We’ve been delighted to see how much easier it has become to find all of the ingredients we champion – the tide is turning. The internet is a wonderful shopping resource where, with a single click, you can buy ingredients that aren’t available locally and find bargains to order direct to your door. Buddy up with friends and family for the store cupboard ingredients you know that you’ll use regularly and use this chance to get deals by buying in bulk as we do; this way you can save money while upgrading the quality of the food you eat. Ask your local shops and supermarkets to consider stocking the products you need – the more people ask, the more likely they will be to stock the item in question. We’ve seen it happen all over the country – your spending power will ensure that your voice will be heard.
As well as savvy shopping, making the best use of your store cupboard, fridge and freezer will make your life easier too. See the ‘Sunday Cook-Off’ (see here) for how we get ahead on the working week by spending a few hours on a Sunday preparing ingredients for filling our fridge and freezer. While we love foods like bee pollen and avocado oil, they are not our everyday essentials and you won’t find them on our weekly shopping list. The following tables show the ingredients that we often use.
Other than the fresh staples (eggs, greens, lemons, herbs, etc.), which can be bought weekly, we recommend buying everything in bulk to store in the cupboard, fridge or freezer. Build up these supplies and you will always be able to make something nourishing and delicious. You can then supplement these staples with fresh, seasonal produce (tomatoes, butternut squash, celeriac, etc.) during your weekly shop or as you go.
Remember to research any new items or brands so that you are sure of what you are getting. Some varieties of buckwheat noodles (also known as soba) have wheat added to them, for instance. It’s always best to check the labels.
STAPLES FOR THE FREEZER
DRIED BEANS, FRUITS, NUTS AND SEEDS
FLOURS AND POWDERS
OILS (COLD-PRESSED), VINEGARS, NUT BUTTERS
TINS AND PRESERVES
DRIED HERBS AND SPICES, CONDIMENTS, NATURAL SWEETENERS
ORGANIC: TO BUY OR NOT TO BUY?
Organic is a complex issue because the word ‘organic’ is both a certification and a way of describing anything grown or reared in a more natural way than industrial methods. In the supermarket look for labels such as ‘organic certified’, ‘biodynamic certified’ and ‘GM-free’ because these are indicators that what you’re buying is chemical-free and naturally grown or reared – the way food should be. Don’t assume that unlabelled (or sometimes labelled ‘conventionally grown’) supermarket produce is grown without chemicals. Chemical-laden, mass-produced food should not be the norm; neither should naturally grown produce be exclusively for the wealthy. Not all food will carry a label, of course. Produce from local farmers, grocers and butchers may be naturally grown or reared but just not labelled as such. They often have the advantage of being cheaper as they will have natural imperfections.
Here are some tips for buying natural food on a budget. Prioritise which foods to purchase based on the amount of pesticides they’re likely to contain.
+ Animal products such as dairy (cheese, butter, yoghurt – always full-fat), eggs and meat should always be organically reared, wild or equivalent, to avoid the addition of hormones, antibiotics and steroids and to ensure the animals they came from were fed a diet that is natural to them and free from pesticides.
+ High surface area. Crops with a relatively high surface area relative to their mass (berries, tomatoes, leafy greens, courgettes) should be grown in an organic way too, as a greater proportion of the crop is exposed to pesticide spraying when grown by conventional farming methods.
+ Better flavour. Organic food is grown slowly and as a result produces a better flavour.
+ Thin skin. Prioritise anything with a thin skin – if you are going to eat the skin of the fruit or vegetable, then purchase organically grown. A lot of goodness is contained in the skin, so for organic root vegetables wash the earth off but don’t peel. If you are going to peel veg, then non-organic is an option – wash it thoroughly when you get home. For non-organic root vegetables, such as beetroots and carrots, pesticides are concentrated around the top, so chopping 1cm off the top will help.
+ Naturally grown. Be sure to ask around at farmers’ markets for naturally grown foods /unsprayed produce, which are often cheaper than those that are certified as organic.
+ Checking online. You can also keep up to date with the produce that contains the least and highest amount with an online search and buy accordingly: www.pan-uk.org/food/best-worst-food-for-pesticide-residues.
