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Selection of all year basics 

- Milk (cow's milk or vegetable drink)

- Unsweetened plain yogurt (cow's or vegetable)

- Fresh fruit: bananas, lemon and fruit that is in season and local if possible.

- Frozen fruit: blueberries, optional: raspberries, strawberries, blackberries

- Liliaceae: onion (or leek), garlic

- Vegetables: carrots, red bell peppers, tomatoes, cherry tomatoes

- Lettuce / greens: seasonal and local (romaine, endive, trocadero, iceberg, rucola, watercress)

- Cruciferae: seasonal and local (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage)

- Leafy greens: seasonal and local (spinach, bokchoi, chard, kale)

- Dried legumes: chickpeas, lentils, kidney beans, white beans, lentil pasta, chickpea pasta

- Low-salt canned cooked legumes: chickpeas, kidney beans, black beans, white beans, peas

- Soybean derivatives: tofu

- Organic eggs

- Seeds: chia, sesame, ground flaxseeds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds

- Nuts: walnuts, almonds, pecans, cashew nuts, pistachios

- Butters: peanut butter, sesame butter (tahini)

- Cereals: oats, rice, couscous, whole wheat pasta, Bavarian rice (wheat)

- Bread: baked, sliced and frozen, whole wheat bread

- Pantry: extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, natural crushed tomato in jar, nutritional yeast, baking powder, wheat flour, sugar, dark chocolate +85%, olives, pickles, maple syrup, pure cocoa powder, coffee, tea, mustard, reduced salt soy sauce

- Spices: iodized salt, pepper, sweet paprika, cinnamon, turmeric, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, thyme, rosemary, nutmeg

- Supplements: vitamin B12, vitamin D, vegan protein powder, organic egg white powder

The reasons for each food:

-MILK: In my case I use a vegetable drink without added sugar and enriched in calcium (120 mg Ca / 100 ml of drink). They all work for me, but soybean has a macronutrient profile more similar to cow's and is therefore more versatile from a culinary point of view (better foam for coffee, it tastes good), but from the point of view of replace the calcium intake of a cow's milk, any of those that are enriched to that level will work for me. Specifically, I try to opt for drinks whose cereal, dried fruit or legume is locally grown. Oats are a Good choice in Germany by that criteria. Although there is also local cultivation of soybeans. I consume it daily.

-YOGURT: Again, I opt for a natural, calcium-enriched soy yogurt. This food has the incentive of being a fermented product, which is why it is considered a probiotic. Fermentation will favor its digestibility. It is also a food for daily consumption.

-FRESH FRUIT: There are two that are not missing in my pantry all year round: thebanana(or banana, in my case in Germany) and thelemon. My ultimate goal is to consume only local and seasonal products. In the case of fresh fruit and in Germany that is almost an impossible mission. Assuming that no fruit is in season all year round, I choose the banana as the invariable standard of my basic capsule because it has become a must-have for my breakfasts (with porridge or oatmeal pancakes) and it is very practical to take away as a snack away from home. On the other hand, lemon has also earned its place in the basic capsule, since it is a common seasoning for dressings in both hot and cold dishes. I highlight its vitamin C content that helps the absorption of non-heme iron in the protein source dishes ofeithervegetal origin. Fresh fruit is obviously a food for daily consumption.

-FROZEN FRUIT: the great ally in these European latitudes. Here I find it in cardboard packaging without plastics. Any red fruit works for me in this category, but if I give first place to one, it is to theblueberries. Apart from the fact that they are delicious (my children eat them like sweets) and that with them and in their frozen version a sugar-free "non-jam" is prepared in no time and that it is the perfect topping for porridge, pancakes and parfaits yogurt, as if that were not enough, blueberries are champions in antioxidants. When I can't find them in the supermarket, I buy any other red fruit like frozen raspberries, frozen blackberries or frozen strawberries. Although I don't eat berries daily, I do eat them at least 3-4 times a week.

-LILIACEAS: Here come the onion and the garlic. They would be within the vegetables, those that belong to bulbs and tubers. They are for daily use in my kitchen, since I use them mainly for lunch and dinner recipes with vegetables or cooked vegetables.  

-OTHER VEGETABLES(roots and fruits). Here I include theyescarrots, tomatoes and cherry tomatoes, andn general red and sometimes green and yellow too. The coI consume weekly. They stand out for their vitamins andminerales (C, carotenoids, folic acid, B1, B2, niacin and minerals depending on the growing area, but in general K, non-heme Fe, Cu, Mn, S, I, Co, Zn and Se).

- LETTUCE and LEAVES: These are the vegetables that I eat raw. Every day I try to consume at least one of the servings of raw vegetables. In this way, I alternate between the micronutrients that could have been lost in cooking in cooked dishes and those that are better assimilated when cooked. Although in Germany we find locally grown iceberg lettuce all year round, strictly speaking there is also, as in the case of fruits, roots, tubers and fruits, no lettuce that is in season all year round. So in this category I would choose a regular romaine lettuce, for example, and some leaves that are in season at the time. I eat lettuce or raw leaves daily.

- CRUCIFERAE: these are the vegetables whose edible part is the flower. Again, you would have to select one that was in season. They are for weekly consumption.

- LEAFY GREENS: In general, I eat them cooked and I choose those that are in season. Its consumption is daily.

- DRIED LEGUMES: They are the queens of the plant-based diet. The basic of the basics. They are cheap, store well, provide energy, protein and micronutrients.  

- CANNED LEGUMES: Due to their culinary convenience, they are the fast food of a healthy diet. Without a doubt. Always choose preparations low in salt and without other cooked foods, only cooked legumes.

- SOY DERIVATIVES: the tofu. There are other derivatives such as tempeh, but I personally like tofu the most and it is the one we consume weekly and the basic capsule has a place of honor. There are different firmnesses, which make them more suitable for one or another recipe. The wonderful thing about soybeans and derivatives is their high protein content, which is complete (contains all the essential amino acids), is a source of unsaturated fatty acids, soluble and insoluble fibers, and is rich in P, Mg, K, Cu, Zn and Mn. It also has isoflavones with high antioxidant power. I alternate it with the consumption of other legumes and its consumption is weekly.

- ORGANIC EGGS: the egg is a very complete food and its proteins are of high biological value. They are "pattern" proteins (adequate proportion of amino acids). It is also a source of lipids (cholesterol), minerals (Fe, Zn, Se, K, P, I, Cu, Mn, F) and vitamins (A, D, E, K and group B). Like dairy, its consumption is not essential, since vegan diets are perfectly healthy and do not contain it. But I have included them in my diet for culinary versatility, for their nutrients and because they are delicious. Of course: ecological quality always. Not for its nutritional quality, which is the same, but in favor of animal welfare.

-SEEDS, NUTS and their BUTTERS: They are fundamental in a plant-based diet, since they provide us with the omega 3 essential fatty acids that we are not including with the fish. My daily consumption basics are at least one of: walnuts, almonds, chia seeds, sesame, ground flax seeds or in their butter format, especially peanut butter (it is a legume, it does not provide omega 3) and tahini (of sesame).

- GRAINS: essential to complete the limiting amino acids in legumes. Specifically methionine. It is not necessary to combine them with legumes in the same recipe. My favorite staple is oatmeal because of its flavor and its nutrients: it contains beta-glucans, which is a cardioprotective soluble fiber, it is rich in protein and fat unlike other cereals and it is also rich in B1, E and minerals such as P, K, Mg, Ca and non-heme Fe. It also has aventramides with high antioxidant power. Another basic in my capsule is the wheat, which I generally eat as loaf or toast bread in its whole versions. I consume some grains daily.

- PANTRY BASICS: These are the extras that would be the equivalent in a clothing closet to jewelry, belts and other accessories. Except for iodized salt, they are not essential, but take meals to a higher level of enjoyment, which we should not give up. Eating is about enjoying too and our allies are in the pantry. The selection here therefore attends more to personal factors and tastes and not so much nutritional, although many of these are a source of compounds beneficial to health, but their consumption is in such a small quantity that I do not consider them relevant.

- SUPPLEMENTS: these deserve a separate category. They are not essential either, with the exception of vitamin B12, since it is not found in plants and is therefore of compulsory consumption in a vegetarian or vegan diet (yes, even if you consume eggs and dairy you also have to supplement yourself with B12). The other supplements that I use I do it for mere culinary and practical reasons. I consume vitamin D half of the year, since here in Germany the solar incidence in winter is not enough.

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