Vegan in the days of self-quarantine | North Valley Vegan

From chicoer.com

CHICO — When I last wrote for this column, I had no way of knowing just how much things would have changed in the north valley. Grocery shopping has changed overnight, and as most of us have noticed, if we didn’t start stocking up last week, it’s become a challenge to find many essentials and non-perishables.

Some things have not changed, however. Luckily, being vegan means you probably already know how to make delicious meals out of cupboard staples — who knew that would come in handy during a quarantine?

Normally, as part of this column, I include businesses offering more vegan items for the month. This time, I will be refraining from doing that and encouraging everyone to stay home and cook inside as much as possible. With so many closures and such a clear need for self-isolation at this time to protect our communities, cooking from home and using what you have is even more necessary. It’s certainly a bit humorous seeing the way vegan staples — rice, pasta, beans, bread — are being bought out at all of the local supermarkets. Maybe it will be easier to convince our local community members of how easy and affordable it is to stick to plant-based foods.

In the meantime, here’s important ingredients to stock up on and meals to use them in, staying vegan as well as making healthy meals for everyone stuck at home right now.

Stocking up on cupboard essentials like beans and rice will help for planning large meals while practicing social distancing. (Natalie Hanson — Enterprise-Record) 

The essentials

The fact is, if you’re stuck at home, it’s probably time to get ready to eat a lot of carbs. Seriously though, these are going to be the easiest items to replenish if you can get to your local market early and avoid crowds of people (and germs).
Beans: your essential home quarantine protein sidekick

• Black: you an use these in everything, not just chili and Mexican dishes
• Kidney: great in salads and soups
• White: these pair well with pasta, cold salads and baked dishes
• Baked: a nice side with mac and cheese or vegan meat meals

Pasta: when in doubt, boil some noodles

• Organic semolina: the classic, should please everyone, low in protein
• Wheat: Higher protein, different flavor, healthier for you
• Lentil: High protein, takes longer to quick, better al dente
• Brown Rice: takes longer to cook, good texture, watch out for mushy noodles if cooked too long
• Quinoa/blends: holds together well, very high in protein, delicious

Rice: buy it now before it is all gone

• Jasmine: easy, crowd pleasing rice
• Sticky white: make some sushi tonight!
• Brown rice: the healthiest, most versatile choice that goes with everything you could think of
• Basmati: my personal favorite, this long-grain variety works great with any curry or stir fry you can think of

Frozen vegetables: keep your freezer full of them

Broccoli: yes, it’s going out of stock fast, but you can add this to most soups, roasted veggie

Cauliflower: the versatile one, this can thaw and go in any soup, curry or other blends

Stir fry blends: keep these on hand because it’s so easy to fling them in a pan with oil or steam and feed your family more veggies

Green beans: another great essential to place alongside meat substitutes or blend with other roasted veggies

Asparagus: packed with nutrients, these pair well with virtually any grain or meat substitute

Brussels sprouts: seriously, just roast these in the oven with maple syrup and lemon juice and they go well with any pilaf or pasta dish, or by themselves

Cooking for groups

The chances are, if you’re quarantined or just staying away from everyone right now, you’re probably stuck at home with your family. That means it’s in everyone’s best interest to cook meals for the whole family. Luckily, there are hundreds upon hundreds of recipes using the most basic types of meals that can be made to feed at least four people and stay creative.
Here’s some ideas to start now:

• Chilli: I know you’ve been hoarding beans and this is a high-protein, delicious way to whip up a savoury pot of goodness for the household.
• Soups: Yes, this is still the fastest way to pack nutrients into one healthy, feed-everyone meal and stay vegan.
• Salads: I’m serious, you’re going to need to use up produce fast and there’s lots of ways to make salads interesting while stealthily adding to everyone’s daily nutritional intake.
• Homemade bread: Everyone buys all the bread in a quarantine, and if you have baking items on hand, there’s so many easy, fast homemade bread recipes around so that you aren’t relying on grocery stores to stock back up.
• Rice pilaf: goes with everything. Just stir in peas, broccoli and carrots with a rice or orzo blend and it’s a complete meal.
• Stir fry: a fast way to use up vegetables that are going to go bad soon. Or, if you alter have an abundance of frozen vegetables, it’s a quick way to get the family eating more greens instead of having yet another salad.
• Curry: a healthy way of introducing more spices, flavour and vegetables to your dishes. Keep curry sauce and coconut milk on hand for these.

Staying healthy

As I have written before, there’s a lot of science backing up the idea of a plant-based diet offering major health benefits for your long term health. While I won’t say that eating large amount of fruits and vegetables can prevent or cure any disease, there is definitely data for boosting your immunity by consuming a wide variety of produce that offer diverse vitamins and other nutrients your body needs to be in top shape in case it encounters any viral or bacterial infections.

However, if it’s easiest at this time to just head for the frozen aisle and stock up on Gardein and vegan sausage, go ahead and do that. There’s no shame in filling up your freezer with microwaved meals if stress makes it hard to imagine cooking right now. What matters most is protecting your health and preparing yourself to be able to stay in your home for long periods of time in order to prevent the spread of germs as much as possible.

https://www.chicoer.com/2020/03/18/vegan-in-the-days-of-self-quarantine-north-valley-vegan/