We're big on travel. It's always local; always in Ohio or very close in the surrounding states. But it's been our entertainment outlet for years. Driving new places, finding new favourite cities... Most often, we drive to one of the larger cities we're familiar with and then just drive around a bit until we find something interesting. We don't have smart phones and until this past few months, didn't have a GPS either (but now we do; thanks, Dad!) So we basically stick to my (great, if I do say so myself) sense of direction. (Which I'm so thankful for, considering hubs doesn't have much of a sense of direction at all.)
I am the driver in the relationship; hubs doesn't mind driving but I love, love, loooove it.
Our favourite and most-frequent trips are an hour / an hour and a half South to visit specialty stores like Whole Foods. We make that trip usually monthly (more in the warmer months,) to just buy groceries. But considering that Roo will be here in just a few short weeks, we want our lifestyle to be sustainable, whether or not we're able to be able to (or want to) make that trip.
So what we're planning on doing this weekend is visiting different local stores to see what we can stock up on here. Our goal is to buy a pantry (or something to act as a pantry,) and build a nice little stash of food. And if we can't get everything we need here, then we'll make that trip. But I'm really excited to push our boundaries and see what we can do local.
I thought I would share my giant grocery list for this weekend. (It doesn't include flour, flax seeds, baking soda, coconut oil (we have four giant jars of it,) agave nectar, EVOO (we don't use it much at all; maybe once every few months, but we have it on hand,) salt & other random spices... Because we already have those items; we always try to.)
VEGAN GROCERY LIST
FRESH FRUIT
Bananas (enough for a week)
Lemons (1-2)
Tomatoes (a goooood amount)
FRESH VEGGIES
20lb Potatoes
10-20 Large Onions (White and a couple of red) (or 2-4 bags)
4 Heads of Garlic
3 Large Bags of Carrots
1 Red Bell Pepper
Broccoli
GRAINS, BEANS, LENTILS
40lb Rice
15lb Pinto Beans
15lb Red Beans
15lb Great Northern Beans
10 Cans Butter Beans
Lots of Chickpeas
2 cups Sesame Seeds
Lentils
Cornmeal
Dried Yeast
SPICES, EXTRACTS
Oregano
Cumin
Cajun
Bay Leaves
Vanilla Extract
Nooch
Mustard Seeds
Cayenne Pepper
FREEZER, FRIDGE
12 Bags Frozen Fruit
12 Bags Frozen Veggies
2 Tubs Vegan Butter
2 Packages Daiya Cheddar Slices
Daiya Cheddar Shreds
OILS, ETC
White Vinegar
ACV
Raw Local Honey (get a few since we're using the hell out of it)
Lemon Juice
Maple Syrup
Grapeseed Oil
NOT COLD
4 Big Applesauces
3 Packages Tofu
12 Boxes of Pasta
1-2 Boxes Cupboard Soy and 5-6 Boxes Cupboard Almond Milk (original, unsweetened)
4 Bags Coconut Sugar
2-3 Loaves Bread
Nut Butter
Some of the items could be made from scratch; applesauce (super simple) to name one. We are planning on making our own pasta sauce, ketchup, bbq sauce, mustard, hummus, Vegan ranch dressing and Vegan "parmesan cheese" to name a few. But instead of making every single thing from scratch in the next couple of weeks, we thought it'd be easier (and probably cheaper since we don't want to waste food) to just buy some of the pre-made things in an effort to not overwhelm ourselves. We also don't generally buy Vegan butter but once every couple of months, but I figured if we're stocking up, it might as well be on the list. And when it comes to Daiya cheese, we actually *never* buy it. But I'm wanting to try and make some Vegan mac & chee, Vegan pizza and Vegan grilled chee sandwiches (with homemade tomato soup!) so... those are on there, too. Those definitely aren't normally in our kitchen, though.
I will be posting soon about stocking a Vegan pantry (and kitchen!) and how this list has worked for us.
What are your plans for this weekend? Anything exciting like grocery shopping? (I actually super love it.)
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