why you'll love these 2 pantry staples

 

Missing a weekly visit to the farmers' market not only disrupts your meal plan for the entire week (the horrors of an empty refrigerator) but triggers mental anxiety. My mother says that the challenging part about cooking is deciding on what to cook. She heavily relied on our meal ideas as they prevented her from  making decisions (it is understandably why she  fed us the same meal for breakfast, daily). Having no farm-fresh produce to prepare  nutrient-dense green smoothies or stir-fry Thursdays, your next  option would probably be comfort foods/fast foods. This completely sabotages your clean eating habit, creates mid-week slump, and delays your fitness or wellness goals. 

 

With these two pantry staples, you can fix sweet tooth cravings, soups and salads, and everything in between. Grains and legumes are foundational essentials in a wholesome diet, contributing to a happier and healthy lifestyle. My mother always says that she can easily rely on a bag of yellow split-peas for a hearty dhall when there is nothing else to cook (word!). 

 

Why you’ll love grains and legumes

Choc- full of Protein. Legumes are the best sources of plant-based protein, making them the go-to for vegans. Whole mung beans take the win for the richest source of plant-protein. 

Budget and shelf life friendly. With these pantry staples,  no need to break your pocket for healthy essentials. Stock your pantry as they have a shelf life of over a year.

Availability and variety.  They are easily available and in a wide variety. Get to know your beans and legumes.

Flavourful, satiating, and versatile. You can use a can of chickpeas for curries, buffalo sauce, pan cakes, smoothies, and whip cream, making them must-haves for your pantry.

Easy to cook. What make these so easy to prepare and cook  is that no chopping, cutting, peeling, marinating, or roasting is required. 100% hassle-free preparation. The only difficult step is to remember to soak some of the legumes overnight.

Simple, forgiving, and foolproof.  Anyone who cannot cook can easily cook a pot of rice. Unlike baking, you could mis-average the use of an ingredient and the stewed beans would still be delicious. The cooking methods are simple: boil, pressure-pot or instant-pot. 

Pure comfort food. You could make chocolate frosting, chocolate mousse, brownies, and cookies with black beans. Totally guilt-free, gluten-free and dairy-free!

Low environment impact. When you eat more plants you are saving the planet!

 

The grains and legumes to stock in your pantry

Split yellow peas

My pantry is never out of this holy legume. It is the must-have ingredient for the best dhall, fritters, kitchari, and dhall bread. Use the split peas flour for a gluten-free, crunchier, and tastier batter or crumbs for fritters.

Mung beans

Sprouted mung beans make a hearty salad. It is the key ingredient in kitchari, the ayurvedic way of detoxing the body.

Brown rice and white rice

Fried rice, coconut rice, kheer or rice pudding, beans and rice - the list is endless and effortless. 

Green Lentils

Soup, and butter lentils are a must-try!

Chickpeas

Along with split peas, you would always find chickpeas in my pantry. Stir-fry, fritters, curried, dips, buffalo, or bbq, there is always something to cook with this life-saving legume.

Red beans

Sauteed, stewed, baked or anyway you like it!

Barley

The nostalgia soup. Potatoes, onion, and barley. That's all it takes. Clean convenience!

 

How to cook Grains and legumes

The cooking methods are simple and easy. You’ll need a pressure cooker or an instant pot. This is a good investment as it is also used for baking, and cooking one-pot meals!

Soak. Soaking the legumes overnight is a key step in cooking legumes. Do not omit this step. The overnight soaking method is required for beans and chickpeas.

Pressure-pot or instant-pot. Rinse the soaked beans, add to the pressure-pot, and pour water to cover the contents in the pressure-pot. Give it medium heat. Wait for three whistles.

Get creative. This is the fun step. Stewed, baked, curried, sauteed, Beans are delicious anyway you cook it.

 

Takeaways

Stock your kitchen with grains and legumes for days when your cooking options are limited. They are nutritious, flavourful, easy to cook, and easily available in a wide variety.