Anyone here Vegetarian or Vegan on a budget?

its_whisper

I am mostly vegetarian ( by mostly I mean I slip and eat meat every 3 months it seems lol) and my boyfriend is vegan. I don't know if I could go vegan because I love cheese and all my favorite snacks have milk but I'd like to eventually because I do care about animals and the planet. My question is, if you are either of those, what foods do you eat? I'm on a tight budget and besides pasta and beans and tofu food gets boring very fast.

Old_Cat_Lady

I'm not much help, but frozen veggies are often cheaper than fresh. I buy frozen kale and spinach often to add to foods.

janejellyroll

I've been vegan for about ten years and I can spend as little as $20-25 a week on groceries. My staples are oats, beans, potatoes, rice, frozen vegetables, cabbage, onions, tofu, canned tomatoes, and pasta. When it's summer and lots of fresh produce is cheaper, I also eat a lot of that. I don't find these foods to get old fast because I'm constantly varying the seasonings. One night I may have chickpeas and potatoes in an Indian spiced sauce and later in the week I may have chickpeas and potatoes again in a minestrone soup with pasta.

When you think about it, it's not that different than someone having meat and vegetables each night and finding different ways to season them so it doesn't seem like the same food.

OliveGirl128

I've been on a bit of a roller coaster with my dietary choices lately, but technically I'd be labeled a pescetarian right now. We have a very small grocery budget and I eat a LOT of veggies/fruit (that I get at Aldi and then a local farm), Aldi frozen wild caught salmon twice a week (under $4 for a pound, which is 4 servings/2 weeks worth), beans, beans and more beans lol, whole grains, especially rice, and then nuts, seeds, a small amount of dairy (mostly in the form of Aldi's version of Laughing Cow low calorie spread), olives, an egg here and there etc.

OP, do you have an Aldi nearby?

eta: I know fish isn't a vegetarian option, but you mentioned eating meat every once in a while, so if you have an Aldi nearby slipping up with inexpensive fish is the way to go lol

Old_Cat_Lady

One product that I found to be rather cheap was TVP or Textured Vegetable Protein. http://www.bobsredmill.com/tvp-textured-veg-protein.html I sprinkle it on many foods including pizza.

kungfuanda

I've been venturing into veganism in the past 6 months. I think the most important part is to embrace the absence of those products and not try to replace them with substitutes. Substituting gets expensive and not very healthy quickly.

I find myself eating a lot more vegetables than before, buying them fresh or frozen is actually relatively cheap. I heavily favorite broccoli and cauliflower. I make a point to eat some beans at some point every day. If you buy them in bulk, they're very budget friendly. I eat fruit for dessert, especially now in summertime. All the fresh berries are really good for you and eating in season is always chaper. As far as carbs, I like oats, barley, potatoes and pasta. That too is not spendy.

I do spend a little on almond milk, coconut cream and occasional gardein meal to stay sane.

estherdragonbat

I just made a Moroccan sweet potato and chickpea stew. There's a lot in season, now and I have a well-stocked spice cabinet.

Queenmunchy

Www.budgetbytes.com has a few great vegan recipes for budgets

JaxxieKat

I'm vegan and the best way to save money is avoid processed meat and cheese fakealike products. I mean, they are okay to ease through the transition, but over the longhaul they are very gimmicky and expensive. Buy up frozen fruits and veggies. They're cheap. Buy produce that is in season, when it's cheapest. Rice and tofu are inexpensive. Potatoes (sweet and white) are inexpensive. Beans are inexpensive. I do intermittent fasting, so I don't eat breakfast. I drink coffee with stevia and almond milk. I buy my almond milk at Aldi for super cheap. Let me give you a sample run down of what I eat in a day:

Breakfast:
Coffee with 3 stevia packets and 1/4c plain, unsweetened almond milk

Lunch:
Serving of baked beans or tofu with salad and a potato or home fries

Dinner:
2 scoops of VeganSmart vanilla protein powder (literally the most expensive part of my diet. Costs me $32 per container that lasts me about a week and a half) with 1/2tbsp of bulk purchased chia seeds, 3 tbsp powdered peanut butter, 1/4c quick oats, 2c almond milk, and a frozen banana blended up

