My family is on a tight budget and I am looking to make a change in my diet & the diet of my children. i would like to go veg and possibly, maybe, in the future vegan. I was veg from 14-20 and recall it being pretty expensive to buy alot of the products that are necessary.
So, where do you all shop? I live in California but Whole Foods & Trader Joe's are out- too far away and too expensive.
We usualy shop at Winco and sometimes Walmart (hey, we are poor :) plus they have RU486, so that is one thing in their favor)
DH is not in favor of this change so it needs to not put us in the poorhouse :)
cheap veggie/vegan shopping?
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Sat, 2006-04-22 21:06
#1
cheap veggie/vegan shopping?
The only meat alternatives that I can think of that are pretty expensive are the fake processed meats, such as faux chicken nuggets and meatless meatballs. Raw tofu is cheaper, and a lot healthier because it's not as processed. You can also buy a ton of beans (soy beans, kidney beans, lima beans, navy beans, garbanzo beans, etC) in bulk, costs a bit to stock up but in the long run they're cheap and last a long time, and beans are probably the best meat alternative you can have in regards to protein, not to mention that you can pretty much put beans in anything and have it taste good :) As well as beans are pretty flexible and you can find ways to make your own dairy alternatives and meat alternatives with them.
Vegetables are also a good source of protein, kale is my #1 favorite, eggplant, spinach, zucchini, yams, broccoli, artichokes. Or grains such as brown rice, barley, wheat germ, wild rice. You can buy grains like that in bulk as well, so that they end up being cheaper over the long run.
Seeds are fairly inexpensive when bought in bulk as well, sesame, hemp seeds, or nuts like almonds and cashews are really high in protein as well.
All in all I'd actually say that a vegetarian diet, if planned accordingly, can be a lot cheaper than meat based diets.
I'd say spend some time looking up on the net for some really great vegetarian recipes, and mark down the basic ingredients of the ones you love. I've known vegetarians starting out who go and buy everything they think they'd need, and end up not using over half of the ingredients. Plan in advance, and think about what ingredients you would use the most, and plan accordingly so that you don't waste money on things you won't really use. Buy everything you can in bulk, and you'd be surprised how much cheaper a vegetarian diet can end up being.
Thanks :)
I started my vegan experiment today:)
I joined the local co-op a while ago and get good discounts.
When I lived in ND, it was hard to find places that sold vegan/vegetarian foods, so I normally didn't buy anything too unique - just stuck to veggies, noodles, fruit, beans, rice and I became very creative with my meals!
i find vegan/ veggie living quite a bit less expensive than meat eating. of course, i don't shop organic becauseof cost and availability but I do try to keep the proscessed foods to a minimum and eat real veggies. Were you buying alot of meat substatutes? those are real budget killers and IMO are kind of a crutch. They're fun to use as a treat sometimes but i think it keeps you in that meat eating/ cooking frame of mind. you keep useing that as the center of the meal when there are SO MANY options out there. when i was using alot of those fke meats i nevercooked squash as a main course, now we love it.
yeah I don't buy much alternative meat products. Lyric loves the chik nuggets & I'll eat an occasional vegan boca burger, but that's about it. I love soy yogurt, though - it's 99cents for one.
I buy a bit of the processed faux meats. When T's eating, if he's not eating the same (or similar) to other people he either won't eat, or will want what someone else has. So I try to coordinate with his daycare meal plan, so that on days where the rest of the group is having chicken nuggets, he has faux chicken nuggets, or if they're having meatballs, rice and veggies, I pack him some faux meat balls.
When we're home cooking I try to shy away from those and stick to tofu and beans with a lot of veggies.
(Although, I have to admit late night snacking, I love having the portabella mushroom veggie burgers. SO good.)
the rest of my family is not going veg, though DH is officialy off cows milk forever after readin parts of Erik Marcus' "Vegan"
Sorry I'm no help as to where is cheap to shop, but I can give you a recipe for vegetable lasagne if you're interested? It can be frozen too :)
really cheap and vegan:
about 12 ounces enchilada verde sauce or salsa verde
about 6 ounces green chiles
12 corn tortillas
12 ounces refried beans
12 ounces corn
soy cheese (the only sort of pricey bit, but you can use tofu or nutritional yeast instead)
Preheat oven to around 350
Pour 1/4 of the sauce in the bottom of a casserole dish, layer 6 tortllas, then add the the beans, chiles, corn, and 1/2 of the sauce, layer the other six tortillas and pour the remaining sauce.
Bake for 12 minutes or so. While it bakes, grate the cheese. Alot of soy cheese won't melt in the oven, so after I put the cheese on I microwave it for 5 minutes.
The recipe is so fast, and can eat it like three days in a row.
yum, thanks for the recipe!
bulk dried beans are REALLY cheap. rice is cheap. you can get like a 50lb sack and use it over six months.
if you make friends at a coop, often they'll save you "damaged produce" which is perfectly good but has like a brown spot.
also if yr into dumpster diving, look in the trash! this week i've gotten tons of fresh bananas, grapefruit, and broccoli. all organic.