+ Don’t be disheartened if you cannot make all of these changes. Simply try to get the best-quality food you can source and afford. By washing and peeling non-organic fruit and vegetables, you will be well on course.
WASHING FRUIT AND VEGETABLES
Be sure to wash fruits and veggies before eating, especially if eating them raw. Even food that’s been grown organically will have become contaminated with bacteria and dirt during handling, transportation and storage. For any fruit and vegetables that are eaten unpeeled, such as apples, make sure you give them a really good wash to help remove any residual pesticides on the skin. You can also fill a large bowl with water and add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and 2 tablespoons of vinegar or bicarbonate of soda before adding your fruit or veg. Leave to soak in the bowl for 20 minutes before rinsing thoroughly. Alternatively, pour the mixture into a squirt bottle and spray directly onto fruits and vegetables, scrub with a vegetable brush as needed (i.e. not on soft fruits like berries!) and rinse well.
For anyone who regularly eats whole nuts, seeds, pseudocereals and dried pulses such as lentils, ‘activating’ them first is important in order to reduce the phytates in them – compounds that bind to certain dietary minerals, slowing their absorption. Pre-soaking these ingredients is a traditional way of making them more digestible.
We take shortcuts when we can – one-pot cooking means fewer pans to wash up, and cooking in bulk to save time – but we don’t stint when it comes to activating. It’s an easy and worthwhile habit to get into: just soak these raw wholefoods (see exceptions in the table here) in double the volume of water overnight, or for a minimum of 8 hours, for most, before rinsing them. Adding salt to the water for soaking nuts and seeds, and lemon juice or apple cider vinegar for soaking pseudocereals, helps the process. This pre-soaking also makes nuts and seeds easier to blend for smoothies and dips, and helps pulses and pseudocereals cook more quickly. For any recipes that require ‘crispy activated’ nuts and seeds (those that have been soaked and then dried), a dehydrator comes in handy. (Dehydrate at 45°C for 12–24 hours, depending on the size of the nuts or seeds. You can also dry them in the oven at fan 180°C/Gas mark 6 for 10 minutes, though they will no longer be raw.) Do this in bulk, and store in an airtight container somewhere cool or in the fridge or freezer to get ahead.
The table below lists the various wholefoods that we activate. For convenience, use tinned beans instead of dried ones. Just be careful to select brands containing no additives, including sugar; if any salt is included, make sure to adjust the seasoning in the recipe. Always drain the beans and rinse thoroughly before using. If you are using dried beans remember you still need to cook them after activating them! We stick to dried lentils in our recipes as they’re much quicker to cook – and red lentils don’t need activating.
+ No time to activate? Uncooked lentils and beans nearly always need to be soaked before cooking but in the case of nuts, seeds and pseudocereals you can still make the recipe without activating. Just be sure to rinse pseudocereals really well, adding more liquid for cooking and allowing extra cooking time. Even soaking for an hour or so will be better than nothing, but try activating next time.
NUTS
SOAK OVERNIGHT/FOR 8 HOURS MINIMUM
Almonds, hazelnuts, peanuts, walnuts, pecans, macadamia nuts
SEEDS
SOAK OVERNIGHT/FOR 8 HOURS MINIMUM
Hemp, pumpkin, sunflower, sesame
PSEUDOCEREALS
SOAK OVERNIGHT/FOR 8 HOURS MINIMUM
Buckwheat groats, quinoa, amaranth
PULSES
SOAK OVERNIGHT/FOR 8 HOURS MINIMUM
Puy/French, green and brown lentils, mung beans, chickpeas and other dried beans
NUTS
EXCEPTIONS
Cashews (soak for 2–3 hours)
Brazils, pine nuts (no need to soak)
Ground almonds (no need to soak)
SEEDS
EXCEPTIONS
Chia seeds, flaxseeds (usually soaked as part of the recipes e.g. for smoothies)
PSEUDOCEREALS
EXCEPTIONS
Roasted buckwheat groats (kasha), quinoa/buckwheat flakes or flour
PULSES
EXCEPTIONS
Red lentils (no need to soak)
NB: Use cooked tinned chickpeas and beans, for convenience