Need ideas. What food should I keep in my apartment? Any good quick/easy vegetarian recipes?

Question

I'm a recent college graduate and a few weeks ago I moved into my first ever honest-to-goodness apartment (full year lease, etc.) in New York. I'm not making a ton of money so eating in restaurants or getting take-out for almost every meal is not a workable long-term strategy. I'm looking for suggestions of (1) foods I can keep on hand in my apartment that are relatively inexpensive, easy to prepare and have a long shelf life and (2) dishes that I can make quickly and easily without a lot of space or expensive ingredients. I'm a vegetarian, and I can't survive on veggie burgers, pasta, and tofu with vegetables for every meal. Help me out with some ideas!

Answer 1

so Knorr has this whole collection of things from pastas to rices. there are seriously like 100 different kind, recently i've taken to getting the teriyaki noodles all the time. but anyways, they are super good, and only take 7-10 minuets to cook in any type of pan you have.

honestly check it out:

http://us.knorr.com/products.asp?brand=3...

the're usually in the packed food isle at the store.

Answer 2

- frozen vegetable mixes

- canned beans

- refried beans

- pastas (whole wheat)

- brown rice

- natural peanut butter/almond butter

- un-seasoned nuts

- whole wheat bread (freeze it and toast a slice when you need it)

- an assortment of seasonings (or at least italian, cumin, cinnamon, garlic, paprika)

- jars of spaghetti sauce

- a jar of pesto

- quinoa

- instant mashed potatoes

- oatmeal

- tortillas, cheap and last a long time in fridge

- margarine (earth balance light is really really good)

- chili (canned)

- applesauce

- oils for cooking

I also love baking so I have all of this stuff on hand:

whole wheat flour

sugar

baking powder/soda

yeast

( I use applesauce in place of oils usually)

toppings

then you only have to buy produce that's on sell every week and every once and a while stock up more foods

Answer 3

Rice, dried beans, noodles and canned & jarred sauces. Build up a small pantry/stash to have on hand for those days when you just can't eat out. Also, TVP (Textured Vegetable Protein) is very shelf-stable and makes a great meat substitute.

Yahoo won't let me add any links, so Google the phrase "vegetarian pantry" for some great ideas. Good luck!

Answer 4

These are your dry staples!!

I would buy some TVP (dried textured vegetable protein), some boxed Fallaf mix, few cans of of garbanzo beans(chick peas) ,canned pumpkin,canned coconut milk, tomato paste,olive oil, olives,Bush's veg beans, sundried tomatoes, artichoke and different types of fancy pasta like spinach pasta, fusilli, lasagna noodles, etc. Bisquick mix-for pancakes, cakes, crusts, desserts, waffles, etc

Cashews, peanuts, and or dried cranberries are another must have. They make great toppers. Be sure to stock your seasonings well because they are the key!!

With the TVP you can make things like sloppy joes, chili, spaghetti, tacos, lasagna meatloaf etc

I buy the olive oil cous cous and add chopped brocolli crowns

and onions for a quick meal.

You will be able to make hummus w/ the canned chick peas

or top it on salads or in pasta. I love making Falafel sandwiches. I get the Fantastic Foods brand. I also like to buy the Thai noodle and make pad Thai

with scrambled eggs, peanuts, and scallions.

Use the olives to make a tapanade spread  to spread on crackers or bread or toss olives in a pasta salad.Sundried tomatos are great in salads, spreads, and pasta. Artichokes

can also be used the same way.

Tomato paste will be used to make sloppy joes, lasagna, marinara or spaghetti sauce.

I do a salad with broccolli slaw (you can find this in the vegetable dept it last for  2 to 3 weeks)

Broccolli slaw, chopped red onions, cashew pieces,

dried cranberries and coleslaw dressing.



The beans can be made to make soup or you can pour them over rice that you prepare w/ coconut milk.

I also like to buy frozen vegetables like spinach, greens, okra,

bussel sprouts, cornand chinese vegetables because they last a long time in the freezer. They can be used to make stirfrys

The Bush's vegeterian beans can be combined with veggie dogs of veggie burgers. The canned pumpkin can be used in desserts or rolled into lasagna or pasta to make ravioli or

veg lasagna.

Oatmeal be used in pancakes, meatless meatloafs and desserts or just eaten plain w/ dried cranberries or raisins and a little brown sugar.

Good Luck!