sweet treats (e.g. stuffed with tahini as a snack) or making energy balls
Passatta/chopped tomatoes – as a base for soups, sauces and curries
Chickpeas – for curries, roasting and dips
Cannellini beans – for soups, stews and blending into sauces
Red lentils – for blending into soups, making ragu or a simple daal
Herbs and spices
Cinnamon – for porridge, muesli or sweet treats
Black pepper – for seasoning savoury dishes
Cumin seeds – for curries, soups and dips
Paprika – for soups, marinades and sprinkling over roasted veggies
Chilli flakes – for sprinkling in miso soup, adding a kick to curries or marinades
Some options for mixing and matching the ingredients above to make quick nutritious meals:
- Creamy millet flake porridge (my “luxurious” version of this can be adapted to suit what you have available)
- Homemade muesli with sesame seed milk and chopped dates
- Energy balls (if you’re after a recipe for these lovely seed and date balls, how about giving this one a go?)
- Lentil daal with quinoa
- Hummus with quinoa “arancini” balls
- Tomato and cannellini bean soup topped with crunchy seeds (I’ve written up a recipe for this soup you can check out here.)
Have you found this list useful? Would you like to see more of how I’d mix and match these gluten free and vegan pantry essentials? Drop me a note in the comments below and let me know x