26 Jul Pantry Essentials for Balanced Vegan Meal-prep Sundays

I’m passionate about creating yummy vegan meals, but my busy lifestyle doesn’t always allow for extensive daily cooking sessions. That’s how Vegan Mealprep Sundays came into existence. A well-stocked pantry is one of the secrets to a successful meal-prep Sunday! I’d dare to say that it is the most important factor in succeeding to meal-prep consistently. When Sunday comes along, I usually have over half the ingredients my dishes require at home already. All I have to do on a weekly basis is get fresh foods from the farmers market. I do this usually on a Saturday. Saturday is my preferred shopping day and Sunday is my preferred prepping day. Spreading these chores over two days, makes adulating more achievable. Okay! Back to stocking that pantry.

If you stock up your pantry for real for the first time, it’s a good idea to hit up Faithful to Nature. It is a one-stop-shop for everything you can ever need and it will be delivered at your home. In case you are starting from the beginning-beginning, it will be expensive and take up a lot of cupboard space, but it will be worth it.

I like to make sure that I always have carbs, fats, protein, snacks and sweeteners on hand, because this allows me to always whip up some balanced meals. Aside from those, I also always have a wide variety of spices and condiments available.

My favourite sources of carbs are (red) quinoa and short-grain brown rice. I opt to cook my grains in a slow cooker by combining 1 cup of grains with 2 cups of water and cooking them on high until all the water is absorbed. My favourite sources of fat are nut butters, olive oil, and coconut milk. Furthermore, my favourite sources of vegan protein are beans, protein powder and legume-based pastas! My favourite snacks are fruit-and nut-based or protein bars. Lastly, my absolute favourite sweetener is xylitol.

Written by Lien Vanneste- the foodie founder of the Instagram page @Vegan_Mealprep_Sundays. For more ideas check out our list of Pantry Staples for a Plant-Based Diet.