Your grocery list for a plant-based diet

If the vegan diet is new for your, you may feel overwhelmed at first. Where should I start? What am I allowed to eat now? Can I only eat carrots and greens?

We can promise you one thing: a plant-based diet is anything but boring and doesn't have to mean giving up on something. This is demonstrated not only by a flood of vegan recipes and a steadily growing selection of meat and dairy alternatives in supermarkets but also by the fact that more than one million people in Germany already eat a purely plant-based diet*.

A balanced plant-based diet

Most people know the basics: fruits and vegetables, grains, plant-based protein sources and healthy fats make up a healthy diet. Substitutes like meat alternatives can help with the transition, especially in the beginning but should never make up the bulk of the diet. The situation is different with milk alternatives - these represent a basis.

These basics belong into your grocery list

Especially in the beginning, it doesn't hurt to try out a lot of new things and test your way through. Eventually, you have to find the food first. If you want, you can also watch out for predominantly regional and seasonal goods. Of course, you don't have to choose everything from the following list but maybe you're interested in only a few of the different categories. This grocery list doesn't claim to be complete and should only serve as inspiration. You can download it here as well as a PDF document.

Vegetables & fruit

Cucumber, Capsicum, Carrots, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Eggplant, Beetroot, Brussel sprouts, Leek etc.
Fresh herbs like Mint, Coriander, Parsley etc.
Ginger, Onions, Garlic, fresh Turmeric etc.
Bananas, Apples, Oranges, Lemons, Pears etc.

Carbohydrates

Breakfast cereals: Oats, Granola etc.

Potatoes, Sweet potatoes
(Natural) Rice, Buckwheat, Millet
Wholegrain pasta, Green spelt, Bulgur, Couscous
Flour of choice

Protein sources

Red lentils, black lentils, mountain lentils, plate lentils, yellow lentils
Kidney beans, black beans, white beans, azuki beans
Chickpeas
Tofu, Tempeh
Sprouts: Mung beans, Alfalfa, Red clover etc.
Vegan protein powder

Fat sources

Walnuts, Cashews, Peanuts, Almonds etc.
Nut butter (Peanut, Almond,...)
Tahin (sesame paste)
Sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds etc.
Flax seeds, chia seeds etc.
Coconut milk

Milk alternatives

vly Unsweetened: for (protein) shakes and savory dishes
vly Original: for muesli, porridge, pancakes, baking etc.
vly Barista: for coffee and all hot and cold drinks with milk foam

--> with the vly subscription, you save yourself the trouble of carrying it from the supermarket. Changeable and cancellable anytime, you get vly delivered to your home to your desired interval.

Processed products

Spread, Hummus
Cheese alternatives e.g. Happy Cashew
Yogurt alternatives e.g. soy, almond, oat etc.
Meat substitute product

Others

Spice
Vegetable broth
Tamari or soy sauce
Baking powder, baking soda
Coffee and Cacao, heavily de-oiled
Vinega & Oils

The fact is: there are plenty of dishes that you can prepare vegan with little effort. For many of them, you just need to switch things up a bit and open your eyes to new things. Once you've discovered your favorite dishes, you may not even need a list.