Vegan grocery shopping: Tips to navigate the store

I recently had a coaching session with a new client. She’s young, has never really cooked for herself, and  is very interested in eating a vegan diet. She sought out my services because she felt lost when it came to shopping. After a phone consultation, she requested that I take her on a tour of a grocery store – specifically one in her neighborhood.

Though we can easily shop at any grocery store – a vegan diet is simply vegetables, fruit, legumes and beans, grains, and nuts and seeds, after all – she requested a trip to Whole Foods. But my plan was to focus on foods she could get anywhere (and suggested she do so), while also showing her some fun, transitional foods which, in some communities, can only be found in a market like Whole Foods.

After consulting with her, I was pretty sure that my client did understand, fundamentally, the basics of vegan eating. What became clear was that she had never cooked for herself (due to her profession) so she didn’t even know where to start in the grocery store or in food preparation.

So I combined both of her needs – grocery store navigation + how to prepare quick and easy meals – in the guided tour. By the end of the hour she had a list of foods to begin building her vegan pantry, foods to eat for the week and several meal ideas that could be prepared quickly and easily.

We started in the produce section because I wanted to encourage her to think about healthy fruits and vegetables as a base and then develop meal ideas around what looked good/ was in season / was available. Our goal was simple: Make sure the grocery cart is as colorful as a rainbow. This doesn’t mean you have to buy everything you see – many people often over buy in the produce section. Instead, be honest with yourself. How many meals are you really going to eat at home this week? Buy accordingly. Meal ideas generated in this section included nutrient dense salads, collard green wraps, freezing fruit and vegetables for smoothies, braising cabbage and root vegetables, using mushrooms to add texture and nutrients to any meal, and adding leafy greens to pasta sauces and soups.

In the dry bulk aisle, we talked about how to make beans and grains from scratch (and I noted that canned beans are a-okay, too, and we visited that aisle later). We talked about how to add seeds, nuts, and dried fruit into meals and snacks, as well as how to store them (mason jars!). Meal ideas here ranged from using whole grains as alternatives to oatmeal, adding uncooked rolled oats and seeds to smoothies, and making one-pot meals with beans and grains.

We walked through a few aisles and I pointed out canned beans, the robust offering of jarred and canned tomatoes, pasta varieties, nut butters, easy vegan soups to have on hand for quick heating, etc. We also walked through condiments – sauces, spices, etc., – and I talked about often the key to vegan cooking is to remember the kind of flavors you love and crave and to play with those flavors when cooking beans and grains. Meal ideas included easy Mediterranean bowls (diced or stewed tomatoes, beans, leafy greens, and olives or capers), pasta dishes with marinara sauce and lentils, nut butter sauces for steamed vegetables, and heat and eat options at work.

The refrigerated “vegan” section – where tofu, tempeh and vegan meats are prominent – offers convenience and whole foods and this is where we talked about simple ways to merge the two. I pointed out some of the vegan cheese brands, “live” foods like sauerkraut and kimchi (and how she could add some of these to her salads and wraps for a food-based probiotic), vegan meats, soy-based foods, and a wide variety of hummus and bean dips. This section also had vegan ranch and Thousand Island dressing, which when she realized that there really is a plant-based option for nearly everything we ate pre-vegan. Meal ideas included pizza with vegan pepperoni, slicing pre-cooked/flavored tofu for sandwiches, and bean puree wraps or salads.

In the frozen foods section, I suggested keeping vegetables and fruit in the freezer as well as frozen burgers and other plant-based meats. Frozen foods on hand can be really helpful when one runs out of time (or fresh produce).

Finally, we strolled through the bakery and deli section where olives and marinated vegetables (available in bulk), fresh bread, and yes, vegan treats, such as cookies and cupcakes, are easily accessible.

I enjoyed showing her how easy it was to find the basics (which can be found in all kinds of grocery stores), as well as a few speciality items. Even more, I loved firing off quick and easy ways to use all of the foods – demonstrating that eating vegan isn’t complicated.

My final advice to her: 

• Don’t over-buy! Try one new bean (canned or dry, tempeh or tofu), one new grain (1 cup in bulk or a small package), and pick seven to the items of produce (that reflect the rainbow – see below) each week.
• Slowly build up the pantry and refrigerated items with a longer shelf life. There’s no need to go broke here. Maybe get one jar of vegan mayo and one bottle of soy sauce this week. Next week maybe miso and a bottle of Sriracha.
• Slowly build up the freezer. Each week buy one frozen vegetable and one frozen fruit. This will help if you run out of fresh produce.
• Keep canned and jarred tomato products on hand. Cooked tomatoes (lycopene! ) are so good for us and they are a great base for a variety of simple meals.

Here is a grocery shopping guide that might just be helpful to you, too. It’s not an exhaustive list; rather, it’s a quick guide that can help anyone build a kitchen and pantry filled with plants.

Tags: vegan colorado springsvegan cooking coachingvegan grocery shopping

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