Shopping on a WFPB diet is super easy! You only go into about three aisles in the shop! Most of your shopping will be in the fresh fruit and vegetable area, followed by the legumes, pulses and cereals areas. In most super markets there's a "health foods" section. Be careful, it's often more expensive than heading to the soup section where you can find beans and pulses much more cheaply.

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For your first shop, factor in a couple of hours to wander the shop finding out where things are and reading the labels of everything you pick up (only the ingredient list, don't worry about the nutrition panel).

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Be careful. You will overwhelmed with products that have labels that scream "healthy". Ignore them - they aren't healthy at all. And we've noticed that even in the health food aisles, most of the foods are super processed. READ the LABELS!

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The first shop is an expensive one to get set up. But on the upside, once you’re set up grocery bills will be much cheaper that what you're used to.

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THE NEW PANTRY.

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Nuts (cashews, almonds, pistachios – raw and roasted or salted) and tahini. These are mostly for snacks (though we will use in some recipes)

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Seeds - sunflower, sesame, pepita, chia, linseed/flax, quinoa, hemp etc

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Unsweetened Alternative Milks (almond, oat or coconut depending on what you like): Make sure you read the read the cartons. You can even make your own if you like

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Spices (cumin, coriander, ginger, chilli, paprika, pepper, turmeric, cardamom, fennel, mustard seeds), ready made curry powder and curry mix (for Thai try Mae Ploy): Buy ground spices or grind your own for better flavour and volatile oil retention. Make sure you carefully read the label of any ready made products.

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Sugar – palm sugar, honey or syrup: I don’t use much – try to avoid and ramp down use as you get used do it.

 

Pulses (seeds of legumes) – various beans, lentils (various colours), peas (but specifically chickpeas), lentils, kidney beans, black beans, soybeans, haricot beans: You can get tins of beans but they do contain salt – so they’ll need to be rinsed before use

 

Cereals & grains – buckwheat, quinoa, oats (not quick oats), millet, barley, brown rice: MUST BE WHOLE GRAIN. No refined cereals.

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Flours – brown rice flour, chick pea flour, flax meal

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Hummus - our recipe is on the website if you want to make your own. If you buy ready-made, read the labels for the highest chickpea content.

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Greek yogurt - unsweetened, unflavoured, whole milk

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Garlic and onions - great base to start most recipes

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Mixed green vegetables - kale, Chinese greens like choy sum and bok choy, Chinese broccoli, beetroot leaves

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Salad vegetables - aim for something from every colour of the rainbow: english spinach, carrots, cucumber, tomato, red cabbage, capsicum, snow peas, corn,

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Root vegetables - sweet potato, pumpkin, parsnip, potato.

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Mushrooms - big ones for stuffing, small ones for using as an ingredient, exotic ones for fun.

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Eggplant and zucchini - large ones for fried rounds, small ones for adding into cooked meals

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Assorted berries - fresh or frozen is fine. Darker coloured berries are best.

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Fruit - fruit with seeds and/or edible skins are best, like apples, pears, oranges, bananas, grapes and stone fruit

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​In addition to the staples, you may want to stock up with:

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Exciting salad vegetables - get adventurous, and add in to your basic salad: raw beetroot, bean sprouts, asparagus, fennel

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Chocolate - Dark chocolate (70% or higher)

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Tea - Green tea, herb teas, Turmeric Latte mix, hibiscus tea is very good for inflammation

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Seaweed - Nori, dulse, wakame

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High-fat fruits - avocados and olives

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Soy products - milk, tofu, tempeh, edamame and soy beans

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Fermented foods - kimchi, sauerkraut, miso paste

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Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP) - a soy-based meat replacement that can be used in place of mince to give bulk and texture.

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The other shop you might want to visit will be the electrical store for a slow cooker. They're the best thing for beans and lentils.