Vegan Diet?

kmm0726

I'm looking to start a Vegetarian/Vegan diet. Wondering if anyone had any budget friendly suggestions or recipes?

RawMomma10

http://www.terawarner.com/

https://www.facebook.com/TheRawDivas

I recommend you start here.... you cant go wrong with the info youll find here...,..

ckeatonrn

I switched to a vegan diet acouple of months ago after reading Joel Fuhrman's "Eat to Live" and "Eat for Health." The diet "resonated" with my nutritional goals and my lifestyle. The T. Colin Campbell Foundation is very similar and I've found it to be more scientifically based. Not sure if it's all that much cheaper than my old diet, but I do like the food better and I have been losing weight steadily. I'm not a militant vegan - if I do eat something off my "diet" I'm not going to worry about it. Hey, it happens!

My breakfast is usually semi-thawed frozen fruit (12 oz mixed), 1 T flax seed meal and 1/2 C homemade soymilk made into a smoothie. This runs about $1.75. I have about five different smoothie recipes I switch between so I don't get bored. I get my mixes ready Sunday evening then have them ready for the week. I just pull one out of the freezer at night and let it thaw in the frig overnight. In the morning I just throw it in the blender, add flax seed meal, some soymilk and with the press of a button - breakfast!

Lunch and dinner begin with a mixed greens salad - a lot of it! Lunch usually has some sort of bean recipe - chili, gumbo, rice & beans - with a piece of bread and nut butter. Dinner I'll often have a stir-fry of mixed vegs sometimes with tofu if I didn't have very many beans for lunch. Yes, I do have dessert but it's usally something I've made like banana-oat bars, fruit sorbet, even cookies :-)

My salads are works of art - lots of different types of green like lettuce, kales (different kinds are available), swiss chard (I know, oxalates), spinach (more oxalates), cabbage, fresh herbs as available. I top with raw seeds of some sort and a very reduced oil vinegrette. I also chop up some carrots, celery, red/green peppers for the topping.

Sorry, didn't mean to be so wordy. It's been an easy transition for me and hopefully would be for you too.

http://www.theveganrd.com/ is another farly good website.

cacleghorn

The cost of a vegan diet ... is culturally painted as expensive, but definitely doesn't have to be. As your grocery habits change, you will see pretty quickly what you can afford, what you want to splurge on, what you'll never buy, haha. I've spent ~$9/day on food so far in 2013, which is higher than I'd like, but I also binge eat (I'm brand new to MFP, trying to kick that), buy premade coffee, and cook my partner dinner 4x's/wk on that. So I think my grocery spending is reasonable.

The most expensive foods are:
-prepackaged anything (vegan cheese, veggies burgers, kale chips)
-dried fruit
-seeds/nuts

If you avoid the first altogether, and eat the second two in moderation (while supplementing with lots of whole fruit, and some dry beans), then don't worry too much about the cost.

Keep it simple! Stir-frys, salads, whole fruits, rice ... cooking with lemons, herbs and spices.

Lately, I've liked looking at www.thisrawsomeveganlife.com -- because the photos are nice and the author is young. But, for example, the most recent post (a recipe for lemon bars with coconut) calls for maple syrup, coconut oil and dates. I don't have those on hand, and will probably never make this recipe. I just find it inspiring to look at ... and then I go eat a banana. Simple.

HollisGrant

Here is an easy, delicious vegan meal: put lentils with chopped winter squash (butternut is my favorite) in a pot. Bring to a boil, then simmer until done (about 40 minutes or so). Serve with brown rice, steamed kale or other greens, and add a little salt or soy sauce to taste.

Editing to add:
Get your protein from beans and maybe eggs and dairy (check the source of the eggs and dairy for animal cruelty/hormones/etc.). Bean and rice dishes with steamed vegetables are a super healthy, inexpensive way to go. Think Indian and Mexican food.
Breakfast: try steel cut oats (more nutrition than regular oatmeal) with a piece of fruit or berries.

LoseYouself

Since going vegan, my husband and I have saved TONS of money on groceries. Meat and dairy are so insanely expensive! The only way a vegan diet is more expensive is if someone feels the needs to have fake meats, etc and doesn't shop wisely for the best deals on fresh produce. Beans and brown rice, lentils, tofu, etc are so much cheaper than buying meat. My husband and I can eat a healthy vegan diet for $50/week. Think about it this way, a lot of less developed countries eat very little meat. It's considered to be a food for the wealthy. It's different in North America because of subsidies, but it's still expensive.

The key is to be willing to prepare food yourself. It takes planning ahead and thoughtfulness.

Before starting this, be sure to fully educate yourself on all of your nutritional needs so that you can appropriately acquire all of your nutritional needs from new sources other than meat/eggs/dairy. It's also slightly easier if you start out vegetarian and then slowly transition once you get the hang of no meat. I went vegetarian for 4 months, then felt ready to transition quickly within a couple weeks. I've been vegan since, and feel great! Good luck with whatever decision you make! If you have any questions about transitioning, etc feel free to message me. The key to success if to have all the knowledge you need.

mwooderson

Since going vegan, my husband and I have saved TONS of money on groceries. Meat and dairy are so insanely expensive! The only way a vegan diet is more expensive is if someone feels the needs to have fake meats, etc and doesn't shop wisely for the best deals on fresh produce. Beans and brown rice, lentils, tofu, etc are so much cheaper than buying meat. My husband and I can eat a healthy vegan diet for $50/week. Think about it this way, a lot of less developed countries eat very little meat. It's considered to be a food for the wealthy. It's different in North America because of subsidies, but it's still expensive.

The key is to be willing to prepare food yourself. It takes planning ahead and thoughtfulness.

Before starting this, be sure to fully educate yourself on all of your nutritional needs so that you can appropriately acquire all of your nutritional needs from new sources other than meat/eggs/dairy. It's also slightly easier if you start out vegetarian and then slowly transition once you get the hang of no meat. I went vegetarian for 4 months, then felt ready to transition quickly within a couple weeks. I've been vegan since, and feel great! Good luck with whatever decision you make! If you have any questions about transitioning, etc feel free to message me. The key to success if to have all the knowledge you need.

Great advice...very similar to how I made the transition. Lots of education on foods and prep variations helps.