Snacks:
Fruit
Cucumber and bell pepper slices with hummus

janejellyroll

JaxxieKat wrote: »

I'm vegan and the best way to save money is avoid processed meat and cheese fakealike products. I mean, they are okay to ease through the transition, but over the longhaul they are very gimmicky and expensive. Buy up frozen fruits and veggies. They're cheap. Buy produce that is in season, when it's cheapest. Rice and tofu are inexpensive. Potatoes (sweet and white) are inexpensive. Beans are inexpensive. I do intermittent fasting, so I don't eat breakfast. I drink coffee with stevia and almond milk. I buy my almond milk at Aldi for super cheap. Let me give you a sample run down of what I eat in a day:

Breakfast:
Coffee with 3 stevia packets and 1/4c plain, unsweetened almond milk

Lunch:
Serving of baked beans or tofu with salad and a potato or home fries

Dinner:
2 scoops of VeganSmart vanilla protein powder (literally the most expensive part of my diet. Costs me $32 per container that lasts me about a week and a half) with 1/2tbsp of bulk purchased chia seeds, 3 tbsp powdered peanut butter, 1/4c quick oats, 2c almond milk, and a frozen banana blended up

Snacks:
Fruit
Cucumber and bell pepper slices with hummus

You can learn how to make your own meat and cheese. It's surprisingly affordable.

marlenaferguson

Also, try to go shopping at night. The supermarkets often discount produce at night before it goes out of date, but it's always still fine to use. I recently got 12.5 KILOS of potatoes for 9p. The husband and I track our spending separately so I know I have only spent 8.20 for a week's groceries for one person (although I already have a lot of dried beans, millet, barley and rice in the cupboard, maybe that's cheating.) I eat greens with every meal and always feel full, just making whatever produce is discounted and stretching it with beans/grains/spinach/soy mince.
Tonight's dinner was vegan haggis, potatoes, carrots and swede with mushroom gravy. Last night was veggie burgers, wholegrain pasta, kale, carrot and spinach. Tomorrow night is most likely going to be broccoli, brown rice, tofu and broad beans.
I would say that I do get tired of beans sometimes, but they make a world of difference in your protein levels, and as other users have said, the trick is to introduce variety in your seasonings- try Italian one night, then Mexican or Indian the next.

nowine4me

If you have room in the freezer, get the BIG bags of frozen veggies, like broccoli and stick with in-season fruits.

JaxxieKat

janejellyroll wrote: »

You can learn how to make your own meat and cheese. It's surprisingly affordable.

Trufax. I make cashew cheese and TVP crumbles all the time.

shaumom

Just one thing that helped me tremendously with eating on a budget was to start growing herbs. In pots or in the ground, depending on your situation. Seeds give you the biggest bang for your buck, as you can usually find some for $2-$4, or in some places, there can be seed lending libraries where you get seeds for free, or gardening groups where people may be willing to give away a few baby plants or extra seeds.

But truly, having a big supply of fresh herbs, that is free past that starting cost, makes a HUGE difference in making food more palatable. If you only have a few ingredients due to budget constraints, it is a life saver to have fresh herbs, in terms of flavor, not to mention added vitamins and minerals they bring to the table.

AmandaDanceMore

I am vegetarian with a mild sushi habit (I get sushi maybe once every month or two. Sometimes I have fish in other circumstances, but it's getting more rare). I also consume very little dairy. I eat lots of beans, love Asian noodles like soba and ramen, I love rice and quinoa. I buy TONS of frozen veggies (it's ridiculous). I do also eat pasta, because i love it. I buy stacks of tortillas (be sure they aren't made with lard), and so all sort of things with them. It's also supposed to cheaper if you buy produce locally and seasonally from your farmer's market or farm stand, though I don't always find that's true in my area.

There are simple ways to cut costs, though you may have to put more effort in (dried beans vs canned. Don't buy instant rice. Buy dry goods in bulk, etc). The pricey stuff ends up being the vegetarian specialty things like faux meats and prepared meals. The more you home cook, the cheaper it can be!

ladypetrushka_

Check out Budget bytes.com

its_whisper

Thanks for the suggestions everyone!