Here are some items you can buy at the store to save yourself a bunch of cooking and baking!
Einkorn crackers, cookies, pastas, etc. Einkorn is the ancient predecessor of wheat and tastes pretty much the same (maybe even a little better) while being well-tolerated by people who are sensitive to gluten (but not celiac). I love the brand Jovial because they use whole foods ingredients and taste great. They are stocked at local groceries in my area but you can also order at jovialfoods.com.
Alternative Milks. You have to be careful with alternative milks because so many of them contain fillers/emulsifiers that cause inflammation. I like EdenSoy Extra because it has a clean ingredient list and a lot of added calcium and other vitamins that you need to be mindful of on a primarily vegan diet. I also sometimes home-make a big batch of almond milk and freeze it in 1-cup portions for future use in baking etc.
Baking Mix. A lot of gluten-free baking mixes contain emulsifiers like Xanthan Gum. Simple Mills tends to be cleaner. I use their Artisan Bread mix for making sandwich bread. Since their loaf calls for eggs (for structure), I use the flat bread recipe and sub the 2 eggs for 1/2 cup applesauce. Then I cut the bread into triangles or squares for sandwiches.
Commonly Used Ingredients. Here are some of the ingredients I use most frequently but didn’t stock before I began Vegan and Wheat-Free cooking:
- Einkorn Flour for baking (both whole grain and all-purpose)
- Chickpea, Almond, and Arrowroot Flours for my magic baking mix
- Sweet Potatoes, cooked, peeled and frozen in 1-cup scoops
- Brown rice pasta (I like Jovial)
- Mild Olive Oil; I use one from California Olive Ranch that is specifically “mild” so that it doesn’t overwhelm the flavors in baked goods
- Cashews, Almonds, Walnuts, Pine Nuts (and occasionally Macadamia Nuts and Hazelnuts). Nuts and seeds can go rancid quickly, so I recommend keeping these in the freezer if you don’t use often!
- Hemp seeds (also called hemp hearts)
- Flax seeds (ground)
- Ground Vanilla Bean: I use this instead of vanilla extract for a stronger vanilla flavor in baking