Van Life: What You Need for an Efficient Plant Based Pantry.
based on a plant based diet but will work universally. contains some affiliate links.
A supermarket trip while traveling can be a real bubble breaker - after traveling in the wilderness supermarket aisles filled with endless packaged food can be quite the mood killer. And if like me, you travel with dog, supermarkets visits need to be kept to a minimum.
The essence of travelling in a van means you’ll be wanting to keep your waste down and live well on a budget. As well as knowing you have something in the van should you need to just pull over and whip something up when the hanger has set in and you need fuel.
A couple of people have asked me for this post - a guide to what I have in the van to set off with. I keep a stock of base stuff and then there’s the fresh bits I pick up locally before I hit the road. I find this works really well so I’ve structured this post so you know what to always have in your van pantry, what fresh food to pick up en route and what to buy from local markets and shops at your destination. I don’t eat dairy or meat so everything is plant based but use your discretion as to what you want to replace if you’re not plant based.
Equipment.
In the 18 months I’ve had Roo I’ve bought stuff, rearranged the van, got rid of stuff and spent hours down rabbit holes researching cooking for the van. What I’ve ended up with is an efficient but refined kitchen that meets all my needs and means I can cook any kind of meal whenever I want. Here are my kitchen must haves:
The Omnia oven - I know some vans have cookers but if you don’t have one this clever Swedish invention will make any oven recipe in your van over your hob. I recommend getting the silicone insert too so you can make breads and cakes to your hearts desire!
A cast iron skillet - the reason I suggest cast iron is because nothing makes toast like cast iron! It’s also great for griddling vegetables - courgettes, peppers, onions and more for topping toast and pasta dishes.
A saucepan - I have a medium stainless steel saucepan with a lid. Does the job!
A hand food processor - pestos, pasta sauces, dressings, herby drizzlers, dessert bases… shall I go on? They can all be whipped up in one of these. An absolute must for van life!
A kettle - I mean it’s not van life if there’s not a whistling kettle involved is it? I have a very boujee Le Crueset one that my family chipped in to buy me for Christmas the first year I had Roo and I love it. I have visions of handing it down to my niece or nephew later in life and hope it sees many adventures!
A sharp knife - I have a proper chefs knife in my van as well as a small set from Ikea that cover all bases. The joy of travelling in a van as opposed to being in a tent is that you can have stuff to a limit. But if I was travelling abroad I’d be removing them all before I go and just take one of these Colourworks knifes that are sold in garden centres and camping shops - they are really good!
A couple of lidded jars - great for pickling, storing excess dressings and pesto. Also brilliant for making bircher muesli.
Duralex bowls - a little stack of these bowls in different sizes are SO useful for various things.
Storage tins - I like these stainless steel IKEA ones as they are easy to store.
A lemon squeezer - I just have a wooden one for ease and space as opposed to a big metal one.
Measuring cups - each cup has liquid volume in ml as well as a measurement by cup (often used in American recipes). I tend to use cups in my Recipes for the Road for ease too.
Small digital scales - you may find that the measuring cups do the job, so you’ll only need to buy one of these if you’re going to be following lots of more complex recipes.
ROK espresso - ok, this is definitely not essential kit but I wanted to include it because I love mine SO much. Even the most fussy coffee drinkers will agree the ROK makes an excellent espresso. I have one every morning and it saves me from having to find a decent coffee spot in the mornings.
The pantry.
These are the items to have in the van at all times and just replace as you run out. I have a large storage box that holds the majority of these things and then I have a separate ‘baking’ pull out in the handy, soft Muji storage boxes to keep things easily accessed. It might seem like a big list but once they are all in your box, it isn’t that much stuff!
Of course, this list isn’t exhaustive and some of my recipes do contain other ingredients that will need to be picked up while on the move but this is the stuff I always have to pull from.
oats - I get zero waste and store in one of these
tahini
coconut oil (I travel with. small jar scooped out a bigger jar from home)
basmati rice
quinoa
dried spaghetti
chopped tomatoes
a couple of cans of mixed beans
coconut sugar
cashew butter (for pasta/white sauces)
coconut milk
chia seeds
mixed seeds
maple syrup (or date if you’re keeping budget down)
peanut butter
nutritional yeast
mustard
all purpose white flour (I like Doves Farm)
baking powder
baking soda
vanilla essence
a variety of nuts
sultanas
Cacao powder
The bottle rack.
garlic infused olive oil you can buy a ready infused one readily but I prefer to just fill with good quality olive oil and throw in three halved cloves
rapeseed oil
vinegar (I use apple cider vinegar as it’s pretty universal)
tamari
I do like a balsamic too, I don’t use it in many recipes but it’s great for dipping bread into with olive oil and whipping up super fast dressings
The spice rack.
cinnamon
all spice
salt & pepper
garlic granules
cayenne pepper
dried chillies
harissa
dukkah
sumac
curry powder
paprika
nutmeg
Fresh produce.
loaf of good quality sourdough
lemons and limes
red onions
carrots
oranges
bananas
selection of veg - courgettes, tomatoes, peppers, peas etc - I always have peas as they are so easy to add to stuff and an excellent source of protein.
Fresh for the fridge.
oat milk
coconut yoghurt
vegan mayo (I like Rubies)
tofu
salad leaves (a rocket mix always works well)
spinach
Key meals.
(all of these staple recipes will be going up on Recipes for the Road, I’ll add links as they are posted)
Breakfast
bircher muesli - if you can remember to do this the night before a bircher (soaked oats with grated apples and seeds) sets you up for the day and is lovely for when you’re going to be on a schedule and want to get going early
porridge - porridge can be eaten in so many ways - orange and tahini, dates, make it chocolatey, top with griddled fruit, make it seedy, grate in a pear. The options are limitless
Lunch
things on toast - my fave is to spread tahini on and top with dressed veg like my tahini tomatoes or you can do miso mushrooms, griddled veg, scrambled tofu
griddled sweet potato topped with various stuff - such a versatile and easy dish top with pesto, dressed salad and toasted seeds (just toast seeds in a pan on the hob), tahini tomatoes, griddled veg with garlic mayo (just mix in a bit of garlic oil to your vegan mayo)… so many variations
quinoa salad with a mustard dressing topped with toasted seeds
Dinner
pasta with simple sauces - this is where the hand blender comes into it’s own. Using cashew butter, oat milk and nutritional yeast blend up concoctions of pasta sauce with whatever veg you have onboard
3 bean chilli - such a versatile dish and you can make a batch and store. Ea with ripe, in pittas, on top of roast sweet potato and in tacos. Delish.
sweet potato and coconut milk curry - such a simple dish, simply throw coconut milk, cubed sweet potato, some spices and a dash of sugar and salt into a pan and let it bubble away.
Snacks
oat based cakes are slow release and yummy, Try my banana and oat slices.
Don’t forget that recipes are going up all the time on Recipes for the Road and I’m working on an ebook which will be available later this year, sign up for The Tidings below to hear more news on that. Anything you want covered? Comment below!