Grocery Budget for Vegetarians

Hey y'all

I feel like the majority of my money goes to the grocery stores. I cook all my own meals and I always bring a lunch to work. Trader Joes, Whole Foods and Hannaford are all within a block of each other and circle my office. I'm spending about $100 on groceries a week and I'm just one single vegetarian lady!

I REFUSE to eat processed crap just because I'm broke but produce is very expensive. For example; I go through 2 bags of baby spinach, a bunch of bananas, 3 avocadoes (they're over $1 a piece here), tomatoes, 3 oranges and lemons and 2 sweet potatoes a work week...every week. This is about $25-$30 depending on the store before I even get staples like bread, eggs and yogurt.

I'm trying to cut corners with my finances to pay off credit card debt from travelling...so I can travel more.

My questions for fellow vegetarians:
Does this seem incredibly excessive to spend this much?
How much do you spend on groceries a week?
How do you spend less?
Any recipes that freeze well and can be used for a few days at a time?

Thanks!

I spend approximately $100 a month on groceries for one person (myself). I've saved grocery receipts, so this is accurate. This is since April 2013 when I decided to get healthy and lose weight. I have no idea what I spent before, but it was a LOT more than that. I ate out a lot, plus bought lots of junk food.

What I eat:
Breakfast: steel cut oats with a chopped apple. I order Bob's Red Mill steel cut oats from Amazon because I can sometimes get 2 for the price of 4 sold in the grocery store. Sometimes it's 3/4, but still a good deal. I have a student Prime membership with Amazon ($40 a year) and get free shipping and 2 day delivery. I could also buy steel cut oats in bulk at the health food store, which I haven't done because I'm not sure of the turnover, plus could order larger quantities from Amazon.

Lunch and dinner:
Lentils with brown rice. I buy the small bags of lentils sold in the grocery store -- they cost between 99 cents and 1.20 a bag, depending on the store. One bag = about 4 meals.
Lentils are considered a superfood. One cup has the protein of 3 eggs (18 g versus 6 g), plus they are high in potassium and many other nutrients. They do not require soaking and cook in about 20-30 minutes.
I cook one entire bag. After it's cooked, I stir fry with a little olive oil, onions, and other chopped vegetables.
I add a little spice. I like some of the no-Msg, no-salt McCormick Perfect Pinch spices.
I vary the vegetables, anything from chopped onions and carrots to avocado, tomato, winter squash, etc.
I steam kale and collard greens separately.
I cook one cup of brown rice in my rice cooker and eat 1/2 cup with some of my meals. The rice keeps well in the fridge.

Snacks:
Apples, sometimes a grapefruit or other fruit.

Once in a while I eat soup. This is basically what I eat every day. I also drink a lot of water and add lemon slices.

This summer I read that Latino grocery stores sell some vegetables at far less than the regular grocery store and found that it's true for my area -- tomatoes, avocados, lemons, and other vegs are half price the chain stores.

i've been eating this way since April 2013 and have lost about 40 pounds and reduced my grocery bill to about $100 every month. Everything I make could be frozen, too.

I know this will be a long shot as far as being able to help, but do you know anyone that works for a food distribution company? :laugh:

I do, and I am able to buy anything we carry practically for cost with no markup. We carry thousands of products, so even if something is off season I can still get it relatively inexpensively. Plus we have special sales where products are set to expire or pass the sell by date (legally we can't sell anything to a customer if it's passed the sell by date, even if the product is still useable). I just bought 3lbs of fresh mozzarella for $2.50, I split it with my parents and it's still good for another 10 days. It has saved me a huge amount on groceries. I am not a vegetarian, and the amount I save on frozen chicken alone is ridiculous.

I know not everyone has access to something like this, but not everyone thinks about it either. Maybe ask family, friends, or coworkers if they know anyone in the food distribution industry. Some of the bigger companies (depending on where you live) are US Foods, Sysco, and FSA (Food Services of America).

I really appreciate this thread, as it is helping me with ideas for adding beans, grains, and more veggies! :bigsmile: