Easy Swaps In Your Kitchen
As long as veganism has existed, it seems that only recently has the variety for easy plant based substitutions taken over areas of the grocery store, and we're all for it. We are lucky to see the globe take action to supply the alternative right next to the conventional household essentials that have been provided to us in the past, whether for ethical, health, or environmental grounds.
As some of our many plant based favourites, we've included them in this post to save you time on your next grocery haul. We understand that it may not be easy to spend money on groceries that aren't a definite thing, resulting in the hated item decaying in your fridge or freezer, which is money that could have been better spent elsewhere.
Dairy Alternatives - For vegans and others who are lactose intolerant, the alternatives are practically limitless! It is as easy as switching out your animal milk with oat milk, nut milks or dairy free creamers.
The closest to taste and consistency for alternative yogurt made from coconut, did we mention local to Vancouver and women led? Great for sweet and savoury recipes, also amazing directly from the container! Check out some quick & easy breakfast recipes that have created using Yoggu here.
When compared to nut milks, we believe that oat milk is the most adaptable substitute for dairy milk in terms of adaptability with various purposes and supports our clients who have nut allergies the most effectively. The original and chocolate are our MANNA team faves! Both are delicious and low in calories plus higher in protein than dairy milk.
Fun fact: MANNA incorporates Earth’s Own’s original oat milk in many of our bechamel based entrees and creamy based soups.
Miyoko’s, Violife & Nuts For Cheese
Though we're still figuring out which cheez brands we prefer best, these are safe bets with prices that aren't outrageous or worth the dime. They have a range of different varieties of cheez to make it simple to incorporate into your dinners or even to serve as a gorgeous grazing board for your guests.
Meat Alternatives - For those of us who feel motivated to make a change towards more plant forward and limit or eliminate meat consumption. These simple substitutions give satiation in a variety of plant-based cuisines, ensuring that you stay fed and nourished.
This non-gmo source of plant protein closely mimic’s the consistency of chicken. At MANNA, we incorporate soy curls into many of our dishes such as our Ital Stew, Bulgogi Lettuce Wraps and Philly Cheez Steak Sandwich
Offering a wide variety of different meat and dairy alternatives with names to support familiarity with a fun vegan twist, Vegan Supply carries them but you can also shop online or catch them at your local farmers markets. Our favourite is their bacun.
MANNA’s Crispy Chick’n & MANNA Rib
The alternative to the alternative, we've gone through several rounds of improvements to ensure that our chick'n and rib plant proteins satisfy, and we're glad to say that we've deceived both vegans and meat eaters alike!
Egg Alternatives
Despite the abundance of vegan egg recipes available online, cooking your favourite breakfast meals has just recently become more convenient. Just Egg and Nabati are plant-based egg mixes that are ready to use for those morning cravings or baking excursions. We put both brands to the test in the kitchen, and changing the egg yield in a classic non plant based dish was a breeze.
Junk Food Staples - There are times when we're feeling peckish but unsure of what to eat, which is common in the evenings or perhaps you’re having people over and want to lay out some vegan friendly eats.
Good news is that you can easily grab these in your supermarket's snack isle:
Sweet Chili Doritos, Oreos, Twizzlers, Vegan Chocolate, Lays Original, Fritos Corn Chips, Sour Patch Kids, and most recently Real Fruit Gummies has transitioned their entire gummy line to plant based.
These are just the bare basics and as time carries forward, so do the variety and brands for plant based alternatives so the testing of new items will never stop.
We recognize that deciding whether or not a plant-based choice is the greatest fit for your needs or worth taking a chance on can be challenging, so we're here to help, and we hope that this guide will assist people looking to make the transition to some of these alternatives. Start with small purchases of plant based swaps, we imagine your plant curiosity will only build from there.
Let us know if you give these a shot and how they turn out for you!