I don;t know about you but I love to do easy cooking from my pantry. So, when Whole Foods contacted me to see if I’d like to participate in the $50 pantry challenge with the offer of giving away a $50 gift card to one lucky reader, I loudly said YES.
Included in the challenge were a few foods that aren’t on my vegan diet such as a an of tuna and a few boxes of chicken broth but other than that, all he other foods provide the basis for great meals when paired with fresh produce.
Here are the foods on the list:
- 1 lb black beans
- 1 lb lentils
- 1 lb quinoa
- 2 lbs brown rice
- 3 (32-oz) boxes vegetable broth
- 1 (32-oz) box chicken broth
- 1 lb rolled oats
- 2 cans cannellini beans
- 1 lb orechiette pasta
- 1 lb pasta, your favorite kind
- 1 can black beans
- 1 jar unsweetened applesauce
- 1 (32-oz) box unsweetened soymilk
- 1 (32-oz) box unsweetened almond milk
- 1 (5-oz) can tuna
- 3 (15-oz) cans diced tomatoes
- 1 package no-oil sundried tomatoes
- 1 jar pasta sauce
Here are a few dishes that i have made with the pantry staples:
Pasta with tomato sauce, white beans and greens.
Black bean and sweet potato chili that was served over brown rice
Purple sticky rice pudding made withe the almond milk (I bought the purple sticky rice)
Shane’s Fabulous Lentil Soup which required the addition of onions, potato and carrots
And there’s much more on the horizon as I have hardly made a dent in the ingredients. I see a bean burger with oats, sundried tomato and spices in my future. A big pot of brown rice will also get cooked, with some stashed in the freezer to eat later. If the weather turns cold again, another pot of soup will surely appear.
I will randomly draw a name for the gift card at midnight on February 1st.
To be entered to win, like my Facebook page by clicking here and post a comment below (right here on this blog) with the most creative pantry dish you might make with the vegetarian ingredients listed above. (If you use the tuna or chicken broth, you are automatically disqualified.) Include the list of other ingredients you need to add to complete your dish and list your current favorite pantry meal. I hope that you can think beyond the pasta.
Have fun with this. I love pantry cooking and saving money. Of course I also save energy in the process by using my pressure cooker. Shane’s Fabulous Lentil Soup takes only 6 minutes at pressure and it’s oh so tasty.
Good luck.
elizabeth says
I don’t have anything too creative, but I’ve been making quinoa to my taste in the pressure cooker several times a week. I like 1/4 c red quinoa, 3/4c white quinoa and 1/2 c white basmati rice along with garlic and onions. Last night I ate the Quinoa with kale, grilled chopped tofu and onions marinated in lemon, rice vinegar, agave, s&p. With the soy milk on that list I’d like to try a curried corn and coconut soup. I’ll mix soy milk with coconut extract so I’m not getting all the fat from canned coconut milk.
Tanya says
I would make my favorite lentil/quinoa dish. It includes the black beans and tomatoes. It also has onions, kale, garlic, and butternut squash. I could use the vegetable broth in the dish too along with a little cumin and avocado.
Jill Nussinow says
Janel and Amber, you are both making me very hungry. Now I feel like cooking, too. I cant wait for other creative ideas. You have set the bar rather high. Thanks.
Amber Shea @Almost Vegan says
Excellent giveaway! I already like you on FB.
I can’t resist the idea of making a huge pot of Italian-inspired bean-and-grain soup. Cannellini beans, lentils, quinoa OR rice, orechiette, diced tomatoes, sundried tomatoes, maybe even some of the pasta sauce…I’d also want to include some onion, garlic, celery, carrot, possibly green beans or kale or spinach or peas…lots of possibilities!
janel says
I make a salsa with the canned diced tomatoes in the blender with cilantro, onion, and jalapeno. Then I mix the salsa with the brown rice and black beans. Top the mix with some grilled peppers and onions, a few avocado slices, and roll it up in a whole wheat tortilla. Tasty pantry burritos!