The Veggie Arsenal

Big question for you here: what's in your kitchen? 

For our purposes, we're going to need to make some changes to what's in your kitchen. Most of the basics you can keep using without trouble, but there are a few things that are specific to the vegan kitchen, and some general exclusions.

What should I avoid?

 Bad news, you're going to have to read the label! Good news, now you're reading more!

So we want to avoid anything with animal by-products. So no gelatin, milk proteins, or egg powders. And those are the easy ones to spot; there are a lot of vitamins and other products that contain traces of animals and are not listed as such.

Oh, and honey, honey is not vegan, sorry.

So what is totally veg? 

Here's the fun part, getting to know new things! You can't get these things at QFC or Safeway, but New Seasons and Whole Foods should have everything you need. I recommend People's or Alberta Coops. 

Egg replacer (Not a replacement for a fried egg, it's powder.)
Nutritional Yeast
Vital Wheat Gluten
Wheat Gluten (Hail Seitan!)
Cashews and/or other raw nuts
Tofu and Tempeh
Non-dairy milk (Coconut wins!)
Agar Agar (Kind of gelatin... kind of.)
Nondairy Butter (There are options! I swear!)
Agave Syrup (If you bake?)

And it's always advisable to have plenty of grains, dried beans, and the myriad of other things a cook wants to keep on hand in their kitchen.

This is just a list, and maybe a bit of a letdown, so get excited about tomorrow! We're gonna make stock! Oh boy!!!