Using Food Storage for Cooking Vegetarian

It is easy to use the same grains and legumes - with a variety of  vegetables and spices, and make yourself hundreds of different versions of meals.  

There are two charts here, showing the basic ingredients in vegetarian cooking with food storage, and a list of different spices to offer different tastes.

Grains should equal 40 - 50% of your meal, with vegetables 30 - 50% and legumes the remaining 10 - 20%.  Eating this way will offer a complete protein always, with high vitamin and mineral content. Extras you could add to this might include cheese or dairy products, salad dressings, and other things like lettuce and fresh vegetables. 

Grains 40 - 50%	Vegetables 30 - 50%	Legumes 10 - 20%
Rice – all variations bread and bread products oatmeal, oats barley hot grain cereals quinoa bulghur pasta	Onions and garlic carrots – chopped or grated celery cabbage canned tomatoes peppers potatoes corn zucchini peas green beans etc	Lentils – red or green Beans – black, red, brown, pinto, white, garbanzo, kidney, etc split peas

Choose your grains you want to cook.  Rice is a staple in my home, at least four times a week we eat it.  Then choose your veggies, depending on what you have on hand or in the garden.  Choose your legumes, depending on what is available or ready in your fridge, freezer, or pantry.

Spices

Basic	Indian	Warming	Mediterranean	Savory	Oriental	Mexican
Salt pepper garlic ginger onion lemon juice dill	Turmeric cumin coriander bay leaf mustard seed fennel chilies	Allspice cinnamon cloves nutmeg pepper cardamom	Basil oregano marjoram thyme bay leaf mint lemon juice red wine vinegar balsamic	Rosemary sage parsley thyme pepper nutmeg marjoram basil bay leaf	Soy sauce rice or wine vinegar basil chilies sugar miso garlic black bean garlic sauce	Chilies cumin oregano garlic chipotle taco seasonings

Decide on what flavor choices you want to use for your meal.  Decide if you want soup, stir fries, casserole, crockpot, salad, or something else, and go to work making it.  I know it is hard for some people to cook if they don't have a recipe to follow, but practice will make it easier.  And remember, I always say, "Google is my best friend, and the library is my university!"  If you want to find recipes, look them up and experiment.  Soon you will be a pro at it.