Vegetarian Food Recipe: The secret of cooking a vegetarian meal...

The goal of keeping a well-stocked vegetarian pantry is to keep plenty of key ingredients on hand, enabling you to whip up a variety of healthy and satisfying meals at any time. Your grocery list will, of course, vary depending on the size of your household and your favorite foods, but you’ll always need a combination of both main ingredients and flavor enhancing spices and cooking essentials.

Beside these basics needed for cooking, you’ll probably want to stock up on some foods to grab on the go, such as whole grain breads, veggie burgers, soy or dairy cheese, vegetarian deli slices, condiments, breakfast cereal, salad dressing, fresh fruit and snacks such as popcorn, pretzels and chips and salsa.

Dry and Canned Goods
Pasta and rice are familiar foods that can be prepared in countless different ways. Stock up on brown rice instead of white for an added nutritional boost.

Pasta, noodles
Beans, chickpeas, lentils (canned or dry)
Rice or other whole grains such as quinoa, millet, and barley
TVP (textured vegetable protein)
Canned tomatoes

Baking Needs
I recommend using egg replacer in baked goods even if you’re not vegan, as it keeps well and is much more convenient, healthy and cost effective than eggs. If you’re trying to cut out refined sugar, a liquid sweetener such as agave nectar or brown rice syrup is essential.

Flour
Sugar
Liquid sweetener
Egg replacer
Baking powder, baking soda
Vanilla
Cocoa powder or chocolate chips

Cooking Essentials

Soy sauce
Miso
Tahini
Stir fry sauces
Soy margarine
Vegetable broth (canned or powdered)
Soy milk
Olive oil, sesame oil
Balsamic vinegar, rice vinegar
Peanut butter or other nut butter
Nutritional yeast

Spices
Spices are really what create the difference between basic dishes and exotic ethnic cuisines. Not all flavors are for everyone, however, so experiment to see which spices and combinations you like to use the most and which you could do without. Here’s a few of the more commonly used spices that you may want to have on hand.